e-Books in the Library

There are over 9,000 full text electronic books currently in the Library collections.

Many of these e-books are available through deals negotiated by the CSU with companies such as NetLibrary and Safari Tech Books Online. These e-books have come as packaged “collections” and the Library has only had limited input on what titles were included. Browse the SF State NetLibrary site or Safari Tech Books Online to get a feel for the variety and depth of these collections. You can also find all of these titles in the Library Catalog.

Recently the Library has started to work with book provider Blackwell North America, and e-book publisher Ebrary so that Subject Librarians can order e-books on a title-by-title basis. Since the Library has started to do this there have been nearly 700 new e-book titles added to the collection covering a variety of subject areas. Library users who are interested in looking at these titles can go to the Library Catalog and perform a “keyword” search on the term “ebrary”.

In addition to providing the complete full text, e-books contain a number of useful electronic enhancements. These include searching, highlighting passages, attaching notes to texts and looking up words in a dictionary or encyclopedia. It is our hope in that in the near future the Library can add other e-book providers to this project as we continue to expand our electronic collections.

Let us know how you feel about e-books. Do you enjoy reading them? Do you think they enhance your, or your students, educational experience?

Library Service & Building Changes 1

The Library building project is underway and will affect some Library services. This will be the first of many changes the Library will undergo over the coming months.

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The Graduate Faculty Reading Room in 426C
will be permanently CLOSED on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.

The Silent Study area in Library 438 will remain open through the Spring semester. The room was kept open as long as possible, but the building project is now underway.

Government Publications (5th Floor)
is CLOSED to public access effective Friday, April 25, 2008 at 5:00PM

Access to Government Publications, microforms, and most maps will still be available. Go to the Research Assistance Desk (1st floor) to request these materials and get assistance.

Library Administration
will MOVE from the 6th floor to 426C on the 4th floor, the week of April 28 – May 2.

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

CSU Library Tutorials Survey

CSU libraries needs students’ help!

Please take a 5 minute survey
to let us know a little bit about how you use the library and if you use online tutorials.

Thanks!

Survey

JPL Library People in Harvey Milk Film

JPL Library’s own Shawn Heiser and Thomas Iwatsubo worked as film extras in the new Gus Van Sant film “Milk” starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official. Milk was assassinated in 1978 by fellow San Francisco city supervisor Dan White, a former policeman. Dan White is played by Josh Brolin.

Heiser and Iwatsubo, who work in the Library, were surprised to run into each other on the film set. Dressed in period “hippie” fashion, Heiser was filmed as an audience member in the re-enactment of Milk’s speech following the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade. Heiser, in his first major feature film appearance, participated in eight days of shooting. “I jumped at the opportunity to be in the film and work with Gus Van Sant. When I first came to San Francisco I read The Mayor of Castro Street about Harvey Milk’s history. Being involved with the film was a very positive experience.”

Iwatsubo, an experienced film actor, played a politician/ city hall employee who attends Milk’s memorial service. “The story has come full circle for me. I was a student at SFSU when Harvey Milk was assassinated, now I’m acting a politician of that time while working at SFSU.” Iwatsubo’s character shows up in several scenes; he describes the production as a very collaborative environment, “I found myself in a room discussing the next shot with Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and the cinematographer Harris Savides. I’m not used to the lead players and directors mixing so freely.”

The film is scheduled for national release in Fall, 2008.

The Library has resources to research Harvey Milk and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) studies:

“Harvey Milk” InvestiGator Keyword Search
“Harvey Milk” Link+ Keyword Search
LBGT Life w/ Full Text database
Research Guide on Human Sexuality