Category: general news

Thank You for Having Your Say!

Lisa

The Bentley Library would like to thank everyone who took the time to contribute their feedback and suggestions to the 14 Days to Have Your Say! blog. Between October 10 and October 23 we recorded 3,078 blog views and logged ­­­73 posts and 28 comments.

You gave us much to consider, and over the next couple of weeks we will be reviewing what everyone had to say. Stay tuned….we promise to post our responses as soon as we possibly can. In the meantime, if you have additional comments, suggestions or feedback to make, please contact the library at library@bentley.edu.

Get Informed! Resources for Voters

Liz

Vote!The 2012 elections are coming up fast, and there are a lot of races on the ballots of all states – not just the presidential one. Arm yourself with the best information from library resources and the web with our Election Resources Research Guide. It includes voter information (including specific information for Massachusetts voters*), and the best places to get nonpartisan and bipartisan information. Check it out before you go to the polls!

*FYI: The registration deadline to vote in Massachusetts is October 17. Look at our guide to see how to register!

Time for Another Round of 14 Days to Have Your Say!

Lisa 4 Comments

14 Days to Have Your Say!
Wednesday, October 10 – Tuesday, October 23
It’s Time to Tell Us What’s on Your Mind.

The Bentley Library is pleased to announce the launch of 14 Days to Have Your Say!.

14 Days to Have Your Say!This limited-life blog is an open forum for the Bentley community – an opportunity to post your comments, criticisms, and kudos, as well as to read what others are saying about the library.  We want you to feel comfortable posting publicly, so we even allow you to post anonymously or with an alias.

Our past two installments of 14 Days to Have Your Say! (October 21 – November 2, 2008 and March 16 – March 29, 2010) were very successful, and we made many changes to our services, policies and resources based upon the thoughtful feedback received through the blog. We hope that this installment is just as popular and fruitful. So, don’t be shy, tell us what’s on your mind!

Have your say at http://library.bentley.edu/14days.

Do you have questions about this project?  Please visit the About and FAQs pages, or contact the Reference Desk at refdesk@bentley.edu or 781-891-2300.

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Banned Books Week

Lisa

Banned Books Week
September 30 – October 6, 2012

Banned Books Week 2012This year marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, a week used to recognize our freedom to read and to call attention to attempts to challenge that freedom.  Banned Books Week is especially celebrated in the library community. This is not surprising, given that libraries have a long history of, and commitment to, providing unfettered access to information and ideas.

Last year, libraries across the United States reported 326 book challenges to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

The 2011 top 10 most frequently challenged books included:

  • The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins (Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence)
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group)
  • Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (Reasons: offensive language; racism)

If you’d like to learn more about banned and challenged books, take a look at this special timeline – 30 Years of Liberating Literature – or visit the Frequently Challenged Books website. One of the ways in which you can show your support of Banned Books Week is to participate in the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out.  The Read-Out is a way for readers from around the world to participate in the 30th anniversary celebration of Banned Books Week by posting videos to a dedicated YouTube channel.  In this video, several well-known authors discuss their favorite banned books.

We hope you’ll take a moment this week to reflect upon your freedom to read.

Sharpen Your Skills at the ESOL Center & Writing Center

Lisa

Tutors at the ESOL Center (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and the Writing Center have the knowledge, experience and expertise to help you improve your writing skills.  Although the centers don’t officially open their doors until next week, they are already accepting appointments online via their websites.

ESOL Center – Opens September 10

Looking for help with writing, presentations, pronunciation and conversation enrichment? Come to the ESOL Center. Bentley University students whose home language is not English are invited to take advantage of the free tutorial services offered by Bentley’s ESOL Center.  Students can schedule an appointment online,  call 781.891.2021 to make an appointment, or drop in to see if a faculty tutor is available.  Hours of operation:

  • Monday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM 8:30PM [revised 9/11/2012]
  • Tuesday: 10:00AM – 6:30PM
  • Wednesday: 10:00AM – 8:30PM
  • Thursday: 10:00AM – 9:30PM
  • Friday: 10:00AM – 2:00PM

 Writing Center – Opens September 12

Writing Center staff are available to provide one-to-one assistance with writing skills. Students can drop in during open hours, schedule an appointment online, or call 781.891.3173 to make an appointment. Hours of operation:

  • Monday-Thursday: 10:00AM – 10:00PM
  • Friday: 10:00AM – 2:00PM
  • Sunday: 6:00PM – 10:00PM

Start the semester off right by utilizing these valuable these resources. Both centers are located on the lower level of the library.

Introducing Our New Website!

Lisa

We are very excited to announce the launch of the new Bentley Library website!

The time has certainly come for our 4 year-old site to be overhauled, and a great team of people from the Academic Technology Center (ATC) and the library have spent the past year conducting usability studies, holding focus groups and gathering user feedback about the library’s website.  This team wanted to know what our users liked (online study room reservations!) and what didn’t they like (why is that news thingamajig sliding across my screen?), as well as what they expected or hoped to find on our home page (I wish there was a search box that searches everything, like Google). This feedback guided the architecture, design and content of our new site.

Key changes and features:

  • A cleaner home page design that puts the focus on our most important and popular resources and services.
  • A top navigation bar that travels with you from page to page.
  • A single, simple search box prominently displayed on our home page allows users to find books and articles from the library’s catalog and a few key library databases, such as ProQuest and EBSCO (but not all databases). This new search is powered by a “discovery service” called Encore.  Use Encore to search multiple resources with one search interface and to filter results with multiple facets.
  • A Google Scholar search box.

Post-launch we may make minor tweaks and implement enhancements.

We have great confidence in our new site, but if you encounter any problems, have questions about how to use the site, or would like to send us general feedback, please contact us at library@bentley.edu, 781.891.2300, on Facebook or via Twitter.  We hope you’ll be as excited about our new website as we are!

Be Informed! Follow Us on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Lisa

In between news updates on this blog, we use Twitter (@BentleyLibrary), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/bentleylibrary) and Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/bentleylibrary) to keep you informed and to answer your questions.

Following us is the best way to learn about the newest book and DVD arrivals, changes to the library’s hours, new databases, art gallery events and the like.  In addition to library news, we like to talk about books, movies and authors. We will often highlight current news that impacts libraries and our users.   Our interests are varied and we like to have conversations.  So, what are you waiting for?  Follow us today!

Welcome, Reunion Weekend Guests

Lisa

What did the Bentley Library look like when you were a student? Unless you graduated after our $17 million renovation was completed in 2006 we can guarantee you that we look quite a bit different! Please make some time to come check us out. Join us for a tour on Friday, June 1, between 2:00pm-3:45pm, or on Saturday, June 2, between 10:00am and 1:00pm. We’d love for you to stop in and share your memories of the Bentley Library with us.

Bentley School of Accounting and Finance, 921 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

Unable to attend a tour? Please feel free to stop by and take a walk through the library; we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you!