Learn More about the Library’s Withdrawal Project

Why are we doing this? Removing outdated materials from any library’s collection is a standard and essential practice to keep the collection current and relevant. It improves access to the library’s more useful resources and allows the collection to evolve to reflect changes in the needs of the library’s users. In the past, the Bell Library has routinely reviewed materials one subject area at a time, but (to our knowledge) never the entire circulating collection as a whole. As a…

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The Eras Tour (Bell Library’s Version)

As a librarian and Swiftie, 2023 was a year full of reading, and Taylor Swift. Between seeing everyone’s Spotify Wrapped, and reflecting on my GoodReads’ Year in Review, I had to jump on this BookTok trend with some of my favorite reads of 2023, all of which you can find in our collection. This is the Eras Tour (Bell Library’s Version).

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Meet our I-Know Student Employees

Within the I-Know department at the Bell Library, we have a wonderful team of student employees that bring a valuable perspective and creativity to the work that we do! They assist us in creating lessons and assessments, making videos, putting on events, and all things social media. We took the time to interview our student employees and ask them some questions about their interests and work. Meet Sean and Carolyn!

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Upcoming Movie Night and Movie Review: Missing

A movie review by Sean Nicastro. Come join us on November 15th at 6:30 pm in the UC Legacy Hall (145) for a film screening! The movie that we will be watching is Missing. There will be drinks, snacks, and everyone will have a chance of winning some cool prizes! Missing is a movie released in 2023 directed by Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick. The movie follows June, played by Storm Reid, as she searches for her mother who…

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Keep on Tweeting on (Responsibly)

Something that may surprise you is that I, a librarian, love social media. As librarians, we often tell students to shy away from social media and find “credible” and “scholarly” sources. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love watching TikToks or creating content for my puppy’s Instagram account. Social media can be fun. It can create a sense of community and make us feel good about ourselves. We can also learn new things from our friends and the people we…

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Engagement Begins with Us

Learner engagement focuses heavily on the learner’s connection and sense of belonging at the university, which is typically fostered through relationships with other students, faculty, and staff. Engagement increases within learners when their encounters are respectful, trusting, supportive, and caring. Learners feel more confident and motivated when faculty and staff show support and care about their efforts.    Conversely, when learners feel disconnected, they perceive those relationships with faculty, staff, and engaged learners as disrespectful, offering a sense of instability and…

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Why I Don’t Like the Journal Impact Factor (JIF)

Today, I’m writing to tell you why I’m not a fan of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). So first let me tell you what the JIF is and where it comes from. The Journal Impact factor is the number of citations generated by each citable item (such as an article) as calculated over a length of time. The standard time is three years and the number of citations in the current year divided by the number of citable items over…

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HOLIDAY MADNESS with the Bell Library!

Do you ever wonder what your Library Faculty & Staff do to unwind and have a good laugh? Well, the library is full of spunky and funny individuals that come together to cheer one another on and bring smiles to each other's faces. I’m Julie Sanchez and I can tell you that behind the scenes we have our good laughs to power us through our days. We love celebrating holidays and spreading cheer and here are some funny times we've…

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Library Hacks on Finding Information

We all have questions we want answers to. Those questions can be simple, like: what time does the library open on Saturday? What is the weather like this weekend? And what was the final score of the Islander baseball game? And usually, with a simple Google search, look at the weather app, or visit to the Islander Baseball team website, we can find the answers to our questions. But sometimes our questions are more complex, and Google’s algorithm cannot give…

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The One Button Studio: A Tutorial

HEEELLLOOO ISLANDERS!! It has been a minute since an I-Create Lab blog post! I love making these blogs for you all (even if I run out of ideas most of the time). However, this month I have some very exciting news for you all! As many of you may know, the I- Create lab was under construction last semester. Being built was a One Button Studio. A One Button Studio is a soundproof room that students and staff can use…

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