Copyright on Campus

Confused by copyright law?  Then check out the library's copyright page for answers to your questions.

And here's a video from the Copyright Clearance Center which attempts to explain the basics of copyright while being amusing, not confusing.

Patrick McGill Family Papers

Special Collections and Archives has recently acquired a new collection, the Patrick McGill Family Papers.  This collection contains 479 documents, mostly related to financial transactions, from the family of Patrick McGill, Sr. (1765-1848) and Patrick McGill, Jr. (1790-1862). 

The Patrick McGill Family Papers include several documents with high research value, mostly related to the lives of slaves on small farms in antebellum Maryland.  There are bills for medical and dental procedures performed on slaves; as well as bills for hiring slaves out, a chart estimating the value of slaves by age, a letter regarding the possible sale of slaves, and a record of slaves being transferred to family members as part of the provisions of a will.  The legal system is also featured—the collection contains 36 court documents, including several arrest warrants on charges of debt and records of the cases that followed the arrests.  Finally, glimpses of women’s lives are visible, whether through making small purchases of butter and tea or through serving as co-executor of a family member’s estate.

You can find an overview, brief inventory, and brief biography of three key family members on the department's website.  If you have any questions about the collection, please don't hesitate to ask.  Special Collections and Archives, located on the top floor of the library, is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Pardon the Mess

You may notice some noise and construction activity on the lower level of the library.  Information Technology Services is expanding its office space.  The renovations are expected to take two months.  If you need a quieter area for studying, please try the main floor.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

 

Controversial Issues

CQ Researcher is a database that focuses on controversial issues.  It's a great resource to use when you're preparing a persuasive speech, researching a pro/con assignment, or seeking information on issues in the news.  This tutorial explains basic techniques for using CQ Researcher, and points out the features you may find most useful.

Launch of the Digital Public Library of America

Type the letters dp.la into any web browser and you arrive at one of the most comprehensive digital collections to date.  The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) brings together the collections of libraries, museums, and archives from around the world, including the Smithsonian, the National Archives, and the New York Public Library.  And now that the project has launched, anyone with a computer and internet connection can access this collection of over 2.4 million items.  You can discover photographs taken during Prohibition, watch archival footage of the Poor People's Campaign, or you might listen to the vocalization of a bald eagle.

The vision of a national digital library has been circulating among librarians, scholars, educators, and private industry representatives since the early 1990s. Efforts led by a range of organizations, including the Library of Congress, HathiTrust, and the Internet Archive, have successfully built resources that provide books, images, historic records, and audiovisual materials to anyone with Internet access. Many universities, public libraries, and historical societies have digitized materials, but these digital collections often exist in silos. The Digital Public Library of America brings these different viewpoints, experiences, and collections together in a single platform and portal, providing open access to our society’s digitized cultural heritage.

Visit the DPLA and explore the nation's digital attic!

Thanks to Our Student Employees

Each year the Furman University Libraries employs about 125 students.  These students do all kinds of library jobs – checking out and reshelving books, scanning journal articles and book chapters for online document delivery, processing new books, checking in recently received journals, digitizing rare photographs, and answering questions at the Research Assistance Desk. Our student workers help keep the libraries running smoothly.  Thanks to all of our student employees for their hard work and dedication throughout the year.  And congratulations to our graduating seniors!

During Student Worker Appreciation Week, the library hosted an ice cream social for all of its student employees. 

View Your Library Account

Have you returned all those library books that you used this semester?  Do you even remember what you had checked out?  Check your library account for a reminder.

Borrowed materials can be returned at any book drop location on campus:

• exterior book drop at the front entrance of the James B. Duke Library
• interior book drop at the Circulation Desk in the James B. Duke Library
• interior book drop in the Maxwell Music Library
• interior book drop in the Sanders Science Library

The exterior book drop is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

 

 

EXCEPTION:  Borrowed iPads and Kindles should not be returned in book drops.  Please return to these devices to the Circulation Desk staff in the James B. Duke Library.