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Welcome Back Cornellians—Wherever You Are!

Bear illustration by Daisy Wiley; photography & poster design by Jenny Leijonhufvud
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Look at that! September is here, and Cornell classes for the fall 2020 semester are officially rolling. The Mann Library staff is really happy to be starting the 2020-21 academic year with all new and returning Cornellians, wherever you may be. After a busy summer getting ready for hybrid semester, we’re pleased to announce all ways that we are here for you — via virtual research support and instruction, our book delivery and article/book chapter scanning services, and as quiet study space for all students registered for on-campus study. Here are the key things we’d like you to know:


For all general Cornell Library updates & info

Getting books and articles

  • Mann has a robust paging system in place that allows us to retrieve books or scan articles for you. Check out our recent “Back to Library Basics” update to get the full skinny on how to make your request.
  • In-person research and browsing in the Mann stacks is now also available to on-campus Cornellians. Faculty may swipe in; undergraduate and graduate students should make seat reservations via chatter.cornell.edu. For browsing hours and other important information about getting into the Mann stacks, please check out our “Back in the Stacks” update. 
  • We’re currently unable to accommodate requests for in-person viewing of the rare books in Mann’s special collections vault. However, for items that are not already available online at resources such as the Biodiversity Heritage Library Internet Archive, and Hathi Trust or via Cornell Library’s own digital collections, we may be able to scan requested materials for you. Full information and access to the rich life science and human ecology digital collections created by Mann Library, see our special collections page. 
  • The Library’s course reserves service has moved into an online, accessible environment to the fullest degree possible. Every effort is being made to make course reserves available for digital access by all students in a given class, while physical course reserves are available at Mann and Uris libraries if quiet study reservations are made via the chatter.cornell.edu system. For full details, see “Accessible Course Reserves for a Hybrid Semester.”

Library spaces for quiet study

Mann Library is now open for quiet study for all Cornell students who are registered for on-campus study. Study spots are available by reservation only, using chatter.cornell.edu. Hours of study space availability are: 8:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. Fridays, and 12:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 


Research services & support

  • Our online workshops will continue to help students build all kinds of research & learning skills throughout the semester. The Library’s workshop calendar shows what is being offered and how to sign up.
  • CUL’s “Ask a Librarian” service continues to be available 24/7, with Cornell librarians present online for a large part of that time.
  • You can also jump right in to in-depth research help with Mann subject librarians too! Go to our “Disciplinary Research Support” page to connect with Mann librarians who can offer you some deep expertise.
  •  There is now remote access to specialized software (ArcGIS and Rhino), students will need to self-enroll. The library is also helping to facilitate remote access to Bloomberg and students should contact mgtref@cornell.edu to request Bloomberg access.

Printing, coffee, & more

  • Cornell’s new printing service, CU Print, is now up and running with full info available at bit.ly/CU-print. CU Print jobs can be picked up in the mannUfactory makerspace off the Mann lobby whenever Mann is open. Other CU Print pick up spots are Uris Library and RPCC. 
  • Last but never least, Manndible Café will be opening for grab & go service starting September 8th. For hours and other updates on that count be sure to visit the Manndible page. 
  • Our popular equipment loans are also now possible again! Includes cameras, projectors, GPS units & more. All may be requested for a one-week loan on our equipment reservation page. Laptop loans are available at Olin-Uris Libraries on their request page. 

We think that covers it for now. But if you do find yourself with a question, please don’t hesitate to email mann-ref@cornell.edu and we’ll get right back to you. We all  know this semester is going to be an extraordinary one for the Cornell community—and the Library is here to make sure it’s an extraordinarily successful one for you as well!

Back to Happy Library Basics: Physical Collections Now Accessible Again

Photo by Carla DeMello
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Summer 2020 turned a happy corner when, as of July 1, much of Cornell University Library’s physical collections became accessible to the public again. If you are hoping to get your hands on a book, chapter or journal article from the collections at Mann Library, Olin Library and the Library you can get what you need with these simple steps:


For scans of book chapters and journal articles, find the needed book or journal article in the Library catalog and click on the “Request scan of article/chapter” button. Or use the ScanIt request form if you have all the needed information about the book or journal in question. The scan will be delivered to you online and you will receive an email notification when your article/chapter is available to view.


You can also now pick up physical items from the Mann collection via the “contactless pick up” system we have arranged. Just place a request by searching in the Library catalog and then use the “Request” button (step-by-step instructions). You will be able to identify your preferred pickup location from the dropdown menu. You will receive an email with further pickup instructions when your items are ready.


Please note the pickup option for Mann: Mann Lobby. The Mann Lobby is self-service. You will be notified by email when requested materials are available for pickup, and will have access to the Mann Lobby Monday – Friday, 9am to 4pm to retrieve those materials. If you need an accessibility accommodation, Mann Curbside is a drive-up option in the small parking area behind Mann Library. If you would prefer that option, reply to your confirmation email and request the Mann Curbside service. General hours for this service will be Monday – Friday, 10am to 2pm, though those hours are subject to change depending on staffing levels.


And one last but quite important note: In order to retain access to the over four million volumes of the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS), in many cases we are barred from loaning or providing scans of materials currently available in ETAS. If you see from the library catalog record that an item you need is currently available for online reading via the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service, it is at this point likely available as an online resource only.


If you have a question or hit a snag with any of this, please feel free to contact Mann Library Access Services with any questions you might have about request and pickup services. And, as always, please contact us regarding your research needs, as well as needs for course materials and instructional support.


The Cornell University Library’s COVID update page continues to list all currently available services. We also added an FAQ about our Return to Campus preparations to help with your planning.

“Living Bird” Archive Now Online

Graphic by Daisy Wiley
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Good news bird lovers! Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology has teamed up with Mann Library and the Biodiversity Heritage Library to digitize all pre-2008 issues of the Lab of O’s quarterly magazine Living Bird. Known for it’s stunning photography, detailed scientific illustrations and writing from the frontiers of ornithology, the magazine has been in circulation since 1962. Looking through the archive provides a nice overview on how the magazine has evolved over the years and on the improvements that have occurred in wildlife photography methods and commercial color printing. Originally an annual publication, thanks to its growing popularity the magazine is now published quarterly. For a look at the 1962-2008 editions online visit the magazine’s pages at Biodiversity Heritage Library: bit.ly/livingbird-bhl. Since 2008 all Living Bird issues have been available in both print and online, and can be found here: allaboutbirds.org/news/living-bird-latest-issue. Happy browsing with the birds!

New Teaching Resource: The “Netflix” of Documentaries

Image by DrMAURO from Pixabay
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Did you know? Thanks to a joint initiative between Cornell unit libraries faculty, staff and students now have full access to DocuSeek2, the new academic streaming source for top quality documentary films. With this acquisition, current Cornellians can select from 1,200+ documentaries in all major disciplines—from environment to health economics—to view directly online or embed in learning management systems for class-related use. And even better: The license associated with Cornell’s use of this collection covers group screenings as well, allowing student organizations and any other Cornell program to host public viewings of any film found in the DocuSeek2 library—once we can all get back to the gatherings that make Cornell campus life so vibrant. This will take care of copyright concerns that student groups may have faced in the past when trying to show documentary films at their events (though we should note they’ll still be on the hook for their own popcorn.) And until then, as we all ride out the wave of national COVID-19 mitigation work together, using your own home computer to view some of the world’s best documentaries on subjects vital to the health and well-being of society and planet is a great way to turn a long stint of “sheltering in place” to protect public health into a pretty amazing mind-opening experience as well. Check out the collection at bit.ly/doc-film-collection—and enjoy!

Recording a Lecture with Slides: Easier Than You Think!

Photograph by Jenny Leijonhufvud; artwork by Daisy Wiley
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We’ve all become keenly aware: preparing lectures for remote presentation has suddenly become fundamentally essential to higher education and research collaboration, here at Cornell as elsewhere around the world—but maybe you’re still a bit of a novice in the process. You’ve created a presentation using PowerPoint and now you’d like to record the lecture that goes with it. The Zoom virtual meeting platform would be one relatively easy way to do that. But how exactly? 


If you find yourself feeling a bit stumped by that question—don’t worry. You’re not alone, and we’ve put together something that we think could help: a set of step-by-step instructions provided below and an accompanying tutorial video (available at vimeo.com/405070626)  that will give you illustrations to go along with it. We think this gives the Zoom novices among us here at Cornell enough guidance to produce a lecture-with-slides video successfully.*  


But if you do end up with questions, don’t hesitate to be in touch—after all, that’s what the Chat button on the right of this screen is there for, right? Consultants at the Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) are also available for drop-in sessions for help on remote teaching; just drop in at teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/planning-remote-teaching/online-drop-sessions. Finally, you can also also book Zoom-based one-on-one consultations with Mann librarians with expertise in your field here–we’d be happy to hear from you. 


*Please note, faculty members using Canvas to connect with their students for a course can record a lecture using Zoom from within Canvas; for instructions on that, go to teaching.cornell.edu/resource/zoom-guides-information


Using Zoom to record a lecture with slides (see accompanying video for illustrations):

  1. To use Zoom to record a lecture with slides, you’ll need a computer, an internet connection and a webcam.
  2. Open your PowerPoint presentation on your screen.
  3. Open your browser and navigate to cornell.zoom.us.
  4. Select the Host a Meeting button, then click on With Video On. You will then need to log in using your Cornell credentials (net ID, password, dual & authentication required)
  5. In the next pop-up, select the Open Zoom Meetings button, then to select the Computer Audio option at the top of the next window, and then hit Join with Computer Audio.
  6. At the bottom of the screen that comes next (a full view of yourself as captured by your computer camera), you’ll find a navigation bar at the bottom. Click on the Share Screen button in that bar. (Note: you may need to hover over the bottom of the Zoom view with your mouse to get that navigation bar to show up).
  7. The next screen will show you options of the different screen views you can share. Click on the PowerPoint screen option and then hit the blue Share button on the bottom right. (As you share your screen, you’ll note that a thumbnail-sized picture of you being captured by your computer camera will continue to be visible in the top right corner of the screen for the duration of the recorded lecture. This will take up some “real estate” in the slides that you show as part of your recorded lecture, so you’ll want to be mindful of that as you put together your slides).
  8. Now start the slideshow in PowerPoint, which will then display your first slide in presentation mode. You’re ready to start recording.
  9. With your mouse, hover over the green button showing the Zoom session ID that appears at either the top or the bottom of your screen. This will trigger a pop-up navigation bar, and on the very right of that bar, hover again over the More option.
  10. Click on the Record on this computer option. This will launch the recording function.
  11. Proceed with your lecture, clicking through your slides as you would for a normal presentation using PowerPoint.
  12. When you’re finished with your lecture and would like to stop recording, again hover over the green session ID button, then over More and then click on the Stop recording option in the pop-up menu.
  13. In the next screen (which at this point will have reverted to the full image of you as recorded by the computer camera), find and click on the End Meeting button on the lower right hand corner of the screen.
  14. You will then see Zoom automatically converting the recorded lecture to an .mp4 video file.
  15. Zoom will then ask you where to save the file. It’s easiest to stick with Zoom’s default option, which is your Documents folder. Zoom will save your .mp4 file in a subfolder that includes your name and the current date.
  16. The final .mp4 file that is created will have the name zoom_0. To make that file more easily findable in the future, rename the file accordingly (e.g. [YourName]_[LectureTitle]_[CurrentDate]).
  17. Your file is now ready to upload to a shared drive, storage device or YouTube.

Congratulations on your recorded lecture! And remember, if you have feedback or questions for us, we’re here for you. Just shoot us an email at mann_outreach@cornell.edu. 


Additional resources for preparing remote lectures and teaching remotely: 

From the Center for Teaching Innovation: teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/planning-remote-teaching;

From Cornell University Library:  guides.library.cornell.edu/remoteteaching.

More eBooks & Electronic Resources Than Ever Before!

Artwork by Daisy Wiley
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We are really pleased to announce that in response to the urgent challenge of COVID-19 mitigation, Cornell University Library is presently able to offer a significantly extended level of access to online resources. This is happening several ways: 

 

1. Extended open access to large collections of high-quality digitized literature is being made available for the COVID-19 emergency period via

2. The Library now also has temporary free access to over 85,000 additional e-books available through our existing subscription to ProQuest’s eBook Central library through mid-June. This almost doubles the number of e-books that Cornell faculty, students and staff can access from eBook Central via the Library catalog – and each title has unlimited access. If you’d like to get a sense of some of the titles involved, check out this page of the library catalog.

 

3. Finally, also extremely helpful have been the publishers who have stepped up to offer free access directly to the materials that they have released in electronic format. Publishers who’ve joined this line up that may be of particular interest to CALS and CHE faculty include:

  • JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) video collection
  • ScienceDirect textbooks
  • World Scientific
  • MIT Press
  • Burleigh Dodds Science ebooks
  • Emerald ebooks (includes business, accounting, social sciences)
  • EBSCO (ebooks now allow unlimited user access)
  • ALEKS (mathematics, accounting, statistics, and chemistry)

Up-to-date information extended access to materials can be found at “Published Free” libguide. (Please note, publishers are generally providing extended free access is only for the duration of COVID-19 mitigation period, so access rules are subject to change over the coming months).

 

For further information about ebooks available through the Cornell University Library—including tips on how to find available ebooks most efficiently — check out our ebook libguide. 

 

Still can’t find an ebook version of the book you need via a search on the Cornell University Library catalog?  You can recommend a purchase here and we’ll get on it to see if we can’t order it fast for you! 

 

As always if you end up with questions or need further assistance from a librarian, you can get in touch with us multiple ways, including:

One way or the other, we’ll be there for you when you need us—don’t hesitate to reach out.

Getting Your Course Reserves Right for Remote Teaching

Artwork by Daisy Wiley
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Along with the rest of the Ithaca area, the Cornell campus is doing a great job of the social distancing required to mitigate coronavirus-19 transmission successfully. And with that—as much as we love you all, and as much as the Library doesn’t feel like a library with all this distance between us—Mann also remains closed to physical access for both staff and the public. But rest assured, we’re still 100% here for our patrons. As Cornell faculty start finalizing their preparations for successful rest-of-semester remote teaching, we want to make sure everyone is fully informed of the support and resources available for getting their course materials all set up. 


To begin, when it comes to organizing course reserves for your remote students, the first and probably most important general resource for Cornell faculty to keep in mind is this web page: bit.ly/course_reserves_guidance. It’s part of the Cornell University Library’s Support for Remote Teaching Libguide and it gives a comprehensive overview of all the different things to keep in mind as you finalize your course reserves line-up.

And just to pluck out just a few of the key points:

  • Students will be accessing electronic reserves under the “Course Reserves” menu link on their course’s Canvas site.
  • To get started on (or for questions about) making course reserve materials accessible to your remote class, CALS and CHE faculty should contact: mann_reserve@cornell.edu
  • Electronic items, including items found in course packets, must meet copyright or have the permission of the copyright holder for this type of use, and the library staff will work with you regarding permissions. One nicely positive thing to keep in mind here: Faculty will likely be relieved to know that Cornell Copyright Information Center is recommending that scanned course material may be made available to students in amounts that may exceed customary fair use limits under normal circumstances. Fair use provides somewhat greater flexibility during these exigent circumstances. For full info on this, see: NEW COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES FOR COVID-19.
  • Faculty (and their students!) will also likely be happy to know that students can gain access to online course materials. The Cornell Store has partnered with VitalSource and leading publishers to launch VitalSource Helps, a program offering free access to ebooks for students. A student can use their cornell.edu email address to freely borrow up to seven (7) now through May 25, 2020. For more detailed instructions about this, please refer back to the CUL course reserves info page noted above.

We think that covers the main scoop on course reserves in the time of COVID-19 for now. We’ll update this page with any changes that come up. And as always, if you run into any questions or problems that you could use some one-on-one help with, please don’t hesitate to contact your Mann Library research support team or email us at mann_outreach@cornell.edu. We’ll get back to you right away. Stay safe and well, friends!

The Library Is Open Virtually

Photo by Jenny Leijonhufvud
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Over the past week, Cornell University Library staff have been working hard to make sure that Cornell libraries can continue to support teaching, learning and research at Cornell as we transition to virtual environments and remote work. The urgency of COVID-19 mitigation requires that all Cornell libraries stay closed to physical visits by the public until further notice. In compliance with the “New York State on Pause” Executive Order presently in effect, there are currently no library staff on site on the Cornell campus. However, we continue to operate a strong virtual presence to meet the needs of our faculty, staff and students.

 

We will be more posting detailed updates and guidance about available services and resources on the Mann Library news page over the coming days and weeks, but for now, we offer a broad overview, especially for faculty.

 

Access to library materials
All Cornell libraries are currently closed for physical visits by patrons and no staff are on site until further notice. Book paging and pick up as well as scanning services are also suspended for now. But Cornell University Library’s online collections are extensive, and although we are, at this time, unable to obtain physical materials or supply scanning services for items held in the Cornell Library, we are still able to supply many chapter or article scans electronically to active Cornell faculty, students and staff. Please first use the library catalog to identify resources that are available to you online. If you find you cannot get electronic access to the resource you need via the catalog, you can ask the library to purchase an ebook via the online purchase request, or you can contact library staff in a variety of ways, including via a Zoom session with a Mann librarian, and we will help you get to what you need. If you wish to connect with your favorite licensed resources directly, please remember to use Passkey to get through the paywalls.

 

Research support
We have a strong online help presence through the Ask-A-Librarian service, including e-mail reference and chat reference; chat services currently are available 24/7.

Library support for remote teaching
Cornell librarians stand ready to help Cornell faculty teach remotely successfully.  
  • We have created a library guide providing a host of information for faculty preparing to teach remotely. Please check out Library Support for Remote Teaching Guide to check out the info we have there (and if you see anything missing, let us know!)
  • As you identify materials that need to be moved into digital format, please use your usual channels to place requests including email to culreserves-l@cornell.edu or contacting your liaison.
  • Guide to working off-campus provides helpful tips for anyone digging into work from an off-campus location.
  • Recommend a purchase can be used to obtain electronic versions of books that you find to be unavailable at Cornell. This may not be possible with all titles, but as Cornell Library has significantly increased its e-book purchasing capacity in response to the current situation, you may well find an e-version of your requested book can in fact be made available.

As everyone is likely keenly aware, the COVID-19 situation remains fluid and quickly changing. To stay as up-to-date as possible on any changes in services and resources that we are able to offer to Cornell faculty, students and staff, please check the Cornell University Library COVID-19 Library Services Update page. And please be in touch and let us know what questions and concerns you have, as well as your suggestions for moving forward: mann_outreach@cornell.edu

OER Tools Help Faculty Teach and Students Learn More Affordably

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Interested in lowering textbook costs for your students? Or perhaps you’re working on creating a new learning resource to help students get a better grasp of class material? We have some nice news with you in mind!

 

Faculty at Cornell and across the world are joining the Open Education Resources (OER) movement to save students money, take control over course materials, and improve learning. OER includes e-books, online learning modules and other course content created by teaching faculty across the world that is openly licensed and can be reused by other instructors that are hoping to assign high-quality low-cost or no-cost options to their students.

 

To start exploring OER repositories and learn more, check out the new OER LibGuide that Cornell librarians have created. Whether you’re interested in adopting OER into your class or in creating a new resource to share with others, the guide offers you helpful sources, tools and tips as well as contact info for getting further assistance. 

An Important Chapter in Black History, Now Off the Shelf

The Modern Farmer November 15, 1934
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Mann Library has digitized and made available to the world the early 20th century magazine The Modern Farmer. Published by the National Federation of Colored Farmers (NFCF) from 1929 to 1949, this unique treasure was one of the only serial publications published in the Depression-era United States that was aimed at African-American farmers. The NFCF was an organization that formed local chapters of buying and selling distribution cooperatives for African-American farmers and their goods at a time when prevailing Jim Crow laws made such efforts dangerous. James P. Davis, The Modern Farmer’s editor and president of the NFCF, served as a Head Field Officer of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and was also a member of President Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet,” the group of African Americans who served as public policy advisors to the President and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Mann Library’s copies of The Modern Farmer are the only known copies of this important record of 20th century history. The online collection can be found at digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/chla with a search for “Modern Farmer.”


For more information on the history of this remarkable publication, see our February “Vaults of Mann” blog.