Please submit your fall semester course reserves requests by Friday, August 6. Instructions for submitting requests can be found here: www.library.cornell.edu/services/reserves.
The request form for digitizing films for streaming can be completed online: Course Reserves Media Digitization Request Form. Per our Copyright office, every semester we are required to receive a new form for each title that is being used. Please clearly note the “Needed By” date on the form as we prioritize our processing based on this information.
We are also in the process of contacting departments to retrieve their personal/department copies of textbooks from the last few semesters. If you will be needing the materials to go on reserve again for fall 2021, we can hold the books. Otherwise we greatly appreciate your cooperation to take back your valuable books!
If you have any questions, please contact our course reserves coordinator, Wendy Thompson, at mann_reserve@cornell.edu or by phone at (607) 255-3296.
Month: July
Public Computers Are Back at the Library
Woohoo! Another happy milestone in Cornell’s progress back to the (post-COVID) future has been reached. Public computers are available again at Cornell’s libraries, Mann included. We’re pretty sure that’s welcome news to those of you spending this scorcher of a summer with us here in Ithaca—no more lugging that laptop around in the heat.
A couple of caveats to go with that good news, just so we’re all on the same page:
CU-Print software has NOT yet been installed on the public desktops. So if you anticipate needing to print while you are in the Library, you’ll still need to haul that laptop along. (We’ll be installing the CU-Print software as soon as CIT provides it.)
Planning to use an Adobe product on one of our public computers? Adobe software licensing now requires users to log in with an Adobe ID. Adobe IDs are free and instructions for creating or updating an Adobe ID can be found here: https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/create-update-adobe-id.html. If you run into problems with that or need further instructions from Cornell, you can contact the IT@Cornell help service at https://it.cornell.edu/support.
Back to Happy Library Basics: Physical Collections Now Accessible Again
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.
Important E-journal Access Update for Cornell Researchers
Earlier this year, Cornell University Library began implementing an important change in the Library’s subscription to some electronic journals. The goal of this adjustment is to achieve greater fiscal sustainability in library spending on journal subscriptions while still meeting the needs of all Cornell scholars. What does this adjustment mean for Cornell researchers using electronic journals? Here’s what you need to know:
- The way Cornell University Library is subscribing to journals published by Wiley for 2019 has changed. The package of Wiley journals that Cornell Library subscribes to has been fine-tuned to include the most frequently used journals. Lower use journals are no longer part of our subscription package.
- If a Cornell user needs an article in a journal for which the Library has no current subscription, the Library will still be able to acquire the article “on demand” with a 2-3 business day turn-around time. There is no fee for this service. Patrons should follow the steps outlined at Interlibrary Loan to make an article request. (If you have made Interlibrary Loan requests on the Cornell Library website below, you can jump straight to the request form ).
- What about journal articles published before 2019? The Cornell Library has perpetual access rights to every issue of all Wiley journals published from 2016-2018, and, through our previous subscription agreements, to many of those published before 2016. Additionally, we can scan articles on demand from our print journal collection.
- For next calendar year, it may be possible to re-subscribe to some journals that have been dropped from the Library’s subscription package with Wiley. We encourage Cornell researchers to ask a librarian for help in getting access to Wiley-published journals and to give us feedback on any particular journal titles where lack of subscription hinders your work.
For more information about the issues and needs being addressed with these changes in the Library’s subscription packages, and about the Library’s process for making them, please visit . You are also welcome to contact Mann Library Director, Mary Ochs.
What Are We Reading This Summer?
Who picks up a 704 page tome on the art and science of a 19th century German marine biologist for some summer leisure reading? Well, we have to admit, that would be Michael Cook, the indefatigable Head of Collection Development and Preservation at Mann Library. We are a life sciences library after all.
As summer set in on campus, we asked Mann Library staff to share what book(s) they’d be been spending time with over the (at least in theory!) more languid hot weather weeks of the season. And while Michael’s pick is certainly a serious (and seriously gorgeous) life sciences doozy, in gathering together all the reading suggestions submitted so far, we’ve learned that our Mann colleagues are actually fairly eclectic in their reading tastes, ranging from Norse mythology to modern Russian literature and from biotech science fiction to some refreshing thinking on being an activist for healing and happiness. What about you? If you find yourself with a spare moment on Cornell’s upper campus, do drop by the library to check out the small book display of staff-recommended titles that we’re putting up for the 2nd half of the Cornell summer break next Monday. And if you feel so inclined, don’t be shy about letting us know of any good summer reads you might recommend too—we’d love to include them in our display as well!
What are Mann Library staff reading this summer? Here’s a list of select titles:
| アキラ/ AKIRA | Ōtomo Katsuhiro | “Set in a dystopian future, AKIRA’s brutal and chaotic story popularized the cyberpunk genre and influenced several other famous series.” – Jimmy M. |
| Are We Not Men? We Are DEVO! | Jade Dellinger | “As a de-evolved DJ and musician I’m a lifelong fan of these brilliant absurdists. The most authoritative book on DEVO.” – Michael C. |
| The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel | Gigantic book of total eye candy. Most stunning biological artwork ever. I bought my own copy – hey, it’s Taschen!” – Michael C. | |
| Autonomous | Annalee Newitz | “A Biotech and AI sci-fi novel with a pertinent question: Is freedom possible in a culture where everything, even people, can be owned?” – Chris J. |
| Bug Music: How Insects Gave us Rhythm and Noise | David Rothenberg | “A lovely angle on one of the best features of late summer nights” – Eveline F. |
| Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative | Mark Fisher | “Fisher addresses the quote that ‘it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism’ (quote attributed to Jameson & Zizek).” – Daisy W. |
| Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods | Christine Byl | “I am just starting this book, but one reviewer said, “a must read for anyone who’s worked in the dirt,” which I did for my first couple jobs” – Mary O. |
| Don’t Make Me Pull Over: An Informal History of the Family Road Trip | Richard Ratay | “An informative and humorous look at family car trips in the U.S. interspersed with historical perspective on how the interstate highway system, fast food restaurants and hotel chains factored into the mix. Will bring back memories for anyone who has ever shared a back seat in a station wagon with siblings in the pre-seat belt era!” – Mel J. |
| The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov: the Story of Stalin’s Persecution of one of the Great Scientists of the Twentieth Century | Peter Pringle | “A case study of the suppression of science, sadly a story that seems to repeat itself. Vavilov is my hero.” – Michael C. |
| Nature’s Ghosts: Confronting Extinction from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Ecology, | Mark Barrows | “The topic has an urgent edge to it, but Barrow’s elegant prose makes this a rewarding read as well.” – Eveline F. |
| Norse Mythology | Neil Gaiman | “An excellent introduction to Norse Mythology based off of the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. Great for anyone interested in Norse mythology or planning a trip to Iceland!” – Ryan T. |
| Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good | adrienne maree brown | “Can the political be pleasurable? brown explores the politics of healing and happiness, rethinking the ground rules of activism.” – Karina H. |
| Rock, Paper, Scissors, and Other Stories | Maxim Osipov | “Osipov is a cardiologist whose lyrical stories involve medicine, crime, art, and the joys and frustrations of provincial Russian life.” – Matt K. |
| Seveneves | Neal Stephenson | “One day, the Moon suddenly shattered into pieces. Humanity now has a very interesting problem on its hands.” – Jimmy M. |
| Severence | Ling Ma | “Beautiful descriptions of NYC and China, apocalypse, coming-of-adulthood in the early aughts – and more! Ling Ma is a Cornell grad.” – Kate G-K. |
| The Solitary Twin | Harry Mathews | “What do you want from a book? … To stand on the threshold of the unfamiliar, the inevitably familiar viewed unfamiliarly …” – Keith Jenkins |
| Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 | Antony Beevor | “Well told, well researched story of the horrific clash of two madmen. Incredible heroism by people in a bad situation.” – Michael C. |
| The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming | David Wallace-Wells | “An extremely urgent analysis of climate catastrophe that addresses not just science but climate change’s social and everyday impacts.” – Daisy W. |