by Scott Martin, Biological Sciences Librarian, University of Michigan Library
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had the best possible holiday break, given the circumstances. I mainly spent mine listening to new music, catching up on guitar playing, and ringing in the new year by chopping off my accumulated pandemic hair growth. (In a neat mirror of history, the last time my hair was ponytail-length was in 1999, and then as now, I cut it back not long after watching a newly-released Matrix film.)
As the semester gets underway, a few announcements from the Library:
- We are pleased to announce that Call Number Browse, the browse feature originally found in Mirlyn Classic, is now available to the campus via Library Catalog Search; use the drop-down menu on the search bar to select a “Browse by” option. Call Number Browse lets a user enter a Library of Congress or Dewey Classification call number (or start of a call number range) and page through a virtual shelf to see all items in call number order. Author, subject, and title browse functions will be coming soon.
- The Library is again running its Research Impact Challenge in January! This two-week program emails participants daily (on business days) with a short activity related to communicating your research and its impact. Week 1 will focus on your online scholarly presence: how can you ensure that you and your work are represented accurately and appropriately on the web? Week 2 will focus on the various ways to measure the success and impact of scholarly work, and strategies for situating yourself and your research in order to make a compelling case for your work. The first email goes out on Monday, January 17, so register now if you’re interested!
- The Library welcomes applications for the Library Data Grants Program. Any UM-affiliated researcher may apply for the library to acquire commercially available data needed for research. If your application is chosen, the Library will fund access to the data and make it available for general use by the campus community. Selections are based on projects, data cost, and availability of funds. Review of applications starts January 15; applicants will be notified by March 1. See the link above for more info and instructions on how to apply.
I’m back to working-from-home for the month of January, so unfortunately it will be a while before I see any of you in seminars, at Darwin’s, or in the BSB hallways. In the meantime, let me know if I can help out with your research, teaching or other information-related needs! My email, Twitter handle, and Zoom office hour info can all be found on my library profile page.