Book an Appointment with Library Staff

Don’t know where to find a scholarly article?  Need help using the library catalogue?  Not sure where to begin with your research project? 

Library Services is pleased to announce the launch of a one-on-oneappointment service for students, faculty, and staff.   Enjoypersonalized assistance from a library staff member dedicated to helping yousucceed! 

To get started, visit theLibrary Services home page and click the “Book An Appointment” button locatedin the “Get Assistance” menu.  After youfill in and submit the form, Library Services will contact you to confirmappointment details.

• This service is available Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Student appointments usually take place in the Vera Bracken Library
• For faculty and staff, we are happy to meet you in your office on campus if preferred

Instant & Text Messaging Summer Hours

Starting on Saturday, June 25, 2011, Library Services' remote information services will be moving to their summer hours.

The hours for the instant messaging and text messaging services will now be:

• Monday–Friday: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
  
  
• Saturday–Sunday: Closed

Text on the Beach: "Im on th beach where r u?" by Doug Waldron

E-mail Information Services: Farewell AAQ, Hello to Us

After successfully participating in The Alberta Library's (TAL) Ask A Question (AAQ) e-mail information service for the more than 10 years, Medicine Hat College Library Services will be venturing out and launching its own in-house e-mail information service.

With our new submission form, we have streamlined the process to submit a question and users will also be able to submit a formatted e-mail message to us.

Despite the change in service delivery, patrons can still expect the same level of quality in the answers that they will receive. The Library Services Information Desk team will also be able to reply with formatted e-mails and provide attachments if necessary, both of which are helpful for APA and MLA citation questions.
ACCESSING THE SUBMISSION FORM

Patrons can locate the e-mail submission form by selecting the "ASK A QUESTION" link on the homepage or by selecting "E-mail Information Services" via the left-hand navigation menu on any Library Services page.

If you submit a question, please "white-list" the e-mail address: askus@mhc.ab.ca. Replies from the service will be delivered via this address and whatever e-mail service you employ might flag our reply as spam.

Patrons that want to use TAL's AAQ service can still do so, but Library Services' staff will not be replying.

Database Updates 2011

Every year libraries across the province of Alberta have to negotiate access to database resources, which are used to access journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. Fortunately organizations such as The Alberta Library (TAL) and the Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library (LHCADL) make negotiations easier. Despite a relatively health economy, libraries are still feeling the effects of the latest economic recession.

Library Services' administration has tried to maximize the resources available through the aforementioned organizations, but we will still lose access to some databases. The databases that will no longer be available include:

• Agricola (EBSCO)
  
  
• Association Unlimited (Gale)
  
  
• Computers and Applied Sciences Complete (EBSCO)
  
  
• Film and Television Literature Index with Full Text (EBSCO)
  
  
• Gale Virtual Reference Library (Gale)
  
  
• Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (EBSCO)
  
  
• International Bibliography of Theatre and Dane with Full Text (EBSCO)
  
  
• MEDLINE (EBSCO)

Agricola and MEDLINE are still free and searchable indexes (with some full-text content) that are made available by the United States' Departments of Agriculture, and Health and Human Services, respectively.

Though we have lost several resources, we have gained some World Book Encyclopedia resources. Those new World Book products include:

• Encyclopédie Découverte (French language)
  
  
• World Book Kids
  
  
• World Book Student

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ADDITIONAL CHANGES

Some additional changes to be aware of are:

• The "Nursing/Health Studies" section of the database directory has been renamed. It will now be titled "Health Studies/Nursing." The URL will remain the same, so there is no need to change your bookmark.
  
  
• The following headings have been removed from the database directory: "Career Development," "Media," and "Philosophy," because we no longer subscribe to specific databases related to these fields of study.
  
  Databases under the General/Multidisciplinary heading can be used for these subject areas.
  

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If you have concerns regarding these changes please contact the Library Services Information Desk at: reference@mhc.ab.ca, or by telephone: 403.504.3544.

Seasonal Hours: 18 December 2010 - 4 January 2011

Following the conclusion of exams on Friday, 17 December 2010, the libraries will be changing to their seasonal hours of operation.

Starting on Saturday, 18 December 2010 and running until 4 January 2011, the hours for the libraries will be as follows:

VERA BRACKEN LIBRARY

18-19 December 2010: Closed
20-22 December 2010: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
23 December 2010: 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
24 December 2010-3 January 2011: Closed
4 January 2011: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

BROOKS CAMPUS LIBRARY

18 December 2010-3 January 2011: Closed
4 January 2011: 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

With the seasonal break in operations, comes suspension of e-mail, instant messaging, telephone, and text/SMS information services; all services will resume on 4 January 2011. Any questions in the queues will be resolved then.

Both libraries will resume regular hours of operation on Wednesday, 5 January 2011—the first day of Winter Semester classes.

For more information on the libraries' hours, click here.

Library Staff Complete Successful Lecture Circuit

Pictured (l-r): L. Li; J. Malinsky; J. MacDonald; L. Cunningham

Staff from the Vera Bracken Library has been busy on the library lecture circuit this spring. Working in teams, staffers have been presenting to professional (Alberta Association of College Librarians, 15 April 2010), provincial (Alberta Association of Library Technicians, 29 June 2010), and national (Canadian Library Association, 4 June 2010) organizations on the merits of using the short message service (SMS; a.k.a.; text messaging) as a remote information service.

During the course of their presentation, they shared their research, experience, and successes with the audiences. The presentation was always well received and is proving to be a model for other libraries as they consider launching their own services.

Medicine Hat College Library Services has demonstrated innovation and leadership in information services—being the first post-secondary institute in Alberta to offer this service to its patrons.

To learn more about our text messaging service information service, click here.

IMPORTANT: Database Updates!

With hard economic times, come hard economic realities that libraries must face. Due to provincial cutbacks in funding to the Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Library (LHCADL), Medicine Hat College Library Services will no longer have access to certain database resources that allow our patrons to access journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.

The databases that we will lose access to include:

• Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (EBSCO)
  
  
• Child Development & Adolescent Studies (EBSCO)
  
  
• Communication and Mass Media Complete (EBSCO)
  
  
• Family & Society Studies Worldwide (EBSCO)
  
  
• Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index (EBSCO)
  
  
• Gender Studies Database (EBSCO)
  
  
• Health and Wellness Resource Center (EBSCO)
  
  
• Hospitality & Tourism Complete (EBSCO)
  
  
• International Political Science Abstracts (EBSCO)
  
  
• LGBT Life with Full Text (EBSCO)
  
  
• Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text (EBSCO)
  
  
• Literature Online (LION; ProQuest)
  
  
• New Testament Abstracts Online (EBSCO)
  
  
• Old Testament Abstracts Online (EBSCO)
  
  
• OmniFile Full Text, Mega Edition (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Professional Development Collection (EBSCO)
  
  
• ProQuest Education Journals (ProQuest)
  
  
• ProQuest Science Journals (ProQuest)
  
  
• Religion & Philosophy Collection (EBSCO)
  
  
• Sociological Collection (EBSCO)
  
  
• Vocational & Career Collection (EBSCO)
  
  
• Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide (EBSCO)
  
  
• World History Collection (EBSCO)

Thanks to the college’s membership with The Alberta Library (TAL) which allows access to a number of databases in common with other libraries in the province, and with the databases that the library purchases on its own, the college will still have a wide range of databases that cover the programs taught at Medicine Hat College.

Databases that we will add to supplement our content include:

• Education Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• General Science Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Humanities Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Index to Legal Periodicals Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Library Literature & Information Science Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• OmniFile Full Text, Select Edition (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Political Science Complete (EBSCO)
  
  
• Readers' Guide Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Social Sciences Full Text (H. W. Wilson)
  
  
• Wilson Business Full Text (H. W. Wilson)

These changes will be effective January 1, 2010.

Though there is a net loss of resources that might seem somewhat drastic, MHC Library Services’ administration has worked to ensure that the most comprehensive and critical resources are maintained to maximize the quality and quantity of academic literature that is available to our patrons. Despite the losses, you can still expect the same level of professionalism and service provided by the staff of Library Services as we move forward in the current economic environment.

If you have concerns regarding these matters, please contact Keith Walker (Director, Library Services) at: kwalker@mhc.ab.ca, or by telephone at: 403-529-3867.

IM & Text Services - Seasonal Closures

The Library Online Agents instant messaging service and the text messaging service will be unavailable from December 24, 2009 until January 3, 2010. Both of these services will return to operation on January 4, 2010 for the Winter Semester.

We thank our patrons that have made these online services a success over the past semesters, and we look forward to serving you in the new year.

Flu Season & Working from Home

With the H1N1 global pandemic and other season ailments floating around, it is advised that you stay home if you are feeling ill. Staying home will prevent the spread of the ailment and help you recover faster.

Many library services can still be accessed from home . . .

LIBRARY CATALOGUE

• You can still search for books in the library, go to: http://darius.uleth.ca/search~S2.
• If you need to place a hold or renew materials, log in using your library account: https://darius.uleth.ca/patroninfo/.
• You can search other libraries by going to: http://www.mhc.ab.ca/library/otherlibraries.html.
  

DATABASES/PERIODICAL SEARCHES

• If your library account is up-to-date, you can access the databases to search for periodical (journal, magazine, and newspaper) articles. Click here to access databases.
  

INTERLIBRARY LOANS (ILL)

• If you need to order books or periodical articles that the library does not have available, go to: http://darius.uleth.ca/screens/illreq_s2.html.

ONLINE ASSISTANCE

As ever, we have a wide variety of means to contact the library to get assistance. Some of the ways that you can contact us include:

• Phone: Local - 403-529-3867; Toll Free - 1-866-282-8394 Ext. 3867
• Instant Messenger: http://www.mhc.ab.ca/library/im/
• Ask A Question (E-mail): http://askaquestion.ab.ca/
• Text Message: 403-866-5872
  

"Text Us" Service Launched

It is a mobile world and Library Services has created a new service to meet the demands of the mobile student community. Today we launched Text Us, a mobile library information service that will deliver answers to our patrons in 160 characters or less.

 You can ask us questions like:

• When do you close?
• Do you have [title] in?
• Can you put [title] aside until I get there?
• How do I renew an item?
• Who is the Prime Minister of Denmark?

It is all fair game. If we cannot answer your query through Text  Us, we will refer you to one of our other service options which include Ask A Question, Library Online Agents (IM Services), by phone,  or in person.

You can text the Vera Bracken Library Information Desk Staff at: 403-866-5872.

For more information, click here.