Friday, July 25, 2014

Featured Online Resource: LEG/EX (Legislative Explorer)

While you can always rely on the news and web sites like Congress.gov for learning about past or current events in the US Senate & House of Representatives, sometimes it can be nice to have another tool to help visualize what is happening.

The University of Washington Center for American Politics and Public Policy has designed Legislative Explorer (or LEG/EX) to help with this!

After launching LEG/EX, you can select a particular session of Congress.  By selecting Play, you can watch an animation of bills being introduced and moving to committees, to the other chamber, and to the President. You can also limit to certain types of bills such as by political party, a particular Senator or Representative, by subject and much more.


Visualization of bills introduced by Maryland's Representatives in the current Congress.

Each colored dot is a specific piece of legislation.  If you hover over that dot, you will learn more about it, and be given a link to more information at Congress.gov!

Information is available back to the 93rd Congress (1973-1974).  Take a look and you just may be able to gain a better understanding of our legislative process!

Of course, it never hurts to rely on a classic to help you understand the U.S. lawmaking process, either!



Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

ILL Service Outage Planned for July 26-27

Interlibrary Loan service will be temporarily unavailable over the weekend while we continue to migrate our database to a new server. The migration is scheduled to begin on Saturday, July 26th at 10:00 PM and last approximately two to four hours, although it is possible that the time frame could be extended depending on technical issues.

Please bear with us through the migration and hold your ILL requests until Monday, July 28th.

Information about the Interlibrary Loan Department is available on our website: http://www.frostburg.edu/lewis-ort-library/aboutlib/depts/loan/

For additional questions or assistance using Interlibrary Loan, please contact the ILL office at 301-687-4886.


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Featured Online Resource - ScienceOpen



www.scienceopen.com

 This week’s Featured Online Resource is ScienceOpen (https://www.scienceopen.com/home). ScienceOpen was founded in 2013 by Alexander Grossmann and Tibor Tscheke because they wanted to have the ability for scientists to freely share their work and to have the ability of other scientists to evaluate the work. They believed that it would provide for greater scholarly communication and allow for additional ideas to be developed.

Currently, over 1.2 million articles are available on this open-access platform with more being added each day.

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

ILL Service Unavailable This Weekend

Interlibrary Loan service will be temporarily unavailable over the weekend while we migrate our database to a new server. The migration is scheduled to begin on Saturday, July 12th at 10:00 PM and last approximately two to four hours, although it is possible that the timeframe could be extended depending on technical issues.

Please bear with us through the migration and hold your ILL requests until Monday, July 14th.

Information about the Interlibrary Loan Department is available on our website: http://www.frostburg.edu/lewis-ort-library/aboutlib/depts/loan/

For additional questions or assistance using Interlibrary Loan, please contact the ILL office at 301-687-4886.


Monday, July 7, 2014

Featured Online Resource: National Register of Historic Places Travel Itineraries

If you're feeling the travel bug this summer, and have an interest in United States history. The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places website may be able to help you out!

The Register has compiled travel itineraries to include these historic landmarks.  The itineraries can give you ideas about notable sites that can be found in a particular area.  You can also find compilations of places which fit an area of interest.  Browse the travel itineraries here: Travel Itineraries


http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/index.htm



Of local interest is the All Aboard for Cumberland site.  If you're looking for a slightly longer trip, consider the Washington, DC, James River Plantations,  or Virginia's Main Street Communities.

If you're feeling more adventurous, then go ahead and set off on the Lewis & Clark Expedition!  The Cultural Diversity: Places Reflecting America's Diverse Cultures itinerary is ambitious for the traveler, but still a fascinating listing of historical sites and information.

Keep in mind that even if you cannot visit these sites in person, the web sites themselves include interesting information and photographs.



Whether you plan to visit these sites in person or virtually while in the comfort of your own home, you're sure to learn about some of the country's lesser known historic places that deserve some attention!


Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful in



Two New Library Displays for July



The Ort Library is pleased to present two new displays for July.

The first display, located on the 3rd floor, is a remembrance of the 100th Anniversary of World War I. It highlights many of the different types of resources that the library offers on the history of World War I, including books, periodicals, posters, and DVDs.

The second display, located on the 3rd floor, highlights the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2. The display highlights some of the resources the library provides on the history of the Civil Rights Era and the history leading up to the signing of the Act on July 2, 1964.

Continuing through August is the display located on the 5th floor of the library which highlights Amusement Parks and their history. It includes information on some of the oldest amusement parks and roller coasters around the world. It also highlights some of the resources the library offers about amusement parks. This display will be up through August.

The displays on the third floor will be up through the end of July.

If you have any questions about the displays, please contact Theresa Mastrodonato at ext. 4425 or tmmastrodonato@frostburg.edu or MaryJo Price at ext. 4889 or mprice@frostburg.edu.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Library Closed July 4th - Open Sunday July 6th

The Ort Library will be closed on July 4th to celebrate the 4th of July holiday.

The library will be open on Sunday July 6th from 1 - 6 pm.

If you have any questions please contact the Circulation Desk at 301-687-4395.

Have a safe and happy holiday!