Fall 2021 Updates

New UMN Libraries website

In July, we updated the Libraries homepage and website. Take a look at lib.umn.edu!

Libraries Re-Opening on September 7

Our smaller libraries have been closed during the pandemic but we are pleased to re-open them up on Tuesday, September 7 for fall semester.

Read more about it.

Please share with your students

We have pulled together resources for new incoming students who want to know more about the Libraries and our research tools. We have also created a new set of short videos. Please share and send to students.

No more overdue fines on most items!

In July, we, like many other libraries, decided to stop charging overdue or late fines on most items. This move will remove additional barriers to students checking out and using materials! Read more about this change. In the past few years, our system "auto-renews" most items thus students can usually keep an item for up to six months. This went a long way to ensuring students have materials for longer periods of time as needed for research. We also continue to invest in a variety of format such as ebooks, online articles, and streaming videos. 

Sample of new resources from UMN Libraries

Streaming video and media

Databases and primary source databases:

Services for Your Research

Make your article free for everyone to read!

Want to make your research open access? There are numerous approaches to make your work open, many of which have no cost at all! The Libraries has made arrangements with several publishers for discounted or zero dollar ($0) article processing charges (APCs). Two of our newest $0 APC agreements are with Cambridge University Press and PLOS (PLOS Medicine and PLOS Biology, only). Read more about eligibility and publishing requirements..

Questions? Contact us at openaccess@umn.edu.

BrowZine

Browse scholarly journals available from the UMN Libraries on your tablet device, iPhone, or via the web using BrowZine.

  • Read journal articles on your preferred device. 
  • Create personal libraries of your favorite journals. 
  • Set up alerts for new issues of journals.

For a quick overview, see this one-minute video about BrowZine. For more information, see the full BrowZine guide.

Services for Your Teaching and Instruction

  • We can work with your class at the undergraduate or graduate level! Request an instruction consultation. We work with instructors to create custom learning experiences for in-person, synchronous, or asynchronous instruction, participate in Canvas discussions or assignments, and develop a course-specific research guide. We also have online videos and tutorials ready to share with students. 
     
  • Do you know that you can seamlessly include links to articles from the Libraries into your courses? We have a number of ways to help faculty and instructors identify and provide course materials (and lower costs) to your students including course reserves, online textbooks, articles, streaming media, open education resources and more. Learn more. You can also integrate UMN Libraries into your Canvas courses. 
     
  • Walter Library and the Health Sciences Library each have a makerspace with free access to 3D printers, embroidery/sewing machines, vinyl cutters, robotics and electronics tools, and virtual reality equipment. See what spaces and technology we offer and learn more. We are open to students and faculty from all departments. We want to meet you. If you think our spaces could support your students' learning or your research, contact us at lib-makerspaces@umn.edu.
     
  • UMN Libraries Media Services provides instructor support for developing students media assignments, direct student media support through classroom and site based media labs for creating media projects, coordinating access to commercial media resources for course use, consulting on low barrier multimodal scholarship (e.g., video abstracts) and more. 

Resources on racism, equity, and disparities

Support students and our own continued learning about systemic racism, history, equity issues with our online collection. Search Libraries search for specific titles or explore some of our guides with lists of online books. These materials can be read, linked in Canvas or as course readings, used for research, for book discussions, in courses, student groups, etc. 

Sample of Upcoming Events

Register for an upcoming workshop or event. View full list. 

ONLINE: Software Carpentry Workshop: Programming with Python
Wednesday, September 22 | 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Learn about Python data types, variables, visualizing tabular data, for loops, Python lists, and functions, while using Python packages numpy and matplotlib.

ONLINE: Amplifying Black Narratives: Past, Present, and Future
Tuesday, September 28 | 7:00pm - 8:15pm
Join us for a conversation about the preservation of Black art and culture in community-based archives and the University collections.

ONLINE: Finding Grant Funding for New Researchers
Wednesday, September 29, 2021 Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Find more about how to find funding opportunities available to researchers and graduate students. Learn how to use Pivot (from Community of Science) and the Foundation Directory.

ONLINE: Data visualizations: design principles and targeted messaging workshop
Friday, October 1, 2021 | 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Learn about universal design strategies such as color, font, proximity, and shape that can be applied to traditional research visualizations such as tables and charts.

James Ford Bell Lecture - “Hidden in Plain Sight: Stories of Indigenous Power in Early American Cartography.” Thursday, October 7 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm | Elmer L. Andersen Library, Room 120
This talk will examine the most famous British maps of the eighteenth century and explore a more complex story of how Native Americans shaped the geography of an imagined British Empire and the future of North America.

ONLINE: Introduction to Tableau
Friday, October 8, 2021 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Learn about using Tableau, a tool for visualizing data including preparing and importing datasets, creating queries, and exporting visualizations.

ONLINE: Amplifying Black Narratives: Black Publishers and Bookstores
Thursday, October 28 | 7:00pm - 8:15pm An online panel discussion featuring Mélina Mangal (Author and Librarian), Rekhet Si-Asar (In Black Ink), and Dionne Sim (Black Garnet Books).

Last Updated: Aug 27, 2021 7:30 AM