I’m so happy to announce that we have been able to restore access to America: History & Life. Links to it have been restored to the A-Z databases page as well as various subject databases pages.
Author: Stephen Francoeur
Database Trial: Queer Pasts
Description (from the vendor)
Our Content
Each document exhibit includes 20-40 primary source documents; whenever possible, they are available in both transcribed (searchable) and original form. Every exhibit also includes a critical introductory essay that helps explain the significance of the primary sources in historical terms and in relationship to previous scholarship.
Queer Pasts seeks to broaden the field of queer history by prioritizing projects that focus on the experiences and perspectives of under-represented historical groups, including people of color, trans people, and people with disabilities. We also hope to develop work that focuses on less-studied topics such as sexual governance, state violence, and carceral politics. We use the word “queer” in its broadest and most inclusive sense. We intend for the website to embrace topics that are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender and to include work on sexual and gender formations that are queer but not necessarily LGBT.
We are also especially interested in archives themselves and the ways in which they are constructed, constrained, and contested. In naming the project, we intend to invoke the idea that the past itself is queer—simultaneously comprehensible and inscrutable.
Access
Link available on:
Trial Ends
July 23, 2024
Feedback
Please share with students and faculty and encourage them to use the feedback form on the Trial Access page on the A-Z databases page.
Remote Access to Statista Not Stable
For the past week, users have been reporting that, mostly in the evening, they are unable to access Statista from off campus. They can get to the database from our links, but they clearly aren’t being recognized as part of the Baruch/CUNY SPS community: they are unable to view full content, download PDFs, etc.
The tricky part about this problem is that is periodic. Right now, I am able to remotely access the databases. I have contacted the vendor to see if there have any time-specific outages or down time on their end.
If you get a question from a student about access, you can mention these erratic access problems. You can also confirm that the issue is one of the user not being recognized by Statista as a member of our community by asking the user this question: can you see in the header a message next to the Statista logo that reads, “Welcome, Baruch College!” (see screenshot below).
If they don’t see that message next to the logo, then the system isn’t recognizing them as being from Baruch. Please report any such issues to the electronicresources@baruch.cuny.edu email address and note the date and time that the user encountered this problem.
Workarounds until the problem is resolved:
- Delete your browser cache and try again
- Try again later
- Try while on campus (this hasn’t been a problem so far)
Remote Access Work Is Complete
Working with CUNY CIS, I was able to update the way we connect our proxy server to the CUNY Login system. If you encountered any privacy warning messages in the browser or were unable to get the login page to load this morning, it should now be working.
If you encounter any problems, please send an email to electronicresources@baruch.cuny.edu.
Possible Interruptions to Remote Access on April 23
Between 10 AM and 5 PM, remote access to library databases may be interrupted periodically as we move to a better way to connect our proxy server to the CUNY Login system. As soon as work is complete, look for an updated message.
New Login System for Study Rooms
As of this morning, Baruch and CUNY SPS students will no longer use their CUNY Logins for the reservation process. Instead, they will be required to click a verification link in an email. If they don’t click that link within 15 minutes, the pending reservation will be deleted.
The reservation process now looks like this:
- Student selects a room for a specific date and time from the grid of rooms
- At the bottom of the grid, a display shows the room selection they made and requires them to click the “Submit Times” button.
- A “Reservation Details” page opens with a form on it asking for their name and their school email address (it will only accept Baruch and CUNY SPS students). They then click the “Submit your reservation request” button.
- A new page loads indicating that the reservation is pending and requires them to click on a verification link in that email.
- Once the verification link in the email is clicked, a page opens in their browser with a button to click to complete the reservation process.
All of the emails students will get from this system will feature a link in them allowing students to cancel their reservations.
If you have any questions about this new system, please contact Pam Cora in Access Services.
New Database: Women and Social Movements in Modern Empires Since 1820
On the Alexander Street platform, we have expanded our collection of archival materials in women’s history with “Women and Social Movements in Modern Empires Since 1820.” The vendor says that the database:
seeks to enlarge the scope and enhance the significance of the study of empire by creating a 75,000-page database and archive of documents that views the history of modern empires through women’s eyes. Drawn from libraries, archives, and personal collections around the world, many of these documents are available for the first time. We hope they will provide scholars and students with new perspectives on imperial history as a process of political, social, economic and cultural interactions involving indigenous and imperial people, family life, social networks and civil society as well as governments and armies.
Links to this database can be found on the following pages:
If there are other subject databases pages that should feature a link, please let me know.
Library Website Loading Slowly on Firefox
Campus computers (desktops and the laptops we’ve been issued) seem to often struggle to load the library website when we use Firefox lately. I’ve got a BCTC Help Desk ticket in on this issue. If someone is having problem loading our site, please recommend they try a different browser.
Scheduled Maintenance for Baruch Websites on December 11
On Monday, December 11, from 9 pm – 12 midnight, BCTC will be upgrading WordPress on servers running various Baruch websites, including our library website and this blog. It is possible there may be disruptions in service during this time.
New Database Trial: Oxford Scholarly Editions
Description (from the vendor)
“Available for the first time online, Oxford’s scholarly editions provide trustworthy, annotated primary texts for scholars and students.
OSEO currently includes writers active between the 8th and 20th century, plus Roman and Greek authors — from Aristotle, Austen, Bentham, Catullus, Dickens, and Donne through to Plato, Virgil, Homer and Wordsworth. It contains over 1,750 scholarly editions — the equivalent of more than 870,000 print pages.”
Trial Ends
November 28, 2023
Access
On and off campus. Use the link on the Trials tab on the databases page.
Feedback
Please share with any faculty who might be interested and recommend they use the trial feedback form (also linked to on the Trials tab on the databases page).