New library collections for May and June 2022
by Rachel Fox Von Swearingen, Collections Lead Librarian
The end-of-year edition of our Libraries’ new resources list is always big and exciting. Before we share the new additions to our collections, we would like to give a shout out to our amazing Libraries staff who work behind-the-scenes in our acquisitions department for the massive amount of work that goes into our end-of-year process. While many of us have been winding down in May and June and taking vacation, they have gone through what is arguably their busiest two months of the year.
A brief peek under the Acquisitions Department hood
The end-of-year process starts in early spring semester when our head of acquisitions projects how much we have unencumbered in the budget that fiscal year, after we’ve processed several months of subscription renewals and other annual recurring purchases already have set up. We don't know how much our vendors will increase their prices until we receive the invoice, and we’ve seen them vary from 0% to over 30%.
Collection development librarians (like me and our Head of Collections and Research Services) in the Department of Research and Scholarship review our 'want-list' of resources we’ve amassed throughout the year. That list is compiled from our subject and functional specialist librarians, user requests, successful e-resource trials, and collection development librarians as we hear of new products or new purchasing models. We prioritize the list and work for several weeks on negotiating license terms and pricing, plus we write all of the descriptions you see in our database menu.
In April, our acquisitions colleagues take that prioritized list and initiate the purchasing process for many resources at once, matching price points with the newest budget projections as the head of acquisitions completes them. Our goal is to spend down to as close to zero as possible. This includes more coordination with vendors and our campus comptroller (and sometimes University Counsel) to get licenses signed and invoices dated before June 30 (the close of our fiscal year) and help from our e-resources librarian and other acquisitions staff to get all the access points, off-campus access, and other details set up.
This labor intensive coordination results in our ability to share several amazing new collections with our students and faculty.
Ebooks
Access to over 134,000 books and conference proceedings published on the SpringerLink platform, including the imprints Palgrave Macmillan, Plenum Press, Kluwer Academic, Springer, and others. All English-language research titles from all subject collections are included, ranging from science, medicine, and engineering to literature, history, business, and education. Excludes textbooks and reference.
Access to over 1,900 additional health sciences books, textbooks, handbooks, and reference works, joining other Elsevier book and journal content on Science direct.
Databases
News content from U.S. and global news sources, including African American publications, covering topics such as voting rights, voter suppression and disenfranchisement, segregation and civil rights, prejudice, discrimination, activism and protest movements. Includes series 1 and 2.
Music scores of 20th and 21st century classical works, published by a variety of imprints, added to the Libraries’ current access to Classical Scores Library volumes 1-4.
Interactive virtual reality and 2D video collection for skills training in social work, counseling, psychology, and mental health.
**This resource is the first virtual reality content for our collections. If you want to try out the videos, you can use the equipment in the Digital Scholarship Space on Bird 4th floor. For more information on how virtual reality is used in the classroom, read Start-up Stories: Mindscape Commons — or, How VR is Helping Develop Medical Students’ Communication Skills.**
Streaming video and play scripts, added to the Libraries’ current access to Bloomsbury Drama Online.
Papers from think tanks, IGOs, NGOs, and research organizations around the world including papers from dissolved organizations.
Primary texts of English and American literature, criticism, full-text journals, books, book reviews, audio, and video.
Video, text, and datasets to teach researchers the fundamentals of data visualization and design.
Introductory information about research methods and design.
Scholarly books and reference works published by Bloomsbury on sound studies, added to the Libraries’ current access to Bloomsbury Music and Sound: Popular Music.
Human Anatomy Atlas is a 3D visualization and learning tool used to explore the systems of the human body. It contains anatomical structures, including all major organs and systems. Please note you will need to create an individual account using your syr.edu email address to access.
Anatomy and Physiology visually and interactively reviews the core anatomical function and physiology of all body systems, from cells and tissues, skeletal and muscular, to urinary and reproductive system. Please note you will need to create an individual account using your syr.edu email address to access.
Journals, Periodicals, and News
- Emerald eJournals Premier, with new access to an additional 150+ titles in management, health, economics, education, marketing, engineering, policy studies, library and information science, and more, published on the Emerald Insight platform
- Civil Eats, news source on food policy, health, and environment
- Rolling Stone Archive, full page and article images from 1967 to one year from present
- Boston Globe Archive, full page and article images from 1872 to thirty-two years from present
- Chicago Tribune Archive, full page and article images from 1849 to ten years from present
Primary Source Archives
British Foreign Office files relating to Persia (Iran), Central Asia, Russia, and Afghanistan between 1834 and 1922. Sources include government documents, dispatches, correspondence, newspaper clippings, maps, and personal accounts between the British government and various governmental representatives including foreign ministers, diplomats, Shahs of Persia, Emirs of Afghanistan, military officials, and national governments.
Personal collections, business records, photographs, and images digitized from various libraries and archives in the United States. Documents date from 1870-1920 and include the papers of Edith Wharton, Theodore Roosevelt, the Rockefellers, and several photograph collections and the Joseph Keppler Cartoon Collection. Themes covered include art, literature, business, industry, labor movement, philanthropy, politics and corruption, poverty, protests, labor movement, and urban development.
Documents of the Colonial Office of the British Government specific to British governance of 25 islands in the English-speaking Caribbean from 1624-1872. Includes census data, correspondence, legislative acts, medical and military reports, and maps. Documents relate to trade, law, piracy, plantation governance, enslavement and emancipation, crime, and estate ownership.