With Finals upon us and the holiday season in full swing, things are looking pretty stressful. But they don’t have to be! The library has plenty of ways toy can destress this time of year.

Got a hobby you’re interested in, or wanting to pick up a new one? Try the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center. They have tons of articles and projects from a number of fields to get you started, from classics like knitting and sewing, to more out there hobbies like model building and scuba diving. The home page also features a craft video of the day, showing off something small you can work on in between writing your research papers and crafting yet another PowerPoint.

If you are a fan of classic literature and want something to read while curled up next to the fire, try Project Gutenberg. They are a database focused on collecting book that are out of copyright and providing those books to readers as free eBooks for download.  There are thousands of books available like Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and more.

Maybe you’re the kind of person who needs to unwind with some physical activity? Did you know we have several yoga DVD’s available for checkout? Try Yoga for Inflexible People, Yoga for Stress Relief, or Yoga Step by Step for Stress Management. Don’t forget either, the Seawolf sports Complex is open to students! They have a gym, pool, ice rink, basketball court, and more. Make sure the check them out if you have any extra time.

Finally, if you are getting completely overwhelmed, reading a nice book or going for a walk are not your only options. Sometimes, you may need to speak to a counselor or nurse to see if there are other options for you. The UAA Student Heath Center is open Monday-Friday, and the have a number of staff available to help you. Give them a call and schedule an appointment.

Take care of yourselves this season, and happy reading!

Ever found the perfect book or article for your research, only to realize it’s not available anywhere in the state? I certainly have. Well, if this ever happens to you, you have two options. Give up and abandon all hope of finishing your research, or use our amazing Interlibrary Loan system to request your materials be sent to UAA from out of state. Assuming the better option, today, we are going to take a look at WorldCat and Interlibrary Loans!

First, there are two different processes we need to do depending on if you need a book or if you need a journal article.  If you would like to get a copy of an entire book, jump on over to WorldCat. WorldCat is a global catalog that can show you the availability of items outside of the Consortium Library and our partner libraries in state. It access WorldCat, click the link on our homepage right next to QuickSearch.

Once you are in WorldCat, you will be able to search for an item using their search bar. Then, select the book you are looking for to view more details about the book. Take for example this book, Once Upon an American Dream : the Story of Euro Disneyland. It is not owned by any library in Anchorage, or any others in the state. WorldCat does show you a list of libraries that own the book, but don’t worry you wont need that in order to request a book from Interlibrary Loan. Instead, there is a button off to the right that says “Request an Interlibrary Loan”. Clicking this button will take you to the Interlibrary Loan login page. Follow the instructions to login in and then once you are in, World Cat will pre fill out a book request for you using the information they have on the book. Make sure everything is correct and then you can submit your request at the bottom of the form. The Interlibrary Loan department will then take your request and figure out what libraries have a copy they can send us. In just a few weeks, the book will be here in Anchorage and available for you to pick up at the Circulation Desk!

“But what if I need an article from a journal?” I hear you say. Well no worries, instead of searching for an article in WorldCat, you can instead request an article directly from the Interlibrary Loan department. From the home page of the library, select the “Interlibrary Loan” link under “Services”.

Login in the top center and then you will be taken to the Interlibrary Loan homepage. On the right side, there are several options, but you will want to select “New Request”. Select the type of material you need and then fill in all of the information you know, including title of the article, what journal it’s published in, what volume or issue, and anything else that will help the Interlibrary Loan staff locate what you need. In many cases with articles, they can be digitally scanned and sent straight to your ILL account to view online.

See, wasn’t requesting the perfect research materials from Interlibrary Loan so much better then giving up and trying to find subpar somewhere else. Good luck with your research and remember, you can always contact the Reference Desk if you every need assistance!

Ready for another dive into a super cool database you didn’t know you needed? Welcome to the Nineteenth Century Collections Online! As the name implies, this database is focused on primary source documents from the 1800’s, including diaries, letters, military orders, church records, newspapers, and more, all on a variety of hot topics from the era.

Are you a true crime fan interested in learning more about Jack the Ripper? Take a look at The Whitechapel Murders Papers. This collection contains numerous letters to the editor, from concerned citizens in London and throughout England. Here is one letter, from someone named W. Harrison, who claims to have seen on of the murders in their dream. They said they saw two men “of medium height, slim figures and respectably dressed” in their dream, and want detectives to investigate. At that point in time, were the police desperate enough to listen to the dreams on random citizens? You’ll have to read these letters for yourself to find out.

What about those of you studying to be actors, or just particularly enjoy theater history? You’d probably enjoy looking through the British Playbills, 1780-1861 collection. The Drury Lane Theater (which still exists by the way), performed several Shakespeare plays in 1826 and 1827, including Othello, The Merry Wives of Windsor, King Richard III, King Lear, the Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth. Drury Lane was not the only theater company performing Shakespeare either. The Covent Garden Theater spent their 1830/1831 season performing Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and Henry VIII (advertised here as King Henry VIII).

Perhaps you are a history buff instead? There are several collections relating to the various U.S. Consulates across eastern Asia, including the consul in Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand), the consul in Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies (now Jakarta, Java, Indonesia), the consul in Chinkiang, China (now Zhenjiang), the consul in Hong Kong, the consul in Iloilo, Philippines, the consul in Nagasaki, Japan, and more. Each of these collections include letters to military leaders, diplomats in both Asia and America, and even treaties signed between the United States and the various counties seen here.

Utagawa, Sadahide. An American Mercentile Building in Yokohama (Yokohama ijin shokan no zu). 1861, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.

If you have any interest in learning more about the nineteenth century, the Nineteenth Century Collections Database is a great place to finds some stunning primary source documents. Take some time looking around, and don’t forget, if you every need research help, or help navigating any databases, feel free to call, text, chat, or swing by the Reference Desk and we are more then happy to assist!

Happy reading!

Daylight Savings is upon us once again, but have you ever put more thought into the event beyond remembering which way to change your clock? If not, you really should. Daylight Savings has plenty of effects on the world from finance, to medical care, to traffic safety. If you’re interested in learning more, take a look at some of these books and articles, and remember to move your clocks back an hour in fall.

Saving the Daylight: Why We Put the Clocks Forward by David Prerau

Why Should We Abolish Daylight Saving Time? by Till Roenneberg, Anna Wirz-Justice, Debra J. Skene, et. al.

Sleepy Punishers Are Harsh Punishers: Daylight Saving Time and Legal Sentences by Kyougmin Cho, Christopher M. Barnes, and Christiano L Guanara

Losing Sleep at the Market: The Daylight Saving Anomaly by Mark J. Kamstra, Lisa A. Kramer and Maurice D. Levi

Daylight Saving Time and Artificial Time Zones – A Battle Between Biological and Social Times by Till Roenneberg, Eva C. Winnebeck, and Elizabeth B. Klerman

Does Daylight Saving Save Electricity? A Meta-Analysis by Tomas Havranek,  Dominik Herman, and Zuzana Irsova

Sleep, Health, and Human Capital: Evidence from Daylight Saving Time by Lawrence Jin and Nicolas R. Ziebarth

Halloween, the spookiest time of year, is eclipsed only by the scare you get when you realize it’s 10pm on a Sunday night and you have an 8 page paper due at midnight. But don’t worry, the library has a secret that might just help you in your hour of need. We have over 250 guides that cover a wide variety of topics that can help you get started!

There are general guides that cover research like Business and Nursing, but there are also guides that cover specific topics in depth, like Scholarly vs Popular Sources, Filipino History Month, Citing Sources, and more. Some classes, like JUST 110, BIOL 108, and ART 492 get guides written just for their class. Archives and Special Collections also publish guides to their materials so if you ever wanted to do research on Alaska during the Cold War Era, Fur Rondy, or the construction of the Alaska Highway, they have you covered.

Each guide is separated into several sections, including where to start when you begin research, where to go once you have the basics, additional resources, and related guides that can help you build out your research. Additionally, if you ever get stuck, every guide has links to connect you to a Reference librarian, whether by phone, text, chat, or email.  You could even schedule an individual appointment with a librarian.

If you are ever stuck and you just don’t know where to begin, take a look at all one of our guides or give us a call. We are always ready to help you tackle the scariest of assignments and get you started down the right path!