Newspapers - paper or online

Newspapers have changed alot over the past few years. While the Library once had many subscriptions, nowadays we keep only a few for people to catch up on their local news. However, most newspapers are easily available via the Internet. You can check out our library resources page for several free subscriptions courtesy of the State of North Dakota:

http://www.ndscs.edu/library/resources.jsp

but one thing you won't find easily is The Fargo Forum online. The Forum makes current articles available; but for past issues you end up in their archives, and they ask you to pay for each article. The cost, it seems to me, is high. So, the Library depends on an older technology. We purchase microfilm copies of The Forum, which arrive monthly. We have done this since 1966, and until their online resource is cheaper, we will continue to do this. Check their archive for the article you want, then come make your copy from the microfilm. It's easy!

Faxing to Brazil

Who says nothing exciting ever happens in a library? Today we received a request for a copy of an article to be sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology in Brasilia. Piece of cake, right? After all, with phone lines and Internet, every place is just as close as any place else. Right....

By the time I was finished trying, I had talked to Viv in the President's Office, 3 guys in IT, and the fax machine vendor. Technology sometimes isn't as great as we expect it to be. But, like the post office, Document Delivery must go through and the article merrily beeped its way along the phone lines. I hope they don't call to say it didn't print well and can I please do it again!

Library Summer Hours

MJ Library has several different schedules over the summer, allowing for breaks between sessions, summer school, and the start of the new school year. Here's a quick summary, but call the library at 671-2618 to be sure.

May 12 - May 30: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
June 2 - July 25: 7:45 am - 4:45 pm
July 28 - August 15: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
August 18 - August 22: 7:45 am - 4:45 pm.

We also are closed for Memorial Day and Independence Day, and close at 3:00 pm on Fridays.

Auto Repair Reference Center

The North Dakota State Library is adding a new database to the Online Library Resources that are funded by the state of North Dakota. On July 1 the Ebsco database, Auto Repair Reference Center, will be available through connections from the MJ Library Webpage or through the state library web page.

This database contains information on most domestic and imported vehicles from 1945 to the present, with wiring diagrams, videos, bulletins and recalls, and even a labor cost estimator. It is designed to be user friendly, and most things can be printed and taken to the work site for convenient reference.

Beginning to Blog the Library

This is the start of the Mildred Johnson Library blog. For those of you who have never seen the library building, this is how we look when the flowers are blooming.