Volume 13, Number 2 Spring 2001

       TThe late Graham Knowles, English author of Bomb Security Guide, was an internationally known security consultant in the areas of counter terrorism and subversion tactics. During his career he built up an archive of books, photos, and files that is of great value to those engaged in research on this dark and sometimes mysterious subject. We were pleased that a good part of this archive has found a home in the Sealy Library. When we were approached with an offer of accepting the archive as a gift, we accepted with alacrity.

       Because of budget constraints, this academic year has not been the most gratifying to any of us in the area of collection building. Therefore, we have had to depend more on gifts to increase our collections. The Knowles archive was not the only one that came to us during the year. We have an ongoing arrangement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to receive literature that will support the new curricular concentration in emergency management. These materials come to us on a regular basis, and we trust they will help to make us preeminent in this field. Also in the area of emergency management, we received a collection of books on fire safety from the Brooklyn Public Library. That such donors think of Sealy Library first as the appropriate repository for such gifts is proof once again of the international reputation of John Jay in criminal justice and all its ancillary fields. Few libraries carry such valuable and specialized materials in their holdings.

       That the Library continues to be successful in its mission is borne out by the most recent survey of alumni, who were queried on the "Helpfulness of College Resources in Getting a Degree." The Library ranked as most successful of all College resources with a ninety-seven per cent "helped" percentage. We must thank the Library faculty and staff for their efficient and skillful service and their in-depth knowledge of resources in the field. Without such excellent faculty and staff we surely would not rank so high. We trust we will rate as highly in the next survey.

       On a sadder note, we will bid Barbara Kramer, our Library bookkeeper, a fond farewell this spring. Barbara is retiring after 28 years as a College Assistant, the longest tenure for a part-timer that anyone at the college can remember. She started in 1973 as a cataloging assistant. We will miss her in many ways and wish her a splendid retirement.
 

       ALEPH 500, the "next-generation" of library catalog software, now being installed at Harvard, MIT and SUNY, not to mention libraries in Copenhagen, Lisbon, Beijing and Sydney, is coming soon to CUNY. Librarians are taking part in data downloading, testing, training sessions, and a publicity blitz in anticipation of the January 2002 unveiling of the new web-based catalog. ALEPH 500 is flexible and customizable, so decisions are being made about how we want it to work.

       All this behind-the-scenes activity is taking place so that the changeover from the current CUNYPLUS catalog, a NOTIS system (developed at Northwestern University), will be as smooth as possible for everyone. The new software, developed by the ExLibris company based in Israel, not only provides a user-friendly interface for searching the collections of CUNY's libraries; new features will offer simple and effective search mechanisms, sorting options, and the capability to e-mail results and place holds on items. Being web-based, it integrates the access of print items with electronic items. ALEPH will also allow patrons to view their own borrowing records. We look forward to a smooth transition as well as to the excitement of using agile futuristic software.
 

       AP Photo Archives is a rich resource of over 700,000 news photos available for downloading. From an 1862 photo of Abraham Lincoln to up-to-the-minute news (there were 23 photos of the Seattle area earthquake the day after it occurred), you can find it here. There is an additional database of AP graphics, which includes charts, maps, tables and graphs, some of which are available in Spanish. The database is easy to use, has a very good user's guide, and is accessible from home to members of the John Jay community. Just click on Electronic Information Resources on our homepage; then click on AP Photo Archives in the list of databases under Resources by Title.
 

     The Sealy Library has redesigned its Home Use web page to provide more assistance to our students and faculty who are doing research off campus. The new page not only lists all the full text and bibliographic databases (LEXIS-NEXIS, Criminal Justice Abstracts, etc.) that are available remotely through the Library's proxy server, but it provides links to other pages that will be helpful to the remote user.

     One of the links is to a new CUNY+ information page that enables you to connect to the Web version of CUNY+ (the online public access library catalog for CUNY) through the Library proxy server. This enables John Jay users to access the electronic versions (when available) of printed journals from off-campus. Examples of such journals are Aggressive Behavior, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry. Any journal with a location of "John Jay Web Resource" or "CUNY Web Resource" should be available from home. Simply click on "View Details" and then click on the URL that follows the tag "Electronic version."

     Other new services featured on the Home Use page are a link to the new "patron empowerment" function of CUNY+ (see article, page 3), improved access to reference e-mail; and (coming soon) an experimental "chat" reference service. Additionally, under Sealy Library Information, patrons may click on "suggest books" to send acquisitions suggestions to the library.

     Also a click away from the Home Use page is a new page describing the resources of some of the public library systems in the New York metropolitan area, and another which targets some of the best web-based tutorials on using library and Internet information resources.

     Please send any comments or suggestions for improvements to these pages to bnelson@jjay.cuny.edu or contact any of the reference librarians.
 

       The Sealy Library now offers WorldCat, a user-friendly link to the OCLC Union Catalog online. Faculty and students can search the records of libraries around the world from their home or office computers through a link on the library's web page. The database is updated daily and includes books and manuscripts dating from before 1000 BC. It also includes bibliographic records for journals, newspapers, computer files, and other non-print resources. In the absence of Dissertation Abstracts, WorldCat is a useful tool for those researching recent dissertations as well.
 

       ... wherein members of the faculty share their favorite books with us all.

       Judith Bronfman: Chronicle of a death foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1982):

       "In the aftermath of the deaths at Santana High School, I am reminded of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short masterpiece Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Two brothers, reluctantly planning a murder that they feel obliged to commit, tell nearly everyone in their small town of their plans. But, as in California, no one pays enough attention to stop them. Garcia Marquez's tale is riveting as literature and chilling in its astonishingly relevant analysis of human behavior. "

Bob de Lucia: Shrub: the short but happy political life of George W. Bush, by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose. (2000):

       "A brief and funny book by two veteran journalists who examine the professional and political life of George W. Bush , dubbed "Shrub."
 

       Blue or white cards are still being used to process Interlibrary Loans. Library patrons should pick these up and drop them off at the reference desk when they have been filled out. Alternatively, John Jay faculty may e-mail their requests to nanjj@cunyvm.cuny.edu or daikens@jjay.cuny.edu . Please include in the e-mail all information that you would include on a request card — a complete and accurate citation and contact information. If you have any questions about the Library's interlibrary loan policy, please contact Nancy Egan at the first e-mail address above or call x8269.

       Fasten your seatbelts – CUNY has bought over 800 electronic books from NetLibrary to which patrons of all CUNY libraries have access. The electronic titles appear in the CUNY+ online catalog with the site location of AL (all CUNY libraries) with the URL indicated. Eventually, with the new Aleph 500 catalog, the electronic titles will be clickable for direct access.

       Why electronic books? They're good for several situations. If the printed copy of the book you need to consult is checked out of the library, you can read it online. Electronic books never wear out and can never be stolen. Additionally, their texts can be quickly searched for specific words or terms. They may be "browsed" or they may be "borrowed" for a 2-hour period. For borrowing, one must register with a password. After that, home access is available.

       Although the number of titles in our "mission" area is not large, you will find a smattering, including at least one title on reserve in this library. Netlibrary has a Criminal Justice collection which in flusher times we may be able to purchase on our own. The libraries of Queens College, Brooklyn College, BMCC and the College of Staten Island have purchased their own e-book collections in addition to the CUNY titles. These books are available to everyone in CUNY, but onsite registration must be made at those libraries for access to their collections. Once registration is complete, access is available from anywhere.

       To see the list of books purchased by CUNY, you may consult the list at the Sealy Library Reference Desk. Or try a keyword search using "netlibrary" as a keyword, either combined with another keyword (such as "police") or not.

       In addition to the titles CUNY has purchased, public domain books have been made available through NetLibrary. These are the titles digitized by Project Gutenberg, and they are accessible from the NetLibrary website (www.netlibrary.com). Once there, click on "Experience eBooks," and you will be able to read the world's great classics, including Beowulf, Pride and Prejudice, The Canterbury Tales, and The Scarlet Letter.
 

       The annual Library Benefit Book Sale will take place this year on Monday, April 30 and Tuesday, May 1, between 12 noon and 5:30 p.m. in the Theater Lobby. Now is the time to clear your shelves of unwanted books – donations are welcome! You may drop off books at the circulation desk at any time. Faculty may also donate their time to help run the sale. We can always use help. This year's sale is more important than usual for the Library because of the severe budget situation.

       If you wish to donate your books or your time, contact Jane Davenport.
 

       It is now possible for library users to check their own library records to see what books they have charged out or what fines they owe. Patrons may also view the status of their accounts and their address information.

       To access your record, navigate to the Library's Web page and click on "Home Use." In the box on the left, click on the link that says, "Check your Library Circulation Record". You will then be prompted to login with your library bar code and social security number.
 

       Barkan, Elazar. The guilt of nations: restitution and negotiating historical injustices. New York: Norton, 2000. JA 79 .B285 2000.

       Bourke, Angela. The burning of Bridget Cleary: a true story. New York: Viking, 2000. HV 6535 I742 T563 2000

       Encyclopedia of forensic sciences. ed. Jay A. Siegel. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000. Ref. HV8073 .E58 2000.

       Friedman, David. Law's order: what economics has to do with law and why it matters. Princeton: Univ. Press, 2000. HB171 .F768 2000.

       Greene, Helen T. African American criminological thought. Albany: SUNY Press, 2000. HV 6023 .G74 2000.

       Ingram, David. Group rights: reconciling equality and difference. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas, 2000. JF 1061 .I54 2000.

       LaViolette, Alyce. It could happen to anyone: why battered women stay. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2000. HV 6626.2 .B27 2000.

       Lehr, Dick. Black mass: the Irish mob, the FBI, and a devil's deal. NY: Public Affairs, 2000. HV 6452 .M4 L45 2000.

       Lin, Ann Chih. Reform in the making: the implementation of social policy in prison. Princeton: Univ. Press, 2000. HV 9304 .L56 2000.

       Meanings of violence: a cross-cultural perspective, ed. Goran Aijmer & Jon Abbink. New York: Berg, 2000. HM 886 .M43 2000

       Schlesinger, Louis. Serial offenders: current thought, recent findings. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000. HV 6049 .S47 2000.

       The termination of criminal careers, ed. Stephen Farrall. Burlington: Ashgate, 2000. HV 9274 .T46 2000.

       Vrij, Aldert. Detecting lies and deceit: the psychology of lying and the implications for professional practice. NY: Wiley, 2000. HV 8076 .V75 2000.