Volume 11, Number 2 Spring 1999

       The name Sybil has become synonymous with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).   Maureen Dowd's New York Times op-ed piece in January used Sybil as an eponymic in discussing an opinion of President Clinton's dual personality.   Before John Jay faculty member Flora Rheta Schreiber published her book Sybil, only about 75 cases of MPD had been diagnosed.  Since 1973 an estimated 40,000 cases have surfaced.  We can assume that the book was at least partially responsible for this epidemic.  A professional association for the study of MPD was formed and a movie starring Sally Field was made on Sybil's life.

       When Professor Schreiber died, her papers, including those on Sybil, were bequeathed to John Jay.  Housed in Sealy Library's Special Collections, the collection remained in quiescence, awaiting its day on the scholarly fields of battle.  That day has come.  MPD has come under attack from a variety of sources, not least the anti-Freudians.  A number of scholarly writings recently published question the very existence of MPD.

       This controversy has brought numerous scholars to our door.  One box of Schreiber's papers had remained sealed to protect Sybil's real name.  Now that all three principals in the case are deceased (Schreiber, psychiatrist Cornelia Wilbur, and Sybil), and Sybil’s name had been revealed elsewhere, John Jay decided to open these papers to qualified researchers.   The value of the collection lies in the impact Schreiber's papers will make on the reception of MPD theories.

       I cannot emphasize too much the importance for scholarly endeavors of special and unique collections such as the Schreiber Papers.   Although such materials are not used as often as the latest trendy monograph, their contribution to scholarly research is invaluable and enduring, and we actively search out such collections.  Criminal justice research does not rest solely on the most current print or electronic media; historical material plays a pivotal role in much of our field.   Future publications on Sybil will testify to the value of such special collections. 
 

       The Sealy Library, along with other CUNY libraries, now subscribes to the powerful LEXIS-NEXIS Academic UNIVerse database.  This database is an extremely valuable addition to Library resources for John Jay.  It is World Wide Web-based, user-friendly and  printing and/or downloading of entire documents  is possible. 

       Academic UNIVerse provides full-text access to legal materials (federal, state, law reviews, legal news sources), newspapers, wire services, transcripts, legislative news sources, and congressional testimony.  It also includes topical areas related to medicine, biography, government and politics, industry, and business reference sources. 

       The content of Academic UNIVerse is similar to but does not include all of the publications and search services previously available through traditional LEXIS-NEXIS (for example, Shepardizing is not possible!).  Access to the traditional L/N product is limited but still available via a password system in the Library. Consult at the Reference Desk for traditional access. 

       Searching is much easier with this product and is done with a series of fill-in boxes (forms).  Boolean searching is used, and you may request that the search terms appear within the same sentence or paragraph.  Search tips are provided.  A helpful Search Guide to Academic UNIVerse can be found at the Harvard Web site (http://hplus.harvard.edu/help/universe.html).

       Academic UNIVerse can be accessed from any computer on campus that is connected to the World Wide Web.  On the Sealy Library home page (see address above), select “Licensed Electronic Resources” from the initial screen and scroll down the page to the link for LEXIS-NEXIS.  If you have trouble accessing this service or you are prompted for a password.

       Faculty members can get access to all the Library’s licensed electronic resources from home by setting up an account on the CUNY libraries proxy server.  See directions for remote access below. 
 

       In offices and homes, people sit down to computers, and library-licensed information floods in via remote access.  How good is it?  How well does it meet researchers’ needs?  Often, results are uneven, but the University and this library are working to improve the usefulness of what is available to you remotely.

       Proxy Server:  An innovation since last summer is the proxy server, which makes it immaterial whether faculty use a computer at home, in the office or in the library.  Currently, Lexis-Nexis full-text is available; see article above for a description. Increasing numbers of databases will be delivered this way -- presently under consideration are the scholarly JStor and Chadwyck-Healey's Periodicals Contents Index..

       Searchbank databases, also available by proxy server, have some articles in full text and others with just citations.  There are four listed together under Searchbank on the library's homepage: Expanded Academic, Business and Company, Health Reference and Books in Print with Reviews.

       Searchbank databases and Lexis-Nexis are available from home to faculty who register on the proxy server by sending their name, campus address, SS# and library barcode to webbh@cunyvm.cuny.edu.  Wait two business days for confirmation. 

       E-mail Reference, ILL, and Book Renewal: Faculty can ask reference questions and initiate interlibrary loan from home via email; book renewals will be available soon by e-mail and presently can be made by phone.  Addresses are: ILL -- nanjj@cunyvm, Reference questions -- refjj@cunyvm, Book renewals --Ext.8263.

       CUNY+ with Seventeen Databases: CUNY+ has long been available from home computers for faculty and students, including all seventeen databases on its total of four screens.  These are a mix of citation and abstract databases covering many disciplines. 

       There will be additional try-outs of electronic products.  If you would like to affect future decisions about what products are bought, we welcome suggestions and comments.  Products currently being tested are often available from home and always available throughout the campus.  You can reach the test site from the library's homepage by clicking on Licensed Electronic Resources and then "Trials" at the bottom of the list.
 

     As World Wide Web sources become increasingly important in research, library users need to be able to find the locations of important websites in their  library's catalog. CUNY librarians met last fall and agreed on policies and procedures for cataloging World Wide Web resources.  While we will make no attempt to "catalog the Internet," we will catalog those resources that we subscribe to (i.e., pay real money for) as well as those free resources that we would collect if they were available in print, and Web versions of materials, such as government documents, that we already have in our collection.

     The databases that the University pays for through licensing agreements are indicated as CUNY Web Resource and the call number is: "Access from CUNY Internet workstations."  Databases for which our Library has licensing agreements will be indicated as John Jay Web Resource and the call number is "Access from John Jay Internet workstations." Material on the Web which is free is denoted Web Resource and the call number is "Access through the World Wide Web."  The URL, of course, is provided in all cases.
 

       Although the library does not actually collect multimedia products, occasionally, books purchased by the library arrive accompanied by a CDROM.  To date, we have unintentionally managed to build a collection of over two dozen CDROMs.  The books are put on the shelves as usual, but the CDROMs are kept behind the Reserve Desk. They can be borrowed for three days at a time.

       Some of the titles merely contain the printed text of the book in electronic format, but others add another dimension to the subject such as software and audio.  The software titles include a Java tutorial, a trial edition of J++ and the JavaScript Bible.

       The audio items include three music CDs accompanying the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, which feature the  music of Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands, and Africa.  We also have an anthology of African-American spoken word  and music, which includes poetry, speeches, spirituals and folk music.  For those interested in role-playing, there is an interactive simulation of criminal sentencing entitled "Crime and punishment."  Anyone who would like to browse through the CDROMs can do so at the Reserve Desk.
 

       The number and variety of information sources available to users of the Sealy Library is burgeoning.  The library faculty have created a database with a new user interface to help make our users aware of what is available.  Information Resources by Subject is available as a link from the Library’s web page or at http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/infosources/ .   Over 90 different indexes, full-text sources, and statistical resources are listed by subject, whether the resource is accessed through CUNY+, on the Library’s CD-ROM network, or over the Web.  For each resource there is a short description and an indication that the source is available only in the Library, from any John Jay College Internet connection, or throughout CUNY.  Resources with no indication of a limit are freely available to anyone over the Web.

       The aim is to alert users to the wide range of electronic sources available on numerous subjects and to enable them to link directly to these sources.
 

       This semester, as in the past, the Library will be offering classes in its electronic classroom. Due to budget and staff considerations, we must always limit the number of classes that we offer.

       Based on our experiences with students working on library research projects, we have developed a list of classes that we intend to target, because we believe students in these classes will benefit the most from library instruction. They includes a number of lower level courses as well as at least one upper level course required for every baccalaureate major offered at John Jay. We believe that the list is comprehensive enough to ensure that we reach an optimal number of John Jay College students at the most appropriate points in their academic careers.

       Following is the list of courses targeted for library instruction, and faculty teaching them are urged to take advantage of the opportunity they represent. This list can be supplemented to accommodate any particular needs of the majors. 

Undergraduate: COM 110       CHE 321       SSC 325
         CSL 112       PAD 340       GOV 435       ENG 102
         PAD 348       PSC 401       FIS 104       PAD 360
         SEC 405       FRC 101       PSY 311

Graduate: CRJ/PAD/PSY 715       FOS 791

       To supplement these classes, the Library offers six half-hour sessions a week which are open to all patrons on a walk-in basis. These cover a broad range of information systems, including the World Wide Web.  Schedules of these are available at the reference desk.

       It is recognized that individual faculty may wish to instruct their classes themselves in the use of particular electronic resources. The Library classroom may be booked for this purpose, time and space permitting.

       While advances in technology have made more information available in various formats, it has also changed the nature of research and requires more search sophistication, and accessing this information requires special skills.  We ask that any faculty committed to ensuring that their students be instructed in information literacy and library technology comply with the following procedures when planning a library class:

1. Contact Tony Simpson (x8242) as early in the semester as possible to schedule a class time. We are able to teach classes during the first ten weeks of the semester, or until April 15th this spring.

 
2. Your class should have a specific written assignment and should be instructed in advance as to how the library class will help with it.

 
3. Contact  the librarian assigned to teach your class at least one week prior to the class meeting  (the librarian will be equally conscientious in trying to contact you).  You can exchange ideas about the  assignment and the appropriate sources for use with it.

       A thesis of George Kelling's well-known 1996 book,  Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities,(on library Reserve: HV 8141 .K45 1996) is that by addressing minor neighborhood problems we prevent larger problems and thereby create a consensus on what is acceptable in the neighborhood. 

       If we substitute this library for the neighborhood in this scenario, we see why it matters if students eat lunch in the stacks, why students should not put soda or water bottles on computers and wood furniture, and why vandalism and theft should not go unreported and unpunished. The concern is not only the behavior and the damage in itself; it is what it says about the community and what it contributes to the consensus.   Presumably we share the consensus that we are here to learn, that we value the tools and the climate for learning, and that this is not just an anonymous public building we are all passing through.

       Demonstrations of behavior that flout the values and tools of our common purpose make it easier for others to do the same, make it seem pointless and difficult to subscribe to the learning community, and work to diminish our consensus.
 

       Because of financial constraints, the Library cannot purchase textbooks for placement on reserve.  Titles which have long-term value as part of the library’s permanent collection will be purchased for reserve, but textbooks which are superceded quickly by new editions will not.  There will naturally be exceptions in special cases.  It is suggested that instructors needing to have a class textbook available in the library acquire a gratis copy from the book’s publisher and that copy can be kept on reserve for as long as it is needed.
 

       Another Library Benefit Book Sale will take place this spring; the date will be announced.  Bring your unneeded books to the Library Circulation Desk, clearly marked for the sale, if you wish to donate them.  Any questions about donations or volunteering to help out at the sale should be addressed to Jane Davenport at x8236 or janedavenport@yahoo.com. 
 

Monday - Thursday..........................................9am - 10pm
Friday.................................................................9am - 5pm
Saturday, starting 2/20.......................................11am - 4pm
“          ”  starting 3/13.......................................10am - 6pm
“          ”  5/15 & 5/22.......................................10am - 8pm
Sunday, starting 3/7...........................................11am - 4pm
“          ”  5/16 & 5/23.......................................11am - 7pm
Fri. -  Mon., 2/12 - 2/15............................................closed
Wed., 3/31 & Thurs., 4/1..................................10am - 8pm
4/3, 4/ 4, & 4/11........................................................closed
4/5 – 8.............................................................10am - 8pm
4/9...................................................................10am - 5pm
5/29, 30, 31..............................................................closed
 
 

Larry Sullivan, Chief Librarian, 8265, lesjj@cunyvm
Marvie Brooks, Reference, 8261, mbbjj@cunyvm
Jane Davenport, Collection Development, 8236, janedavenport@yahoo.com
Janice Dunham, Associate Librarian for Public Services, 8256, janjj@cunyvm
Nancy Egan, Reference, Interlibrary Loan, 8269, nanjj@cunyvm
Dolores Grande, Serials, 8235, dmgjj@cunyvm
Marlene Kandel, Cataloger, Coordinator for Technical Services, 8237, mkkjj@cunyvm
Katherine Killoran, Reference, Circulation, 8263, kbkjj@cunyvm
Maria Kiriakova, Reference, 8260, mvkjj@cunyvm
Bonnie Nelson, Associate Librarian for Information Systems, 8267, brnjj@cunyvm
Ellen Sexton, Reference, Reserve, 8258, easjj@cunyvm
Antony Simpson, Reference, Library Instruction, 8242, aes@inx.net
Jane Theile, Executive Assistant to the Chief, 8238, jltjj@cunyvm
Tara Bremer, Systems Adjunct; Jane Dorfman, Nancy Farrell, Lory Gallo, Eileen Gatti, Catherine Stern, Reference Adjuncts
 
 

Dee Dee Aikens: Interlibrary Loan, 8257
Dawn Battle: Cataloging, 8230
Saundra Dancy: Circulation, 8224
Michelle Dutton: Acquisitions, 8230
Anne Kovac, Juana Polanco: Serials, 8230
 

Circulation: 8225
Reference: 8246
 

Editor: Jane Davenport