LibGuides can help your students

As faculty and staff are busily preparing for both summer and fall semester courses and activities, we thought you might like to know a little bit about new resources we have been developing to assist your students in conducting research for their classes and programs. We began using new software called LibGuides last summer. The web-based program helps us build guides to library and online resources in virtually any subject and present this information in a student-friendly, well-organized manner. We have developed LibGuides for business, government information, some core curriculum courses, English, oral communications, counseling, psychology and more than 60 other topics, frequently in consultation with other faculty members.

You may want to add the URL for a specific LibGuide to your syllabus or in your Blackboard course. If you would like us to develop a LibGuide for your class, please contact your department’s library liaison or Diane Duesterhoeft.

based on information provided by Dr. H. Palmer Hall, Director, Louis J. Blume Library, St. Mary’s University

Congratulations to 4th Annual Library Undergraduate Research Award recipient

On Friday, March 26, 2010, the recipient of the Fourth Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award was recognized at the Eleventh Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The award recognizes a student researcher who demonstrates skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.

The First Place Award of $200 was granted to Rebecca Denise Lopez for her project, "Enhancing Learning: Modifying the Learning Practice Inventory for Use in Health Care." The faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Andrea Berndt.

Congratulations, Rebecca!

Apply for the Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

Are you entering a project in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

Consider applying for the
Fourth Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

First Prize: $200
Second Prize: $100

The Award recognizes student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project. The Award is restricted to undergraduate students.

You must enter the Undergraduate Research Symposium (deadline Friday, March 12, 2010) to be eligible for this Award.

The Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award application deadline: Monday, March 22, 2010 at 5pm.

Photo of 2007 Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award winning project posters.

President Declares October National Information Literacy Awareness Month

On October 1, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation declaring October National Information Literacy Awareness Month. The proclamation recognizes all Americans' needs to acquire, evaluate, and effectively use information in any situation.

The proclamation was the result of a campaign by the National Forum on Information Literacy, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. 1989 was also the year when the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy issued its report.

The proclamation's goals dovetail with the American Association of School Librarians' Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning and the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.

International Literacy Day: The Power of Literacy

Today, September 8, is International Literacy Day. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, first proclaimed International Literacy Day in the mid-1960s.

Worldwide, 776 million, or one in five, adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women while 75 million children are out of school. Literacy is a human right that is at the heart of basic education for all. It is essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.

In this technological age, many educational institutions are taking literacy beyond the basics to Information Literacy (or Information Competency or Information Fluency). Information Literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information. Work with us at the Louis J. Blume Library in developing and refining your information competency skills!

Congratulations to 3rd Annual Library Undergraduate Research Award recipients

On Friday, April 3, 2009, the recipients of the Third Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award were recognized at the Tenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The awards recognize student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.

The First Place Award of $200 was granted to Patricia Amalia Sipes for her project, "Beth, Babel, Boibel: Robert Graves and the Ciphering of Hidden Meanings in Celtic Poetry." The faculty mentor for the project was Dr. Alice Kersnowski.

The Second Place Award of $100 was given to Kristina Kay Lindsey for her project, "The Business of Charity: The Mindsets, Marketing Trends, and Solutions of Incorporated Non-profits during Times of Financial Downturn." The faculty mentor was Dr. Stephanie Ward.

We thank all the students who took the time and effort to submit an application and proposal for the Award. We encourage students who are eligible to apply next year for the Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award.

Congratulations to Patricia and Kristina!

Congratulations to 2nd Annual Library Undergraduate Research Award recipients

On Friday, March 28, 2008, the recipients of the Second Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award were recognized at the Ninth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The awards recognize student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.

The First Place Award of $200 was granted to Rita Lopez for her project, "The Influence and Adaptation of the Japanese Noh Theatre in William Butler Yeats’s 'At the Hawk’s Well'." Faculty mentors for the project were Dr. Alice Kersnowski and Dr. Frank Kersnowski.

The Second Place Award of $100 was given to Kristin Taylor Leslie for her project, "Performance Theory in Edith Wharton’s ‘The Age of Innocence’." Faculty mentors were Dr. Richard Pressman and Dr. Alice Kersnowski.

We thank all the students who took the time and effort to submit an application and proposal for the Award. We encourage students who are eligible to apply next year for the Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award.

Congratulations to Rita and Kristin!

Undergraduate Research Award 2008

Are you entering a project in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

Consider applying for the
Second Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

First Prize: $200
Second Prize: $100

The Award recognizes student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.

You must enter the Undergraduate Research Symposium (deadline Friday, March 7, 2008) to be eligible for this Award.

Research Award application deadline: Monday, March 17, 2008

Photo of 2007 Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award winning project posters.

Those Urban Legends Email Messages

Do you ever wonder if that email message that has been forwarded to you by a friend or colleague is true? One place to check out the authenticity of a message that has been forwarded from email address to email address is at the Urban Legends Reference Pages at snopes.com. (Snopes is the surname of a family of characters who appear throughout the works of American writer William Faulkner. See the Faulkner Glossary for more information about the Snopes family.) Barbara and David P. Mikkelson have maintained the Urban Legends Reference Pages since 1995. Entries usually summarize the email claim in a sentence, indicate the true or false status, include a significant portion of the email message, discuss the facts pertaining to the message, and provide additional references for further exploration. The Urban Legends Reference Pages can help you critically evaluate information and determine whether or not to incorporate it into your personal knowledge base.

Congratulations to 1st Annual Undergraduate Research Award recipients

On Friday, March 30, 2007, the recipients of the First Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award recipients were recognized at the Eighth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.


The awards recognize student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.


The First Place Award of $200 was granted to Lucia Sobreviñas for her project, “The Role of High-Tech Industry Clusters in the Face of Globalization: Analyzing Austin and Guadalajara’s Journey Towards Siliconia.”


The Second Place Award of $100 was given to Claudia Lizbeth Valladolid for her project, “College Preparedness of Minorities and St. Mary’s University.”

Congratulations to Lucia and Claudia!

Undergraduate Research Award

Are you entering a project in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

Consider applying for the
First Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

First Prize: $200
Second Prize: $100

Recognizes student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project

Symposium application deadline: Friday, March 2, 2007
Research Award application deadline: Friday, March 9, 2007