An upgrade to the library’s EZproxy server is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 15. Access to library databases may be impacted while the upgrade is underway, but it should require no more than 30 minutes of downtime. We will post updates if there are any changes, and once the upgrade has successfully completed.
Last chance to sign-up for the Heritage Hunt!
First-year students, join us at the Library for the Heritage Hunt!
As part of New Student Orientation, incoming first-year students participate in the Library’s Heritage Hunt. The Heritage Hunt is an interactive introduction to the Library and its resources. First-year students must register for a time slot to participate and receive credit.
We still have session times available for Thursday August 29th & Friday August 30th.
There will be no sessions held after Friday, August 30, 2024.
Visit our webpage for more information and to sign up!
Autumn Heritage Room Exhibit: Gems of Flourishing from The Zaner-Bloser Penmanship Collection
Flourishing is the act of adding sweeping, decorative strokes to penmanship. However, many professional penmen went beyond adding decorative strokes to lettering and created flourished artworks. Since writing prior to the 19th century was usually done with a bird feather quill, penmen paid tribute to their flying equipment suppliers by drawing birds. The exhibit will feature birds flourished by some of the greatest 19th and early 20th century penmen and calligraphers as well as other animals and designs. The exhibit will run from August 28 until December 13. Please contact Special Collections at 570-941-6341 or Michael.Knies@Scranton.edu for more information.
Does the Library have my Textbook?
Maybe, but likely No
The Weinberg Memorial Library typically does not purchase textbooks for the circulating collections. Some textbook publishers and copyright holders limit libraries from holding copies of their textbooks. Textbooks are also updated much more frequently than the traditional library book, thus making them difficult to keep up-to-date. Additionally, the quantity of copies needed and length of the loan can also be problematic for libraries. Due to space limitations the Library would only be able to hold a few copies in the circulating collection and once those copies are checked out, other students can’t use them. However, the Library does have a small collection of textbooks in our Textbook Reserves Collection.
Textbook Reserves Collection
The Library does have some textbooks on reserve in our Textbook Reserve Collection, these textbooks were generously donated to the Library by other students. Titles in this collection have the word “Textbook” before the call number and can be requested at the Library Services Desk. However, they are limited to a one-day loan, so that many students can use them over the course of a semester. To view a list of titles in the Textbook Reserve Collection – type “Textbook Reserve Collection” in quotes into either Royal Search or the Library Catalog to view a list of titles.
Searching for a textbook
If the Library did acquire a print copy of a textbook being used for your class, it would be found in the library catalog. To search for your textbook, go the Library’s Home Page and go to the Library Catalog search bar. Change the pull down menu to “title” and type in the exact title of the textbook into the Library Catalog search box. It can be helpful to know the editor, author, or edition, since most textbooks have generic names such as Fundamentals of Psychology, Microeconomics, etc. and often have multiple editions. Novels and supplemental reading, such as a short story or essay, may potentially be found in the circulating collections of the Library. Use the same procedure listed above to see if the book is in the collection. For more information see our How do I … find my textbook? Research Guide
Course Reserves
Some professors put their textbooks or course materials on reserve for classes. Textbooks on reserve can be borrowed at the Library Services Desk. Typically, textbooks on reserve for classes have shorter loan periods of only a few hours and are meant to be used at the Library. For more information on course reserves see our How do I … find what my professor put on reserves? Research Guide.
EZBorrow
If the Library does not have your textbook here, you may also want to try searching EZBorrow (PALCI), a direct borrowing service. You can find a link to EZBorrow from the Library’s Home Page. EZBorrow is an interlibrary loan system providing access to books not available in the Weinberg Memorial Library. The system simultaneously searches the catalogs of over 50 libraries in PALCI (Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation). Books are mailed free of charge and available to pick up at the Library Services Desk.
If you have additional questions about finding or borrowing books from the Library, please reach out to Ask a Librarian.
Welcome Class of 2028 to the Weinberg Memorial Library!
The Weinberg Memorial Library is pleased to welcome the Class of 2028 to The University of Scranton!
Sign up for the Heritage Hunt, the interactive introduction to the Library and its resources for first-year students!
Watch our welcome video to learn more about the Weinberg Memorial Library.
To consult with a University of Scranton Librarian during our service hours, you can ask for research assistance at the first floor Library Services Desk, call 570-941-4000, or use the Ask a Librarian chat boxes on our website. Assistance is available 24/7 through the chat box, which is covered by librarians not affiliated with the University of Scranton outside service hours.
The Library’s Research & Scholarly Services department, located on the second floor, can assist you with research, such as finding, evaluating, and citing information. Look for the purple “Research Librarian on call” signs to locate a librarian available for drop-in research assistance. Research consultations can be scheduled by using the Ask a Librarian chat box or by contacting your subject liaison librarian directly by email.
To find resources, such as books, periodicals, and media, use Royal Search located on the Library’s home page. The Library’s large collection of e-books, e-journals, and streaming media are available 24/7. To access the Library’s online content, you must first authenticate through my.scranton.edu.
The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service is available for requesting articles not currently accessible at our library. For ILL questions/concerns, please email interlibrary-loan@scranton.edu.
Circulation Services, located at the first floor Library Services Desk, can help you borrow and return print materials and laptops. You can also pick up items on reserve, books placed on hold, and interlibrary loan materials. In the lobby area in front of the Library Services Desk you will find New Books recently added to our collection, our Recreational Reading Collection which offers a variety of new and popular fiction and nonfiction, our new Graphic Novels collection, and our Featured Media Collection that contains recently acquired and popular DVDs.
The Weinberg Memorial Library has five floors and offers a variety of spaces to support your study and research needs including computer workstations, individual study space, group study rooms, quiet study areas, and the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.
The Library’s Pro Deo Room, Reilly Learning Commons, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor remain accessible to students 24 hours a day when campus is open and include printing stations, group study rooms, and lab computers.
The Reilly Learning Commons (RLC), located on the first floor, is a collaborative space with access to high-powered computers, video and audio recording rooms, and reservable group study rooms equipped with white boards and monitors.
The Media Resources Collection (MRC), located on the third floor, provides media materials for instructional support and student learning. Students can borrow films on DVD or Blu-ray, music on CDs or LP records, and audiobooks. The EdLab collection, found within the Media Resources Collection, consists of children’s literature and K-12 textbooks.
University of Scranton Archives and McHugh Family Special Collections, located on the fourth floor, collects, preserves, and provides access to historical materials including medieval manuscripts, rare books, American penmanship and local and University history. Appointments are recommended.
The Digital Services Department provides access to digital content related to University Archives and Special Collections. You can search our digital collections online at https://digitalservices.scranton.edu/.
New Library Catalog Search for Print and Media Collections
You may have noticed a change to our Library home page search box on our website.
A new Library Catalog search option was added to allow users to exclusively search our print and physical media holdings. This new search box replaces the “Print and Media Only” checkbox that was previously found beneath the Royal Search search box and provides a drop down menu that allows you to limit by Keyword, Title, Author, ISBN, ISSN, or Subject before you begin to search.
The Library Catalog user interface, a product by EBSCO known as Locate, can also be accessed directly by going to https://scranton.locate.ebsco.com/search
This new user interface eliminates the need to filter out electronic content and provides a real-time view of our catalog inventory for print books, manuscripts, DVD’s, CD’s and other print and physical media formats. Results can be refined through additional filtering options along the left hand side of the screen. This is especially helpful if you are looking for a specific format such as a DVD or materials in a particular language. The Sort by pull down menu on the right provides the option to sort your results by Relevance, Title (ascending or descending), Author (ascending or descending), and Year (Oldest or Newest). To see an expanded record with collection location and call number information click on View details.
Within the expanded record you can find collection location and call number information under Availability & locations.
Similar to Royal Search, you can click the Place a hold button to place a hold on items in our circulating collections. Please note that non-circulating items and items on reserve at the Library Services Desk and Media Services Desk do not have a place a hold option.
Additionally you will find a Browse this shelf feature which allows you to view books or media located adjacent to the title you have selected. Clicking on the blue bubbles below Related subjects will create a new subject search based on the subject term. If you scroll further down within the record you can explore expanded details and additional information about the title you selected including content notes and summaries.
To Place a hold or to view the contents of My bookshelf, where you can view your holds and checked out materials, in the Library Catalog, you will need to sign into your Library Account.
To do so, click on the icon in the upper right hand corner and then click sign-in. The sign-in will take you to the University Single Sign-on (SSO) page where you will need to authenticate using your Royal ID number if you are not already signed in.
If this is your first time signing into MyEBSCO after May 29, 2024, you will be asked to personalize your account.
Click on the blue button that says Continue personalized, this will connect your MyEBSCO account to your Royal ID number.
While you can search Royal Search and the Library Catalog without signing in or personalizing your account, you will need to sign in and personalize your account if you wish to place holds on materials. Once you personalize your account you will not see that pop up window again, you would only receive prompts to sign in and authenticate.
If you have any additional questions about the Library Catalog please reach out to Cataloging and Metadata Librarian Marleen Cloutier at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu or Ask a Librarian.
Pharos/Uniprint status
The Pharos/Uniprint update has completed and printing is back online.
July 24th Uniprint update notice
Today from 10am to 12 pm there will an update to the Uniprint system. During this time frame printing will be unavailable.
ILLiad system available
The upgrade to the ILLiad system has completed and all services are back up.
Updated: Advanced notice of ILLiad downtime
On Tuesday, July 16th, the upgrade to the ILLiad server software will take place. The upgrade process is estimated to last from 8am to noon, during this time Interlibrary Loan will not be available. The PALCI/EZ-Borrow system is not be effected by this upgrade and will be available to patrons. If the upgrade process completes earlier than expected notice of such will be posted to the Library blog.