Got Library Questions? Chat with a Librarian

If you have library questions, we have the answers! It’s super easy and simple to get library help with our Chat with a Librarian service.

If you’re on the library website, all you need to do is find the “CHAT WITH A LIBRARIAN” box and type your question. A librarian will be able answer your questions or refer you to another librarian for further research help.

Chat Hours:
Sundays: 2pm-8pm
Mondays-Thursdays: 10am-10pm
Fridays: 10am-4pm

If you have a question outside of our chat hours, browse or submit your question on our Library FAQ page.

Halloween Movies

Ready for Halloween? Play Movie Roulette and let fate decide what chilling and thrilling movies you should watch this month.

How Movie Roulette Works

Just press pause to stop the video and whatever movie you land on will decide what movie you check out!

Below, you’ll find a list of all the movies included. To request a movie for pickup just click the movie link, request it from UIS, and wait for an email that its ready to pick up during our Grab-and-Go hours.

Complete List of Halloween Movies:

A Clockwork Orange
A Quiet Place
Akira
American Psycho
Beetlejuice
Carrie
Friday the 13th
Get Out
Halloween
Hereditary
Hocus Pocus
IT
Midsommar
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Rosemary’s Baby
Scream
The Addams Family
The Babadook
The First Purge
The Mummy
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare on Elm Street Collection
The Ring
The Shining
Us

Suggest eBooks & eAudiobooks in cloudLibrary

Have you been looking forward to reading your favorite author’s newest book? Or are you in the mood to listen to one of your childhood favorites on audiobook and can’t find it in our collection? Well, you’re in luck! You can suggest that Brookens Library purchase an eBook or eAudiobook that we don’t own in cloudLibrary.

Check out how to suggest an eBook or eAudiobook directly from our mobile app.

If you don’t already have the cloudLibrary app you can download it for free from your preferred app store! Once it’s downloaded on your device, you are ready to let us know what title(s) you’d like us to add to our cloudLibrary collection! 

1. In the cloudLibrary app, click ‘Search’ at the bottom of the screen. Type the title of the book you want to find in the search bar.

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3. If we do not have the book, click on the filter icon at the top right hand corner. Make sure ‘Suggestions for library’ is selected, and hit ‘Save.’

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4. Now, your book should show up in the results if its available to suggest for purchase. Click ‘Suggest.’ And that’s it! Your suggestion will be considered for purchase.

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Book a Research Consultation with a Librarian

If you need research assistance, book a virtual research consultation via Zoom with one of our librarians. They are available to assist you with finding scholarly articles, narrowing a research topic, brainstorming search terms, providing an overview of our databases, and more!

How to Book a Research Consultation:

1. Pull up the library website and click on the pink Research Guides icon.

2. Next, choose the subject that best fits your research question, topic or course. In this case, we will just choose Biology.

3. Then click on the Make an Appointment button under the librarian’s photo. This will start the process of making an appointment with the librarian associated with that subject. In this case, it is Stephen McMinn!

4. Select the month, day. and time you are interested in. If no times work for you, email the librarian to see if there is another time that might work for both of you. Then click Confirm.

5. Fill out the form with details of your research assignment, and let us know what you’d like help with. Select Confirm Appointment, and your appointment will be automatically booked on the librarian’s calendar. All consultations this semester will be done remotely.

Fall 2020 Library Workshops via Zoom

Brookens Library is launching a new workshop series via Zoom for students this fall! These workshops are an opportunity to build up your research skills and get to know the library a bit better.

Please register and tell us which workshop(s) you’d like to attend by filling out the Registration Form, and you will receive a link to the Zoom session.

See our workshop schedule below:

Finding Articles in Library Databases
Tuesday, October 6 at 1pm-2pm
Thursday, October 8 at 10am-11am

Learn how easy it is to get exactly what you need for your research when you use the library’s online databases. We’ll give you an overview of Academic Search Complete and share our best tips for locating scholarly articles and narrowing your search to get more relevant information – a must for anyone doing a research paper.

Library Open Office Hours
Monday, October 12 at 3pm-4pm
Tuesday, October 13 at 1pm-2pm
Wednesday, October 14 at 5pm-6pm
Thursday, October 15 at 10am-11am
Friday, October 16 at 11am-12pm

The Library will be holding open office hours via Zoom to help students with their research projects, including using the library catalog and databases to find articles, ebooks, books, etc. If you have a question about library resources or services, stop by via the Zoom link below and ask! All open office hours are drop-in; no registration necessary.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://uis.zoom.us/j/93218324904?pwd=WkFGb2w5SElTbmNYaDVEOUpoSEYxdz09

Optimizing the New Library Catalog: Articles, Books, I-Share & More
Tuesday, October 20 at 1pm-2pm
Thursday, October 22 at 10am-11am

Come take a hands on tour of the new library search interface and learn from your librarians about the recent updates to our library catalog and I-Share interface. Topics include: requesting books from I-Share, searching the catalog, and accessing your library account.

Spotting Fake News
Tuesday, October 27 at 1pm-2pm
Thursday, October 29 at 10am-11am

Evaluating online content is complex and incredibly important. This workshop will help you to be a savvier searcher.  In this workshop you will:

• Learn about fake news and why it exists
• Learn about confirmation bias and filter bubbles
• Learn about tool and criteria for evaluating information on the internet

Getting the Most Out of Google Scholar
Monday, November 2 at 1pm-2pm
Thursday, November 5 at 10am-11am

Is Google Scholar a favorite in your research strategy? This workshop will teach you how to use advanced features such as search alerts, metrics, and more. Additional topics covered:

• Overview Google Scholar, what it searches, and how to access articles
• Setting up a Google Scholar profile
• Linking Google Scholar to Brookens Library
• Overview of basic and advanced search strategies
• Understanding the results list and how to manipulate it
• Organizing and saving results using the Google Scholar “My library”

Streaming Movies Available

Browse our list of streaming movies that are currently available via Brookens Library. To access a movie, click the movie title and log in with your NetID and password.

Movies Now Streaming at Brookens Library

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The Bling Ring
These aren’t your average teenagers. Immerse yourself in crazy celebrity culture in The Bling Ring with the true story of L.A. teens robbing their Hollywood idols’ homes. Will they get caught? Expires 12/31/20.

Lady Bird
One high schooler navigates a loving but turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother over the course of her senior year in this honest and insightful coming of age story. Expires 11/30/20.

What We Do In the Shadows
In the mood for a great vampire comedy? Follow three vampires who are trying to get by in modern society; from paying rent and doing housework to trying to get invited into nightclubs. Expires 10/31/20.

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The Love Witch
It’s a battle of the sexes when a modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her and kill them. Now, she’s found the man of her dreams. How far will she go to get him? Expires 10/31/20.

End of the Tour
Two guys. One roadtrip. A funny and touching exploration of friendship, as we follow journalist David Lipsky during the 5 days he spent on the road interviewing renowned and reclusive novelist David Foster Wallace. Expires 12/31/20.

Dial M for Murder
Tony wants to have his wealthy wife murdered so he can get his hands on her inheritance. He comes up with the perfect plan to kill her, but his plans go awry in this Hitchcock thriller. Expires 10/31/20.

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Forbidden Kingdom
Jackie Chan and Jet Li battle it out in this kung-fu flick when a boy finds himself magically transported back to ancient China on a quest. If he doesn’t succeed, he may be trapped deep in the past forever. Expires 12/31/20.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Experience an atmospheric and dreamlike Chinese noir film about a lost soul on a quest to find a missing woman from his past. Expires 12/31/20.

Persona
When an actress suddenly goes mute, she goes to a beach house on the Baltic Sea with only her nurse for company. Bergman’s film explores the human condition with surrealism and emotion in one his best works. Expires 11/30/20.

To find a list of all our streaming movies, visit our Streaming Media Guide.

Banned Books Week 2020

This week, Brookens Library is celebrating Banned Books Week. During the last week of September, libraries across the world celebrate the freedom to read. It brings attention to the censorship of books in libraries and schools in the past and present.

There are many reasons why books can be either challenged or banned. Here are a few examples of books that were banned or challenged and the reasons behind them.

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Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz is a classic spooky book series that many have read around camp fires. However, it was banned for being too scary and its illustrations too gruesome for readers. Elementary school teachers were concerned when children were scared by the book, and it has been challenged by many other schools since for similar reasons. Want to read it? Request the book via I-Share.

An American classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain depicts life during the late 1800s and the adventure that Huckleberry Finn goes on. It was banned and challenged by many schools because of the use of racial slurs. Available at Brookens Library.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is yet another classic that has been banned and challenged by many schools. Many parents have requested to have it banned because of its use of profanity, and it contains topics about sex, abortion, and suicide. Audiobook available at Brookens Library.

These are only a few reasons why books are banned and challenged around the world. Brookens Library holds many banned and/or challenged books to promote the freedom to read; find a commonly banned eBook to read this week on cloudLibrary.

If you want to learn more about other banned books, check out the links below.

Top 10 Most Challenge Books

Frequently Challenged Books

Banned and Challenged Classics

New Library Hours and Study Spaces

Starting Sunday, September 27th, we will be launching new library hours. As the weather shifts, we will be removing our outdoor Grab-and-Go table and moving that service inside. We are also extending our Study Hours hours and have added group study tables and remote meeting rooms.

New Hours:
Sundays: 2-8pm
Mondays – Thursdays: Noon-10pm
Fridays: Noon-4pm

During these times, the doors on the quad side of the building will be unlocked. You can come in to the library to study, check out materials, browse the stacks, and print/scan. 

Booking a Seat
We are still recommending that you book a seat in advance for Study Hours to speed up the check in process. Visit our booking instructions page for assistance. This step is recommended, but not required. 

Group Study Tables
We have made 6 group study tables available on the main floor of the library. There are 4 tables that accommodate 2 people, and 2 tables that accommodate 4 people.  

Remote Meeting Rooms
Struggling to participate in your remote classes with your roommates walking around in the background? Or do you need a space to have a remote meeting with a counselor or advisor? We have 3 small rooms available during operating hours that are great for these purposes. These rooms include a table and chair and allow you to close the door and have a dedicated space for engaging in class or having a online meeting with less distraction. Book a Remote Meeting Room now. 

To learn more about library services and to find additional places on campus to study, print/scan, or join a remote class or meeting, visit our What to Expect at the Library guide. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Library

In need of catching up on Notorious RBG’s legacy? Brookens Library has several publications that can help fill in the gaps.

BOOKS

Carmon, Irin, and Shana Knizhnik. Notorious RBG: the Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, First edition. New York, NY: Dey St, 2015. Access eBook.

Gibson, Katie L. (Katie Lorayne). Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Legacy of Dissent Feminist Rhetoric and the Law Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2018. Request book.

Levy, Debbie, and Elizabeth Baddeley. I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. Request book.

Rosen, Jeffrey, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law, First edition. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019. Request book.

VIDEOS

Video Recording of President William Jefferson Clinton Announcing Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Nominee for Supreme Court Justice. Clinton, Bill, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Washington, D.C: United States. White House, 1993. Watch online.

RBG. Cohen, Julie, Betsy West, Alexandra Hannibal, Amy Entelis, Courtney Sexton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bill Clinton, et al. Los Angeles, California: Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2018. Request DVD.

On the Basis of Sex. Leder, Mimi, Daniel Stiepleman, Jonathan King, Robert W. Cort, Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, et al. Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, 2019. Request DVD.

Video Resources on the Constitution. Kennedy, Anthony M., Stephen G. Breyer, Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin. Scalia, John G. Roberts, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Philadelphia: Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, 2008.  [NOTE: includes a conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the 14^th Amendment]. Request DVD.

Need help locating any of these items? You can get assistance from Brookens Chat located on the library website.

Photo copyright Columbia University Alumni Association – Columbia Law Professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1980.

Brookens Fall Bucket List

Happy fall, UIS!

We’ve created a Brookens Library Fall Bucket List where you can find the essential resources to complete this list at the library!

Have a fall photo shoot.
Photograph the leaves changing colors with our Nikon D5600 or one of our other cameras!

Read ghost stories.
Scary or campy? It doesn’t matter. Find a scary book today. Prefer nonfiction? Brush up on your wiccan traditions.

Have a late night study session in the library.
Reserve your study spot in advance. We swear it’s not (too) haunted!

Bake a pumpkin pie.
If you want to make a mean pumpkin pie, or any other delicious dessert, check out some baking eBooks.

Enjoy a movie night.
If the day is too cold, enjoy one of our movie binge kits and dvd/blu-ray player with a hot cup of apple cider.

Wear a cozy sweater or warm socks.
Check out a How-To-Knit book or learn how to sew with a sewing machine.

Make a delicious, hearty meal.
Brush up on some recipes to impress the family at Thanksgiving with a cookbook.

Enjoy the fall colors, wherever you might be!