The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Farewell, Gnorm!

Today is a sad day for the Friendly Librarians. This is the last day Gnorm will spend with us. As Gnorm gets ready to leave, he notices a bookcase that he's been by many times in his month here in the library.  "Paperback Exchange?" he wonders. By now he knows just what to do; he asks one of the Friendly Librarians what it is.

She tells him that the Paperback Exchange is a library service in which people donate used paperback books to the library, so that others can read them too. People see a book they like in the Exchange bookcase, and they take it to read. Later, they either bring back the book they read or they can trade in another paperback book they have already read. That's why it's called an exchange.

Gnorm thinks this is a great idea. He rummages in his backpack and produces a paperback to give to the Exchange. He then selects one he wants from the collection. At the entrance, he says good-bye.

So long, Gnorm!

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Using the Photocopier

Gnorm feels so comfortable printing PowerPoint slides that he thinks he can master the photocopier now. Not only does the copy machine seem enormous to a little gnome like Gnorm, he’s not really sure what all of the buttons and lights do.

Thankfully, Gnorm remembers that he can ask the Friendly Librarians to assist him with the copier since no question is too simple or silly. The librarian who helps Gnorm tells him that it costs ten cents to make a single copy with the library’s copy machine. Gnorm has the exact change, which he proudly shows to the librarian:

She tells him that the copier will also take quarters, nickels, dimes, and bills and give back any unused change.

Gnorm hops right up on the copier, something no human can or should do, to place his book in the proper location in the top left-hand corner of the copier.

The librarian pushes the copy button for Gnorm because his hands are occupied. Once he finishes playing the ukulele, he can push the button for himself, of course.

Where did Gnorm’s copy go? Is it on the side in one of the trays? Did the copier not work? The librarian tells Gnorm to look underneath the copy area because that is where all of the completed copy jobs go. Presto! Gnorm is delighted to see his copy right there in front of him.

Gnorm the Gnome Knows about Surveys!

Gnorm says, "Please take the 2013 Student Satisfaction Survey today!" Gnorm, the gnome, knows that taking the survey will really help the librarians to do a better job.

You can come into the Library and Learning Resource Center and fill out a paper copy and place it in the collection box. You can also fill out the survey online:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/lex2013

We want to hear from you!

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Gnorm Discovers PowerPoint Printing

Today Gnorm learns how to print a PowerPoint presentation and save paper—and time!—doing it. 

Gnorm: “I need to print a PowerPoint lesson for one of my basic culinary classes. How do I do that?”

A Friendly Librarian: “Glad you asked. Let’s go through it together.”

Gnorm and the Friendly Librarian sit together at a terminal. Gnorm logs in with his Sullivan ID and password. He opens “My Computer” and finds the folder with the PowerPoint presentations for his class. He opens the lesson he needs to print.

Gnorm: “Alright. I’m ready to print. I don’t want to print a single slide per sheet of paper. That will use too much paper and my notebook is too small to hold it all printed that way. Besides, I’d like to take notes by the slide too. Is there a way to do that?”

A Friendly Librarian: “Why, yes there is, as a matter of fact. First, Gnorm, click on “File” on the menu ribbon, and then select print.”

Gnorm: “Okay, now what?”

Friendly Librarian: “Select “Print Layout”, and then select “3 Slides.” This will place three slides per page with a space for notes by each one.”

Gnorm: “like this?”   

Friendly librarian: “Yes, that’s right. Now you can print.”

Gnorm: “Cool! Instead of forty-five pages with no place for notes, I’ll only have fifteen to carry around and can take notes right by the slide too.”

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Databases

Gnorm heard about something called a database, which sounded kind of intimidating to him, and he decided to ask one of the librarians what they were and how to use them. Gnorm learned that databases could have articles, company and legal information, and electronic books in them. The librarian then showed him out how to access databases at Sullivan University. First, Gnorm went to the library’s website where he clicked on the “Login to Databases” link.

Next, he clicked on the link that said, “Click Here to Login to Databases.” He saw that with his Sullivan ID he could login to the databases off-campus too. Cool!

Gnorm noticed that there were many databases to choose from, and he got a little overwhelmed. The librarian suggested that he use the EBSCO database collection, which had several subject databases within it, because he wanted information about, what else, gnomes.

He selected the Academic Search Premier database, a database within the EBSCO group, as it covered a wide range of topics.

Gnorm typed in the word "gnomes" in the search box.

Before he hit the search button though, he realized that he could limit his search results to full-text articles published in 2013. Gnorm realized that database searching wasn’t so bad after all. The librarian would even help him if he got stuck.

Gnorm barely contained his excitement (gnomes are awfully good at appearing calm even when ecstatic) when he saw the first result from his search.

If Gnorm can overcome his fears about database searching, he knows anything is possible.

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Gnorm Borrows a Book

Gnorm was ecstatic when he learned he could borrow books from the library; that he could borrow up to ten for a two-week period, and that he could renew them for another two weeks as long as someone else didn't need them.  He wanted more time to read one of the books he looked at, so he came right up to the service desk to have one of the friendly librarians check out the book to him. He was so happy about it, that while Ms. H. was going through the borrowing process, he serenaded her with his ukulele—quietly of course.

He was so happy about borrowing a book that he came up to yours truly and proudly showed off his receipt!

Who knows what adventure Gnorm will have tomorrow! Come back to the blog then to find out.

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: More of the Circulating Collection

After learning about the culinary collection last Thursday, Gnorm wanted to know about the other types of books he could check out from the library. He found a Caldecott award-winning children’s book in the juvenile collection. See more about Flotsam by clicking here.

Next, he was delighted to see a book about Android programming. Little did we know that when he has some spare time Gnorm likes to tinker and create game apps that feature gnomes.

Gnorm then wandered into the management section where he located a book about managing across cultures.

Usually Gnorm travels through the earth, but when he must fly he has the occasional bout of anxiety.  Gnorm got some health tips about flying from one of the books in the library’s medical collection.

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Circulating Collection: Culinary

Gnorm was super excited when he learned that we have a culinary program here on campus.  Since he was in the Library and Learning Resource Center, we took him to our large culinary collection of over 2,900 books! Looking over his shoulder we found that Gnorm has selected some books reflecting his heritage and his love of ice cream.

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: National Library Week

What’s this? Has Gnorm left the library? Nope, he is just visiting the library’s display about National Library Week, a week set aside to remember the importance of libraries.  The theme for library week at the Lexington campus is “Librarian Stereotypes in Media and Popular Culture."

While reading the comics and quotes in the display, Gnorm sees bookmarks that he can take for free. 



You can almost hear him chuckle in this next picture as he poses with the librarian action figure that comes with, “amazing push-button shushing action.”  

Gnorm enjoys the graphics and quotes that help him reflect on what the library has meant to him thus far. He’s learned new things, done some armchair travelling, and found people willing to help him expand his horizons.

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Circulating Collection: Travel

We’ve said that Gnorm loves to travel, right? Being able to move through earth like we do air makes his travels even easier (no airport security checks for one thing!). Still, as we have seen he loves learning about new places. Naturally, Gnorm wanted to know where the travel section of our circulating collection (aka the library materials that can be borrowed or checked-out) was, so we gave him a Dewey Decimal bookmark to help him out.

He learned that travel guides were assigned a Dewey number in the 900s. We didn’t leave him to wander around until he found them though. Instead, we personally led him to the right place. Here we see that Gnorm selected a couple of books that caught his eye:

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: The Library Catalog and E-Books

Gnorm, ever curious and wanting to learn, wonders what else our library has about gnomes. He realizes that he has two ways to search: meander around the whole collection until he finds what he’s looking for, or use some sort of catalog.  Gnorm, being effiecient minded, decides to search for the word “gnome” in the library’s online catalog to see what he can find.

Not only does he find something, Gnorm realizes that the library has electronic books that can be accessed either on or off-campus. He doesn’t even have to get out of his fuzzy teddy bear pajamas to borrow a library book. Now, as long has he has access to the internet, he can keep up his intellectual pursuits while he travels.



The Library Adventures of Gnorm: The Legal Collection

Gnorm will eventually settle down someday, and he thinks that good ole’ Kentucky may be just the place.  So, he asked one of your friendly librarians about what it would take to become a citizen of the United States. We pointed him to our legal collection of over 1,000 titles and gave him some suggestions. Here, we see Gnorm is looking at the volume of the United States Code on “Aliens and Nationality” and taking copious notes:

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: The Dictionary & Reference

Gnorm loves learning.  In fact, as Gnorm will soon prove, one of the meanings of “gnome” comes from the ancient Greek word for knowledge. We asked Gnorm about this, and he said that we should look it up. So, we took him to our large table-top dictionary,

where he found the entry for “gnome.”

There are plenty more reference resources in the Library and Learning Resource Center. Come in and explore!

The Library Adventures of Gnorm: Gnorm Finds a Magazine

It is kind of an understatement to say that Gnorm likes to travel. Since he has already crisscrossed the globe, he likes to explore unique locations where he’s never been before. He reads through the periodical National Geographic Traveler to get ideas for future places to visit, and it looks like we’ve caught him reading the most recent issue here at the library.


Do you know that the Sullivan University Library and Learning Resource Center subscribes to over 100 magazines and journals in print that can be viewed in the library? In addition to the print subscriptions, the library also subscribes to databases that provide access to over 45,000 e-journal titles. Stop by the library to browse through the journals and magazines, and maybe you’ll see Gnorm while you are here.

April Star Employee: Or the Library Adventures of Gnorm the Gnome

Each month, based on nominations from the faculty and staff, Sullivan University-Lexington awards an employee with the “Star of the Month”. One of the “perks” of the award is the companionship of a gnome named Gnorm. The library’s own Hilary Writt is the recipient of the April Star, and Gnorm of course.

Since Gnorm will be an ex-officio member of the library staff during April, we thought that we would assign him with giving a tour of the Library and Learning Resources Center. Gnorm was quite happy to do this. In the days to come, watch for Gnorm in this blog, on our Facebook page, Twitter, and our NEW Pinterest Board.