THE UNIVERSITY DIARY KANSAN
THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 2008
NEWS
5A
CAMPUS
KU Libraries improve services,increase convenience
BY SACHIKO MIYAKAWA
smiyakawa@kansan.com
Students will find library services more convenient and userfriendly, thanks to changes that KU Libraries made this semester.
Some of the changes include a new function on the library Web site that allows students to search multiple databases, a text messaging system to "Ask A Librarian" and a relocated circulation desk in Watson Library.
The updated library Web site will be simpler and more functional for researchers. New search tools on the main page allow users to search many popular databases at once. Holly Mercer, head of KU Scholar Services, said the new tools saved time for users and were helpful for interdisciplinary research. She said about 120 databases were available through the new search service and the number would grow over time.
"It's a quick way to get started," Mercer said. "It will help you identify some good databases for starting points to do research."
Users can narrow down databases or see more specific subjects on the "Articles and Databases" page. Once users select a subject, the Web site will list relevant databases, Web sites and librarians who are familiar
MADRID, Spain — A Spanish airliner bound for the Canary Islands at the height of the vacation season crashed, burned and broke into pieces Wednesday while trying to take off from Madrid, killing 153 people on board, officials said.
Spanish airliner crashes during take off, kills 153
INTERNATIONAL
There were only 19 survivors of the mid-afternoon crash, Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez said. It was Spain's deadliest air disaster in more than 20 years.
A police officer said the bodies were so hot that police could barely touch them and told El Pais newspaper the shattered wreckage bore no resemblance to a plane.
Dozens of ambulances rushed to the site as columns of smoke billowed from the wreckage. The prime minister broke off his vacation in southern Spain and rushed back to Madrid, heading straight for the airport.
The service is available during the normal service desk hours of
"The scene is devastating," said Pablo Albella, an emergency rescue worker. "The fuselage is destroyed. The plane burned. I have seen a kilometer of charred land and few whole pieces of the fuselage. It is all destruction."
Spanair spokesman Sergio Allard told a news conference the cause of the crash was not immediately known. The airline said the plane carried 172 people in all.
El Pais said the plane left an hour late because of technical problems. It eventually managed to get slightly off the ground but crashed near the end of the runway, El Pais said, quoting an employee of the national airport authority AENA.
Helicopters and fire trucks dumped water on the plane, which ended up in a wooded area at the end of the runway at Terminal 4.
A makeshift morgue was set up at the city's main convention center, officials said.
Mats Jansson, the chief executive of Spanair's owner, Scandinavian Airlines, said he had no information about the toll or the accident itself.
with the subject.
In Germany, Luthansa said it issued tickets to seven people who checked in for the flight, and that four of those were from Germany. It was unclear whether they were German citizens.
Sweden's Foreign Ministry confirmed that two Swedes were onboard the aircraft. One of them has been located at a hospital while the other is unaccounted for, ministry spokeswoman Gufran al-Nadaf said.
The plane was an MD-82 on a codeshare flight with Lufthansa's LH255, Spanair said. Departures from Madrid's airport were suspended for several hours.
The KU Libraries also added text messaging to the "Ask
"What we people to the right resources," Mercer said. "Our goal was to simplify the process as much as we could."
"What we want to do is guide people to the right resources. Our goal was to simplify the process as much as we could."
HOLLY MERCER Head of KU Scholar Services
Anschutz and Watson libraries.
A Librarian" service. The service also includes the options to ask by phone, online instant messaging, e-mail or in person.
Fran Devlin.
KU Libraries coordinator of reference services, said librarians would respond to questions as soon as they could.
Allison Richardson/KANSAN
Erin Ellis, KU
Libraries coordinator of instructional services, said she hoped the texting service would make students more aware of librarians and feel less intimi-
dated to ask for their help.
Davis Morgan, Newton junior, works at the new circulation desk in Watson Library Tuesday afternoon. Morgan said that he had worked at the library for three years and that the new desk was "quite spacious."
"What I'd like to see is students feel more free to ask questions," Ellis said. "They can text in a stack, like, 'I can't find this book'"
"The desk itself is really gorgeous," Smith said. "We're really trying to increase the aesthetic appeal of Watson. We want to make
place they enjoy being."
Watson very comfortable for students and faculty and make it a
Rebecca Smith, KU Libraries director of public relations, said the new desk location improved staff visibility. The circulation desk provides the same service as last year, but Smith said remodeling allowed patrons to talk to staff more casually.
Watson library also remodeled its circulation desk and moved it to the immediate left of the entrance.
Edited by Jennifer Torline
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