Syracuse University Libraries recently acquired access to many new online resources, including a package of more than 134,000 Springer and Palgrave ebooks, as well as the campus’ first library database of virtual reality content, Mindscape Commons.
The Springer and Palgrave ebook collection, spanning imprint years 1980-2017, is a substantial resource for the campus community that provides parallel online access for tens of thousands of print books already in the Libraries’ collections and introduces new access to over 75,000 additional titles. This brings Syracuse University’s online holdings of Springer and Palgrave ebooks to the top 12% of large research universities in the Northeastern United States, on par with the holdings of MIT, Boston University, Columbia University and Rochester Institute of Technology.
The collection includes all English-language research monographs and conference proceedings published on the SpringerLink platform from the full family of Springer Nature imprints, including Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, Plenum Press, Kluwer Academic and others. These titles support teaching and research across the University’s curriculum, ranging from humanities, sciences, medicine, engineering, business, education, social sciences and more. The archive compliments the Libraries’ current online access to Springer and Palgrave newly published titles from 2018-2022 through the Springer Access and Select acquisitions program.
Mindscape Commons, another recent addition, is the first virtual reality resource in the Libraries’ collections. Virtual reality use in higher education classrooms is growing across many disciplines, both to provide more immersive learning experiences and create new experiences that are otherwise not able to be replicated in a classroom. These can range from physical interactions with archaeological sites or in-process architectural designs to training for counselors and medical students in communications skills. As the university’s curriculum begins incorporating emerging educational technologies, the Libraries are committed to developing collections that continue supporting those new instructional experiences.
The Mindscape Commons package, published by Coherent Digital, contains virtual reality experiences, applications, games and videos to support skills training and research in social work, psychology and mental health counseling. Users can explore most Mindscape Commons content through a web browser like other library databases, plus access an immersive virtual reality experience using a mobile device with Google Cardboard or an Oculus headset. The campus community can explore Mindscape Commons and other virtual reality experiences first-hand using the Oculus equipment in the Digital Scholarship Space on Bird Library 4th floor, operated by Syracuse University Information Technology Services. For more information on how virtual reality is used in the classroom, read Start-up Stories: Mindscape Commons — or, How VR is Helping Develop Medical Students’ Communication Skills.
The Libraries have also added several other resources to its collections during the summer for use in fall courses and beyond. The full list of new ebook collections, databases, primary source archives, magazine archives and more are browsable on the Libraries’ blog New library collections for May and June 2022. For more information about a resource in your subject or discipline, contact a subject librarian. For other questions or suggestions about library collections, contact our collection development librarians at colls@syr.edu.
About Syracuse University Libraries:
Syracuse University Libraries provides expertise, information, and tools for students, faculty and staff, alumni, and the community. With over 4.8 million volumes of resources accessed by millions of physical and online visits annually, the Libraries provides information services, responsive collections, knowledgeable staff, and safe and accessible physical and digital spaces that encourage intellectual exploration. In so doing, the Libraries enable the creation of new knowledge, catalyze scholarly collaboration and cultural exchange, and advance Syracuse University’s teaching, learning and research mission.
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