Getting Started with LibGuides

I have a paper to write. Where do I start? We get asked this question often. There are a number of ways to start your research. You can stop by the library to talk to a librarian, chat online with a librarian, or take a look at one of our LibGuides.

LibGuides are online research guides with video tutorials, step-by-step instructions, links to helpful databases, and lots of other information designed to help you find exactly what you need in the library. You can find LibGuides under the Help menu at the library website. We’ll be adding new LibGuides on an ongoing basis, so if you would like to recommend a particular LibGuide, contact Juliana Morley.

Reference and Instruction Librarian

Biola University seeks an energetic and service-oriented Reference and Instruction Librarian with strong public services and information technology skills to enhance reference services and the library instruction program. This position’s primary responsibilities are reference, instruction, outreach to faculty, and collection development, which includes developing online guides and tutorials. This position reports to the Head of Reference and Instruction and some evening or weekend work may be required.

Full job description and application can be found here.

Biola Seeks New Dean of the Library

Biola University was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles and is a Protestant, theologically conservative, private Christian university located in Southern California. Biola University’s mission is to provide biblically centered education, scholarship and service-equipping men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. Biola is a community where all faculty, staff, and students are professing Christians committed to the integration of faith with learning. Biola University is comprised of six schools and offers more than145 academic programs with degrees ranging from the B.A. to the Ph.D. As the only library for the university, the library serves over 6,200 graduate and undergraduate students as well as approximately 480 faculty members and other university staff.

Biola University is favorably located in the greater metropolitan Los Angeles area, a region of immense ethnic, cultural, and international diversity. Biola University’s vision to be a global center for Christian thought is evident in its intentional effort to reconnect to the City of Los Angeles and the surrounding vicinities; in the establishment of three educational centers in Manhattan, New York; Kiev, Ukraine; and Chiang Mai, Thailand; and in the expansion of distance education and online learning.

Biola University is institutionally strong and financially viable, and the undergraduate enrollment (over 4,200 students) is at an all-time high with fifth-year President Barry H. Corey. Provost and Senior Vice President, Dr. David Nystrom, assumed his post in 2010, and he is effectively positioning Biola for intellectual leadership through integrative and interdisciplinary study and whole-person education within a distinctively Christian liberal arts context.

The attractive 98,000 square foot library building was opened in the fall of 2001 and is strategically located in the heart of the Biola campus.  The library has an annual operating budget of approximately $2.9 million and employs 9 librarians and 12 support staff as well as numerous student workers.

The Dean of the Library leads the library in its mission, vision, goals, and objectives to meet the information, study, and research needs of the university. Leadership will be demonstrated through strategic planning and strong collaborative relationships with the Provost, Vice Provosts, academic deans, and other administrative leaders. Under the administrative direction of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development & Academic Effectiveness, the Dean of the Library will be a voice for the future and will utilize current and future technologies to develop relevant programs that support the mission of Biola.

Responsibilities

• Provide excellent undergraduate and graduate-level collections which represent diverse points of view and support the current and future educational programs of a global university
• Commit to providing appropriate resources and services which support the diversity of the student body, university faculty and staff
• Define, develop, and measure outcomes that contribute to the library’s effectiveness and apply findings for purposes of continuous improvement
• Serve as the public face and advocate of the library by interacting closely with students, staff, faculty, administration, and the larger Biola community to ensure that teaching and research needs are met
• Inspire and lead a staff of 9 librarians and 12 administrative and support staff while fostering their professional growth and development
• Allocate budgets and manage funds to advance strategic priorities relevant to long-term planning
• Oversee the development and utilization of the library facility and its resources
• Represent the library in university committees or task forces, as well as external library organizations and consortia
• Maintain an awareness of current developments and trends in academic libraries and implement appropriate technologies that support the mission of the library
• Develop and implement a strategic plan to advance the vision of the library
• Establish a vision for the future of the library and its services and maintain alignment between the library and the university mission and vision.

Required Qualifications

• M.L.S. from an ALA accredited institution
• Minimum of five years experience in academic or research library management with a record of increasingly responsible supervisory and administrative roles
• Extensive knowledge of current library trends, technology, collections, and resources needed for instructional and scholarly support of students and faculty
• Ability to foster a collaborative and innovative working environment which encourages teamwork and collegiality within the library and across the university
• Significant experience developing and monitoring budgets in an academic library environment

Preferred Qualifications

• A second graduate degree
• Familiarity with planning, implementing, and maintaining institutional repositories and digitization projects

Application Information

Please email or send a letter of interest and CV to:

Dr. Patricia Pike, Vice Provost
Biola University
13800 Biola Avenue
La Mirada, CA 90639
patricia [dot] pike [at] biola [dot] edu

Faculty Resource Center

Faculty, do you ever wonder what the library has to offer you?  Find out about course reserves, library instruction, and more in the new Faculty Resource Center.

Annual Report 2011-2012

A Tribute to Susan Johnson

Susan Johnson (Library) is retiring on July 31 after serving the Library for 23 years. A private reception will be held to honor Susan for her loyal service to Biola.

In January of 1970, Susan earned a M.L.S. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. After working there several years, she served at the Orange County Public Library, and then 16 and a half years in the Library at Multnomah School of the Bible (now known as Multnomah University) in Portland, Ore. Returning to southern California in August of 1989, she accepted the position of Head of Technical Services at the Biola University Library. Susan has been a Librarian for 42 and a half years, and most of that time she has served in Christian school libraries.

Susan played a major role in moving the Biola Library into the digital world. Having been involved in the change from searching for resources with a card catalog to using the online catalog, the online catalog can now be searched by students, faculty, and alumni from any computer or mobile device in the world.  She started the conversion of the Library’s resources to the Library of Congress numbering system, instead of the Dewey Decimal system.  In addition, Susan added the records to the online catalog for the first collection of electronic books. The link to the digital copy of the e-book is now embedded in the catalog record, allowing access to the e-book with a single mouse click.

During her many years as a librarian, Susan has been a member of the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL) and has contributed to ACL’s database, the Christian Periodical Index. She has been indexing "The Great Commission Research Journal," which is published by the Cook School of Intercultural Studies. Indexing a journal allows scholars to search in the database for an article by author, title, or subject.

When asked about her plans for retirement, Susan commented, “It has been my great pleasure to work at Biola University. I now plan to spend more time with my nieces and nephews!”

Thank you, Susan, for your dedication and service to Biola.

Written by Sue Whitehead

Biola Library Goes Mobile

Biola Library has just launched a mobile version of the library website. It includes mobile-friendly interfaces for some of the library’s most used resources, including the library catalog, your library account, Ask a Librarian, and LibGuides. Over a third of the library’s databases can now be searched via a mobile-friendly interface. You can also see what mobile apps are currently available for any of our databases. Additional features of the website include the ability to viewed checked out items, view fines, renew items, and place holds. You can also view library contact information, current week and semester hours, library FAQs, and even computer availability within the library (122 PCs & 58 Macs spread throughout seven areas). The mobile website provides immediate access to many of the library’s research tools, including WorldCat Local, LINK+, Journals A to Z, E-Books A to Z, and Course Reserves.

The website is optimized for viewing on a wide range of mobile devices including most smartphones. You can view it at the following URL - http://library.biola.edu/m. On your smartphone you can access it by navigating to the library’s full website where you will automatically be redirected. Be sure to visit the mobile website and take our short survey (via Feedback button at the bottom) to let us know what you think. It will be an ongoing development to ensure that the website meets your needs, and your feedback will help us.

Learn a Language with Mango

The library has a new online language learning tool called "Mango Languages," which provides online conversational and ESL instruction in over 35 languages. Each lesson combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions. The courses are presented with an appreciation for cultural nuance and real-world application that integrates components of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and culture.

Deep Cuts: Prints by Dirk Hagner

Main Level, Biola University Library
January 25 – May 28, 2013

Opening Reception: Tuesday, February 5, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
For additional Information, call (562) 903-4807

Dirk Hagner was raised and educated in Germany, where he studied drawing, printmaking, photography, and painting at the Folkwang School of Fine Arts, University of Essen. After graduating with a masters degree in the early eighties move to the United States. In his art, both old and new techniques/ideas compliment each other. He constantly draws from historic, geographic, political and artistic connections from the past. Old procedures like woodcut and etching are combined with photo intaglio and typography, while Influences from German Expressionism meet the sensibilities of line and space from the Far East. New ideas refer to old concepts and traditional technique expresses contemporary content. Hagner’s prints deal with the human folly found within our world.

Paintings by Natalie Alvarez

Biola University Library, Upper Level

"In my senior show, one of my main goals was to showcase the bonds and friendships I had been involved in throughout my entire college career. Drawing someone this size creates an intimacy between the artist and the subject, and I thought it would be a perfect way to present these people who have touched my life. I used oils on the eyes and clothes of my subjects to create a richness in color and the illusion of warmth and life. Each large portrait came with a smaller portrait of the same person in a different position that they each kept after the show was over. I am very happy with the result and feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to share my gift of drawing with the people who I love the most." - Natalie Alvarez

George and I have had a comical and deep friendship all 4 years of college. He has been a good friend to talk to and to get advice from. One of his favorite possessions was his iPhone. He would have it out with him everywhere he was and so I wanted to include it in his portrait. Him holding his iPhone to his face, like in the portrait, was actually a normal gesture he would do when talking to him or when at work and that is what I wanted to capture. I noticed that Ryan had a very good work ethic and I decided to portray him doing something he loved. After taking many pictures of him working in his office, I found one that had a quietness and focus about it that I decided to go with for my drawing of him. I'm very fond of the jacket he wore as well because the tones are muted enough to show off the tie he wears.

Thomas Macklin Bible

Middle Level

The Thomas Macklin Bible is considered to be the largest Bible ever printed in English. This collection of seven illustrated volumes was donated by Mrs. Marjorie Fluor Moore. Published in 1800, it contains 71 full-page illustrations and many smaller vignettes created by renowned English artists of the period. The illustration in the exhibit changes about every two months.

Paintings by Hyatt Moore

The Feeding of the Three-thousand
This painting depicts Jesus as the miracle worker. The "bread" in the baskets is Scripture, the distributors are missionaries (of various races), and in the crowd are pockets of new readers (of different ethnic groups). The "three-thousand" is the number of the world's languages still without written form - or Scriptures. It's a perfect reminder of the challenge of our times, and both the practical and spiritual aspects of the solution. For further information about Hyatt Moore and his art, please visit his website at www.hyattmoore.com.

Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light"

In keeping with the Biola University Library's theme of "Light," there are two paintings by Thomas Kinkade:

The Fisherman

Middle Level

This bronze statue was donated to the Biola Library by Mrs. Lyman Stewart. It is a reminder of The Fisherman's Club, an important part of Biola's early history.

The History of America Copper Panels

Upper Level

Created by Rudolph Haynal, this series of six hammered-copper panels depicts symbolized historical subjects: The First Settlers, Independence War, The Civil War, Industrial Revolution, World War II, and the Age of Technology.