Shafer Library will be closing early on Thursday, April 17 at 5pm and will be closed from Friday April 18 through Monday April 21 for the Easter Holiday. Have a great break!
Featured
Library System Changes
03/04/2025
Hey there, Oilers!
Shafer Library and our partners in OPAL and OHIOLINK are moving to a new library management system during Summer 2025 that will change how you search our content and request books from other Ohio libraries.
What does this mean?
The UF Library Catalog, OhioLINK Library Catalog, and SearchOhio Catalog will disappear. These will be replaced by a single search platform which will search not only the content in the catalogs (e.g. books and videos); but also articles, e-books, and journals. Sound familiar?
This new system will become our new OneSearch but with added functionality, including the ability to search and request books from other academic libraries in our library consortium OhioLINK; and later in the fall from public libraries in SearchOhio.
NOTE this will NOT change our collections and the resources we provide. You will still have access to the same great databases, research guides, and other information on the Shafer Library website.
Dates to know
May 23, 2025: OhioLINK borrowing/lending will be suspended until the new system goes live in June. SearchOhio borrowing/lending will be suspended until late Fall 2025.
June 18 2025: The new library system goes live & ordering and processing of new materials will resume. OhioLINK borrowing and lending resumes.
Fall 2025: SearchOhio borrowing and lending resumes. We will update when a specific date is announced.
How Do I Get Books When Lending Stops May 23-June 18
1. Plan ahead and borrow materials before lending stops.
2. Borrowing and lending of Shafer Library physical materials will continue throughout the migration.
3. Article requests can still be submitted during the migration.
4. Do I need to return any books or materials I have borrowed? No, you do not need to return materials unless they are due or you are finished using them. Aside from the borrowing freeze during May 23-June 18, you can still request and return materials as normal. Be aware that borrowing from SearchOhio will be unavailable until the Fall.
Reminders and updates
Please watch for more reminders here and on our social media reminding you of important dates as they approach and actions to take. As we finalize things on our end, we will also be updating research guides and announcing any training.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Quintus, quintus@findlay.edu or Jenni Royce, jenni.royce@findlay.edu
Thanks!
Happy Valentine's Day, Oilers! Still looking for gift ideas for that special someone? Not sure if dinner or a movie is the way to go? Take a look at these helpful columns from the Pulse, maybe Oilers from the past can help you out! Click on the images for a link to our Findlay Memory digital archive that has transcripts of the articles!
Thrifty Valentine's
Here we have some helpful advice from 1998 on how to have a fun yet frugal day with your sweetheart, including getting a small bag of candy from Dietsch Brothers or write a poem and eat cheese. If you are anti-Valentine's day, our author Cut-Rate-Cupid here has some movie recommendations or says to bake yourself some cookies!
Digital Holidays
Flashforward to the year 2000, having survived Y2K, we have some recommendations on using AOL or Blue Mountain to send a digital Valentine's day card, they're colorful and animated and oh so modern, making this Librarian feel oh so old that I remember the sites listed in this article.
Pay it forward
Skipping ahead to 2002, maybe you and your boo can instead participate in a charity event, like this Valentine's day food drive and card making party, so sweet!
02/12/2025
No Subjects
Due to Winter weather, Campus will be closing at 3pm. We will update our hours tomorrow pending further announcements.
02/03/2025
Hey there, Oilers! Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! In lieu of candy and flowers, we here at Shafer bring to you 10 book recommendations featuring some complicated romances. Be it the stresses of college to the danger of what lurks beneath the sea, these stories are not your average romances! Stop on by the library to pick one of these up from our physical display, but hurry, they're flying off the shelves!
Click on each item to be taken to our catalog for more information on its availability. Missed out on a book you NEED to read? Track down another copy here on SearchOhio or stop by the Library to see if we can track one down for you or find something else you might enjoy!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Happy Friday, OIlers! Today we're looking at some newer items donated to the University Archive. These items are memorabilia from Dr. James Houdeshell, who served as UF's basketball couch for over 30 years, and was involved and essential to many programs not just here at the University but in the city of Findlay as well! I'm sure as we work through Dr. Houdeshell's donations we'll find even more great memories of his time here at UF!
Happy Friday, Oilers! We're all fairly used to construction and repairs on Campus, but I bet you've never seen some early mock-ups for buildings on campus! These had-painted mock-ups would have worked as proof of concept for investors, alumni, and students to see and give feedback on.
The University archive houses quite a few of these and other architectural design plans for buildings that both kept their initial designs and ended up on campus today as we know them or had designs that were drastically changed before they ended up being constructed.
Can you identify which buildings these became and what year they may have been painted? Do they differ from what we see on campus today?
Hey there, Oilers! With the Spring Semester in full swing we here at Shafer thought it was only right to bring back our popular Flashback Fridays series! To go with the new year, what a better time to look back at interesting artifacts from UF's past! This week we take a peak at the 1990's here at our very own Shafer library! While technology has changed, Shafer library is still here to help you with your research and provide a welcoming place to study!
Student printing in front of card catalog (circa 1995)
Before electronic catalogs and databases took over in the early 2000s, if you needed to find materials you would have to look in large card catalogs, as seen in the back of this photo! Each item would have their own individual card with its publication information, and how to find it, printed on it!
Students studying in Guyer Lounge (early 1990's)
Guyer lounge, named in honor of Ohio Representative and UF Alumni Tennyson Guyer, has provided UF students with a comfortable place to study since the early 1980's. It now also features Chemistry study hours and the Honors College study lounge!
Did you know that Shafer library offers research assistance? Undergraduates, Graduates, and faculty can all make appointments with our librarians to help them with any part of the research process, whether it's learning how to use our databases or evaluating what they've already found. Follow the QR code in the graphic below, click on the graphic, or click on this link to make an appointment today!
01/21/2025
Jenni Royce
No Subjects
Due to continuing severe cold and strong winds, Shafer will only be open from 5:00pm to 10:00pm tomorrow Wednesday, January 22nd. Please email us at library@findlay.edu if you do have any questions.
Hey there, Oilers! Happy Flashback Friday! Now we all know that there are a lot of great student organizations on campus, but did you know there used to be a Science Fiction club? Or that it had a magazine? Future Focus, the Fanzine affiliated with the club, was published on campus from 1978-1979 before it moved off campus for the rest of its run which as far as we can tell was about 1989 according to the last mention of it we found in a Pulse article on our Findlay Memory digital archive. What a good run!
Future Focus included reviews, original art, and original stories by (during its UF run) Findlay students, later branching out to other creators.
Here's a short story called Bloodsport by editor Reed Richmond.
And a piece looking at the art of famous sci-fi illustrator Frank Frazetta.
The club itself also hosted special events, like a viewing of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” featuring a special appearance by Mr. James “Scotty” Doohan!
Do you think campus should revive the Sci-Fi club? I could see that little crab mascot wearing Oiler orange for sure!