Weekly Review

UK Libraries Celebrate International Education Week, November 15-19, 2010

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education that promotes programs to prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

To celebrate the week, flags from 23 different countries were hung in the atrium of Young Library. In addition to the hanging of the flags, an educational component was provided in the form of a vexillology

quiz that allowed participants to see if they could identify all 23 flags. Thirty-one students tested their knowledge of flags and entered the contest. Each student received a certificate and a small gift for participating in the event. The flags will remain on display through November 30th. Toni Greider, Director of UK Libraries International Programs organized the display and Terri Brown and the Circulation Department Staff enthusiastically supported of this event.


UK Libraries Receives Georgia Powers Collections

The University of Kentucky announced that it will house important papers and interviews related to former Kentucky State Senator Georgia Powers.

Additionally, the university will also endow a chair in the name of the trailblazing legislator and civil rights icon as part of UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women. Powers became the first African-American and woman to hold a seat in the Kentucky State Senate in 1968.

Starting with her first bill for a statewide fair housing law, Powers carved out a 21-year career fighting for civil rights legislation that prohibited sex, job and age discrimination.

Researchers for years to come will be able to study the impact Powers had not only in Louisville and her home state of Kentucky, but as a leader in the nation's civil rights movement through two new collections being donated to the UK Libraries consisting of the legislator's papers and a selection of oral history interviews.

"The Georgia Powers’ oral histories and archival papers will document the life and career of an important Kentucky woman," said Associate Dean of Special Collections Deirdre Scaggs. "It highlights her involvement in the Kentucky civil rights movement, her career as a senator, and her experiences as a black woman. The Powers' collection is important for Kentucky history, for the history of women, and the history of African-Americans – these materials will be used by interdisciplinary scholars of United States history, politics, gender and race."

The papers donated to UK Libraries will encompass more than 2,000 newspaper clippings, photos, speeches and legal pads filled with the legislator's handwritten thoughts.

Senator Powers’ oral history interviews, the Georgia Davis Powers Oral History Project, supplements her written memoir and offers new information about her life and work. The collection documents the powerful role she played in affecting public policy as she pushed for legislation on public accommodations and open housing. Powers fought for the Equal Rights Amendment resolution and the Displaced Homemaker's Law. The most recent interviews were conducted by historian Gerald Smith who played a crucial role in acquiring Senator Powers' papers and strengthening her relationship with UK Libraries. This collection, housed in the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, will be restricted for a period of time.

"We won’t truly appreciate the magnitude of this donation until 20-30 years from now," said Smith, an associate professor of history and co-editor of the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. "Students will have a window of understanding to Kentucky’s political history as seen by a woman and an African-American."

In addition to the donations of materials to UK Libraries, the university will also become home to the Georgia Davis Powers Endowed Chair. This is the fourth chair created by the Center for Research on Violence Against Women and will focus on multicultural studies of violence against women and the unique experiences of women of color.

All women are at risk of abuse, but certain populations in the U.S. and around the world are often at greater risk. "Culture, race, and ethnicity – these things matter to whether or not you experience violence and what you do in response," said Carol Jordan, director of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. "These issues are so important; we thought that they required their own chair. And we wanted to use this opportunity to add a chair as well as honor an extraordinary woman."

The Georgia Davis Powers Endowment will affirm the importance of addressing race, ethnicity, and other socio-cultural factors in the study of violence against women.

Powers was more than willing to lend her name to such a worthy area of research. "Senator Powers connects with the work of our center, because she's a survivor of things that our center works for," noted Jordan. "She works on behalf of women and works for women. With that in mind, she fits completely with what we’re trying to do."

In addition to the new oral history and archival collections being donated by Senator Powers, UK Libraries is home to three other oral histories with the state legislator. Powers was previously participated in the Nunn Center's "Blacks in Lexington Project" and "Kentucky Legislature Oral History Project." Both collections are open to the public.

One of nine children, Powers was born Oct. 19, 1923, in Springfield, Ky. A civil rights movement leader in the Commonwealth, she was one of the organizers of the 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort in support of a law that would make public accommodations accessible to all, regardless of race. That same year, Powers became the first black woman to serve on the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee. As senator, she chaired two legislative committees, Health and Welfare (1970-76) and Labor and Industry (1978-88). Powers also served as chair of the Reverend Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign twice.


Humanity Academy

Susan Daole, Julene Jones, Kathryn Lybarger and Mary McLaren have completed the week-long Humanity Academy, class of November 2010. Congratulations, new graduates!

For more information about this UKHR diversity training program, please see: http://hr.uky.edu/TandD/HumanityAcademy.php


Amy Osborne Takes Position at Boone County Public Library:

Amy Osborne, Head of Public Services and reference librarian in the Law Library, will be leaving U.K. at the end of the year to become Manager of the Union Branch of the Boone County Public Library in Northern Kentucky. Amy joined the Libraries in 1997 and over her 13 years of service she has been highly regarded by the U.K. and area legal community for her reference expertise. We wish her much personal and professional success.


New Law Library Director:

Dr. James M. Donovan began as the new law library director on December 1, 2010: Professor Donovan received his undergraduate degree (Humanities and Greek/Latin) from University of Tennessee, his law degree from Loyola New Orleans School of Law (7th in his class), and two masters degrees (Philosophy and Library Science) from LSU. Professor Donovan’s most recent job was as Faculty and Access Services Librarian at University of Georgia School of Law. Prior to that, he served as Access Services Librarian at Tulane University School of Law. Professor Donovan’s most recent research includes a book entitled Legal Anthropology: An Introduction (Alta Mira Press, 2008) and an article entitled “Libraries as doppelgängers: A meditation on collection development,” 34 Southeastern Law Librarian (2009).


Jeff Sheppard Makes Big Blue History Once Again:

Probably best known as one of the Comeback Cats from the 1998 NCAA Championship team, today Jeff is part of a team making a different kind of comeback as part of an effort to bring back a piece of UK’s basketball history.

Recently, Sheppard has been working with University of Kentucky Archives on a special project to digitize and restore video footage and audio tape of the 1958 National Championship basketball team. “I heard about the fundraising initiative from the UK library to restore the old films of UK’s past and I wanted to be a part of the solution,” says Sheppard.

“Jeff loves athletics and he understands the importance of UK basketball history,” says Deirdre Scaggs, associate dean, special collections, at UK Libraries. “He was instrumental in raising awareness during the UK Libraries tipoff celebration for the Big Blue Sports Archives.”

The film of the 1958 championship game contains no audio and has been digitized and restored with the help of Wazoo Sports Inc., where Sheppard is vice president of business development. “At Wazoo Sports we love to air the Classic UK basketball games for the fans to enjoy, so it made perfect sense to partner with the UK Libraries and help them with the initiative and get this awesome footage out to the fans,” says Sheppard.

Audio of Claude Sullivan, the original “voice of the Wildcats,” calling the game, exists separately and has been digitally synced with the video footage. The result is an exclusive, original documentary of the 1958 NCAA Championship game and selected highlights from the 1958 season, a portion of which is narrated by Adolf Rupp and Harry Lancaster. “The sights and sounds of UK sports are captured on fragile media that is deteriorating every day. It’s a race against time to preserve them for future generations,” says Scaggs. “With Jeff’s support we have been able to save some of that legacy.”

To purchase a copy of the 1958 championship DVD, visit www.shopwazoosports.com. To see images and more from the Big Blue Sports Archives, please visit exploreuk.uky.edu. Full story available at http://www.ukalumni.net/s/1052/index-no-right.aspx?sid=1052&gid=1&pgid=1845


Thanks to the UK Alumni Association, Beth Kraemer, Whitney Hale, Judy Sackett and Toni Greider for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries