Friday, May 13, 2011

Weekly Review

Jennifer Garrett is ARL Career Enhancement Fellow for 2011:

CEP-2011 Jennifer Garrett

UK Libraries will host an ARL Fellow again this summer. On campus from May 23 through July 22, Jennifer Garrett will divide her time between Special Collections, where she will process the Emmet Field Horine Collection under the supervision of Katie Henningsen, and the Medical Center Library, where she will participate in reference and liaison assignments under the guidance of Robert Shapiro. Jennifer is particularly interested in the workings of archives and preservation within a large academic library as well as the role of librarians in collection and subject liaison activities and reference.

Jennifer is currently an MLIS student at the University of British Columbia. She holds a B.A. in History, Political Science, and Religious Studies from the University of Oregon. Her resume and more information about UK Libraries' three-year ARL CEP involvement are available at http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/page.php?lweb_id=937.

We are looking forward to Jennifer's arrival and introducing her to UK Libraries faculty, staff and services.


Director of Branch Libraries Appointed:

Valerie Perry will serve a two-year assignment as Director of Branch Libraries, reporting to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research. In addition to managing the Agricultural Information Center, Valerie will be responsible for supporting branch library services through consulting and advising on branch services, policies, and procedures in response to the evolving needs of students and faculty. The Director of Branches supervises all branch library heads, plans regular meetings with branch faculty and staff, and assists in special projects related to branch mergers, moves, and space and service restructuring.


Head of the Science Library Appointed:

Sue Smith will serve a two-year assignment as Head of the Science Library, which she will manage in addition to the Engineering Library. Reporting to the Director of Branches, the Head of the Science Library is responsible for the administration and operation of the Science Library, including library services, collections, and personnel, and for setting priorities in support of UK Libraries’ strategic initiatives. The Head of the Science Library actively participates in UK Libraries liaison activities for one or more departments, contributes to an active instruction program focused on subject-related information literacy instruction, and contributes to the reference services in the Science Library.

We thank Valerie and Sue for taking on these additional assignments which will begin July 1, 2011.


Staff Changes in Collections and Technical Services:

Julene Jones is serving as Interim Unit Head for the Special Projects/Database Integrity Unit through December 2011. Julene assumed her new duties effective Monday, May 9th, replacing Nancy Lewis. Thank you, Julene, for agreeing to serve in this capacity.

Esta Day has accepted a regular Library Technician position in Electronic Resources. Esta is a student in the UK School of Library and Information Science and has been working as a Graduate Assistant in Electronic Resources.

Jason Boczar has accepted a Library Technician position in Serials Acquisitions. He is also a student in the UK School of Library and Information Science and has work experience in Serials as well as in Special Collections.

Jason and Esta will join the regular staff on June 6, 2011 and we welcome them both to their full-time positions.


UK Libraries Well-Represented at General Education Celebration:

On Wednesday, May 4, UK officially launched the new general education program and held a reception to recognize the efforts of many UK faculty in developing the new program. Since the reform effort began in 2004, UK librarians have played a role in every step of the process, from the initial committee and curricular teams to vetting teams and the current oversight committee. UK librarians will be involved in some aspect of every course, whether through an in-person instruction session or via a course guide or other online tool. Over three quarters of UK Libraries faculty have had some involvement in the new general education program.


Access to Yale University Collections:

Yale University announced this week that scholars, artists and other individuals around the world will enjoy free access and use, without license, to online images of millions of objects in the public domain that are housed in Yale's museums, archives, and libraries thanks to a new 'Open Access' policy. Yale is the first Ivy League university to make its collections accessible in this fashion, and already more than 250,000 images are available through a newly developed collective catalog.

The full announcement can be seen at http://opac.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=8544. The website also offers a slideshow sampling digital images now available at Yale.

http://opac.yale.edu/images/slideshow/Slideshow-Open-Access/slideshow.html


New E-Newspaper Launched:

KyForward.com, Our Kentucky Homepage, is described as “a grand experiment in community journalism online…committed to being your number one cyberspace stop for local news and information, interesting – even offbeat – stories well told, and overt community-building.”

The inaugural issue features a story about jockey Eddie Arcaro based on information from the Kentuckiana Digital Library and the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History.


ASERL Seeks To Identify Best Barbeque Restaurants (and have some fun!):

After much heated culinary debate, an elite team of “ASERL Foodies” have identified the key elements for selecting the three best barbecue restaurants near each ASERL library. It is now up to UK Libraries to devise a plan for submitting our choices for the three most highly recommended barbecue restaurants within a 30 minute drive of UK Libraries. We do not need to rank the three choices.

Once the top three BBQ places are identified, someone will need to record and submit the answers to the questions below using the online form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RQKGQSZ . We are asked to submit the data for our recommended restaurants by August 15th.

An elite team of “ASERL Techies” and graphic artistes is now working on the web interface that will display the information provided by ASERL members and provide a means for diners to submit their own comments in the future. There will be both a “regular” web directory and a mobile-friendly version.

Below are the questions regarding each of the restaurants we select as UK Libraries’ top three recommendations:

 1. What is the name of the BBQ restaurant you are recommending?
 2. Distance from ASERL member library? (less than 5 miles, 5-10 miles, more than 10 miles)
 3. What is the street address of the BBQ restaurant you are recommending?
 4. If this restaurant has a website, please provide the URL.
 5. What are the restaurant's business hours?
 6. Who operates the restaurant? (Mom & Pop, Local Chain, Regional Chain, National Chain)
 7. Do they take credit cards?
 8. Do they have outdoor seating? (Any special features?)
 9. Is it easy to find parking? (Any parking tips?)
10. Is this restaurant wheelchair accessible? (Special Tips?)
11. Cost? ($ (many options under $5) / $$ (most entrees $5-$10) / $$$ (most entrees over $10))
12. Which barbecued meats are available? (Pork, Beef, Chicken, Fish, Other)
13. Do they have vegetarian entrees? (Vegetarian tips?)
14. What type of sauce accompanies the BBQ? (Tomato-based, Vinegar-based, Mustard-based, No sauce (rub), It doesn't need sauce!, Other )
15. Do they serve alcohol? (Beer, Wine, Liquor)
16. What particular BBQ preparation (pulled pork, sliced beef, etc.) is recommended?
17. What side items are worthy of attention? ( Slaw, Brunswick stew, Beans, Cornbread, Mac and cheese, Greens, Other)
18. Please provide a brief description of the tangible or intangible qualities, such as location, atmosphere, or specialty foods, which recommend this particular restaurant. What interesting things will first-timers find when they show up here?

Project volunteers include: Project co-chairs: Kevin merriment (U-Memphis), Ryan Speer (Georgia Tech)  Foodies: Andy Huse (USF), Eleanor Cook (East Carolina), John Ulmschneider (VCU), Lauren Corbett (Wake Forest), Lynda Kellam (UNC Greensboro, Pam Dennis (U-Memphis), Peggy Kain (UAB)
Techies: Eira Tansey (Tulane), Emily Gore (Clemson), Jason Battles (U-Alabama), Julie Shedd (Miss State), Wally Grotophorst (George Mason).

Please let me know if you have a favorite barbeque place you wish to submit and/or if you are interested in helping with the project.


Thanks to Stacey Greenwell and Judy Sackett for their contributions to the Weekly Review.

UK Libraries Weekly Review is also available as a blog: http://uklibrariesbirdseye.blogspot.com/


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Weekly Review

Librarians Participate in UK STEM Conference:

On April 29, Sue Smith, Valerie Perry, and Jan Carver presented “Transitions: Developing Information Literacy Skills among STEM Students” at the second annual STEM Education Conference at the University of Kentucky. The conference focused on STEM research, teaching and learning, and engagement with goals of generating new partnerships and collaboration across the STEM disciplines. Faculty, K-12 educators, and STEM undergraduate and graduate students participated in the conference.

http://www.uky.edu/pimser/STEMSym2011.html


President-Elect Eli Capilouto Visits William T. Young Library:

During his unannounced visit to the UK campus last week, President-Elect Capilouto dropped by the William T. Young Library. Impressed by the building generally, he specifically mentioned The Hub which he noted was full of students utilizing the moveable furniture and white boards for group study. As he transitions into office on July 1, I will try to arrange for him to visit other UK Libraries locations and provide him with current information about UK Libraries.


UK Libraries Represented at Upcoming Kentucky Council on Archives Meeting:

Deconstructing More Product, Less Process as a Processing Methodology: Practical and Ethical Considerations, Mark Wetherington, Earle C. Clements Graduate Assistant and Jeff Suchanek, Public Policy Archivist

Content, Context and Cost Analysis, Andrew McGraw, Project Archivist, and Katie Henningsen, Access Archivist

Student Presentation, Allison Sperry and Ida Sell, Student Assistants


Shawn Gorman Leaving CTS:

Shawn Gorman, Library Technician in Access Records Management, Collections and Technical Services Division, resigned his position and will be moving to Philadelphia. We thank Shawn for his good work for UK Libraries and wish him much success for the future. His last day of work will be May 12.


MCL Audio-Visual Collection Relocated:

Effective at 5 p.m. this Friday, May 6th, the Medical Center Library AV Collection, located on the sixth floor of the College of Nursing Building, will close. The collection will move into the Medical Center Library in the Medical Sciences Building.


Vanderbilt Law Professor Utilizes UK Libraries Special Collections for Forthcoming Book:

The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White, by Daniel J. Sharfstein, is a multigenerational history of race in American life. It follows three families who started out as African American and crossed the color line and assimilated into white communities at different points in American history. The author utilized manuscript collections in Special Collections to research two Kentucky families.

Professor Sharfstein will be in Lexington on Tuesday, May 17, for a reading and discussion of his new book at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at 7 p.m.


Commencement, 2011:

Congratulations to everyone receiving degrees this weekend!


Thanks to Stacey Greenwell, Beth Kraemer, Reinette Jones, Deirdre Scaggs, and Janet Stith for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries