Friday, January 28, 2011

Weekly Review

UK Libraries to Host Two Visiting Chinese Librarians:

UK Libraries will have two visiting scholars during the month of April. We will be hosting Dr. Pi Jiezheng, Director of the Information Service Division of the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Mr. Kou Yuantao, Librarian, who is responsible for library systems and development. The librarians will be here from April 4 through May 1 and will be visiting various units within UK Libraries as well as touring other nearby libraries. As part of their visit, Dr. Pi will present on information management and library practices in China.

This will be an excellent opportunity to interact and learn from international colleagues. I want to thank Toni Greider for making these arrangements and working our guests during their visit. If you have any questions or suggestions for Toni, please let her know.


Modern Fairy Tales Featured in The Hub:

The Hub at W.T.’s is currently featuring a “digital storybook” of contemporary fairy tales created by nine Honors students over the course of the fall 2010 semester. Led by instructor Cheryl Cardiff, the student-writers in Honors 301 created a collection of stories in an oral, auditory and visual format. The “Modern Fairy Tales” digital exhibit is running in the Hub, Core 4, until the end of January, and may also be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/TheModernFairytales.


Keeneland Library Receives National Grant to Preserve Unique Collections:

The Keeneland Library has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions to aid in preserving two involving acclaimed photographer Bert Morgan and renowned caricaturist Pierre ‘Peb’ Bellocq.

Becky Ryder, UK Librarian on leave to serve as Director of the Keeneland Library this year, will direct the grant project. Congratulations Becky! The full press release is available on the Keeneland website: http://www.keeneland.com/Lists/News/dispform.aspx?ID=6647

UK Libraries and Keeneland continue to seek private funds to establish an endowment at UK for the Keeneland Library. If sufficient private funds can be attained, UK Libraries would assume management of the Keeneland Library as part of Special Collections.


ASERL Executive Director Will Visit UK Libraries on February 16:

John Burger, Executive Director of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries will be on campus February 16. For more than 50 years, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries has brought together leaders from research and state libraries in the region to foster a high standard of library excellence through inter-institutional resource sharing and other collaborative efforts. Today, ASERL is the largest regional research library consortium in the United States.

UK Libraries has several initiatives and projects underway with ASERL and if you would like to schedule a time to meet with John during his visit please let me know.


Thanks to Jen Bartlett and Toni Greider for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Weekly Review

2011 ARL Fellow Selected:

Jennifer Garrett has been selected to become UK Libraries' next ARL Career Enhancement Fellow. An Oregon resident, she is currently in her second semester of graduate work in library science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. This early in her studies, Jennifer is open to exploring many areas of librarianship, and we are in the process of developing her eight week summer internship. Judy Sackett will serve as Jennifer's mentor. Pat Wilson and Judy attended the ARL CEP Mentor's Training at ALA earlier this month. A second fellow who was set to participate this summer has unexpectedly dropped out of the program. We are working with ARL and hope to secure a substitute. Current plans call for the second fellow to be mentored by Pat Wilson and supervised by Kathryn Lybarger.


Meghan Manor Resigns:

Meghan Manor, Administrative Support Associate I since June 2008, has resigned her position in the Dean’s Office. We thank her for her excellent work in personnel and wish her good health and much happiness and success for the future. Meghan's last day was Tuesday, January 18.

Personnel questions and issues may be referred to Judy Sackett, jsackett@uky.edu until further notice.


Plans Underway To Move A-V Library from Nursing Building to Medical Center Library:

Continuing UK Libraries’ efforts to provide better service and create efficiencies we plan to move the A-V Library Collection from the 6th floor of Nursing to the Medical Center Library. Janet Stith has discussed this with representatives of the health sciences colleges and they support the move.

As we are doing in Agriculture, we plan to maintain a presence on the 6thfloor of nursing with an embedded librarian who will continue to work with collection development and provide scheduled personal reference assistance for students and faculty. Since UK Libraries personnel were providing a couple of non-libraries services (assigning study rooms, etc.) UKIT has offered to cover these services with their student personnel at the computing lab that will remain.


Weekly Tech Tip from UK Libraries Desktop Support:

Did you know that you can connect to your work computer from home? Contact LIB-TS@LSV.UKY.EDU for information about how to set up your computer for a remote connection. If you have been using Remote Desktop, remember that you can no longer rely on using your computer's IP address for the connection. You'll need your full computer name, including ad.uky.edu (e.g., wty2n02.ad.uky.edu). Don't know your computer name? Use the handy link "Find my computer name" on the LibTS SharePoint site: http://academics.uky.edu/libraries/LT/LibTS/.


Thanks to Judy Sackett and Beth Kraemer for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Weekly Review

UK Libraries Cooperating with Research Project on Information Literacy:

Meagan Oakleaf of the Syracuse University iSchool recently announced the funding of her new project, RAILS (Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills). Rails, located at Syracuse University's iSchool, operates in partnership with the ACRL Assessment Immersion Program and is augmented by Waypoint Outcomes.

An IMLS-funded research project, RAILS is designed to investigate an analytic rubric approach (that’s what UK Libraries is doing as well) to information literacy assessment in higher education. The RAILS project is intended to help academic librarians and disciplinary faculty assess information literacy outcomes.

UK Libraries’ rubrics are being shared on the RAILS site. Hopefully the sharing among institutions will grow as more institutions sign on. For now, UK is one of the early adopters.


Cheri Daniels Explores “Shadows of Eastern State Hospital:”

During its long history, many of Lexington’s Eastern State Hospital patients were buried on the hospital grounds. To make way for the new location of the Bluegrass Community and Technical College, the old graves are being identified and moved. In the December 23, 2010 issue of Ace Weekly, Cheri Daniels, Lending Unit Manager in Interlibrary Loan and a professional genealogist, explores the history of the cemetery including the fate of her own Uncle Lewis. Cheri suggests that, “we must remember that each loved one buried there has an identity and story that needs to be discovered and restored to our collective memory. “

You can see the entire article at: http://www.aceweekly.com/index.php/site/news/this_years_models/


Faculty and Staff Survey on International Interests:

The International Working Group has developed a survey for all library faculty and staff that is designed to serve two purposes. The interest portion of the survey is designed to provide information to the Working Group that will help them in developing the library initiatives for the coming year. The second part of the survey, dealing with language, will aid the group in indentifying the language proficiency that exists within University Libraries. The survey will be an important piece in shaping the direction of the program.

You can fill out as much or as little of the survey as you wish. Any information you provide will help in shaping the program. The survey is available at: http://bit.ly/fLvhOS and will be available until January 21st.


University of Louisville Names New Dean of Libraries:

Robert Fox, Jr., associate dean of libraries at Georgia Tech since 2005, has been named Dean of Libraries at the University of Louisville. Prior to his tenure at Georgia Tech, Fox served in several positions at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. He was that institution’s director of library services from 1992 to 2005. He also has served as a reference librarian at Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center, a consortium of historically black colleges and universities.

Fox earned his M.B.A. at the University of Georgia. He holds a master of library sciences degree from Clark Atlanta University.


Thanks to Debbie Sharpe and Toni Greider for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries