Friday, August 26, 2011

What Was All That Hubbub?

UK Libraries reached well over 400 students at the fifth annual Hubbub on Monday, August 22. The event has grown to be a major part of K Week welcome activities. In a two hour period, students had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities at this fun fair. In addition to Scrabble, Battleship, and other classic board games, students played video games on huge projected images as well as classic arcade games. A balloon artist created personalized souvenirs, and students could get photos made with their new friends in the photo booth. Face painting, prize drawings, coloring pages, and lots of pizza were also part of the fun. UK IT, an annual partner in the event, as well as KY Trade, IKON, the Writing Center, and The Study helped in making this one of our best K Week efforts yet.

From planning and decorating to serving pizza to welcoming students at the door, none of these events (Hubbub 2007-2011) would have been successful without the help of so many talented UK Libraries faculty, staff, and students. Thank you!


Message from Provost Kumble Subbaswamy:

“Academia is steeped in rich tradition, and the investiture of a new President is a major ritual in the life of any university. UK will conduct the formal investiture of its twelfth President, Dr. Eli Capilouto, on October 18th at 4 pm in the Singletary Center. There will be a faculty processional as a part of the event. I am writing not only to encourage you to attend, but also to suggest that you encourage your faculty to participate and make the event a gathering of the university’s community of scholars. “


UK Librarians Participating in Teaching & Technology Fair:

Dean Mark Kornbluh announced this week that “the college of Arts and Sciences, the Division of Undergraduate Education and CELT are hosting a second Teaching and Technology Fair Thursday, September 1, from 2-5 pm in the Lexmark Public Room, 209 Main Building. The fair is meant to be a one stop showplace for a variety of contemporary technologies that can be gainfully employed in the traditional classroom. The line-up of booths is both attached and below. This second fair is a bigger and better version of last May’s event. It is a fine opportunity to learn of some innovative things that can be—and are on campus being—done.”


East Coast Earthquake Impacts Libraries and Archives:

This week’s earthquake caused damage to parts of the National Archives and sent books falling into the isles at libraries across the region. ASERL’s John Burger passed along the following photographs from the University of Maryland:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/umd_libraries/6076451276/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/umd_libraries/6076451382/in/photostream/


Thanks to Stacey Greenwell and John Burger for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Weekly Review

UK Librarians Showcase Services to Graduate Students:

Teaching Assistant Orientation

UK Libraries was represented at the orientation for 415 new graduate teaching assistants held August 15-16. Presentations on a variety of library services important to graduate students included: Special Collections; Academic Liaisons; Interlibrary Loan, Book Express, and the Center for Research Libraries; Information Literacy Instruction and Research Guides; EndNote Training; and Academic Integrity.

Thanks to Jen Bartlett, Heath Martin, Shawn Livingston, Cheri Daniels, Debbie Sharp, Brad Carrington, Frank Davis, Valerie Perry, and Judy Prats, Director of the Writing Center, for joining together to make this a successful event. Thanks also to Jennifer Richmond for all the hard work she put into the Graduate Student Survival Kit which was used in the presentations.

Graduate Student Resource Fair

Gail Kennedy, coordinator of UK Libraries presence at the Graduate Student Fair, described it as a “mega-booth,” and indeed it was! In two short hours, UK Libraries demonstrated library resources, answered questions, and shared information about UK Libraries. Many UK Libraries faculty, staff, and students helped at the booth or with setup: Gail Kennedy, Sarah Vaughn, Peter Hesseldenz, Brad Carrington, Meg Shaw, Jan Carver, Faith Harders, Lalana Powell, Debbie Sharp, Laura Whayne, Sue Smith, Brandon Daniels, Kathryne LeFevre, Rachel Staub, Shawn Livingston, Toni Greider, Mary Beth Thomson, Heath Martin, Katie Henningsen, Rick Brewer, Susan Foster-Harper, and the entire mailroom staff.

Thank you for representing UK Libraries in what, if there was a contest, would have been the “Best in Show” booth!

Residence Life Resource Fair

Once again, UK Libraries staffed a table at the resource fair for 180 Resident Advisors (RAs). We provided information about library services and resources and answered student questions. The new RAs were particularly interested in UK Libraries’ fifth annual Hubbub party, scheduled for Monday, August 22, 4-6 pm. Many of the juniors and seniors remembered the event from years past and planned to let their advisees know this is a must-attend K Week event. Thanks to Cindy Cline, Shawn Livingston, and Stacey Greenwell for staffing the table.

A Library Note:

This summer several talented library employees began an initiative to develop a “one minute” video on LibGuides inspired by the Arizona State University (ASU) Libraries’ “The Library Minute” series. These are focused, eye-catching video snapshots which capture the essence of campus libraries, resources, and more.

UK Libraries’ first installment, A Library Note http://www.youtube.com/user/ALibraryNote, debuted at this year’s New Graduate Student Fair in the Student Center. Starring graduate assistant Rachel Staub, the video focuses on Research Guides. Written by Kathryne LeFevre and Sue Smith, it was directed and produced by Brandon Daniels. Thanks to all who assisted in creating this fun and informative video!


Kentucky Garden Stories:

 Kate Black’s “Kentucky Garden Stories: Planting Resistance” has been published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Appalachian Studies. http://www.appalachianstudies.org/jas/

Kate, curator of the UK Libraries Appalachian Collection, recently completed interviews with forty home vegetable gardeners. Her project, Kentucky Garden Stories, took her to every corner of the commonwealth. Currently, she is working on a book, based on these interviews. Kate has been a gardener since she was six years old. Last year she started keeping bees.


Heath Martin Will Participate in TRLN Management Academy:

The focus of this year’s TRLN Management Academy will be “The Business of Libraries.” Sponsored by the Triangle Research Library Network consortia of Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, The TRLN Management Academy is an experiential learning program to prepare aspiring and current mid-level managers in academic libraries for the demands associated with the management of resources. Among TRLN's current strategic initiatives is the preparation and development of managers for libraries in the digital age.

Heath is one of 32 participants selected from an exceptionally strong pool of nearly 60 applicants for the five day academy that begins October 24.


 Health Literacy at Kentucky State Fair:

Next week Jane Bryant, Health Literacy Librarian will host an exhibit on Kentucky Health Literacy, the UK Medical Center Library and the National Library of Medicine resources for consumers at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville.


New Binding Contract Completed:

The RFP Selection Committee for UK Libraries Binding Services recently completed their work of writing a request for proposal, reviewing and evaluating proposals submitted by binderies. Thanks to Kathy Franklin, chair, Sharon Clark, Kazuko Hioki, Julene Jones, Kathryne LeFevre, Marsha Seamans, and Carrie Wallis for their contribution to this important contract process.


Graduate Student Reflects on Summer Work in UK Archives:

Ashley Sorrell, doctoral student in history at UK, spent this past summer working in the UK Archives. Reflecting back on her experience Ashley noted that “the experience under the direction and guidance of Jeff Suchanek was, and will remain, invaluable to me as a historian, researcher, and teaching assistant.”

Ashley added, “It is my humble opinion that the archival collections are one of, if not the most, valuable part of the libraries at UK. These treasured materials would not be as valuable to the university if it were not for the archivists who hold a passion and knowledge of the collections. I am proud to have had this opportunity to work in their company. Thanks to my time here and the guidance of Mr. Suchanek, I leave my summer position in Special Collections a more rounded historian and researchers.”

Thank you Ashley and UK Libraries wishes you good luck in your graduate program.


Thanks to Stacey Greenwell, Deirdre Scaggs, Sue Smith, and Janet Stith for their contributions to the Weekly Review.

Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries









Monday, August 15, 2011

UK Libraries Goals and Initiatives for 2012

• We will provide library instruction for UK Core and continue library instruction for other classes as appropriate

• We will partner with ARL, CRL, ASERL, SAALCK, KYVL, and our Information Alliance (Vanderbilt and Tennessee) to make collections available when needed at the lowest possible cost.

• We will provide clinical librarians who can provide timely information to physicians and medical students either during clinical rounds or from their mobile devices. We will continue to explore how to make this more effective and sustainable.

• We will seek private funds that will allow UK Libraries to compete with research libraries that have more funding, more faculty and staff, and larger collections.

• We will seek private funds to address critical issues in our Medical Center Library’s services and facilities

• We will seek private funds to support UK Libraries’ commitment to preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Kentucky, the region, and in selected areas such as 18th. and 19th century English literature and public policy

• We will recruit and hire the best librarians who will bring new knowledge, technological expertise, diversity, and varied experiences to UK Libraries.

• When possible, we will partner with UK colleges and administrative programs to support teaching, learning, research and patient care.

• UKnowledge will expand as a repository for faculty and student publications and theses and dissertations

• We will conduct a national search for a Director of Digital Scholarship

• We will host a one-day meeting on November 11, “Key to Unlocking Scholarship: Institutional Repositories sponsored by bepress

• We have developed an open source repository infrastructure/content management system to manage our digital library infrastructure. This software to run this system will be released open source for other institutions to adopt.

• We are partnering with UKIT to extend the repository infrastructure that we developed to manage digital library content to a broader campus wide repository to satisfy NSF and NIH data management requirements.

• We are rolling out a virtualized desktop environment for public machines to provide a more cost effective and consistent user experience for students

• We are exploring joining the HathiTrust

• We are sponsoring and participating in the Berlin 9 Open Access Conference in D.C. in November.

• We are partnering with Dean Mark Kornbluh to establish a Digital Humanities Center

• We are continuing planning for the Research Commons




Friday, August 12, 2011

Adalin Wichman to Receive Kentucky Art’s Council Award:

This year’s recipient of the UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement, Adalin Wichman, has also won the Milner Award, the most prestigious of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Governor’s Awards in the Arts. This award is another well deserved honor for an outstanding artist, an exceptional citizen of the commonwealth, and a great friend of UK Libraries.

adalin_wichman_photo_courtesy_of_woodford_humane_society.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7uAfeqgOLs


President Capilouto Says UK Play “Puts a Face on Humanity:”

UK President Eli Capilouto had some great things to say about the Monday's performance of "Civilian," the play based on the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History's From Combat to Kentucky Project. “President Capilouto — who attended Monday’s show at the Guignol Theater — called the production something that ‘reaches the soul of all of us.’”

The play will be performed in New York City beginning Sunday, August 14th as a part of the 15th Annual International Fringe Festival.

http://www.kyforward.com/2011/08/putting-a-face-on-humanity-uks-civilian-heads-to-international-fringe-festival-in-nyc


Demolition of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity House Near Young Library Begins:



 Prior to the dedication of the William T. Young Library, UK made an agreement with donor William T. Young that no new buildings would be constructed for 50 years on the land surrounding the library. Furthermore, as leases expired for the remaining fraternity houses on Woodland, UK would demolish them. This week, the last house began coming down. The Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity first moved into their house in 1961. Constructed at a cost of $150, 000, the building contained space for 48 students and an apartment for a house mother.

We can enjoy the park-like setting Mr. Young envisioned for 37 more years!


Library Faculty Hold Annual Retreat:

UK Librarians spent a day together this week thinking and talking about the future. This year’s retreat at Lexington’s Signature Club featured “Two Minute Lighting Sparks” during which librarians introduced and explained new trends in discovering and accessing information in just two minutes. The afternoon featured a one-hour “Speed Geeks” during which major trends in the profession were presented as poster-like sessions at various tables.



University of Kentucky Press Director Stephen Wrinn gave the luncheon address focusing on the economics of academic publishing in a digital environment and the close partnerships needed between research libraries and university presses.

Special thanks to Laura Whayne, Beth Kraemer, and Robert Shapiro for their creative work in planning the retreat.



ASERL Civil War Initiative Update:

John Burger, Executive Director of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, issued an update on the association’s Civil War in the American South initiative. The portal, which went live this past spring, links digitized civil war holdings from among 22 of ASERL’s 38 libraries including UK Libraries. http://american-south.org/

• Nearly 9000 digitized items are available via the portal.

• The site has received nearly 4100 visits; most from Georgia, Florida and

Alabama.

• Most visitors arrive from a direct link to the site, not via search engines

• The site is a prominent “additional resource” link on Wikipedia's

"American Civil War" Webpage


Save These Dates:

• September 6: Nation of Nations Program in Young Library

• September 14: President Eli Capilouto visit with UK Libraries

• October 28: UK Libraries National Advisory Board meeting

• November 11: “Key to Unlocking Scholarship: Institutional Repositories”


Thanks to Judy Sackett for her contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries