Marsha Seamans Awarded KLA Academic Library Section's Professional Development Grant:

Marsha Seamans, Director of Access Records Management, has been awarded the 2012 Professional Development Grant from the Kentucky Library Association Academic Library Section. Marsha will be conducting research on managing academic library cataloging departments in today’s environment.  Cataloging departments are experiencing significant changes with the implementation of RDA (Resources Description and Access) expected in 2013, budget cuts that are impacting staffing and workflow, the proliferation of digital/online resources, and the emphasis on providing access to hidden collections.  The grant will support attendance at the 2012 Online Audiovisual Cataloger (OLAC) preconference “Managing Cataloging Departments, or, the Accidental Leader.”

UK Libraries Reimagines Russia’s Realms:

Toni Greider, Director of UK Libraries International Programs, recently announced that again this year the atrium in the William T. Young Library is full of color with flags from 15 countries that constituted the republics of the former Soviet Union. The flags are hanging in alphabetical order as they do at the United Nations and more recently at the Olympics.  This year long display is part of Reimagining Russia’s Realms (RRR), the latest stamp in Arts and Sciences Passport on the World.  

The flag exhibit a part of programming that UK Libraries provides in support of RRR.  September 27^th at 4:30 p.m. UK Libraries will host a kickoff event in the Toyota Room in the second-floor rotunda (home of the Scott/Greenslade World War II and Soviet materials collection).

Gordon Hogg, Academic Liaison for Russian & Eastern Studies, and Director of the Special Collections Library will present a history of UK Libraries’ unique Scott Soviet Collection.  The collection includes Scotts’ propaganda posters, as well as a kind of travelogue through many years examining the development and meaning of the various flags representing, in turn, Russia, the Soviet Union and its republics, and the nations of the post-Soviet era.

In addition to the presentation and the flag exhibit, a display of Soviet military poster facsimiles, and a virtual display of postcards from the Russian Empire at the turn of the 20^th century will begin in late fall/early spring semester.  The posters will be on display in Core 1 of the Hub and the virtual display will be viewed on the video windows in the Hub.

UK Libraries has also created a research guide to library materials that support the study of Russia’s realm and a website describing all of the library activities in support of Reimagining Russia’s Realms.

http://libraries.uky.edu/page.php?lweb_id=1057&ltab_id=1738

Education Abroad Scholarship Workshop in the Hub:

On Tuesday, September 18, students and Education Abroad counselors met in the Hub to discuss study abroad options, fill out EA applications, and enjoy pizza! With its central location, spacious tables, and flexible floor plan, the Hub was the perfect place for the Education Abroad Scholarship Workshop, co-sponsored by Education Abroad, the UK Writing Center and the Office of External Scholarships. We hope to host many more successful events such as this workshop in the Hub!

Peter Hesseldenz Publishes Article in the Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08963568.2012.712496

“MBA program curriculums have been the target of criticism since the financial scandals of the early 2000s, with the main focus being that many programs sacrificed the teaching of useful, real world skills in favor of impractical scientific research, while also neglecting areas such as ethics and social responsibility. The financial collapse prompted many MBA programs to implement reforms which include adding experiential learning programs among other changes. These reforms provide opportunities for librarians to introduce or increase information literacy components in the programs. The current state of MBA information literacy practices is discussed, with several initiatives highlighted and some new approaches suggested.”

Digital Library Services Announces Newly Available Collections:

The following collections have been digitized and uploaded to ExploreUK and the Kentucky Digital Library:

·         Herndon Evans photographs,1931

The Herndon Evans photograph collection consists of 39 gelatin silver prints of miners and mining towns in Harlan County and Pineville, KY from 1931. Included are photographs of protest marches, visiting authors and ministers, and the National Guard.

·         Chauncey Hawley Griffith photographs, 1936-1954

The Chauncey Hawley Griffith photograph collection consists of 15 gelatin silver prints. Seven portraits of Chauncey Hawley Griffith, vice-president in charge of typographical development for the Mergenthaler Linotype Company, and eight of his house and property.

·         Carolyn Murray-Wooley collection on Lexington, Kentucky residential architecture, 1960-1974

The Carolyn Murray-Wooley collection on Lexington, Kentucky residential architecture consists of 395 gelatin silver prints of residences and structures, 1960-1974, related to the activities of the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation; most are images of houses in Lexington/Fayette County Kentucky and identified by address.

             Maxwell Place:  Built in 1870 for James Mulligan and home of UK Presidents since 1917

Charles Schubert collection on Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, 1880-1900

The Charles Schubert collection on Lawrenceburg, Kentucky consists of thirty three photographic prints in an album of various formats: cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and tintypes, 1880-1900. The prints are mainly of members of the Dowling, Brady, McCarthy, Fitzgerald and Roach families of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, but also include others.

Medical Center Library Outreach:

Mary Congleton, Outreach Librarian for the Medical Center Library, recently attended the Kentucky Rural Health Association conference in Bowling Green where she exhibited medical library services and demonstrated National Library of Medicine online products including PubMed and MedlinePlus. The KRHA is dedicated to improving the health status of rural Kentuckians through education and advocacy and their conference is attended by health administrators, public health personnel and policy makers from all around the state. 

Jeff Suchanek Presents at Session on Social Entrepreneurship:

The Professional Development Center at Wake Forest University recently sponsored a session entitled,

“Social Entrepreneurship in Action: Digitizing Our Cultural History.”  Jeff Suchanek, Archivist in Special Collections and presenters from Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro comprised a panel exploring the link between digitized unique collections and social entrepreneurs who use entrepreneurial principals to identity and remedy a social issue or problem and improve life for their communities or the world.

Librarians apply social entrepreneurship every day by providing literacy training, information, education and spaces for the community to gather. Technology now enables libraries to digitize their unique collections in order to make vital materials available to everyone. Learn how three libraries identified a need to preserve and provide access to their community history along with lesson plans and study guides for educators, students and all citizens.

Observations and Reflections:

This week President Eli Capilouto and Interim Provost Tim Tracy spent a morning in the William T. Young Library meeting with me, the Executive Committee, and a representative group of UK librarians.  We used the opportunity to discuss the many exciting initiatives that are underway in UK Libraries.  We appreciate the support of the President and Provost as we seek to meet the information needs of students, faculty, and researchers and as we take a leadership role in the transformation of the 21^st century academic research library.

I met this week with the UK Libraries staff and with the UK Libraries faculty.  Both groups play essential roles in the success of UK Libraries.  A central these of my comments to both groups was “THANK YOU!”  The meetings also provided the opportunity to review the impact of recent budget reductions and to share thoughts and ideas on the future of UK Libraries.

During the faculty meeting we also took time to congratulate our colleagues who received promotion and tenure during the past year.  Promoted to Librarian III were Peter Hesseldenz, Jason Keinsley, Kathryn Lybarger, and Heath Martin.    Doug Boyd was promoted to Librarian II and granted tenure.  Valerie Perry and Mary Beth Thomson were promoted to Librarian I. 

Congratulations!

WPA Program brings Archivist of the United States to Campus

The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, joined UK Libraries on September 5 to celebrate the conclusion of a major project on government records regarding the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  While at UK Ferriero lunched with graduate students from the School of Library and Information Science and from the Department of History and engaged the Archivist in a lively question and answer session following lunch.

 UK Libraries, in cooperation with the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries and with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is now a Center of Excellence among southeastern research libraries for WPA records.  The program, "Putting America Back to Work during the Great Depression: Preserving and Improving Access to the Works Progress Administration Records for the Future” featured the Archivist’s keynote and a panel discussion led by UK Government Documents Librarian Sandee McAninch.  Other program participants were Mary Beth Thomson, Deirdre Scaggs, John Burger (ASERL), Tracy Campbell, Heath Martin, and Bill Creech from the National Archives.

Thanks to Mary McLaren who chaired the planning committee and committee members Katie Henningsen, Tracy Campbell, Sherree Osborne, and Gail Kennedy.  Others throughout UK Libraries from Collections and Technical Services, Facilities, A-V Services, and Special Collections helped make the entire day a huge success.

Look for more news about the program in the next Speaking Volumes.

Busy First Weeks of the Fall Semester

UK Libraries rolled out the “blue” carpet for new and returning student this fall, beginning with an  introduction to library services for undergraduates at the Residence Life Resource Fair on August 13, reaching 180 Resident Advisors.

UK Libraries was well represented at the orientation for over 400 new graduate teaching assistants held August 13-14. The new teaching assistants learned about some of the most important library services needed for effective teaching and research. This fifteen minute overview was a preview to encourage new graduate students to meet their Academic Liaison at the New Graduate Student Resource Fair to make a personal connection.

The UK Libraries information table was by far the busiest at the August 15 New Graduate Student Resource Fair, where UK Libraries representatives welcomed new students, answered questions, and demonstrated a variety of library resources.  Three tables filled with displays and videos served as the backdrop for UK Libraries personnel busily activating student IDs to be used as library cards, setting up ILLiad accounts so students could request library materials from other institutions, showing examples of UK Libraries' unique materials, and introducing students to UKnowledge for publishing their dissertations and theses.

During K-Week, the William T. Young Library welcomed students with several Turbo Tours, a quick orientation to the library followed by a lively overview of UK Libraries services and resources.

UK Libraries also welcomed new and returning students during the first two weeks of classes at an Information Desk in the William T. Young Library lobby, featuring bookmarks, brochures, maps, and library coffee mugs. From August 22nd-31st, UK Libraries faculty and staff from public services, technical services, library technologies, the Dean’s Office, and other areas answered over 1500 student questions ranging from “where is my class?” to “how do I find a book on this topic?”

Access Libraries' Mobile Site via the new UK App and find Mobile-Ready Databases

Rob Aken, Digital Library Services, reports that UK Information Technology (UKIT) has recently upgraded the UK Mobile application for smartphones. Among other useful resources on the UK Mobile app, you will find a link to the Libraries' mobile site (see app image to the right). On the UK Libraries' mobile site, you can access a variety of information, including the recently updated list of mobile-ready databases:

http://libraries.uky.edu/newsitem.php?lnote_id=588

Jason Keinsley Named Agricultural Librarian

Beginning October 1, Jason Keinsley will be the Agriculture Librarian at the Agricultural Information Center (AIC).  Reporting to the Head of the AIC, Jason will teach information literacy instruction sessions, focusing on the successful GEN 100 program, and will provide much needed public service support to the college and to the extension program.  Jason’s instruction and technology skills make him uniquely qualified to enhance UK Libraries’ key strategic goals of instruction and outreach in this important college.

 Jason joined UK Libraries in June, 2009 as Head of Desktop Support. Previously he was Coordinator of Library Systems and Technology as well as Coordinator of Public Services at Norwich University, Northfield, VT.  He earned a Masters degree in Information Science from Indiana University and a Masters degree in Science in Information Assurance from Norwich University.

Book Exhibit in Lucille Little Fine Arts Library

The Lucille Little Fine Arts Library is pleased to announce a new exhibit of books that received the Music Publishers Association 2012 Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence.   We are the first venue to display this exhibit, which will go on to University of Cincinnati, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eastman School of Music, University of South Carolina, St. Louis Public Library, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and other libraries as it travels throughout the year.  The books and scores exhibited display a wide variety of music publishing, from Chopin’s Etudes to Frank Zappa’s One Size Fits All. 

Everyone is welcome to see the exhibit, which is in the front display cases inside the Little Library.  Be sure to notice No Brainer:  Play Drumset and I Used to Play Drums, by Carl Fischer.  On a more serious note, there is an elegantly illustrated Roman Missal and Ives’ Symphony No. 4, which won first place in the “Full Score Notesetting” category.

The exhibit will be up until September 26^th.

University of Kentucky to Participate in Building the Digital Public Library of America

UK Libraries and the Kentucky Digital Library have been selected to receive funding from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to serve as one of the initial content hubs. Kentucky was selected based on the strengths of our technology and our content.  The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Knight Foundation have each committed $1M to support this initial pilot of the program. We will be receiving roughly $350K for our initial two years of participation. Kentucky is one of four large content hubs to be selected (Georgia, Minnesota, Mountain West Digital Library and Kentucky); there are also four smaller hubs (Oregon, South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Illinois) that will participate.

The DPLA (http://dp.la) is envisioned to serve as a national digital library that will bring together the living heritage from libraries, universities, archives, and museums in order to educate, inform and empower everyone in the current and future generations.  It will be much more than an aggregate of the content – tools are being developed that will enable anyone to use the content in innumerable creative ways and will allow people to truly engage with the content.  This project will be a game changer for digital access to cultural heritage.

The best creative minds who are deeply engaged in digital access to information are being tapped to work on DPLA.  The goals are high but with hard work and determination they are being met.  This is a very high visibility project.  The initial rollout of the project is scheduled for April 2013.    

Teaching with Primary Sources

An archival exercise designed by Kate Black, Special Collections, and graduate assistant Sheli Walker for an Appalachian Studies class on campus is now available worldwide through the web.  “A Strike Against Starvation and Terror” explores the 1931-32 coal miners’ strike in Bell and Harlan counties by using music, documentary film, and primary source material from the Herndon Evans papers. 

The new web site also features conversations between Dwight Billings (Sociology and Appalachian Studies) and Kate Black, filmed in the Breckinridge Research Room, discussing the historical importance of the strike and modeling how to analyze and interpret archival evidence.   The site, recently finished, is now live at https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-miners-strike-archive”

 There is a new category on Special Collections homepage "Teaching with Primary Sources" which leads you to the exercise.  

UK Libraries Home Page Features New Video

UK Libraries’ home page is featuring a new video: http://libraries.uky.edu/page.php?lweb_id=1058.

Beth Kraemer, one of a team of UK librarians who worked on the collaborative project, shares how the project originated and developed:

 “The original idea for the video came from the UK-Fayette Co Public Schools collaboration hosted by UK.  The goal of that project was to start a conversation between the two organizations to see what we could do to facilitate student transition from high school to college.  Several UK Librarians (Reinette Jones, Gail Kennedy, Jen Bartlett, Carla Cantagallo, and me took that idea and established a "librarian collaboration" with several Fayette Co high school librarians.” 

“From that group came the idea of doing a promotional video intended for new college students and older high school students, especially seniors planning for college or about to graduate.  This video was produced at UK but was intentionally designed not to be specific to UK, so that it could be used by other colleges, universities and high schools around the country.  The main message is simple:  Your college/university library has a lot to offer, and the librarians are happy to help you!  We are emphasizing that the video itself is a student production, so it is students speaking to students.  We have started promoting the video for the start of UK classes using our website and social media, and the librarians we have worked with in Fayette County schools will be using it in their classes this fall as well. “

Thanks to everyone who helped make this project successful.

Branch Faculty and Staff Promote UK Libraries at College & Department Events:

Branch Libraries faculty, staff and graduate students have been involved in a variety of outreach and promotion activities in addition to the university-wide events such as the New Graduate Student Fair. Brad Carrington, Education Library, participated in the College of Education Retreat, the Education Fair and other K-week activities in the College of Education.

Agricultural Information Center

Hunter M. Adams Design Library

Education Library

Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center

Science Library

Robert E. Shaver Engineering Library

Faith Harders and Lalana Powell, Design Library, attended the Fall Retreat and Luncheon for the College of Design.  Mary Spencer, Science Library, has been contacting new Teaching Assistants in the Department of Earth & Environmental Science and will be speaking at the September Faculty Meeting for that department.  Jan Carver, Science Library, participated in the Physics Teaching Assistant Orientation and plans to meet with faculty from both Chemistry and Physics Departments later this fall.  Jan also collaborated with Debbie Sharp, Information Literacy Coordinator, on a presentation for STEM students recently.

Kathryne LeFevre, Sue Smith and Graduate Intern Mary York participated in the College of Engineering Freshman Fair including an IEEE prize giveaway to students who later visited the Shaver Engineering Library that day to register for library services.  The Engineering Library was also included as a COE point of importance on the freshman EE class scavenger hunt.

Valerie Perry presented at the College of Agriculture’s New Faculty Workshop and exhibited in the COA Teaching and Technology Fair with new Graduate Assistant Renae Newhouse.  Valerie, Renae and Graduate Intern Meghan Moran will participate in the Annual Ag Roundup activities in early September. Branch Library personnel and graduate students also conduct tours, teach information literacy sessions and support their subject areas in a variety of activities throughout the year.  This was a great start to a new school year!

Observations and Reflections:

As this new semester unfolds it seems to me that more students are using Young Library sooner and in greater numbers than any previous semester I can recall.  We are seeing similar increased use across the branches. 

Perhaps this is due to the larger incoming class.  I suggest that it might also be the result of UK’s successful recruiting efforts to bring in the smartest, most talented, and most goal oriented first year class ever.  These highly motivated students want to get started with the college work and there is no better space on the campus for that to happen than in UK Libraries.

Regardless of the reasons, we are pleased that UK students find our libraries helpful to their learning and research.  In a conversation this week with doctoral students in history who have study spaces in Young, they said they did not know what they would do without the service and the learning spaces that UK Libraries offers.