Open Access Week

Open Access Week October 22-28, was a global event that celebrated open access as an effective and efficient means of disseminating research and scholarship.  UK Libraries kicked off the week with an information desk outside the White Hall Classroom Building to reach out to the UK community and to answer questions about open access and author rights. 

 Robert Shapiro, Public Health Librarian

In the afternoon, we hosted the screening of a live webcast featuring a panel of speakers discussing open access from different perspectives.  The panelists included a law faculty member, a medical researcher, a student, a representative of the National Institutes of Health, and a spokesperson for the World Bank.  The video of the panel discussion is now online. 

The keynote event of the Week, Scholarship Unlocked: The Future of Open Access, took place on October 24.  Dr. David Solomon from Michigan State University delivered a presentation on the current state and future of open access.  Specifically, he addressed the different models of open access publishing and their long-term sustainability. 

Three panelists from UK then responded to Dr. Solomon's speech.  The panelists were Dr. Brian L. Frye (College of Law), Dr. Neal Hutchens (College of Education), and Stephen Wrinn (Director, University Press of Kentucky).  There was also time for questions from the audience.  The event was followed by a reception. 

Dr. David Solomon, Dr. Bryan Frye, Dr. Neal Hutchens, Mr. Stephen Wrinn

Brochures were available in different libraries throughout the Week to inform the UK community of open access and related topics.  There was also a research guide that provides in-depth information about author rights and open access publishing. 

UK Libraries has been a champion for open access since the launch of the institutional repository (UKnowledge) in 2010.  If you would like more information about open access and/or UKnowledge, please feel free to contact us by e-mail. 

Thanks to the Open Access Week Planning Committee, Adrian Ho, Jen Bartlett, Lyndsey Calico, Robert Shapiro, Franklin Runge, and Mary BethThomson.

“Making It Primary”

Dartmouth College Archivist Peter Carini spoke last week to UK Libraries faculty and staff as well as faculty across campus about the importance of using primary sources in information literacy and teaching in the undergraduate curriculum.  Carini’s talk, “Making It Primary: Integrating Special Collections into the Curriculum,” modeled an active learning exercise during which he demonstrated how research and critical thinking skills can be enhanced through hands-on experience with primary sources. 

Carini also discussed the development of the special collections teaching program at Dartmouth which currently provides 90 class sessions each year utilizing primary sources.  Caini’s visit underscores the value of the current primary source teaching that is done in UK Special Collections and emphasized to the campus community the impact primary sources can make in undergraduate research and teaching.  

Homecoming Weekend Alumni Tour of the William T. Young Library

On Saturday, October 20, the William T. Young Library welcomed 50 University of Kentucky alumni back to campus.  Shawn Livingston, Greg Casey, and Stacey Greenwell provided a tour of the Young Library and talked with alums about library services as well as the numerous improvements planned for the Young Library.  Many of the tour attendees were celebrating their 50^th reunion and this was their first visit to the Young Library.  The tour was part of Homecoming Weekend festivities

Students Study Rare Texts and Documents

Students in Professor Julia Smyth-Pinney's class, ARC 212 History & Theory: 15th - 17th Centuries, spent a class in the Design Library looking at original and reproduction texts from the period.  Original texts included Vitruvius'  Ten Books on Architecture (Cesariano ed., 1521), Sebastiano Serlio's Il primo.....libro d'architettura  (Venice  1540-1551) and Andrea Palladio's Four Books of Architecture (1572, reprinted in London 1742). 

Mary McLaren Announces Retirement

After a quarter century as a UK librarian Mary McLaren will retire effective January 1, 2013.  Mary received her undergraduate degree from the College of Steubenville and a master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mary began her professional library career as a reference librarian at the West Virginia University Library.  She then became a librarian at Hazard Community College before becoming Library Director at Lees College in Jackson, Kentucky. 

In 1987 Mary became Head of Acquisitions for UK Libraries and worked in technical services until 2006 when she became Administrative Services Librarian and then Head of Facilities and Storage.  In October, 2011 Mary assumed a key role in helping UK Libraries meet its obligations to the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries’ (ASERL) Federal Documents initiative and our role as a Federal Depository Library.  She played a prominent role in the planning of the recent WPA Program featuring the Archivist of the United States and representatives from ASERL.

Mary’s dedication to her work and her willingness to step in wherever needed to improve UK Libraries has been greatly appreciated for the last 25 years and she will be missed.  We wish her a long and happy retirement.

Carol Pitts Diedrichs Elected to National Leadership Post

At its recent annual meeting the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) elected Ohio State University Libraries Director Carol Diedrichs Vice President/President Elect.  Carol served as Dean of UK Libraries from 2003 to 2010.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in the US and Canada.  Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve.  ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. 

Congratulations Carol!

Little/Gaines Series

The Little/Gaines Artist Series is sponsored by the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and the Gaines Center for the Humanities. It showcases Kentucky artists collaborating on a unifying principle or theme.

Mary Rezny presented this year’s first Little/ Gaines program last week at the Niles Gallery in the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library to discuss the current exhibit at her Lexington studio/gallery. 

The exhibit entitled “Collaborate,” showcases “Kentucky artists working collaboratively around a unifying principle or theme.”   The exhibit features collaborative work by eight artists as well as individual pieces by all of them.  Three artists, Marco Logsdon, Melissa Hall, and Kathleen O’Brien, were on hand to explain their working methods and elaborate on the outcomes.   There was an enthusiastic discussion after her presentation, with the audience and artists all participating. 

For several years the Little Library has been collecting Mary’s handmade books featuring photography and the Little Fine Arts Library is currently exhibits a display of Mary’s artists’ books (pictures attached).  Visitors to the Little Library can see five of her photographic works that depict a clarinet, kettle drum, viola, and trumpet.

National Archives Month

In recognition of national archives month UK Libraries' Special Collections presents, UK Sports, an exhibit featuring photographs, memorabilia, and video documenting various sports at UK over the last century.  The photographs in the exhibit are taken from the Louis Edward Nollau Nitrate Photographic Print Collection (1998ua002).  Nollau served as head of the Engineering Department at UK from 1918-1939.  Due to his interest in photography, Nollau was the first "official" campus photographer; he photographed individuals, buildings, events and scenes on campus from 1904–1955.

The exhibit, curated by Special Collections graduate assistant Sheli Walker, can be viewed in the lobby of Special Collections, King Building, through October.

Presentation Center in The Hub @ Young Library

UK Libraries is partnering with UK Information Technology (UKIT) and the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan: Presentation U) to make some changes to the computer labs in the Hub in William T. Young Library.  Based on feedback from the UKIT Student Fee Committee, UKIT will create a student digital media space to provide online resources, recording equipment, editing stations with software, and technical support for development of student academic media projects. 

Features of this area, to be developed in stages, will include walk-in recording rooms and collaboration space, as well as an orientation space for students who are not sure how to get started on their media assignments.  Phase I will include software installation and updates as well as configuration of five recording rooms.  During Phase II and Phase III, students will see the traditional computer lab change to support collaborative work on presentations and digital projects.

Lenore Nash Retirement

Lenore Nash, Library Technician in the Medical Center Library, retires from the University of Kentucky on October 18, after more than twenty years of service.  Lenore began her career at UK as an Extension Horticulture Associate in the College of Agriculture.  After three years, Lenore transferred to UK Libraries where she briefly worked in the Periodicals Department in King Library.  Lenore then transferred to Technical Services as an Online Cataloger and later moved to William T. Young Library when it opened. 

In 1999, Lenore transferred to the Medical Center Library where she continued her work in the Cataloging Department.   For the past three years Lenore has been on phased retirement.  We thank Lenore for her many contributions to the library system and wish her success, happiness, and longevity in her retirement. 

Observations and Reflections

The UK Libraries National Advisory Board met October 15. During the morning sessions the board toured The Hub @ William T. Young Library and heard from Associate Dean Stacey Greenwell about plans for improving undergraduate learning environments in The Hub and on the second floor of Young.

Dr. Jim Birchfield, Curator of Rare Books, presented a fascinating and informative talk on some of the unique holdings in Special Collections. He was followed by Associate Dean Mary Beth Thomson who discussed the many facets of UK Libraries collections and the rapid change in how we purchase and access books, e-journals, and databases. Mary Beth also gave the Board an overview of UKnowledge, reviewed the current collections budget situation, and showcased some of the more interesting types of databases and online collections available through UK Libraries.

At lunch in the Boone Center Associate Dean Deirdre Scaggs shared with the Board her experiences while preparing her book manuscript, Two Centuries of Kentucky recipes – and archivist’s cookbook. Following lunch Director of Development Greg Casey gave the Board an update on UK Libraries development activities and later the Board chose the 2013 recipient of the UK Libraries Award for Intellectual Achievement.
UK

UK Libraries National Advisory Board (Front row, Brenda Lampton, Gail Hart, Kathy Johnson, LuAnnette Butler; Second row, John Van Willigen, Foster Pettit, Angela Rice, Sharon Horner, Bess Abell, Sharon Thelin, Anne Ritchie; Third row, Billy Lanter, Harvey Wilkinson, Greg Casey, Terry Birdwhistell, Charles Wethington; not pictured, Martha-Ann Alito, Jonathan Allison, Clay Ford, Marie Hochstrasser, Robert May, Lawrence VanMeter )

We appreciate our Board members for their support of UK Libraries and for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in the fall meeting.

CATalyst Multicultural Week

UK Libraries has joined forces with the CATalyst Coalition and UK’s Diversity Education and Community Building to feature key UK Libraries resources in the area of diversity studies and also highlight Multicultural Week events being sponsored by CATalyst. 

UK Libraries’ digital display and resource guide, which will be available and featured on UK Libraries’ homepage throughout the week of October 8-13.  

It provides information to the campus community about CATalyst events being held on campus during Multicultural Week, as well as UK Libraries resources and collections useful for increasing understanding of diversity issues and pursing further study related to topics featured as part of the Multicultural Week programming.  The resource guide was designed and assembled by Andrea Johnston, a graduate assistant in the UK Libraries Collections Department, and includes a Multicultural Week promotional poster created by members of CATalyst.

The Diversity Education and Community Building component was formed through a partnership between the UK Office of Institutional Diversity and the Office of Student Involvement to assist in sustaining an active campus community embracing difference and respecting cultural and self identity.  The CATalyst Coalition is a group of diversity peer educators dedicated to moving the UK campus forward on diversity initiatives and creating a student leadership community.

Thanks to Andrea Johnston, Heath Martin and the Collections Department for their hard work on this important initiative.

Family Weekend

Several hundred parents attended Family Weekend Check-In on Friday, October 5, at the Boone Center.  Ruth Bryan, Shawn Livingston, and Stacey Greenwell staffed two information tables at the event: one representing UK Libraries’ unique materials related to university history and one focused on library assistance available to UK students.

The evening offered a great opportunity to welcome UK families to campus, answer questions, and connect parents with resources.  Many parents stopped to chat with us and were very complimentary of the William T. Young Library and UK Libraries’ friendly and knowledgeable faculty and staff.  More than one parent said that their child’s decision to attend UK was largely due to its impressive library.  UK Libraries will participate in the Family Weekend Check-In in the future and will continue to consider other ways to engage with parents.

University Archives exhibit enhanced the Student Activities Board 70th anniversary event

Ruth Bryan, Director of Archives and University Archivist, also worked with Student Activities Board officers Sarah Jones and Amy Baker to prepare and set up an exhibit celebrating that organization’s 70 years on campus. 

The exhibit was on display Friday evening, October 5, in the Student Center ballroom.  The University Archives material was added to other Student Activities Board scrapbooks and posters to tell the SAB at UK story.  The exhibit was a great partnership between UK Libraries and these undergraduate student leaders.

Former UK Libraries Graduate Students Publish Article

The current issue of Reference and User Services Quarterly (RUSQ) includes an article co-authored by three former graduate assistants at UK Libraries:  Julie VanHoose (Reference Services), Bridget Farrell (Reference Services), and Emily Rae Aldridge (Special Collections Library) along with Lisa O’Connor (UK School of Library and Information Science).

The article is titled “Information Literacy and Instruction: What They Didn’t Tell Me (or what I didn’t hear) in Library School: Perspectives from New Library Instruction Professionals.”

Radical Opportunities!

UK Libraries was well represented at the Ohio Library Council's 2012 Mohican Conference held October 2-3.  Marsha Seamans, Kate Seago, Kathryn Lybarger, Julene Jones, and Lynne Bowman attended "Radical Opportunities, New Trends for Technical Services" with programs focusing on issues ranging from cataloging to preservation, automation to authority control, and collection management to marketing and advocacy. 

Observations and Reflections

Like higher education generally, research libraries are working hard to adapt to a rapidly changing learning and research environment.  A recent article by the ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee reviewed the 2012 top ten trends in academic libraries:

·         Communicating Value:  “Academic libraries must prove the value they provide to the academic enterprise”

·         Data Curation:  “Data curation challenges are increasing as standards for all types of data continue to evolve; more repositories, many of them cloud-based, will emerge; librarians and other information workers will collaborate with their research communities to facilitate this process”

·         Digital Preservation:  “As digital collections mature, concerns grow about the general lack of long-term planning for their preservation. No strategic leadership for establishing architecture, policy, or standards for creating, accessing, and preserving digital content is likely to emerge in the near term”

·         Higher Education:  “Higher education institutions are entering a period of flux, and potentially even turmoil. Trends to watch for are the rise of online instruction and degree programs, globalization, and an increased skepticism of the “return on investment” in a college degree”

·         Information Technology:  “Technology continues to drive much of the futuristic thinking within academic libraries”

·         Mobile Environments:  “Mobile devices are changing the way information is delivered and accessed”

·         Patron Driven E-Book Acquisition:  “Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) of e-books is poised to become the norm. For this to occur, licensing options and models for library lending of e-books must become more sustainable”

·         Scholarly Communication:  “New scholarly communication and publishing models are developing at an ever-faster pace, requiring libraries to be actively involved or be left behind”

·         Staffing:  “Academic libraries must develop the staff needed to meet new challenges through creative approaches to hiring new personnel and deploying/retraining existing staff”

·         User Behavior and Expectations:  “Convenience affects all aspects of information seeking—the selection, accessibility, and use of sources”

An important trend not listed is declining budgets for academic libraries.  We must find ways to meet the challenges listed above while still working to provide the collections needed for learning and research at a major research university.

The complete article can be found here:  June 2012 College & Research Libraries News vol. 73 no. 6 311-320

Alex Grigg Named Kentucky Library Association Special Librarian of the Year

UK Librarian Alex Grigg, Library Manager at the Lexmark Library, was named Special Librarian of the Year by the Kentucky Library Association Special Section at the Kentucky Library Association Annual Conference in Louisville, KY, on September 20.  The award recognizes the contributions of an individual who has demonstrated the highest standards of special librarianship, including contributing significantly to the advancement of special librarianship or information science, participating actively in professional organizations, showing continued growth in the profession, and contributing in some measure to the furthering of librarianship.

Combat to Kentucky Oral History Collection Featured at Syracuse University

Doug Boyd, Director of the UK Libraries Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Anthony Dotson, director of the UK Veterans Resource Center, spoke this week at the Syracuse University Veterans Resource Center about the award winning project, Combat to Kentucky. 

 The project documents the stories of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan as they pursue post-secondary education in Kentucky.  A web site contains compelling student-veteran video interviews that create an engaging oral history documentary. The interviews highlight the difficult transition from military to student life and illustrate the student-veterans’ unique college experience at the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

Celebrate Open Access Week with UK Libraries

October 22 - 28, 2012 is Open Access Week (http://openaccessweek.org/).  Now in its 6^th year, it is a global event that celebrates open access as an effective and efficient means of disseminating research and scholarship. 

Keynote Event

Scholarship Unlocked: The Future of Open Access

Wednesday, October 24, 2:00-3:30 pm

UK Athletics Auditorium, William T. Young Library

Dr. David Solomon, Michigan State University, will deliver a keynote address on the current state and future of open access.  Specifically, he will address the different models of open access publishing and their long-term sustainability. 

Three panelists from UK will respond to Dr. Solomon's speech.  Brian Frye, Assistant Professor, UK College of Law, Neal Hutchens, Assistant Professor, UK College of Education, and Stephen Wrinn, Director, University Press of Kentucky

Live Webcast

Perspectives on Open Access: Practice, Progress and Pitfalls

Monday, October 22, 4:00-5:30 pm

UK Athletics Auditorium, William T. Young Library

A panel of speakers will discuss why open access is an imperative to them and to their work.  The speakers are:

• Michael Carroll, Professor of Law, American University and founding Board Member, Creative Commons
• Matt Cooper, President, The National Association of Graduate-Professional Students
• Maricel Kann, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland and member, PubMed Central National Advisory Committee, National Institutes of Health
• Carlos Rossel, Publisher, The World Bank
• Neil Thakur, Special Assistant to the Deputy Director, Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health

Information about open access and related topics are available in this Research Guide: http://libguides.uky.edu/OpenAccess/  If you have any questions or suggestions about Open Access Week, please feel free to send them to UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 

Agricultural Information Center Participates in Ag Roundup

The Agricultural Information Center showcased their AIC website, Research Guides, and services at Ag Roundup during September 12-15.  A major College of Agriculture outreach event held each year, Ag Roundup is an excellent opportunity for the AIC to reach nearly 3,000 students, faculty and individual s and groups involved with agriculture.  Attendees during the four day event included:

 • 700 staff from throughout the state for Staff Appreciation Day 

• 530 Rotarians & LFUCG Officials and 200 high school student recruits for Rotary Day 
• 600 attendees for the campus Student/Faculty/Staff Picnic 
• 170 Kentucky legislators, Farm Bureau officials, Agriculture Development Board members, and Tobacco Task Force members for Ag Leadership Day 
• 850 alumni for department reunions and the closing Roundup festivities before kickoff on Saturday

The AIC exhibit was created by Stephanie Warden (former AIC Graduate Intern), Brandon Daniels (former Engineering Library STEPS employee), and Meghan Moran (AIC Graduate Intern). Exhibit staffing included Renae Newhouse, Meghan Moran, and Valerie Perry.