Friday, January 25, 2013

Seaton Hall University librarian visits UK Libraries


The Cataloging and Database Integrity Department recently hosted a visit from Marta Deyrup, from Seton Hall University Libraries. As part of her research on technical services workflows, Marta visited Columbia University and several libraries in New Jersey.  She also chose to visit UK Libraries because of the information we had contributed regarding batch metadata editing and Voyager configuration.


Marta spent two days this month touring several UK Libraries and meeting with faculty and staff in Cataloging and Database Integrity, Acquisitions, Serials, Electronic Resources, the Federal Depository Unit, and Digital Library Services.  Topics discussed included current issues in technical services, next-generation catalogs, institutional repositories, and the future of metadata services.

Marta was very impressed with our faculty and staff, our resources, and our Kentucky hospitality.  Thanks so much to everyone who made Marta's visit a success
            Marta Deyrup

Marta’s bepress “Selected Works” page is available at: http://works.bepress.com/marta_deyrup/

Molinaro shares digital expertise in the Netherlands



Mary Molinaro, Associate Dean for Library Technologies, recently attended the International Digital Curation Conference (IDCC) in Amsterdam.  The IDCC brings together those who create and manage data and information with those who use it and those who research and teach about curation processes. 


The meeting of professionals from all parts of the world focused on tools, services, and processes for managing science data.  UK Libraries is partnering with researchers and UK Information Technology on developing ways to effectively manage and preserve UK’s digital data.  UK Libraries is providing leadership and digital preservation expertise to the project.

While in the Netherlands, Molinaro accompanied a team working on the development of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA – http://dp.la) in a visit with counterparts in The Hague who have developed the Europeana Digital Library.  Kentucky is one of the initial partners contributing materials and expertise to the initial launch of the DPLA in April.  This launch will include a joint online exhibition with Europeana examining the immigrant experience from both the European and American perspectives.

Anne Dean Watkins featured in Business Lexington


The University Press of Kentucky’s Senior Acquisitions Editor, Anne Dean Watkins, is featured in the most recent issue of Business Lexington in an interview with Celeste Lewis.  At UPK, Anne Dean focuses on the acquisition of titles in the areas of American History, Southern History, and Film Studies.


When she is not seeking out books for the University Press, she is “a devoted yoga practitioner and teacher.”  You can read the entire interview with Anne Dean at:

Friday, January 18, 2013

Steve Wrinn presents at AHA Conference



Two panel sessions at the recent meeting of the American Historical Association drew on the academic and professional experience of Steve Wrinn, Director of the University Press of Kentucky. 

Exploring a Range of Careers outside the Academy, a panel sponsored by the Professional Division of AHA and chaired by Sara Abosch of the Dallas Holocaust Museum, explored the panelists career trajectories, from graduate school to work, and the variety of opportunities available in public history and, in Steve’s case, academic publishing.

 A second panel, Publishing about American Places, chaired by historian Bryant Simon from Temple University, included university press directors from Louisiana State University Press, University of California Press, Cornell University Press, Oxford University Press, and Steve representing the University of Kentucky.   The panel discussed the importance of role of place and a university press’s role in publishing about lives and stories specifically rooted in place regardless if that place is urban, suburban, rural, or regional. 


UK Libraries will Welcome Summer Interns from ARL Career Enhancement Program


Julian Etienne Gomez Baranda and Nabil Kashyap are among 10 fellows selected by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Career Enhancement Program (CEP) Coordinating Committee to participate in this recruitment program in 2013. The program, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and ARL member libraries, gives master of library and information science (MLIS) students from underrepresented groups an opportunity to jump-start their careers in research libraries by providing a fellowship experience that includes an internship in an ARL member library.  Julian is enrolled at the University of Arizona and Nabil is at the University of Michigan; each will complete his 6-12 week internship at UK during the summer of 2013.  


 UK Libraries CEP Coordinator Judy Sackett will meet the new interns during the ARL Leadership Symposium being held at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle in late January.  UK Librarians will mentor and supervise each intern during their time on campus and expressions of interest to mentor participants will be solicited in the near future.

UK Libraries is one of five ARL institutions hosting the 2013 internships. Others are the University of Arizona, Columbia University, the National Library of Medicine, and the University of Michigan.  For more information about the ARL Career Enhancement Program see http://www.arl.org/news/pr/CEP-fellows-12dec12.shtml.      

UK Libraries Graduate Assistant to Participate in ALA Student to Staff Program


Debbi Lloyd, a graduate assistant in Reference Services at William T. Young Library, has been selected to represent the University of Kentucky as a participant in the Student to Staff program at the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this June.


 As one of 40 students selected from Library and Information Science schools nationwide, Debbi will receive a scholarship to cover conference costs in exchange for assisting ALA staff at the conference. During free time, she may attend programs and participate in other conference activities. Debbi is looking forward to working behind the scenes at a national event, meeting the other participants, and visiting Chicago.

On Exhibit: Filson’s First Book about Kentucky and his Map


In an exhibit created by Dr. Jim Birchfield, Curator of Books, visitors to Special Collections in the Margaret I. King Building will see the first book about Kentucky --John Filson’s Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (1784) – along with his map of Kentucky engraved in the same year.

     
          Filson moved from Pennsylvania to Lexington around 1782 where he worked as a surveyor and also assembled information about the area.  He had acquired large acreages in Kentucky and was eager to create an interest in western immigration in order to sell his property.  His book was soon printed in France and Germany, and the map was reprinted in London.  These are also on exhibit in the lobby of King Library. 

Filson moved to Ohio where he was an early owner of land in the vicinity of Cincinnati.  In October of 1788 Filson disappeared with a surveying party in the forests of Ohio.  

Daniel Naas to Participate in Library of Congress Program


UK Libraries has two UK School of Library and Information Science students participating in the 2013 Alternative Spring Break Program at the Library of Congress.  In addition to Holly Jackson, who was featured last week, Daniel Naas, Senior Technician in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center, will also be participating in this prestigious program.  Daniel will spend a week working with a librarian at the Library of Congress on an ongoing project.


Daniel has been employed by UK Libraries since 2002, first serving as a student employee and then moving into a full-time staff assignment in 2006.  Daniel has served as the Chair of the Staff Advisory Council since 2011, taking on an extra term.  He began the master’s program in the School of Library and Information Science in 2012. 

UK Libraries joins community-driven project to create Library Publishing Coalition


In collaboration with more than 50 other academic libraries and the Educopia Institute, UK Libraries has joined a two-year project (2013-2014) to create the Library Publishing Coalition (LPC). The project emerged from conversations between Purdue University, the University of North Texas, and Virginia Tech regarding the need for a community dedicated to advancing the field of library publishing.

UK Libraries will play an integral role in the design and implementation of the LPC as a founding institution.  Mary Beth Thomson, Senior Associate Dean for Collections, Digital Scholarship, and Technical Services will serve as the UK Libraries project representative.

Academic libraries and the researchers and organizations they support are facing a new paradigm in scholarly publishing. The web, information and social media technologies, and the Open Source and Open Access movements are changing the framework in which scholarship is created, collected, organized, and disseminated. Yet, as shown by the highly regarded, IMLS-funded Strategies for Success project (http://wp.sparc.arl.org/lps/), library-based publishing groups lack a central space where they can meet, work together, share information, and confront common issues.

Through seed support from Educopia and participating institutions, the LPC project will engage practitioners to design a collaborative network that intentionally addresses and supports an evolving, distributed, and diverse range of library production and publishing practices.  During the first stage of the project, the LPC’s project team will document and evaluate how best to structure this initiative in order to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing for this field. The project team will produce several concrete deliverables, including:

      Targeted research, building on existing broader surveys that will focus on topics of particular interest to the community including costs, staffing, and how libraries are financing these ventures.
      Compilation of a directory of existing library publishing services, providing details including staff contacts, types of products produced, and software platforms utilized.
      A forum for networking and sharing communications about library publishing services, including an annual event and ongoing virtual training and community-building activities.
      The design and implementation of the Library Publishing Coalition as an ongoing, institutionally owned organization that serves the needs of this community.

More information and a full list of participating institutions are available on the project website, http://www.educopia.org/programs/lpc.

Wonder: The Lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard



The Lexington premiere of Wonder:  The Lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard, a documentary film about the inspirational and unconventional lives of two extraordinary Kentuckians, will be screened Monday, January 28, at 7:00 p.m. at the State Theater, inside the Kentucky Theater, 214 East Main Street in Lexington. 

The event is free and open to the public. The screening will be followed by an informal discussion with the filmmaker Morgan Atkinson, Bill Caddell and Meg Shaw and will be moderated by Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Tom Eblen.  For a trailer of the film, please visit:
www.annaandharlan.com

The Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center houses the Harlan Hubbard slide archive assembled by Meg Shaw, Head of the Little Library. The collection comprises almost 800 paintings, including oils, acrylics and watercolors, with slides of works from public and private collections in Kentucky and Indiana. The collection also includes three videos about Harlan Hubbard and 11 books by or about him.

Observations and Reflections:



Spring semester, 2013, is an exciting time for UK Libraries.  We are enthusiastically engaged in UK’s efforts to promote and assure student success.  Programmatic and physical changes within UK Libraries are designed to provide students with access to a wide array of information resources and learning spaces to work alone or collaboratively with access to the best technologies.

We are actively engaged in planning and implementation of a series of programs and events marking UK’s sesquicentennial.  UK 150 offers the university community and the commonwealth an opportunity to reflect on UK’s proud history and participate in plans for a tremendous future of teaching, research, and service in an international context.

As we continue planning for the future, we are increasing our focus on assessment and data collection to help ensure that we are meeting the academic needs of the university community.  In collaboration with Senior Vice Provost Vince Kellen and UK Information Technologies we will be analyzing and determining the data currently collected as well as seeking new and innovative approaches to understanding UK Libraries’ role in assuring student success.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Support for American Music

Thanks to an endowment created by retired UK Physics Professor Keith MacAdam and his spouse Phyllis, UK Libraries has a growing collection celebrating the rich history of American Music.  This month visitors to the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library have the opportunity to see a new exhibit of materials from the collection.
Keith and Phyllis MacAdam are longtime friends of UK Libraries.  The Keith and Phyllis MacAdam Endowed Fund for American Music has made it possible for UK Libraries to acquire, preserve, and make accessible important collections that enhance the work of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music.  We are very grateful to Keith and Phyllis for their support.

Shawn Livingston Named Director of William T. Young Library


Shawn Livingston's title recently changed from Director of Information Services to Director of William T. Young Library.  This position will continue to coordinate the public services of the William T. Young Library, providing day-to-day management and leadership for services, policies, and procedures in response to the evolving needs of students and faculty.  The position will also continue to have four direct reports: Head of Circulation, Head of Interlibrary Loan, Head of Audio Visual Services, and Head of Reference Services.  
  
Shawn was named Director of Information Services in 2010.  A member of the library faculty since 1993, Shawn has served as a reference librarian, assisting students, faculty, and community members in locating and applying information for their research needs.  His particular research specialties include United States government documents, European Union policies and information, and military history.  He has served on numerous university committees, including the initial General Education Reform Steering Committee. 

Shawn has taught in the UK School of Library and Information Science and currently serves as an advisor to the Special Libraries Association student chapter.  In 2010, he was awarded the Kentucky Library Association Carol J. Parris Mentoring Award.  He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Transylvania University and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from UK.

Graduate Work Highlighted at LIS Showcase


Last summer, Heather Burke, a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science, completed a major project at the Little Fine Arts Library for LIS 675, Professional Field Experience. 
 In December, Heather presented her project at the semi- annual “LIS 675 Field Experience Showcase.”  Heather’s project brought a new level of organization to our Artists’ Books Collection, building on the work of ARL Fellow, Kimberly Sy.  In addition to creating new records with the Archivists’ Toolkit for the collection, she added photographs to the Little Library’s artists’ books website, a guide that can be found at http://libguides.uky.edu/artistsbooks

UK Libraries Graduate Assistant Selected for LC Program



Holly Jackson, a graduate assistant in Reference Services at William T. Young Library, has been selected to participant in the 2013 Alternative Spring Break program at the Library of Congress.  She will spend a week working with a librarian at the Library of Congress on an ongoing project. 

 She will join 15 other SLIS students from around the United States who will be working at the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, or National Archives.  Holly is very excited to have the opportunity to gain firsthand library experience in our nation’s largest library.