Annual Conference of the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians

The 2013 Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians’ conference met at Eastern Kentucky University this month.  Founded in 1924, the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians draws its membership from librarians in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.  The conference theme this year was Meeting Challenges, Leading Change.   Five UK Libraries faculty presented during the annual conference:

Library as Open Access Publisher: An Overview for Technical Services Librarians

Mary Beth Thomson, Associate Dean for Collections, Digital Scholarship & Technical Services

Adrian Ho, Director of Digital Scholarship

http://uknowledge.uky.edu/libraries_present/54/

Changing Landscape of Technical Services: Perspectives from Acquisitions and Cataloging

Kate Seago, Director, Acquisitions

Marsha Seamans, Director, Cataloging and Database Integrity

Z-Books: Hunting Down Zombie Ebooks Hiding in Your Catalog

Kathryn Lybarger, Head of Cataloging and Metadata

http://uknowledge.uky.edu/libraries_present/55/

Conservator to present at California institute

Kazuko Hioki, Asian Studies Academic Liaison and Conservation Librarian, has been selected to present History and Physical Characteristics of Printed Books in Early Modern Japan at the 2013 Japan Foundation Summer Institute at the University of California Santa Barbara, May 31-June2. 

This year's theme is Histories of the Japanese Book:  Past, Present, Future with presentations from 25 scholars.  More information can be found at http://historyofthejapanesebook.weebly.com/.

UK Librarians participate in One Health Conference in Boston

UK Libraries was well represented at the annual meeting of the Medical Library Association (MLA) held in Boston May 3-8.  The joint meeting included the MLA, International Congress on Medical Librarianship, International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical Librarian Conference.  The conference theme was “One Health: Information in an Independent World.”

UK Librarians presenting at the meeting included Medical Center Library (MCL) faculty Rick Brewer, Frank Davis, Tag Heister, and Robert Shapiro.  Also presenting were Valerie Perry, Agricultural Information Center and Dr. Jeff Huber, Director of the UK School of Library and Information Science SLIS).  Also attending the conference were MCL faculty Susan Foster-Harper, Bev Hilton, Mary Vaughn, and Mary Congleton as well as Sam Tolliver, a SLIS graduate student.

Frank Davis, Rick Brewer and Tag Heister, presented a poster entitled Evidence-Based Practice for Medical Students in a Family Medicine Clerkship: Collaborative, Active Learning for Clinical Decision Skills showcasing the partnership between the MCL and the College of Medicine to teach evidence based medicine principles to third year medical students. 

Robert Shapiro and Jeff Huber presented a poster entitled Top Down versus Bottom Up: The Social Construction of the Health Literacy Movement.  Their topic focused on the social, political, and economic events shaping the health literacy movement.

Valerie Perry presented Reaching out to Faculty: Leveraging Professional and Social Interactions to Meet Information Needs.  Her paper demonstrated how an agriculture librarian serves the One Health information needs of the UK College of Agriculture faculty and animal researchers throughout the university.

Larkspur Press celebrates 40 years of printing Kentucky writers

The UK Libraries’ King Library Press will salute private press printer Gray Zeitz and his Larkspur Press in its Spring Book Arts Event.  The program begins at 7 p.m. Friday, May 31, in the Great Hall, at the Special Collections Library in the Margaret I. King Building.  The full press release can be found here:  http://uknow.uky.edu/content/larkspur-press-celebrates-40-years-printing-kentucky-writers               

Library Development Conference held in Pittsburgh

This week I joined UK Libraries Director of Development Greg Casey and Associate Dean for Special Collections Deirdre Scaggs at the annual conference of the Academic Library Advancement and Development Network (ALADN) hosted by the University of Pittsburgh. 

More than 175 library deans, development directors, librarians and marketing professionals attended the three day program which focused on best practices for library fundraising, communications, and marketing. 

Greg served as program chair for the pre-conference sessions.

Oral history focus on Civil Rights

Earlier this month Dr. Doug Boyd, Director of the UK Libraries Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, served as a speaker and participant in the national leadership forum Lift Every Voice: Collecting, Archiving and Teaching Civil Rights History hosted by the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.  

Funded by IMLS, this national forum is creating a collaborative model for libraries, museums, archives and communities to engage in the documentation, preservation and teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  Dr. Boyd gave two presentations about the Nunn Center's model approach to collection management and digital access.

Landscape changing near Young Library

In preparation for new student housing Haggin Hall, a campus dormitory since the early 1960s started coming down this week.  This photograph, taken by Rick Garrett, UK Libraries Facilities Manager from the top of Young Library, offered a great view of the demolition work underway.

Warhol Exhibit in Lucille Little Library

The Lucille Little Fine Arts Library is presenting an exhibit of rare materials and books about Andy Warhol.  The concept for the display was developed by Chelsea Alexander, one of the art history interns who worked at the Fine Arts library during the spring semester.  It will be on view through June 2013.

UK Libraries Faculty turn out in large numbers for Faculty Trustee Election

UK Libraries faculty made their voices heard this month by turning out in high numbers to elect a faculty representative to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees.  Approximately 70 percent of UK Libraries faculty cast a ballot in the election, qualifying as the second-highest participation among the colleges behind the College of Nursing.  Overall turnout across UK was also relatively strong, with 49 percent of all UK faculty members collectively casting 1,022 votes.  In the end, John Wilson from the College of Medicine was elected to his second term as Faculty Trustee, to begin July 1 with over 60% of the vote.  Congratulations, Trustee Wilson!

More Kentucky Kernel Online

Additional issues of the Kentucky Kernel are now available on ExploreUK and the Kentucky Digital Library (KDL). Microfilmed issues from September 1931 through December 1960 were digitized, sent to iArchives for processing, and now feature highlighted search hits. This expands the date range of online Kernel issues to 1915-1960.

This last round (1931-1960) was made possible through private gifts to Special Collections.  

Welcome Stacie Williams and Ida Sell

Stacie Williams is the new Learning Lab Coordinator/Processing Manager in Special Collections.  She has a master’s degree in library science from Simmons College.  Stacie is currently working at Transylvania University as a part-time Reference Librarian and also at the Lexington Public Library as a part-time Library Assistant in Adult Services.  Her first day will be June 3^rd. 

Ida Sell has been hired as the Image Management Specialist Senior for the DPLA grant in Digital Library Services.  Her first day will be June 12^th.  She has a master’s degree in library science from the University of Kentucky.  She previously worked in Special Collections as a graduate assistant and student assistant.

UK Libraries faculty present at ELUNA Conference

The Ex Libris Users of North America (ELUNA) Conference was held April 30 through May 3 in Athens, Georgia.  ELUNA is a not-for-profit educational group of users of library software products licensed by Ex Libris. ELUNA members include academic, public, governmental, and corporate libraries from the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. 

Three UK Libraries faculty presented at the spring meeting:

·         Julene Jones, Head of Database Integrity, Global Data Change: Overview, Tips, and Tricks

·         Tari Keller, Systems Librarian, WebVoyage skins: What, Why, When, How???

·          Kathryn Lybarger, Head of Cataloging and Metadata, Writing macros and programs for Voyager  cataloging.

Ashleigh Lovelace to Intern at Penguin Classics

Gaines Fellow and long-time University Press of Kentucky intern Ashleigh Lovelace has been selected for a competitive internship with Penguin Group, USA, in the classics division. Lovelace—who graduated from the University of Kentucky this spring with BAs in English, arts administration, and art history—delivered the 19th annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lecture on February 7, 2013.  

A video of her presentation, “Nostalgia in the Present: The ‘Death of Print’ and a Contemporary Crisis of Communal Identity,” is available on the Gaines Center site. http://player.vimeo.com/video/62916391?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff              

The Gateway Arch: A Biography

Dr. Tracy Campbell, UK History Professor and Co-Director of the UK Libraries Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center recently completed his fourth book, The Gateway Arch: A Biography.  Published by the Yale University Press in their Icons of America Series, the book explores the colorful history of an American landmark.

“Tracy Campbell removes the luster from one of the nation’s most admired and visited historical landmarks in this expose of raw politics, profiteering, inflated egos, racism, and fraud.  His surprising story compels us to think carefully about what is gained and lost when urban places are remade t o commemorate the past.” Andrew Hurley, author of Beyond Preservation:  Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities

Dr. Campbell specializes in twentieth century United States political and 

social history.  He has written three previous books: The Politics of Despair:

Power and Resistance in the Tobacco Wars (Kentucky, 1993); Short

of the Glory: The Fall and Redemption of Edward F. Prichard, Jr..

(Kentucky, 1998), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; and Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, an American Political Tradition,  1742-2004 (Basic Books, 2005). 

Sue Smith selected for IEEE Library Advisory Council

Susan K. Smith, Head of the Engineering and Science Libraries, has been asked to serve on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Library Advisory Council for a two-year term in 2013 and 2014.  Formed in 1999, the IEEE Library Advisory Council (LAC) is a group of international, corporate, academic, and government librarians who consult with IEEE about their information resources.  This committee informs IEEE of the needs of the end user and library community.  Members also contribute ideas to enhance existing products and help shape future products.  

IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.  Its members inspire a global community through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE has more than 425,000 members in more than 160 countries.  With more than 3 million documents in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library, it has approximately 8 million downloads each month. IEEE has 1,400+ standards and projects under development; publishes 148+ transactions, journals, and magazines and sponsors over 1,300 conferences in 80 countries.

Welcome

Alice Wasielewski has been hired as the Library Technician Senior in the Science Library and her first day will be June 3^rd.   Alice is currently working in a temporary assignment in the UK School of Library & Information Science as an Adjunct Instructor of Instructional Services and as a Book Van Coordinator at Lexington Public Library.  

Celebrating Kentucky Writers

Four faculty from Special Collections displayed books written by Kentucky's new Poet Laureate, Frank X Walker, as well as by the six authors recently inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame, at a celebration at the Lexington Carnegie Center for Literacy on April 27, 2013.

The display included two to three books from each author, including Walker and Hall of Fame inductees Harriette Simpson Arnow, William Wells Brown, Harry Caudill, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, James Still, and Robert Penn Warren.  In addition to first and later editions of their works, Special Collections also holds archival collections from each writer except William Wells Brown.

Gail Kennedy, Arts and Outreach Librarian, organized the display.  Also participating were Reinette Jones, Oral History Librarian and African American Studies Academic Liaison; Dr. Jim Birchfield, Curator of Rare Books; and Ruth Bryan, Director of Archives.  

NEH Grant provides funds for Coal, Camps, and Railroads Project

UK Libraries has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for the Coal, Camps, and Railroads project. Over 130 cubic feet of portions of the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection will be selectively digitized, focusing on 189 years of economic development in the Eastern Kentucky coalfield from 1788 to 1976.

The materials document the search for, extraction of, and distribution of coal, oil, and natural gas resources; the creation of railroads to bring these raw materials to industrial manufacturers and electrical power generators across the United States; and the company towns, their services, and the individual lives that grew up to sustain and make possible this economic development.

Deirdre Scaggs, Associate Dean for Special Collections and Mary Molinaro, Associate Dean for Library Technologies will serve as lead investigators for this $278,000 project.  

Students Take a Finals Break at UK Libraries' Balcony Blastoff

To give students the opportunity to take a fun and relaxing study break, UK Libraries hosted the Balcony Blastoff on Tuesday, April 30, 7-10 pm.  UK Libraries opened room 3-34 and the south balcony for a reception which included sub sandwiches, cookies, and soft drinks.  A few hundred students stopped by to relax, take a break from their studies, and enjoy the beautiful fresh air and sunshine from the balcony.

Thanks to Jen Martin and Carrie Poll for organizing the event.  Others helping at the event included: Terri Brown, Mary Beth Thomson, Daniel Naas, Sandee McAninch, Judy Sackett, Greg Casey, Jacqueline Doucet, Meghan Moran, Shawn Livingston, and Stacey Greenwell.  Special thanks to custodial and security staff for helping with the event, particularly during such a busy time of year for both groups.

Students share experiences of working in SC Learning Lab

The inaugural group of Special Collections Learning Lab students participated in a panel presentation and exhibit highlighting their research.  During the panel, interns Sarah Hayden, Lane Springer, and Jeffrey Witt responded to discussion questions about their Learning Lab projects and experiences.  Ruth Bryan, Director of Archives, moderated the panel.  Afterwards, all were invited to the opening reception to browse the exhibit created by the Learning Lab interns about their projects. 

The new SC Learning Lab is a center of primary research, experiential learning, and training. Targeting undergraduate students in the humanities, social sciences, and arts, the lab promotes undergraduate research, scholarship, and creativity and more fully integrates Special Collections into the teaching and research mission of the University. The 2012-2013 interns have enhanced access to several key collections, built upon their existing research interests, and presented on their findings. 

Stay tuned to the Special Collections blog, "Curiosities and Wonders," for postings from each intern reflecting on their year-long Learning Lab experience.

Congratulations Julene!

Julene Jones, Head of Database Integrity, will receive a Master of Arts in Sociology at the upcoming University of Kentucky commencement ceremonies.  Julene successfully defended her graduate research paper, "Motivations for Disaffiliation from the Two-by-Two sect" and was strongly encouraged by her committee to publish it as an article.