Friday, December 12, 2014

Nunn Center team publishes in "Oral History in the Digital Age"


Dr. Doug Boyd, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, and Danielle Gabbard, Sarah Price, and Alana Boltz of the Special Collections Research Center are the authors of "Indexing Interviews in OHMS: An Overview." 

The article was published by Oral History in the Digital Age at http://ohda.matrix.msu.edu/2014/11/indexing-interviews-in-ohms/. The article explains and describes the OHMS indexing process developed by UK Libraries faculty and staff.  

Special Collections Research Center offers self-serve digitization


The Bookeye 4 scanner is easy for researchers to use.
The Special Collections Research Center Breckinridge Research Room now offers self-serve digitization via a new Bookeye 4 scanner. The easy-to-use touch screen interface allows researchers to produce high-quality color scans up to 600 dpi. Files can be transferred via email, cloud storage, or an external USB drive. 

The scanner includes a “V” cradle option that provides additional support for tightly bound materials and reduces the risk of damage to the spine during digitization. Regardless of whether material is scanned by researchers or by the SCRC reference team on request, the Bookeye significantly expands access to UK Libraries’ unique collections.

Event celebrates publication of letters between Thomas Merton and Victor and Carolyn Hammer

The University Press of Kentucky, in partnership with the Art Museum at the University of Kentucky and UK Libraries, will celebrate the publication of The Letters of Thomas Merton and Victor and Carolyn Hammer: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam with editors Paul Evans Holbrook Jr. and F. Douglas Scutchfield. The event, which is free and open to the public, will include remarks from the editors and features an installation of Victor Hammers’ paintings, drawings and mezzotints. The celebration, which includes books on sale, will begin 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, at the Art Museum at UK.


For more information on Merton and his relationship with the Hammers, please see the complete news release.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

UK Libraries marks International Education Week

Students gathered for International Game Day
In celebration of International Education Week (November 17 - 21), UK Libraries hosted two events designed to promote engagement with international education.

The first, a vexillology (the study of flags) challenge asked participants to correctly identify the countries represented by flags hanging in the atrium of William T. Young Library. Samane Zaarebandakoki, a graduate student in the UK College of Agriculture, won the prize of a $15 gift card to Starbucks by correctly identifying the most flags.


More than 60 students participated in International Game Day on November 19. UK Libraries, the Media Depot, and the Robert Hemenway Writing Center sponsored the event. Students gathered in the basement of William T. Young Library to play various games, have snacks, listen to traditional music, and enjoy international fellowship.

Doug Boyd speaks on oral history in Northern Ireland

Doug Boyd
Dr. Doug Boyd, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, spoke recently at a conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The aim of the Accounts of the Conflict: Digitally Archiving Stories for Peacebuilding conference was to examine the role of digital archives of personal narratives, oral histories, or testimonies in societies emerging from conflict. The conference showcased the Accounts of the Conflict project at the University of Ulster; the project seeks to establish a digital archive for the long-term preservation and dissemination of stories related to conflict in Northern Ireland.


Doug spoke about what the Nunn Center is doing to enhance the accessibility of online oral history, the center’s development and implementation of the OHMS system, and challenges posed by curating online oral history collections.