UPK Title Named a Finalist for the Paolucci Award

University Press of Kentucky biography, “Russell Kirk: American Conservative” by historian Bradley J. Birzer has been named a finalist for the Henry and Anne Paolucci Book Award given by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. ISI is a non-profit educational organization devoted to the promotion of conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov, with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. The award honors the book that best advances conservative principles.

Emerging from two decades of the Great Depression and the New Deal and facing the rise of radical ideologies abroad, the American Right seemed beaten, broken, and adrift in the early 1950s. Although conservative luminaries such as Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin all published important works at this time, none of their writings would match the influence of Russell Kirk’s 1953 masterpiece “The Conservative Mind.” This seminal book became the intellectual touchstone for a reinvigorated movement and began a sea change in Americans’ attitudes toward traditionalism.

In “Russell Kirk,” Birzer investigates the life and work of the man known as the founder of postwar conservatism in America. Drawing on papers and diaries that have only recently become available to the public, Birzer presents a thorough exploration of Kirk’s intellectual roots and development. The first to examine the theorist’s prolific writings on literature and culture, this magisterial study illuminates Kirk’s lasting influence on figures such as T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley Jr., and Senator Barry Goldwater—who persuaded a reluctant Kirk to participate in his campaign for the presidency in 1964.

The winner of the Paolucci Book Award will be announced in August and will receive a $5,000 cash prize. The winner will also give a talk about the book at ISI’s awards dinner in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 1. C-SPAN’s “Book TV” has broadcast the Paolucci winner’s talk each of the past ten years and plans to do so again this year.

Bradley J. Birzer is Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and professor of history at Hillsdale College. He is also the second Visiting Scholar of Conservative Thought and Policy, University of Colorado–Boulder. He is the author of “American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll” and “Sanctifying the World: The Augustinian Life and Mind of Christopher Dawson.”

UK Oral History Librarian and Archivist Publish Article on Using the Louie B. Nunn Center

Oral History Librarian Judy Sackett and Oral History Archivist Kopana Terry’s article, “Making Oral History Interviews Accessible at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History,” will be published in the summer issue (volume 80, number 3) of Kentucky Libraries. The article, which is based on their earlier presentation at the Kentucky Library Association Annual Conference, will also be available online.

Sackett and Terry provide an overview of the rich oral history resources available at the Nunn Center and describe the latest technological developments that have improved access to the center's collection of nearly 10,000 interviews. Thanks to the Oral History Metadata Synthesizer (OHMS), developed in-house, a growing number of audio and video interviews are indexed and available immediately from the SPOKEdb database. Access to interviews not yet online may be requested through SPOKEdb and will be provided electronically. 

Jaime Marie Burton Elected Secretary for the Society of American Archivists Security Roundtable

Jaime Marie Burton, director of Research Services and Education in the Special Collections Research Center, has been elected as the incoming secretary for the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Security Roundtable. Jaime will begin her term the first of August at the annual meeting of the SAA in Atlanta.

Founded in 1977, SAA's Security Roundtable focuses on preventing thefts in archival and manuscript repositories. The mission of the roundtable is to combat theft, mutilation, forgery, hacking, and other acts that compromise the integrity of the historical record and deny access to users. 

SCRC Successfully Completes Three Year NEH Digitization Grant

The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) successfully completed work on its National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) digitization grant, resulting in online access to 140 cubic feet of materials from the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection. The materials from the Coal, Camps and Railroads project is available to the public through the digital library ExploreUK.

The newly digitized materials at UK focus on 189 years of economic development in the Eastern Kentucky coalfield from 1788 to 1976. The 10 individual collections document:

· the search for, extraction of, and distribution of coal, oil and natural gas resources in Breathitt, Boyd, Clark, Floyd, Harlan, Lawrence, Letcher, Perry and Powell counties;

· 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 individuals who grew up and made possible this economic development.

These collections include the Benham Coal Company records, Wheelwright collection, Sherrill Martin papers, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company and Lexington and Eastern Railway Company records and the Kentucky Union Land Company records.

UK SCRC was originally awarded the NEH's Humanities Collections and Reference Resources (HCRC) grant for the Coal, Camps and Railroads project in 2013. The HCRC program supports projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts; photographs, sound recordings and moving images; archaeological and ethnographic artifacts; art and material culture; and digital objects. Funding from this NEH program strengthens efforts to extend the life of such materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology.

SCRC faculty, staff and students who worked on the project included Stacy Yelton, Crystal Heis, Shell Dunn, Nicole Reynolds (Digital Lab graduate assistant), Michael Slone, Ruth Bryan, Ida Sell, Megan Mummey, Deirdre Scaggs (PI), and Sarah Dorpinghaus. 

For more information, please see Coal, Camps and Railroads: Digitizing Primary Sources on Appalachian Economic Development.

Daniel Weddington is New SCRC Research Services Archivist

Daniel will join UK Libraries as the Research Services Archivist for the SCRC division on August 8. He received his master’s in library and information science from UK. Previously, Daniel worked at Berea College as the digital services archivist, and as the digital archivist at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Award Presentation will be August 9

Please save the date for the 2^nd annual Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Award presentation on Aug. 9, 4 p.m., Special Collections Research Center Great Hall, Margaret I. King Library. The award recognizing innovative teaching of Kentucky high school history or civics will be presented to Margaret Lynn Brewer, Scott County High School.

David S. Ferriero, the 10th Archivist of the United States, will present the prestigious award to Brewer, who has been teaching for the past 16 years and is currently working on her doctorate in curriculum and instruction at UK.

UK President Eli Capilouto and Provost Tim Tracy will also participate in the award presentation, as well as Bess Clements Abell, Earle Clements' daughter and a member of the UK Libraries National Advisory Board. Bess and her husband, Tyler, made a gift to the National Archives to support the award.

The National Archives and the UK Libraries Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center sponsor the award to honor the life and career of Earle Clements and his lifelong commitment to education and public service.

Clements’ long political career began in local service as a county sheriff, clerk and judge. He served in the Kentucky Senate and as governor of Kentucky (1947–1950); and he represented Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, where he became a close colleague to then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson.  

UK Libraries Exhibit explores 'Courtly Pastimes'

UK Libraries will present an exhibition of archival materials related to “Courtly Pastimes” in honor of the 15th International Courtly Literature Society Congress, being held on the UK campus July 24-29. The free public exhibition opens Monday, July 25, and runs through Friday, August 5, in the Great Hall, located on the second floor of the Margaret I. King Library Building at the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC).

First proposed in 1973, the International Courtly Literature Society (ICLS) promotes the study of courts and court-related cultures. Areas of study include medieval vernacular genres (lay, romance, lyric poetry, drama, etc.), medieval Latin literature, the historical background to court life, and medieval art, architecture and music. The society currently has branches in North America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Tunisia and the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, bibliographical correspondents represent Denmark, Norway, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

A triennial event, the ICLS Congress only meets in North America every six years. As part of the 2016 congress, presented by the UK College of Arts and Sciences, more than 90 scholars from around the world, including UK, will come together in Lexington. The sessions are made possible with support from the UK Office of the Vice President for Research.

The corresponding exhibition presented in UK’s Great Hall will feature a collection of illuminated manuscripts, print books and codex facsimiles related to the conference theme “Courtly Pastimes” during the medieval period and early Renaissance from the holdings of UK's SCRC and Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library Learning Center. It will include a copy of Leonardo Bruni’s “Historie Fiorentine” owned by Giulio Romano, a facsimile of “Il codice Squarcialupi,” an illuminated book of hours purportedly owned by Filippo-Maria de Visconti, and distinctive French and Spanish documents of the era, with imagery and textual references to courtly activities.

The exhibition will be on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information on the UK exhibition of “Courtly Pastimes,” contact Jaime Marie Burton, the director of Research Services and Education for the SCRC, at jmburton1@uky.edu

 

Library Instruction and Information Literacy featured at Kentucky Library Association’s Annual Round Table

Beth Fuchs

More than 50 librarians from Kentucky and surrounding states attended the Kentucky Library Association’s Library Instruction Round Table (KLA LIRT) Retreat on July 15. KLA LIRT Chair Beth Fuchs, UK’s undergraduate learning librarian, and two other officers, organized the retreat, which showcased innovative approaches to library instruction and information literacy, and included presentations on assessment, active learning and other topics.

Others from UK Libraries who attended were Debbie Sharp, Beth Kraemer, Jo Staggs-Neel, Valerie Perry, Karyn Hinkle, Katie Smith, and graduate students Lauren Farmer, Jaclyn Spraetz and Andy Johnson.

Christopher Little joins the Cataloging and Database Integrity’s Special Formats Unit

Christopher Little will begin a newly created temporary position in the Cataloging and Database Integrity’s Special Formats Unit focusing on copy cataloging and several special projects.

Christopher first worked for UK Libraries in the summer of 2009 as a student assistant in the Fine Arts Library and later in the Special Formats Unit.

Christopher entered UK in 2008 to pursue a Master of Music in clarinet performance and this summer completed a doctorate in musicology. His dissertation connects five neglected early twentieth century British composers in a school of English Romanticism based upon shared use of the chromatic harmonies of Wagner and Strauss and their collective interest in musical exoticism.

MCL Helps Students Conduct Research during Summer Health Career Camp

 

Medical Center Librarian Mary Congleton worked with high school students from across Kentucky during UK's Health Researcher’s Youth Academy. Hosted by the UK Area Health Education Center, the two-week residential summer camp introduces the students to the college experience, and provides an opportunity to learn about careers in health care research. The students attend orientations and lectures, tour facilities, and interact with researches in health-related disciplines. 

In addition, the students conduct research and develop a poster presentation. Mary provided the group of 27 students a session on conducting research using UK Libraries information resources. And, she demonstrated various databases, including PubMed and MedlinePlus.

Libraries Participates in GEAR UP Kentucky 3.0 Summer Academy @UK

 

UK Libraries is participating in the GEAR UP Summer Academy, a residential college readiness program for Kentucky high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from 22 Kentucky high schools. Designed to prepare high school students for success in college, GEAR UP 3.0 runs from July 10 through July 30 and offers courses taught by UK instructors as well as a full schedule of co-curricular activities.

During the first week, librarians Debbie Sharp, Beth Fuchs and Karyn Hinkle presented a library orientation session, “Research and Library Resources,” for all participants. Several librarians and staff are helping students with their research assignments through an online Library Help module, with links to library resources.

Education Librarian Sarah Vaughan is working with 11 middle and high school teachers in a four-day Gear-Up Teacher & Leader Academy. The teachers are working in the Education Library on individual research related to classroom management improvements, or their teaching discipline – either English or Social Studies.

Click on GEAR UP Kentucky 3.0 Summer Academy @UK for more information.

Nominations Open for 2017 UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement

Nominations are now open through August 19 for the 2017 UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement, one of UK's most prestigious awards. The medallion was created in 1990 to recognize high intellectual achievement by Kentuckians, encourage education and promote creative thought.

Individual candidates may be nominated with completion of the application and a nominating statement that describes the intellectual achievement realized in a scientific, artistic, literary, social, or humanitarian field; significance of the achievement; and endorsements or verification of the work. Final selection of the medallion recipient is determined by majority vote of the UK Libraries National Advisory Board. 

Past recipients of the honor include: James Klotter, John Anthony, Wendell Berry, James Still, Bobbie Ann Mason, Thomas D. Clark, Laman A. Gray Jr., Guy Davenport, George C. Herring, Adalin Wichman, John Egerton, Karl Raitz, and George C. Wright.

To be eligible, nominees must be a Kentucky native or had more than three years of study, work or residency in Kentucky.

Members of the general public are welcome to submit nominations. More information can be found online at http://libraries.uky.edu/forms/IAA_Nomination_Letter_-_UK_Libraries_2017.pdf
, along with the 2017 nomination form. 

Libraries Welcomes Class of 2020 to Campus at “seeblue.” U Orientation

 
UK Libraries joined other campus colleges and organizations in orienting incoming UK students and their families to campus at “seeblue.” U Orientation programs from June 20 to July 13. Libraries’ faculty, staff and students handed out information and talked to students about collections, services and employment opportunities available at libraries across campus.

Thanks to Library Reference Specialist Katie Smith for organizing our participation, and to everyone who volunteered. We look forward to seeing these students on campus in the fall!

Karyn Hinkle is new Visual Resources Librarian

Karyn Hinkle joined the Academic Affairs and Research Division as a visual resources librarian on July 1. Previously, Karyn served as art librarian at Northwestern University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the Pratt Institute.

Pawan Karki joins UK Libraries as Systems Application Developer

Pawan Karki joined UK Libraries on July 1 as a Systems Application Developer for the Collections, Digital Scholarship & Technical Services Division. He received his master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Pawan previously worked at the EchoStar Corporation as a software engineer.

SCRC Archivists and Librarians Host Community Archivists and Genealogists

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Special Collections Research Center archivists and librarians hosted six community archivists and genealogists for a three-hour workshop on archives basics in June. The non-profit organizations represented included the Episcopal Diocese Lexington, Kentucky Genealogical Society, Henry Clay High School Archives Committee, Lincoln Foundation, and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. 

Topics covered the historical value of organizational records, selecting records for permanent retention, inventorying and storing physical and digital records, providing access to researchers, and digitization methods and standards. There was also a tour of Special Collections to see day-to-day archival work.

SCRC staff presenters included workshop organizer and University Archivist Ruth Bryan; University Records Manager Nancy DeMarcus; Digital Archivist Sarah Dorpinghaus; Reinette Jones, Oral History librarian and African American Studies academic liaison; Education Archivist Matthew Strandmark; and Learning Lab Manager Stacie Williams. 

 “The records of community organizations and of individual community members are of great value to all of us,” said Ruth Bryan, who is also the director of Technical Services. “Reaching out to community members and providing support for preserving and sharing those records is an important role for Special Collections.” This is the third workshop SCRC staff has presented this year.

Photo ID: Workshop participants (left to right) Alyce Neji, Mary Brinkman, Gary Brown, Linda Lawrence, Dianne Holland Chiles, and Edith Turley.

Website Updates Released

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UK Libraries periodically releases updates to its website in order to improve patron service. Recent changes aimed to make the site more usable, include adding search help and decreasing the size of the search box. These changes were based on feedback received since the launch of the new website in January 2016. 

In addition, the website now features the new UK logo at the top of the page. During spring and fall semesters, the website averages approximately 32,000 users and 70,000 sessions per month, according to Ed Brown, director of Web Development.

UK Alum is Editor of New Book on Changes in Appalachia

By Samantha Ponder

University of Kentucky alumna Rebecca Adkins Fletcher is one of the editors of the new book “Appalachia Revisited: New Perspectives on Place, Tradition, and Progress,” published by University Press of Kentucky. The book's contributors explore how the Appalachia region has changed in recent years.

“Appalachia Revisited” is the story of how the Appalachia region is being viewed within and beyond its borders. Fletcher and co-editor, William Schumann, gather both scholars and nonprofit practitioners to explore how Appalachia is being observed after some of its most recent changes.

Inside the new book, readers will find a variety of different topics that are being studied, including race and gender, environmental transformation, university-community collaborations, cyber identities, fracking, contemporary activist strategies and Appalachia in the context of local-to-global change. The publication is a "must read" for scholars, students and policymakers of Appalachia alike.

“Appalachia Revisited” is one of five in a UPK series of books about Appalachia called, "Place Matters: New Directions in Appalachian Studies." The series is edited by UK Professor of Sociology Dwight B. Billings.

Rebecca Adkins Fletcher earned her master's degree in of anthropology from UK in 2003 and her doctoral degree in anthropology from UK in 2011. In addition to her master's and doctoral degrees, Fletcher also obtained a graduate certificate in gender and women's studies from UK in 2009. Fletcher is an assistant professor in the Department of Appalachian Studies and assistant director of the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University.

Co-editor, William Schumann, is currently the director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University. 

UPK is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, representing a consortium that includes all of the state universities, five private colleges, and two historical societies. The press’ editorial program focuses on the humanities and the social sciences. Offices for the administrative, editorial, production and marketing departments of the press are found at UK, which provides financial support toward the operating expenses of the publishing operation through the UK Libraries.