Applications Open for UK Libraries 2017 Alternative Textbook Grant Program

UK Libraries is launching a second round of the Alternative Textbook Grant Program to encourage UK faculty to adopt peer-reviewed open access alternative textbooks or to create original learning materials for their courses. Faculty may apply for one of 10 grants of up to $1,500 each to implement any curriculum change required for the use of alternative textbooks. 

“The favorable feedback to the first round of the program demonstrates that faculty realize the benefits and opportunities alternative textbooks bring to teaching and learning,” says Mary Beth Thomson, UK Libraries senior associate dean. “We are delighted to continue our support for faculty’s adoption and creation of alternative textbooks.” 

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that prices for college textbooks increased by 88% between 2006 and 2016. Studies indicate that the financial burden of textbooks negatively impacts student success by limiting students’ access to essential learning resources.  Alternative textbooks present a proven solution to the prohibitive prices of traditional textbooks and allow faculty to customize course content in a timely and innovative manner. 

Current UK faculty teaching a course in academic year 2017-18 using a commercial textbook are eligible to apply for one of the 10 grants. UK Libraries’ academic liaisons can provide faculty with assistance in identifying existing alternative textbooks and UK Libraries’ licensed information resources that are appropriate substitutes for traditional textbooks. 

Proposals must be submitted via the program’s online form.  Selection criteria include the strength of a statement of concern, estimated potential savings by students in the course, ability to use the alternative textbook in academic year 2017-18, and reusability beyond the initial semester.  Successful applicants will be notified in Spring 2017.  

Each grant recipient is required to submit a report describing the alternative textbook, the number of students impacted, estimated student savings, and an evaluation of the experience with the program.  Outcomes of the program will be shared with the UK community. 

The proposal submission deadline is December 23, 2016.  For more information about the Alternative Textbook Grant Program, please contact Adrian Ho, UK Libraries director of digital scholarship or Mary Beth Thomson, UK Libraries senior associate dean.

United Way donations matter

Sherree Osborne, UK Libraries 2016 United Way Chair, reports we are in the middle of the 31-day campaign, and a total of $1,740 has been donated. If you have not made a donation, please consider doing so and helping UK Libraries reach our reach our $5,000 goal. Donations can be made online or by printing a pledge form and forwarding to Sherree Osborne, 1-85 W. T. Young Library.  Here is the link with more information on making your pledge www.uky.edu/uw/make-pledge.  

United Way focuses on four key pillars of success:

              Basic Needs - Over 21,000 kids live at or near poverty;

              School Readiness - One in two students are not ready to enter kindergarten on the first day of school;

              Student Success - Two out of five high school grads are not ready for college or a career;

              Financial Stability - Over 50,000 families struggle to make ends meet.

To learn more about how the United Way touches our community and who supports the United Way, visit www.uwbg.org. Volunteering is another way to support the United Way. To learn more about how you can become a volunteer, call 2 1 1 or email volunteer@uwbg.org. 

“Tales of Kentucky Ghosts” in paperback just in time for Halloween

Tales of the supernatural have pervaded every culture across the globe, because as humans, we have a fascination with the mysteries of death and what lies beyond. Though the supernatural is often met with skepticism, a good ghost story still causes you to take an extra look around the corner or get a little nervous when walking through a graveyard. Ghost stories do more than just scare you—they force you to question your own reality. But where do these stories come from? Thanks to the American South’s vibrant tradition in storytelling, southern lore is fraught with tales of long-dead relatives, vengeful haints, and mischievous spirits.

William Lynwood Montell’s “Tales of Kentucky Ghosts,” now available in paperback, combines more than 270 stories collected from across the state. He combed through university archives and interviewed countless individuals to provide a comprehensive look at regional legend and lore. Although designed primarily to frighten and entertain readers, the stories are also valuable in preserving traditional beliefs and practices, as many have been passed down for generations. While conducting his research for this collection, he visited over seventy Kentucky counties, providing readers with a broad look at storytelling across the Bluegrass. When viewed as a whole, readers can see both the common trends present in the stories as well as their regional differences.

The stories range from scary to comical and come from all corners of the state. Clyde Childers of Lawrence County tells the tale of a murdered woman whose spirit possesses the power to change the course of a river, and Brandon Pierce of Bracken County recounts the story of a grandmother who was murdered by a group of children and now haunts a tunnel. On a more lighthearted note, Ralph Morris tells the story of his sister-in-law’s encounter with a “foot-tickling” ghost, and Danny R. Clark of Allen County describes his cousin’s experience with an elderly-looking spirit with an affinity for hats.

Montell’s extensive research has provided readers with a comprehensive look at Kentucky legend and the state’s rich oral history, presenting a rapid-fire sampling of some the best ghost stories the Commonwealth has to offer. “Tales of Kentucky Ghosts” is sure to both entertain and chill its readers while also allowing them to consider their own supernatural heritage.

William Lynwood Montell, professor emeritus of folk studies at Western Kentucky University, is the author or editor of more than 20 books, including “Ghosts across Kentucky, Haunted Houses and Family Ghosts of Kentucky,” and “Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes.”

Science and Engineering Library holds a Halloween selfie station competition

The Science and Engineering Library is holding a Halloween selfie station competition October 24 -31 in the new Collaboratory (213G). All faculty, staff and students are welcome to upload a “Spooktacular” selfie to the University of Kentucky Science and Engineering Library Facebook page. Also, everyone is invited to come by the library anytime during our operating hours (M-Th 7:45am-9pm, Fri until 4:30pm) to take your selfie using some available props. Costumes are highly encouraged, and a grand prize will be awarded for the most liked selfie!

Innovative Education students create Tolkien Middle-Earth-style UK map

Two Education students created a Tolkien Middle-Earth-style map of UK after they were challenged to find a use for a large bulletin board found in the Education Library. Senior Library Technician Emily Bayma-Santos asked students Madeline Tiemeyer and Hannah Meredith to come up with something to put on the eighteen-foot section that had been hidden behind unused shelving.

Madeline, a secondary English education senior, and Hannah, an early elementary education junior, suggested a map of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth that fit with the Education Library’s juvenile/young adult literature collection. 

According to Bayma-Santos, Scott Swift in Young Library’s mailroom suggested it be a map of UK. “Hannah did some of the planning and prep work but the art itself is solely Madeline’s, “ says Bayma-Santos. “It’s done in black sharpie and chalk on butcher paper and took her around eight hours.”

UK Libraries co-hosts reception for Common Reading Experience “Orphan Train” author

UK Libraries and the Office of New Student and Parent Programs co-hosted a reception in the WT Young Library Gallery for this year’s Common Reading Experience author, Christina Baker Kline. Kline, whose historical novel, “Orphan Train,” has been used in a number of university common reading programs across the country, also signed copies of the book and answered questions. Faculty from across campus who used “Orphan Train” in their classes and Libraries faculty and staff attended the reception.

Following the reception, Kline attended Peter Hesseldenz’ UK 101 class in WT Young where the students talked about the book. They had many questions for Kline, who answered them all in lively discussion. “Many of the students came away with a new appreciation of the book and of the writing process,” says Hesseldenz, Business and Economics Academic Liaison for UK Libraries.

“Orphan Train” tells the story of an Irish immigrant girl who is orphaned at the age of nine just before the Great Depression. She is sent to the Midwest on an “orphan train,” which was a well-meaning attempt to find homes for children who would have otherwise ended up living on the streets. While some children had good experiences, many were treated harshly and taken-in by families merely to provide farm labor. The book juxtaposes a modern-day story with the events that take place in the 1930’s and 40s.

 

UK Libraries welcomes diversity interns Javoughn Brown and Vaibhav Chitkara

Now in its third year, the UK Libraries Undergraduate Diversity Intern Program recently welcomed the 2016-2017 interns, Javoughn Brown and Vaibhav “Vibz” Chitkara. They are currently working in the WT Young Reference Department with supervisors Ruth Bryan and Peter Hesseldenz. The students will work on a variety of projects in different areas of UK Libraries throughout the rest of the school year focusing on exploring issues of diversity as they learn about the functions of an academic library.

Javoughn Brown is a sophomore from Louisville, Ky. majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology. When he finishes his undergraduate degree, he plans to attend graduate school in social work. Before coming to UK, he worked for a non-profit organization and has volunteered extensively in his community. Javoughn has an interest in visual arts and is a regular participant in a campus poetry workshop. 

Vaibhav “Vibz” Chitkara’s family is originally from India, and he has lived all over the world with his diplomat parents. Born in Tanzania, Vibz has also lived in New Delhi, Houston, and Belgrade.  He completed high school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia before coming to UK. Vibz is a junior majoring in electrical engineering and computer engineering and serves as an international student ambassador. Last year, he was a member of the College of Engineering’s Solar Car Club.

Tokyo Restoration and Conservation Center conservator visits SCRC archives

UK Libraries Conservation and East Asian Studies Librarian Kazuko Hioki recently hosted Tomoko Yasuda, a conservator from the Tokyo Restoration and Conservation Center (http://www.trcc.jp/http://www.trcc.jp/). Tomoko, who is interested in basic preservation activities and prioritization for archival material, toured UK’s SCRC archives with University Archivist Ruth Bryan. She also toured the Kentucky Underground Storage near Wilmore, Ky.

Pictured from left:  Tomoko Yasuda, Kazuko Hioki, and Ruth Bryan at UK's SCRC.

UK Libraries promotes student success at Open Educational Resources panel on October 27

UK Libraries will host a panel discussion about the positive impact of open educational resources (OER) on teaching, learning, and student success. The panel discussion, followed by a reception, will be 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at the William T. Young Library. This event is free and open to the public.  

Leila Salisbury, director of the University Press of Kentucky, will moderate the panel. Two speakers will discuss the promise OER holds for student success from different perspectives. The first speaker, Jeffrey Gallant, from Affordable Learning Georgia, will provide an overview of the current textbook market, the benefits of OER, and the success in adopting OER at higher education institutions. The second speaker, Allison Soult, from the UK Department of Chemistry, will share her insights and experience of teaching with OER. There will be a Q&A after the presentations. 

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that the prices of college textbooks have soared 88 percent from 2006 to 2016. Educators and foundations are developing OER to alleviate the adverse effect of costly textbooks on students and to provide instructors with the flexibility to customize their course content.

For more information about OER, visit this guide, contact an academic liaison, or contact UK Libraries by e-mail.

Lexington's early marriage indexes of African Americans available online

Over the summer of 2016, the Special Collections Research Center at University of Kentucky Libraries and the Fayette County Clerk’s Office developed a pilot project that will provide online access to the Colored Marriage Indexes dated 1866-1882 and 1958-1968. The purpose of the project is to provide researchers with greater online access to early primary documents pertaining to African Americans in Kentucky. 

Details of the project, including ensuring security of the original records, took a few weeks to work out and were finalized during a sit-down meeting with Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr., Deputy Clerks Meredith Nelson and Shea Brown, and Reinette Jones and Sarah Dorpinghaus from UK Special Collections Research Center. The project involved the secure in-person handoff of one volume at a time from the Clerk’s Office at 162 E. Main St. to the Digital Lab in the M.I. King Library Building on campus. Volumes were returned to the Clerk’s Office at the completion of each digitization process.

The four volumes of the Colored Marriage Indexes are the original finding aids used to locate the early marriage bonds of African Americans in Lexington. The indexes contain the name of each bride and groom, and the page number of the actual marriage bond held at the Fayette County Clerk’s Office. As the marriage indexes and bond books have been in continuous use by the public for many years, some are in fragile condition. 

The digitized versions of the indexes are now freely available to the public on ExploreUK, UK's digital library. The originals were scanned in full color at a high resolution that surpasses the national standard for digital preservation. The typed indexes have been run through optical character recognition (OCR) and are searchable.

The first two volumes of the indexes are handwritten and will be transcribed using an open-source software program developed by Eric Weig, digital library architect in the Special Collections Research Center. The program is called Libscribe. Libscribe works in conjunction with the open-source Omeka content management system to facilitate simple page transcription in order to improve digital library search accuracy. Once the transcription has been completed, it will be searchable and presented as an alternate view for each handwritten page.

“I am very pleased with the results of our collaboration with the Special Collections Research Center. The images are outstanding and will be a huge asset to genealogists and researchers everywhere,” said Blevins.

The original indexes and marriage bond books are available for use by the public in the Land Records Vault at the County Clerk’s Office, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, and copies may be made by the counter staff. 

UK Special Collections Research Center is home to UK Libraries' collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center, the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection and ExploreUK. The mission of the center is to locate and preserve materials documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Eric Weig speaks at national forum for preserving digital news content

Eric Weig, digital library architect in the Special Collections Research Center, was an invited speaker at the recent Dodging the Memory Hole (DTMH) 2016 national forum “Saving Online News.” The forum, funded primarily through The Institute of Museum and Library Services, was held at the University of Los Angeles.

In addition to his talk titled “Working with CMS,” Eric led a discussion on the topic. He will also serve as a mentor for a graduate SLIS student who won a scholarship to attend the forum and will develop research based on preserving online news content. 

This is the fourth event in the DTMH conference series focusing on preserving digital news content. The name, Dodging the Memory Hole, comes from George Orwell’s “1984,” where photographs and documents conflicting with “Big Brother's” narrative were tossed into a “memory hole” and destroyed.

Today's memory hole is largely the unintentional result of technological systems not designed to keep information for the long term. The three previous DTMH events were held at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library in Charlotte, N. C., and the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

UPK book on Kentucky art and culture wins Alice Award

University Press of Kentucky’s "Kentucky by Design: The Decorative Arts and American Culture," edited by Andrew Kelly and sponsored by the Frazier History Museum, has been named the winner of the Alice Award given by Furthermore Grants in Publishing. Furthermore is a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund and is concerned with nonfiction book publishing related to art, architecture and design; cultural history; conservation and preservation; the city; and public issues of the day.

“It is a privilege to be in the company of the other distinguished publications shortlisted for the Alice Award,” Kelly said. “I am delighted that 'Kentucky by Design' has been recognized by the Furthermore Foundation, and honored to accept the Alice Award on behalf of all the outstanding scholars, experts and museum professionals nationwide who made this book possible.”

The Alice Award was established in 2013 by Joan Davidson, president of Furthermore, in honor of her mother Alice Kaplan. Kaplan, vice president of the Kaplan Fund, was a well-known patron, scholar and activist in the arts, who urged the foundation to support music, dance, libraries and the visual arts. She loved and collected illustrated books as works of art and considered them essential documents in a civilized society. The Alice Award is dedicated to recognizing and cherishing the lasting values of the well-made illustrated book, and the special sense of intimacy it affords. Each year a jury of distinguished leaders in publishing and the arts selects the winning Alice book from the hundreds of eligible titles that have been supported by Furthermore.

"Kentucky by Design" celebrates the 80^th anniversary of the Federal Art Project’s (FAP) Index of American Design. The FAP was established at the height of the Great Depression under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. One of the aims of this project was to collect and record the history of American material culture, and it culminated in the creation of the Index of American Design. This work, while intended for a wide audience, was never published.

Now, after 80 years, Kentucky’s contributions to the Index of American Design have at last been compiled in "Kentucky by Design." Kelly has gathered the contributions of experts to catalog prime examples of the state’s decorative arts that were featured in the index, pairing the original FAP watercolors with contemporary photographs of the same or similar artifacts. He provides information surrounding the history and current location (and, often, the journey in-between) of each piece, as well as local or familial lore surrounding the object. In addition to a wealth of Shaker material, the objects featured include a number of quilts and rugs as well as a wide assortment of everyday items, from powder horns and candle lanterns to glass flasks and hand-crafted instruments.

The winner of the Alice Award will receive a $25,000 cash prize, which will be presented at a reception in the Rare Book Room at Strand Books on Oct. 25. The Alice Award “provides important and deserved confirmation of the press’ achievement,” noted Jerrold Hirsch, a contributor to the volume and author of "Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Federal Writers’ Project." “I am proud to be part of such a beautiful and important book.”

Andrew Kelly, trained at Sotheby’s New York, is a Helena Rubinstein Fellow of the Whitney Museum of American Art and has authored and edited numerous monographs and catalogs on the fine and decorative arts. He has worked in association with many institutions, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters, McNay Art Museum, Harry Ransom Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Lisbon Ajuda National Palace Museum, Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation Palma de Mallorca, Russian State Museum at the Marble Palace, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum and the Tate Gallery London.

University Press of Kentucky (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.