UK Libraries Diversity Scholar Interns to Host UK's Second Human Library™ Event UK Libraries diversity scholar interns, Vaibhav Chitkara and Javoughn Brown, are hosting the University of Kentucky's second Human Library™ event on April 18. The Human Library™ is designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. It provides a space where members of oppressed and isolated communities can share their opinions, stories, and life lessons with readers who check them out as if they were bound books. The exercise fosters empathy and promotes connection by unsealing the stories individuals embody through personal interaction and conversation. Chitkara and Brown have collected a number of exciting titles for readers to check out at this year's Human Library™ event. Additional information, including a schedule of books, can be found here. We hope to see you there.

UK Libraries Second Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon Focuses on Kentucky Women
UK Libraries second Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, organized by Abbye Allan, Karyn Hinkle, Kathryn Lybarger, Ida Sell, and the School of Information's Melissa Adler, focused primarily on women in the arts from Kentucky: 33 existing articles were improved thanks to the efforts of all involved, and an impressive six brand new articles were created, thanks to the efforts of skilled historians Megan Mummey and Sarah Wade and especially to expert Wikipedian Kathryn Lybarger. Kentuckians, including the painter Marcia Shallcross Hite, the composer Zudie Harris Reinecke, and the printer Carolyn Reading Hammer, can now be researched in Wikipedia. Over the course of the day, over 4,500 words were added during UK's instance of Art+Feminism's month-long, international event.

Medical Center Library GA Spends Spring Break at the National Library of Medicine 
Riley Cantrall, UK Libraries Graduate Assistant at the Medical Center Library was selected to participate in the School of Information Science 2017 Alternative Spring Break program at the National Library of Medicine, where she worked one-on-one with health science librarians and gained career-enhancing experiences. At the National Library of Medicine, Cantrall was responsible for assessing publisher reviews, which involved checking publisher supplied information for authenticity in anticipation of being considered for PubMed Central. Cantrall also toured the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health Clinical Center. Both Cantrall and UK Libraries will benefit from this unique learning experience.

Claude Sullivan, 
Early Voice of UK Men’s Basketball, 
Inducted in KHSAA Hall of Fame

UK Libraries National Advisory Board member Alan Sullivan accepted the award from the Kentucky High School Athletic Association on behalf of his father, Claude Sullivan—legend in sports broadcasting and one of the first voices of UK's men’s basketball program. The award was presented by longtime UK Libraries friend Jim Host, and Dean of UK Libraries, Terry Birdwhistell, attended the awards luncheon and ceremony. Sullivan was chosen in the “Contributor” category, which KHSAA defines as an individual who has made outstanding contributions to interscholastic athletics on a statewide scale in some capacity other than athlete, coach, or official, including such areas as athletic administration, state association administration, sports medicine and sports media. Sullivan covered high school games his entire career even after he became an announcer for college and professional sports teams, including the Cincinnati Reds. He earned Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year honors eight-consecutive years (1959-66) and was national runner-up to Lindsey Nelson in 1960. Sullivan was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Kentucky Journalism and UK Athletic Halls of Fame in 2006. UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is the repository for the Claude Sullivan Collection, which includes recordings of Sullivan’s games. To learn more about this celebrated and distinguished figure in Kentucky sports history, read Alan Sullivan’s Voice of the Wildcats: Claude Sullivan and the Rise of Modern Sportscasting recently published University Press of Kentucky.

UPK Author Rion Amilcar Scott Wins Pen/America Award

University Press of Kentucky author Rion Amilcar Scott was named the winner of the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Award for Debut Fiction for his book, Insurrections: Stories, during the PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony at the New School's John L. Tishman Auditorium. The PEN America Foundation honors writers with more than $300,000 in awards and grants each year. 

The theme of the awards ceremony was titled "Books without Borders." Scott's Insurrections centers around the residents of the fictional Cross River, Maryland, a largely black town founded in 1807 after the only successful slave revolt in the United States. From the podium Scott explained why "I write the black stories that I write." He says "as long as they keep distorting and keep flattening our humanity, I want to keep responding with complexity. That's my 'Insurrection.'" He encouraged others to do the same.

Rion Amilcar Scott teaches English at Bowie State University. He earned an MFA at George Mason University, where he won both the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award and a Completion Fellowship. His work has appeared in publications such as the Kenyon Review, Crab Orchard Review, PANK, The Rumpus, Fiction International, the Washington City Paper, The Toast and Confrontation. Read the full story.