Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Friday, December 17, 2010

Weekly Review

Annual Giving to UK Libraries:

Gifts to UK Libraries continue to arrive as 2010 draws to a close. Many of UK Libraries’ initiatives during the year depend on the generosity of our annual donors. Major gifts this week came in support of the Morton Holbrook Law Library Endowment and the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. Thank you donors!


UK Libraries Holiday Luncheon:

I hope that everyone can attend today’s Holiday Luncheon. Many thanks to the Hospitality Committee (Toni Greider, Jason Keinsley, Mary McLaren, Peggy Phillips, Jennifer Richmond, and Rita Tobin) for planning this event. Lunch begins at 11:30.


Maranda Hines:

Miranda Hines has completed work on a Master’s of Science in Human Resource Education degree from the University Louisville and will receive the Graduate Dean’s Citation at graduation this week. Miranda recently completed a practicum with Judy Sackett and developed a UK Libraries New Staff Employee Orientation program for her project. Congratulations on a job well done, Miranda!


Director of Archives Search:

The search for a Director of Archives has been closed without being filled. The position description has been expanded to include the duties of University Archivist and a new search will be underway in the near future. My thanks to the search committee, Special Collections faculty and staff, the Promotion and Tenure Committee, and all others involved in this important process.


Letter to Editor in Lexington Herald-Leader Compliments Recent Oral History Effort:

A new UK fan:

I have lived in Kentucky all my life and have never been a University of Kentucky fan until now. Not because of any ball teams or athletic accomplishments, but because there are people there who care enough about our veterans and student veterans to make sure the veterans' voices and stories are heard, and who have even produced a play portraying some of the student veterans' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the mother of one of the veterans, I sincerely thank everyone who made all this possible — Doug Boyd, Anthony Dotson, Herman Daniel Farrell III and Lt. Col. Jason Cummins, to name a few.

To the theater students, staff and crew of Bringing It Home, thank you so much for contributing your time and considerable talents. They are much appreciated.

Tamara Abney
Richmond


Thanks to Beth Kraemer and Judy Sackett for their contributions to the Weekly Review.

Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Weekly Review

UK LIBRARIES NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD:

Members of the UK Libraries National Advisory Board also receive the Weekly Review and I want to take this opportunity to thank them for their support. During the past year the Board has completed a new constitution and by-laws that will make it an even stronger organization and help increase Board members’ involvement with the success of UK Libraries.

The UK Libraries Annual Dinner will be held this April and the Medallion for Intellectual Achievement will be awarded. More details about the dinner and the spring Board meeting will be coming early in the new year.

I know all UK Libraries faculty and staff join me in thanking each Board member for their support of UK Libraries.


STRATEGIC PLANNING:

UK Libraries has a very well developed strategic plan that guides our planning and initiatives. With the plan in place, it is necessary for everyone to review our work and how we deploy our resources to assure that we are allocating our resources in support of the plan. To be sure, a large percentage of the plan deals with “tending to basics” which provide the services that our students, faculty, staff, and researchers need daily. But even in this critical area, it is important to continually reassess how we provide these services and, in fact, determine if they are still necessary. It is also essential that we make needed changes to put adequate resources towards our strategic initiatives.

To achieve these goals we need everyone’s help and input. Please review our strategic plan and consider ways that we can accomplish our goals in a way that provides better service and supports our strategic initiatives while creating cost savings. I encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas with your colleagues, department heads, and AD’s.

During December I am meeting with each AD to review division goals and how resources, including personnel, are being allocated to meet basic services and strategic goals. Early in the spring semester I will discuss the review with both faculty and staff. These discussions will help inform planning for the spring budget hearing with the Provost and how we will deal with possible further cuts in our budget.

We have made important progress the past six months and I thank each of you for the important role you play in our success.

I hope you will enjoy the extra days off this year with family and friends during the winter break and I look forward to working with you next semester to continue moving UK Libraries forward.


Weekly LibGuide Feature:

This week’s guide was developed by Jen Bartlett and Debbie Sharp for English 772: Seminar in Renaissance Studies. This guide incorporates a beautiful graphic on main page and includes primary sources, books from the catalog (with book covers), and a search widget for Reference Universe. You can find this great guide at http://libguides.uky.edu/ENG722


Thanks to Beth Kraemer and Sue Smith for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Friday, December 3, 2010

Weekly Review

UK Libraries Celebrate International Education Week, November 15-19, 2010

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education that promotes programs to prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

To celebrate the week, flags from 23 different countries were hung in the atrium of Young Library. In addition to the hanging of the flags, an educational component was provided in the form of a vexillology

quiz that allowed participants to see if they could identify all 23 flags. Thirty-one students tested their knowledge of flags and entered the contest. Each student received a certificate and a small gift for participating in the event. The flags will remain on display through November 30th. Toni Greider, Director of UK Libraries International Programs organized the display and Terri Brown and the Circulation Department Staff enthusiastically supported of this event.


UK Libraries Receives Georgia Powers Collections

The University of Kentucky announced that it will house important papers and interviews related to former Kentucky State Senator Georgia Powers.

Additionally, the university will also endow a chair in the name of the trailblazing legislator and civil rights icon as part of UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women. Powers became the first African-American and woman to hold a seat in the Kentucky State Senate in 1968.

Starting with her first bill for a statewide fair housing law, Powers carved out a 21-year career fighting for civil rights legislation that prohibited sex, job and age discrimination.

Researchers for years to come will be able to study the impact Powers had not only in Louisville and her home state of Kentucky, but as a leader in the nation's civil rights movement through two new collections being donated to the UK Libraries consisting of the legislator's papers and a selection of oral history interviews.

"The Georgia Powers’ oral histories and archival papers will document the life and career of an important Kentucky woman," said Associate Dean of Special Collections Deirdre Scaggs. "It highlights her involvement in the Kentucky civil rights movement, her career as a senator, and her experiences as a black woman. The Powers' collection is important for Kentucky history, for the history of women, and the history of African-Americans – these materials will be used by interdisciplinary scholars of United States history, politics, gender and race."

The papers donated to UK Libraries will encompass more than 2,000 newspaper clippings, photos, speeches and legal pads filled with the legislator's handwritten thoughts.

Senator Powers’ oral history interviews, the Georgia Davis Powers Oral History Project, supplements her written memoir and offers new information about her life and work. The collection documents the powerful role she played in affecting public policy as she pushed for legislation on public accommodations and open housing. Powers fought for the Equal Rights Amendment resolution and the Displaced Homemaker's Law. The most recent interviews were conducted by historian Gerald Smith who played a crucial role in acquiring Senator Powers' papers and strengthening her relationship with UK Libraries. This collection, housed in the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, will be restricted for a period of time.

"We won’t truly appreciate the magnitude of this donation until 20-30 years from now," said Smith, an associate professor of history and co-editor of the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. "Students will have a window of understanding to Kentucky’s political history as seen by a woman and an African-American."

In addition to the donations of materials to UK Libraries, the university will also become home to the Georgia Davis Powers Endowed Chair. This is the fourth chair created by the Center for Research on Violence Against Women and will focus on multicultural studies of violence against women and the unique experiences of women of color.

All women are at risk of abuse, but certain populations in the U.S. and around the world are often at greater risk. "Culture, race, and ethnicity – these things matter to whether or not you experience violence and what you do in response," said Carol Jordan, director of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. "These issues are so important; we thought that they required their own chair. And we wanted to use this opportunity to add a chair as well as honor an extraordinary woman."

The Georgia Davis Powers Endowment will affirm the importance of addressing race, ethnicity, and other socio-cultural factors in the study of violence against women.

Powers was more than willing to lend her name to such a worthy area of research. "Senator Powers connects with the work of our center, because she's a survivor of things that our center works for," noted Jordan. "She works on behalf of women and works for women. With that in mind, she fits completely with what we’re trying to do."

In addition to the new oral history and archival collections being donated by Senator Powers, UK Libraries is home to three other oral histories with the state legislator. Powers was previously participated in the Nunn Center's "Blacks in Lexington Project" and "Kentucky Legislature Oral History Project." Both collections are open to the public.

One of nine children, Powers was born Oct. 19, 1923, in Springfield, Ky. A civil rights movement leader in the Commonwealth, she was one of the organizers of the 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort in support of a law that would make public accommodations accessible to all, regardless of race. That same year, Powers became the first black woman to serve on the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee. As senator, she chaired two legislative committees, Health and Welfare (1970-76) and Labor and Industry (1978-88). Powers also served as chair of the Reverend Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign twice.


Humanity Academy

Susan Daole, Julene Jones, Kathryn Lybarger and Mary McLaren have completed the week-long Humanity Academy, class of November 2010. Congratulations, new graduates!

For more information about this UKHR diversity training program, please see: http://hr.uky.edu/TandD/HumanityAcademy.php


Amy Osborne Takes Position at Boone County Public Library:

Amy Osborne, Head of Public Services and reference librarian in the Law Library, will be leaving U.K. at the end of the year to become Manager of the Union Branch of the Boone County Public Library in Northern Kentucky. Amy joined the Libraries in 1997 and over her 13 years of service she has been highly regarded by the U.K. and area legal community for her reference expertise. We wish her much personal and professional success.


New Law Library Director:

Dr. James M. Donovan began as the new law library director on December 1, 2010: Professor Donovan received his undergraduate degree (Humanities and Greek/Latin) from University of Tennessee, his law degree from Loyola New Orleans School of Law (7th in his class), and two masters degrees (Philosophy and Library Science) from LSU. Professor Donovan’s most recent job was as Faculty and Access Services Librarian at University of Georgia School of Law. Prior to that, he served as Access Services Librarian at Tulane University School of Law. Professor Donovan’s most recent research includes a book entitled Legal Anthropology: An Introduction (Alta Mira Press, 2008) and an article entitled “Libraries as doppelgängers: A meditation on collection development,” 34 Southeastern Law Librarian (2009).


Jeff Sheppard Makes Big Blue History Once Again:

Probably best known as one of the Comeback Cats from the 1998 NCAA Championship team, today Jeff is part of a team making a different kind of comeback as part of an effort to bring back a piece of UK’s basketball history.

Recently, Sheppard has been working with University of Kentucky Archives on a special project to digitize and restore video footage and audio tape of the 1958 National Championship basketball team. “I heard about the fundraising initiative from the UK library to restore the old films of UK’s past and I wanted to be a part of the solution,” says Sheppard.

“Jeff loves athletics and he understands the importance of UK basketball history,” says Deirdre Scaggs, associate dean, special collections, at UK Libraries. “He was instrumental in raising awareness during the UK Libraries tipoff celebration for the Big Blue Sports Archives.”

The film of the 1958 championship game contains no audio and has been digitized and restored with the help of Wazoo Sports Inc., where Sheppard is vice president of business development. “At Wazoo Sports we love to air the Classic UK basketball games for the fans to enjoy, so it made perfect sense to partner with the UK Libraries and help them with the initiative and get this awesome footage out to the fans,” says Sheppard.

Audio of Claude Sullivan, the original “voice of the Wildcats,” calling the game, exists separately and has been digitally synced with the video footage. The result is an exclusive, original documentary of the 1958 NCAA Championship game and selected highlights from the 1958 season, a portion of which is narrated by Adolf Rupp and Harry Lancaster. “The sights and sounds of UK sports are captured on fragile media that is deteriorating every day. It’s a race against time to preserve them for future generations,” says Scaggs. “With Jeff’s support we have been able to save some of that legacy.”

To purchase a copy of the 1958 championship DVD, visit www.shopwazoosports.com. To see images and more from the Big Blue Sports Archives, please visit exploreuk.uky.edu. Full story available at http://www.ukalumni.net/s/1052/index-no-right.aspx?sid=1052&gid=1&pgid=1845


Thanks to the UK Alumni Association, Beth Kraemer, Whitney Hale, Judy Sackett and Toni Greider for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Saturday, November 20, 2010

UK Libraries Weekly Review
November 19, 2010


Happy Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It focuses on family, friends, and good food.  As importantly, it also provides an opportunity to remember all the things for which we might be thankful.

I am thankful that I have the opportunity to work at UK Libraries with such good colleagues.  As I visit other university libraries around the country, I appreciate even more the people and facilities that we have here at the University of Kentucky.

I am also thankful for all those who support UK Libraries through their donations and other help.  We are very fortunate that so many people around Kentucky and throughout the United States are willing to help us meet our goals of providing excellent collections and services to our students, faculty and staff.

I hope that you enjoy your holiday break next week.


UK Libraries Medical Librarian Recognized for Service to the Profession:

Frank Davis, Medical Center Library, has been approved for membership in the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) at the Distinguished Member level.  AHIP promotes lifelong learning and exemplary professional performance by recognizing achievements in continuing education, teaching, publishing, research, and other contributions to the profession.


Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral history Receives State Award:

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) honored outstanding achievements in the field of Kentucky history at the 2010 Kentucky History Celebration on Nov. 5 at the Old State Capitol in downtown Frankfort.

Among this year’s winners was the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky for the project, “From Combat to Kentucky—Interviews with Student Veterans.” The web-based oral history project captured the stories of student-veterans who served on active duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Participants shared their wartime experiences and stories about the difficult transition from military life back to civilian life.  To listen to interviews from this project, visit http://www.nunncenter.org/c2ky/.


Doug Boyd Addresses Library of Congress American Folklife Center Board and staff:

On November 4, 2010 Dr. Doug Boyd, Director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History addressed the Library of Congress Folklife Center board and staff about technologies developed by UK Libraries to deliver oral history online.


Personnel:

Roland Taylor, Library Technician in the Serials section of Acquisitions, Collections and Technical Services Division, has left UK Libraries after 22 years. We wish him the best.


Weekly LibGuide Feature:

This week’s LibGuide selection is a brand new guide by Heath Martin on French and Italian Studies, http://libguides.uky.edu/content.php?pid=76549.  Heath incorporates graphics, tutorials and a variety of resources to make this guide effective.


The UK Libraries Weekly Review is also available as a blog:  http://uklibrariesbirdseye.blogspot.com/    

Thanks to Beth Kraemer, Sue Smith, and Janet Stith for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Friday, November 12, 2010

Weekly Review

Informal Chat with Provost:

Faculty, staff, faculty and students are cordially invited to attend an informal chat with Provost Kumble Subbaswamy Friday, November 12, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in 230 Student Center. This is an opportunity for members of UK's community to talk with the Provost about a variety of issues in an informal setting.

Jointly sponsored for employees and students by the Staff Senate and University Senate, this is the first in a new series of informal chats with administrators across campus.


King Library Press Showcased in The Hub @ WT’s:

The Hub @ WT’s in the William T. Young Library is currently featuring two continuous video presentations on the work of the King Library Press.

The presentation visually explores the history of the King Library Press. The Press was founded in 1956 by Curator of Rare Books Carolyn Hammer as a creative laboratory for the book arts and a venue for demonstrating historical printing methods. Well-equipped with a variety of presses and other materials largely donated for its use, the King Library Press continues to explore the graphic arts, paper making, marbling, bookbinding, and illustration. The images included in the Hub’s presentation show the people, the equipment, and the products that make the Press so important and unique. In addition to the visual history, the presentation displays the exquisite art that has been made in the King Library Press.

The success of the King Library Press, part of the Special Collections Library, is the result of the work of Dr. James D. Birchfield, Curator of Books at UK Libraries and Dr. Paul Holbrook, Director of the King Press.


Weekly Tech Tip from UK Libraries Desktop Support:

Have you checked out the "My Site" section of SharePoint? This feature is new to us since moving to the campus SharePoint server. When you are on a SharePoint page, look in the upper right of the screen for the links to My Site and My Links. My Site has some Facebook-ish features, allowing you to upload a picture and a personal description. You can also store documents in My Site, either for your own use or for access by others at UK. The My Links section lets you bookmark your division or committee SharePoint site, for easier access. These bookmarks travel with you if you log in from a different computer.


Play Features Oral Histories from the Louie B. Nunn Center:

In honor of Veterans Day, the UK Department of Theatre presented "Bringing it Home: Voices of Student Veterans," at the Buell Armory. Another opportunity to see the play will be Friday, November 12 at 8:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by the UK Veterans Resource Center, the Department of Theatre, and the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. The play is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Reservations are required by emailing ukbihtix@gmail.com.


Weekly LibGuide Feature:

The featured guide this week comes from Gwen Curtis. The Maps LibGuide provides access to the extensive map collection housed in the Science Library on the 4th floor. This guide highlights both print and electronic resources.

http://libguides.uky.edu/content.php?pid=52957&sid=388147


Wednesday Fire Alarm Evacuates William T. Young Library:

The fire alarm Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. was evidently set off by dust created during the process of cleaning out an elevator shaft. The building was evacuated safely thanks to the preparation and execution of safety plans by Mary McLaren and the entire faculty and staff within the Young Library.

It was very impressive to see the large number of students outside the building early on a Wednesday morning following the evacuation. The Young Library plays a central role in teaching and learning at UK and the presence of so many students is a good reminder of the important role we play in their academic success.


Thanks to Beth Kraemer, Sue Smith, Mary McLaren, and Deirdre Scaggs for their contributions to the Weekly Review.

Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Friday, November 5, 2010

UK Libraries partners with Judaic Studies Program for Hebrew Journals Pilot Project:

• The Collections and Technical Services Division (CTS) of UK Libraries, in collaboration with Dr. Oliver Leaman and the UK Judaic Studies Program, has announced it will participate in the JSTOR Hebrew Journals Pilot Project. The project, resulting from the ongoing efforts of the University of Haifa Library and the National Library of Israel to digitize, preserve, and expose core journals published in Hebrew, is intended to better meet the needs of scholars throughout the world engaged in scholarship in the Hebrew language. The journals involved in the pilot project include:

o Horizons in Geography: covers all aspects of geography in Middle East and surrounding areas

o Megamot: a behavioral sciences journal publishing in disciplines such as psychology, sociology, social work, and other fields

o Tarbiz: a leading Jewish Studies journal

o Zion: a journal of history, published by the Historical Society of Israel

• The CTS and the Judaic Studies Program will provide feedback to JSTOR about the digitized journal content—including issues of display, navigation, and preservation—in order to help make scholarly resources in Hebrew more accessible to students and researchers in the future.

• JSTOR is a not–for–profit service that provides a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive of more than 1,000 academic journals and other scholarly content.


Weekly LibGuide Feature:

• UK Libraries’ faculty and staff currently have 142 published LibGuides on a variety of topics. Our first featured guide, created by art librarian Meg Shaw, highlights the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library's collection of Artists’ Books. It is a wonderful guide which demonstrates how LibGuides can be used in a variety of ways, not simply for the traditional subject guide. http://libguides.uky.edu/artistsbooks


Landscape Scenes of Kentucky Showcased in Archival Collection:

• The Stereoscope, "Gems of Kentucky Scenery," by Carpenter and Mullen Collection, is now available for research. The collection consists of twenty-one albumen process stereograph cards of various landscape scenes of Kentucky. The Collection was processed and the finding aid written by Sarah K. Piester under the supervision of Jason Flahardy.

• A complete finding aid and images are available on the KDL: http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-dx?c=kyead;cc=kyead;q1=stereoscope;rgn=main;view=text;didno=2010av006


University Senate Council Sponsoring Three Town Hall Meetings:

• The Senate Council decided that it would be helpful to solicit faculty opinions regarding the most important qualities for selecting UK’s next president, and that it would be best to have such input available as soon as possible. Therefore, the Senate Council is sponsoring three “town hall meetings” in which faculty are invited to attend and offer opinions on what UK needs in its next president.

• Town hall meetings will be held at the following times/dates/locations:

o Friday, November 5, 9 – 10:30 am (Willard Medical Education Bldg., MN 263 – use elevators outside Medical Center Library)
o Monday, November 8, 1:30 – 3 pm (Auditorium, W. T. Young Library)
o Tuesday, November 9, 4 – 5:30 pm (Center Theater, Student Center)


Weekly Tech Tip from UK Libraries Desktop Support:

• URL shorteners: Long URLs are not only impossible to remember or type, they can also break across lines in an email causing the link to fail. There are several free websites that you can use to create short URL re-directs, to use in email or print publications. One example is http://bit.ly/. Just paste your long URL in the box on the main page, and the site will generate a much shorter alternative that will re-direct back to the original page. You don't need to create an account, although if you do then you can track "hits" to your short URL or even create a more memorable custom URL rather than an auto-generated code.


University Senate Library Committee Holds First Meeting of 2010-11:

• Dr. Tracy Campbell, Professor of History, was elected Chair of the University Senate Library Committee during its first meeting of the year. Other members of the committee are:

• Blair Kidwell – BE/Management
• Richard Andreatta – HS/Rehabilitation Sciences
• Thomas Zentall - PSY
• Terry Conners - AG
• Brian Murphy – ME/Internal Medicine
• Beverly Hilton - LI
• Armando Prats - AS
• Margaret Bausch – ED/Special Ed & Rehab Cnsl
• Terry Birdwhistell, ex officio

Charter - Senate Rules 1.4.2.4
The Senate's Library Committee (SLC) is charged with the responsibility for recommending to the University Senate policies to promote the educational interests of the University as a whole with respect to the Libraries, the faculty body of which is equivalent to the faculty of a college (GR VII.A.1). The SLC is responsible for consultation and advising with faculty of the Libraries or the Dean of Libraries, on such matters as are referred to it by the by the Libraries faculty, by the Dean, or by other University personnel, which pertain to improving the effectiveness of the Libraries as a part of the broad academic program of the University of Kentucky.


Harlan Hubbard’s Paintings Added To The Kentucky Online Arts Resource:

• After a lot of persistence, photographing, listing, fact checking, digitizing, converting, writing, composing, contacting owners of paintings, recontacting owners of paintings, and finally, persuading owners of paintings to sign agreements, Harlan Hubbard’s paintings are finally a part of the KOAR, the Kentucky Online Arts Resource.

• Betty Lyn Parker, at the J.B. Speed Museum in Louisville, worked with Meg Shaw for over a year to achieve this result. The paintings are selected from the exhibit at the Hopewell Museum that I created during my sabbatical and include works from the exhibit that predate 1950, the cutoff for KOAR inclusion.

• Although individuals are not credited in KOAR, the photographs and biography are Meg’s work, and the information about the paintings comes from the Harlan Hubbard Image Collection database compiled by Meg. This is a major step forward in the inclusion of Harlan Hubbard in the canon of Kentucky artists, and provides vital information to researchers about the cultural life of the commonwealth.

• To see the results of all this effort, click on http://www.koar.org/simpleSearch.page.do and type the word hubbard in the search box.


Richard Maiti Joins Digital Library Services:

Richard Maiti has been hired as a grant-funded Server Administrator/Programmer I in Digital Library Services, Library Technologies Division. In addition to extensive computer programming experience, he has a B.S. in Computer Science, a Masters of Applied Computing, and an MBA. Richard began his position in UK Libraries November 1.


Assessment In and Around UK: Using Rubrics for Assessment of Information Literacy Learning Outcomes, by Debbie Sharp and Judy Wiza (Sizzle: What’s Hot in Assessment (Volume 2, Issue 7, October 2010)

• Information literacy is the set of critical thinking skills necessary to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. Because information literacy skills are important for students’ success in their college coursework, in the workplace, and for lifelong learning, information literacy has been included as part of the University’s new Gen Ed courses. Teaching faculty help their students achieve information literacy in their chosen fields through collaboration with librarians who provide instructional sessions and online research guides. When students learn the difference between scholarly and general interest sources and learn how to search databases to find scholarly resources, they produce better assignments.

• During the spring 2010 semester, UK librarians developed rubrics to assess each of the Libraries’ information literacy learning outcomes. With the collaboration of faculty and instructors in 18 classes of primarily first year students, the Information Literacy Coordinator designed brief assignments which were completed by 318 students and assessed using the rubrics.

• Although the number of assignments evaluated was relatively small when compared to the total number of first year students at the University, some useful findings emerged from the assessment data. It appears that many students come to the University without any information literacy skills gained during their secondary school experience and consequently, instruction must be offered at a very basic level. We discovered that although most first year students are computer literate, their knowledge does not extend to online databases beyond Google, and they generally do not understand how to begin a research project.

• It also became clear from the data that librarians must be very selective in choosing what can be taught in one 50 minute session, the standard amount of time librarians are allotted for teaching information literacy for each course. Focusing on a few key concepts allows students to more readily learn and use the information presented in the session. Where possible, the Libraries will make use of online tutorials and other basic instructional materials to cover core content consistently for all first year students so that later courses can build on the core content.

• The rubrics have been revised slightly and an assessment of information literacy outcomes on a larger scale will take place during the fall semester.


The UK Libraries Weekly Review is also available as a blog: http://uklibrariesbirdseye.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Meg Shaw, Beth Kraemer, Heath Martin, Sue Smith, Katie L.B. Henningsen, Judy Sackett
Debbie Sharp and Judy Wiza for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Measuring success????????

How can we improve the ways we measure educational outcomes within UK libraries?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735804575536322093520994.html

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Weekly Review

Asian Collections Grow at UK Libraries (From UK Asia Center Newsletter):


• With grant funding from the Japan Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education, and the support of UK Libraries, the collection of Asian materials in UK Libraries has been growing. Recent additions are in Japan Studies- literature, modern history, animated films, and manga, and Chinese Studies-literature, and early and modern history. In the year ahead, expect to see continued enhancements to collections and access through additional electronic resources, print materials, and an online research guide.


Provost Kumble Subbaswamy Will Speak at Monday’s Faculty Meeting:

• Provost Subbaswamy will offer an update on university administration initiatives at Monday’s faculty meeting. He will also take questions from the faculty.


Partner or Perish?

• We are all familiar with the phrase, “publish or perish.” At last week’s Association of Research Libraries’ meeting in D.C., I often heard the phrase, “partner or perish.”

• Library leaders nationally are concerned about the future funding for research libraries and are vigorously exploring ways to improve libraries even as financial support declines. One important way, of course, is to partner with other ARL libraries in important initiatives like preserving government documents. In addition, we must look to our library colleagues throughout the commonwealth to explore initiatives for working together to provide library resources to the students of Kentucky.

• But even as we look outside UK Libraries for partnerships, I challenge you to also look within our libraries to find new ways to work together to provide better service while reducing expenditures. I look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions.


Thanks to Beth Kraemer, Heath Martin and Mary Beth Thomson for their contributions to the Weekly Review.

Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Weekly Review

UK Libraries International Initiatives:

• On August 1, Toni Greider was named Director of International Initiatives for UK Libraries. This is a new position that seeks to:

     o support externally focused international projects
     o support international activities on campus
     o Increase the visibility and access to UK Libraries’ international collections
     o Initiate international projects for UK Libraries
     o Provide intercultural programs for UK Libraries faculty and staff

• During the past two months, Toni has responded to a proposal for a project in Afghanistan, ensured UK Libraries involvement in a project with Iraq, worked with the College of Arts and Sciences on their South African Project, began working on a guide to our international collections, explored programming that includes hosting librarians from other countries, and explored campus contacts to develop intercultural programming.

• This is an opportune time to be exploring international possibilities and Toni brings tremendous experience to this assignment. Anyone with questions or suggestions for Toni should contact her at Toni.Greider@uky.edu) or stop by her office in the Dean’s Office.


The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History:

The Nunn Center just uploaded the Anne Braden Oral History Project online in conjunction with HIS351 "Sisters in the Struggle: History of Kentucky Women in the Civil Rights Era, 1920s-1970s". This class is examining components of the Anne Braden story in class this semester. Braden was a civil rights activist in Louisville. These interviews were conducted for historian Cate Fosl's award-winning book Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South (Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century), University Press of Kentucky, 2002.

http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/b/bib/bib-idx?c=abohkuk&cc=abohkuk;page=simple


Edward F. Prichard Lecture:

UK Libraries and the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History would like to invite you to attend the 27th Edward F. Prichard Lecture with Alessandro Portelli, University of Rome, on Tuesday, October 26 at 3:00 p.m. in the auditorium, William T. Young Library. A reception will follow the program.

Professor Portelli is professor of American Literature at the University of Rome. His most recent book, They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History, is based on more than 30 years of interviews with 150 Harlan County men and women who tell the story of their region from pioneer times, through the dramatic mining strikes of the 1930s and 1970s, up to the present.

The press release can be viewed at: http://uknow.uky.edu/content/they-say-harlan-county


The UK Libraries Weekly Review is also available as a blog: http://uklibrariesbirdseye.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Esther Edwards, Toni Greider, Beth Kraemer, and Doug Boyd for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Weekly Review

Little/Gaines Artist Series:

• On Tuesday, October 5, the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library had the first event of this year’s Little/Gaines Artist Series. Guest artist Ed Franklin is known for his “Doll a Day” scavenger hunt events in Lexington. Franklin creates interesting and often offbeat figures—animals and humans—from found materials in and around downtown Lexington. His art is influenced by 60's and 70's French, Brazilian, and Scandinavian popular culture. Last year he began placing his “dolls” in various locations around Lexington for people to discover. Friends soon encouraged him to provide clues to the dolls’ locations on his Facebook page and interest in the project expanded rapidly.

• Franklin has a dedicated and diverse following from all age groups. Nearly 50 people attended the Little/Gaines event to hear Franklin describe his creative process and his passion for “discovering” Lexington by immersing ourselves in the city through art. Little/Gaines focuses on artistic collaboration and at this event the audience collaborated with the artist in creating “polite graffiti” that can make an impact without defacing the community. The program ended with a doll hunt designed just for the Little/Gaines audience. Dolls were hidden in Little Library and other campus locations nearby.

• The next Little/Gaines Artist program will be Tuesday, October 12 at 7 p.m. in the Niles Gallery featuring Affrilachian Poet and Cave Canem Fellow Bianca Spriggs. A freelance instructor of composition, literature, and creative writing, her program is entitled “Out of Body” and her collaborating artist will be Kremena Todorova, assistant professor and program director of English at Transylvania University.


Regional IEEE Xplore Users Group Meeting:

• On Wednesday, October 6th, UK Libraries hosted the Regional IEEE Xplore Users Group meeting. This included librarians from Miami University, University of Cincinnati, Wright State University, Lexmark, CE Power Solutions, University of Louisville, and several from UK. The meeting gave the IEEE representatives a chance to update users on new features and upcoming developments as well as gather feedback on desired features, applications and issues.

• Following the meeting Barry Holquist and Jalyn Kelley gave two IEEE Xplore training workshops at the Shaver Engineering Library – one for graduate students and faculty and the second for the UK student section and local chapter of IEEE. Both were well attended.


• See http://www.helpwithpcs.com/tipsandtricks/keyboard_shortcuts_windows_xp.htm for more helpful keyboard shortcuts.


Senate Library Committee Will Meet October 22:

• University Senate Council Chair Hollie Swanson will convene this year’s first meeting of the University Senate Library Committee. The SLC is charged with the responsibility for recommending to the University Senate policies to promote the educational interests of the University as a whole with respect to UK Libraries, the faculty body of which is equivalent to the faculty of a college (GR VII.A.1). The SLC is responsible for consultation and advising with faculty of UK Libraries or the Dean of Libraries, on such matters as are referred to it by the by UK Libraries faculty, by the Dean, or by other University personnel, which pertain to improving the effectiveness of UK Libraries as a part of the broad academic program of the University of Kentucky.

• Members of the committee are: Blair Kidwell (BE/Management), Richard Andreatta (HS/Rehabilitation Sciences), Brian Murphy (ME/Internal Medicine), Margaret Bausch (ED/Special Ed & Rehab Cnsl), and Tracy Campbell (AS/History). The Dean of Libraries serves as an Ex Officio member of the committee.


27th Edward F. Prichard Lecture:

• Harlan County has a rich history from its pioneer period, to the mining strikes, to present day. The county's evolution intrigues not only citizens of the Commonwealth, but spectators and scholars abroad as well, including noted oral historian Alessandro Portelli. Portelli will share his findings on the county from multiple interviews with its citizens at the 27th Edward F. Prichard Lecture scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the auditorium at the University of Kentucky William T. Young Library. The talk, which is free and open to the public, is titled "Thirty years of field work in Harlan County: oral history and dialogue."

• Alessandro Portelli is professor of American literature at the University of Rome. His most recent book, "They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History," is based on more than 30 years of interviews with 150 Harlan County men and women who tell the story of their region from pioneer times, through the dramatic mining strikes of the 1930s and 1970s, up to the present.


The UK Libraries Weekly Review is also available as a blog: http://uklibrariesbirdseye.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Beth Kraemer, Susan Smith, Esther Edwards, Whitney Hale and Gail Kennedy for their contributions to the Weekly Review.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Monday, October 4, 2010

Weekly Review

Circulation Manager Appointed:

• Terri Brown has been named Library Manager of the William T. Young Library Circulation Department, effective October 10, 2010. Terri has been employed with UK Libraries in Circulation since 1994. She holds a B.A. in Art History from U.K., and is a graduate of the UKadvance Leadership Development Institute. Terri has been a leader in staff development activities in UK Libraries, with the Kentucky Library Association, and regionally. In 2007 she received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Performance. Congratulations on your new position, Terri!


Unique Collections Available for Research:

• The Frank Fitch Notebooks are now available for research. The Frank Fitch Notebooks span from 1867 through 1873. During this period Frank Fitch, along with his brother Fred, built a furnace in Estill County Kentucky. The seven notebooks in this collection serve as documentation of the construction of that furnace. The collection was processed by Andrew McGraw and supervised by Deirdre Scaggs. A complete finding aid and images of the notebooks are available on the Kentuckiana Digital Library: http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=kyead;cc=kyead;q1=fitch;rgn=main;view=text;didno=2008ms007.

• The Postcard Collection is now available for research. The Postcard Collection was started in 1933 by Margaret Helmsing Tuttle (1895-1988), department librarian at the University of Kentucky from 1926-1963. Impressed by the postcard collection at the St. Louis Public Library, Tuttle suggested the idea of beginning a similar collection to the University of Kentucky Library staff. UK Libraries acquired almost six thousand cards in its first year thanks to contributions from faculty, staff, students and non-University of Kentucky persons interested in the project, and postcards continued to be donated through the next several decades. Notable donors include Dr. Herman L. Donovan (University of Kentucky President from 1941-1956); Dr. Frank L. McVey (University of Kentucky President from 1917-1940) and his spouse, Frances Jewell McVey; and Margaret I. King (University of Kentucky librarian from 1912-1949). The collection was processed by Lewis Warden, Gary Chaffee, James Midkiff, Liz Smith, and Jeffrey Suchanek. A complete finding aid and images are available on the Kentuckiana Digital Library: http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=kyead;cc=kyead;q1=postcard%20collection;rgn=main;view=text;didno=2008MS016.


Printing Issue Resolved:

• Thanks to Jeff (Podge) Rion and Jay Baker, a major printing problem in the William T. Young Library has been solved. Since last January, when Young computers were authenticated, the color printer in the Young basement became the default printer. Numerous solutions for printing to the nearest printer were tried but nothing worked. Unknowing users tried to print their documents and then had to go search for their documents. This impacted not only the users but service desks when users sought assistance in finding their documents. Recently, after additional research, Podge came up with an idea which he and Jay tested. It worked! The fix was rolled out and the problem has been solved. Thanks to Podge and Jay for their persistence.


Women Leading Kentucky Scholarships:

Women Leading Kentucky Scholarships ($1000 - $1500) for Female Freshman, Sophomores & Juniors Attending KY Colleges and Universities. Full Application Deadline: February 1, 2011

Criteria: If you are a female sophomore or junior enrolled FT at a Kentucky college/university, have a G.P.A. of 3.0 or better, and have demonstrated your leadership abilities on campus and/or in your communities, you are eligible for a scholarship award of $1000 - $1500.

Approximately eight (8) students will be selected for scholarships and all will be informed of their selection in April 2011.

Conditions:
1. Selected students must attend a meeting with the Scholarship Committee in April and attend the May 25th Scholarship Award Reception in Lexington, KY, where the scholarship will be presented.

2. Go online to apply.

3. Send a copy of your transcript and an essay of not more than 300 words about why you deserve this leadership scholarship, no later than February 1, 2011 to:

Women Leading Kentucky
P.O. Box 961
Lexington, KY 40588

Go to www.womenleadingky.com to apply for the scholarship award.

Some leaders are born women.

Thanks to Katie L.B. Henningsen, Mary Molinaro, and Beth Kraemer for their contributions to the Weekly Review.

Friday, September 24, 2010

AIC Participates in Ag Roundup:

• UK Libraries Agricultural Information Center showcased their new LibGuides at their Ag Roundup exhibit during September 15-18. The Ag Roundup is the major College of Agriculture outreach event held each year and is an excellent opportunity for the AIC to reach over 3000 attendees. During the 4 day event, attendees included:

• 800 staff from throughout the state for Staff Appreciation Day

• 550 Rotarians & LFUCG Officials and 150 high school student recruits for Rotary Day

• 700 attendees for the campus Student/Faculty/Staff Picnic

• 173 Kentucky State Legislators, Farm Bureau Officials, Agriculture Development Board members, and Tobacco Task Force members for Ag Leadership Day

• 1,000 alumni for department reunions and the closing Roundup festivities before kickoff on Saturday

• AIC participants included graduate interns Alison Steedman (exhibit creator) and Jackie Hawes, as well as Amelie Charron and Valerie Perry.


Bourbon, Thoroughbreds, and Digital Curation:

• UK Libraries Digital Library Services were featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education this week. The full story can be found at http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Bourbon-Thoroughbreds-and/27107/?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en


Jennifer Bartlett Invited To Speak At National Conference:

• Jennifer Bartlett has been invited to speak at the 6th Annual Back in Circulation Again Conference, a national conference for circulation managers and staff sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies Continuing Education Services. This year’s conference will be held October 1-2 in Madison, Wisconsin. Jennifer will be speaking about “Academic Libraries: Managing Faculty and Student Expectations at the Circulation Desk.” More information about the conference is available at http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed-backincirc.htm.


Widgets for Research at the Engineering Library:

• The Engineering Library is always looking for new ways to reach College of Engineering researchers. Over the past few months, the Engineering Library has added some new portals on the Shaver Engineering website. This includes a LibGuides widget and a widget for the very popular interactive Knovel® eBook collection. These should improve user accessibility. The Engineering Library has also posted a Facebook badge where patrons can keep abreast of events such as upcoming IEEE Explore workshops. Finally, they added an Ask-the-Librarian button which goes directly to Engineering Library staff to improve accessibility for engineering consults. A big thanks to Library Web Admin for helping make all this happen!

• Visit http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/sel to see the new widgets in action.


Public Computer Access Working Group:

• This working group has been formed to consider the issue of public computer access and develop a draft policy for non-UK community member computer access. The group will examine UK benchmark libraries and other university libraries as appropriate to determine their approaches to public use computers, examine the current UK Libraries' policy on public computer use, and develop a draft policy and procedure which ensures fair and equitable use of computers to all users.

• Working group members include: Kevin Campbell, Jan Carver, Alex Grigg, Laura Hall, Roxanna Jones, Jen Martin, Valerie Perry, Kelly Vickery, and Shawn Livingston (Chair).


Weekly Tech Tip from UK Libraries Desktop Support:

• Setting up an Outlook Rule is a nice way to filter incoming email messages from lists or groups that you maybe don't need to read right way. Busy lists can clutter your inbox and make other more important messages harder to find. Sending listserv messages to a separate box reduces clutter and also keeps those messages collected together for later reading. See http://bit.ly/d9zyRg for a nice video tutorial about how to set up an Outlook rule.


Mary Molinaro Named to IT Committee:

• President Lee Todd has appointed Mary Molinaro to the University of Kentucky Information Technology Coordinating Committee.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Weekly Review

Little/Gaines Artist Series To Expand:

• The Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center and the Gaines Center for the Humanities launches the second season of the popular collaborative artists series, which showcases the work of Kentucky artists and brings together artists in the same or different genres or mediums. This year six Little/Gaines Artists will team up with one or more collaborators in visual, literary, musical or dramatic arts to stage unique exhibitions as part of this series presented at the Niles Gallery, located in University of Kentucky's Little Fine Arts Library. The Little/Gaines Artist Series will begin with artist Ed Franklin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21. http://uknow.uky.edu/content/littlegaines-artist-series-expand


Shawn Livingston Receives Carol J. Parris Mentoring Award:

• Shawn Livingston, Director of UK Libraries’ Information Services, received the 2010 Carol J. Parris Mentoring Award at this week’s Kentucky Library Association Annual Conference. The award recognizes “outstanding service to the future of the library profession” by mentoring one or more Kentucky librarians or library workers. Congratulations to Shawn on this honor.


Intellectual Achievement Medallion Nomination Call:

• The University of Kentucky Libraries invites nominees for the 2011 Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement which recognizes Kentuckians who have attained high intellectual achievement. Nominations for the honor will be accepted through Sept. 30.

• The Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement, one of UK's most prestigious awards, was created to recognize high intellectual achievement by Kentuckians, and to encourage education and promote creative thought. Final selection of the recipient of the Libraries Medallion Laureate is determined by majority vote of UK Libraries National Advisory Board. Created in 1990, the medallion recognizes those who produced a contribution of lasting value. Past recipients of the award include Wendell Berry, James Still, Bobbie Ann Mason, Thomas D. Clark, Laman A. Gray Jr., Guy Davenport and George C. Herring. http://uknow.uky.edu/content/intellectual-achievement-medallion-nomination-call


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Dream

Had a dream that UK Libraries began selling gum and mints at the circulation desk of each library location. The "revenue stream" push is officially in my head!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Weekly Review 9.10.10

Director of Archives Search Committee Named:

• Shawn Livingston, Chair
• Katie Henningsen
• Miranda Hines
• Robert Shapiro
• Kopana Terry

I would like to thank everyone who volunteered for this important assignment.


2010 Kentucky Women Writers Conference:

UK Libraries is a sponsor for the 2010 Kentucky Women Writers Conference that begins Friday evening, September 10 and goes through Sunday, September 12. The conference includes workshops, seminars, and free events.

Diane Ackerman will be Saturday evening’s featured presenter in Memorial Hall and will be introduced by UK Libraries Associate Dean Stacey Greenwell. Diane Ackerman's works of nonfiction include the bestseller, A Natural History of the Senses and, most recently, The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story, narrative nonfiction about one of the most successful hideouts of World War II, a tale of people, animals, and subversive acts of compassion.


210 KLA/SMA Joint Conference, September 15-18, 2010, Louisville, Ky.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Friday, September 3, 2010

2010 Phonathon:

Each year, UK Development conducts phonathons seeking gifts for UK Colleges. The 2010 UK Libraries Phonathon is underway and during the early weeks of calling, it has raised nearly $12,000. These fundraising calls are made by current UK students who express their appreciation for UK Libraries and for the support from private donors. Much of this early success has come from donors who have not given to UK Libraries in several years. In the coming weeks, students will be calling our most loyal supporters to invite their much needed and much appreciated gifts. At the conclusion of phoning, we anticipate the result will be another successful UK Libraries phonathon, thanks to the support of our generous donors.

Hope you have a great holiday weekend!


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Friday, August 27, 2010

UK Libraries Weekly Review

UK Libraries Participates in CURATEcamp at UC Berkeley:

• Eric Weig and Michael Slone participated in CURATEcamp at the University of California, Berkeley, an unconference on data curation and repository services sponsored by the California Digital Library. Participation in this event allowed Eric and Michael to learn and share ideas about building digital repositories that will keep digital objects secure and viable into the future.


UK Libraries Receives $141,300 Gift:

• UK Libraries has received $141,300 from the estate of Dr. Robert Warth, former UK history professor and husband of former UK librarian Terry Warth. Dr. Warth taught modern Russian history at UK for over 24 years. Terry Warth is remembered for her enthusiastic work as a cataloger in Special Collections. The gift will be used to purchase library materials about Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Europe. UK Libraries appreciates this wonderful gift from two people who devoted their lives and careers to UK.


What’s All the “Hubbub” About?

• UK Libraries held its annual kickoff event again this year for incoming first year students. Hundreds of new students spent a late afternoon in The Hub @ WT’s in the William T. Young Library enjoying pizza and drinks and a variety of activities including balloon art, palm reading, and video games.

• The Hub, created by UK Libraries in partnership with UK Information Technology, is an information commons that assists students as they develop a project from the research phase all the way to the final presentation. The Hub offers students the latest technology in software and hardware, group study areas, and editing and presentation software. The facility is supported by Help Desks with library and information technology professionals on duty to provide students with research and technical assistance.

• Thanks to Stacey Greenwell and many other UK librarians and staff for planning and hosting this fun event. https://stream.uky.edu/bbstream/WilliamTYoung/TheHubbub2010/index.html

Eugenia Kempster Returning to Medical Center Library:

• Eugenia Kempster has been offered and has accepted the position of Library Technician Senior in the Medical Center Library. She is currently a Library Technician in Serials, Collections and Technical Services Division, and will transfer to her new job on September 13. Genia has worked in the Medical Center Library a number of times in various technician positions, including 1990-92, 1993-98 and 2004-09, and they are very pleased to welcome her back. Genia replaces Zach Young in MCL Access, Delivery, and Outreach. Congratulations on your new position, Genia!


Judy Wiza Will Report to Dean:

• Beginning Monday, August 30, Judy Wiza, Assessment Coordinator for UK Libraries will report directly to Terry Birdwhistell. Judy’s work and responsibilities continue to expand with the increased emphasis across the university on assessing learning outcomes and the role of UK Libraries in information literacy. She will also play a key university-wide role working to assure that UK completes a successful upcoming review by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. Judy’s workstation and contact information will not change.

Remembering Buffalo Trace:

• The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History announces that the Buffalo Trace Oral History Project website will be officially launched September 1 with a reception at the Frankfort distillery. The completed interviews will also be synchronized and placed on the Kentuckiana Digital Library: http://kdl.kyvl.org/cgi/b/bib/bib-idx?c=bikohkuk&cc=bikohkuk;page=simple

• In the meantime, you may listen to portions of the interviews from a recent Saving Stories segment on WUKY. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wuky/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1688670.


Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Saturday, August 21, 2010

UK Libraries 8.20.2010


UK Libraries Acquires The Financial Times Historical Archive, 1888-2006

The UK Libraries recently added The Financial Times Historical Archive, 1888-2006, to the collections. This archive provides a complete facsimile run of the daily business newspaper The Financial Times. This publication, which incorporated its rival newspaper the Financial News in 1945, is a record of note in the areas of finance, public affairs, business management, and others. The archive may be browsed by individual issue or searched by article title, author, date, keyword, and more. Current issues of The Financial Times are also made available by the UK Libraries through the LexisNexis Academic and Access World News databases.


Kathryne LeFevre Transferring to Engineering Library

Effective Monday, August 23, Kathryne LeFevre will be the Senior Library Technician at the Engineering Library. Kathryne began working at UK Libraries in 1998 as a student assistant in Young and in 2001 accepted a position as a library technician with the Education Library. In 2006 she moved into the senior library technician position at the Chemistry-Physics Library and has been working in the Science Library since the science libraries consolidation. Kathryne has a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish and a M.S.L.S. We wish Kathryne well in her new assignment.


UK Libraries Faculty Retreat Held August 16

UK Librarians held an all day retreat on Monday to kick off the new academic year. Vince Kellen, UK’s Chief Information Officer provided the keynote address.

We also heard a presentation by Kate Black regarding her year-long sabbatical in which she conducted oral history interviews across Kentucky on gardening. She recently presented her research at the Annual Meeting of the Appalachian Studies Association. A version of the paper will be published in the Appalachian Journal.

Toni Greider provided an update on UK Libraries Information Literacy efforts. Two group discussion sessions completed the day long program. Thanks to everyone who participated and thanks to the Faculty Council for planning the day’s events.


Collections and Technical Services Division Meeting

I enjoyed meeting this week with the Collections and Technical Services Division. I took the opportunity to thank CTS faculty and staff for all that they do to make our resources available to the world. As libraries move further into the digital environment, CTS plays an even more important role in making unique scholarly collections from throughout the UK campus available through UK Libraries. Thank you!


National Advisory Board Member Bess Clements Abell in Kentucky for “Roots Tour”

Bess Clements Abell, UK Libraries National Advisory Board Member and daughter of former Kentucky Governor and U.S. Senator Earle C. Clements, visited Kentucky this week with her grandson Tyler Abell. Tyler, a senior at Bucknell University, was making his first visit to the Bluegrass to learn about the commonwealth and the life and career of his great-grandfather. The Abell family established the Earle C. Clements Graduate Fellowship in UK Libraries in honor of Bess’s father.

Bess and Tyler began their tour at Three Chimneys Farm followed by a tour of the Keeneland Library and lunch with Keeneland President Nick Nicholson at the Thoroughbred Club. One of the highlights of their visit was a private tour of the Governor’s Mansion, including the second floor room where Bess lived while her father served as governor. They were joined at the mansion by Suzanne Wetherby Hines who lived in the same room when her father served as governor.


Bess Clements Abell, Tyler Abell, and Suzanne Wetherby Hines visit Governor's Mansion

Both the Earle C. Clements and the Lawrence W. Wetherby Collections are in UK Libraries Special Collections. On Thursday Bess and Tyler travelled to Owensboro for lunch with former U.S. Senator Wendell H. Ford. UK Libraries Wendell H. Ford Center for Public Policy Research is named in honor of Senator Ford.




Senator Wendell Ford and Bess Abell Clements Reminisce During Visit in Owensboro


Earle C. Clements Fellow Accepts Position at Texas Southern University

Gary Chaffee has accepted a position as Project Archivist at Texas Southern University’s Robert J. Terry Library Special Collections in Houston, Texas. He will be working on the Barbara Jordan Papers. Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) graduated from TSU in 1956 TSU graduate and received a law degree from Boston University in 1959.

After starting a legal practice in Houston, Jordan began her political career as a volunteer for the Kennedy/Johnson Presidential campaign; in short order, she became the first African American woman elected to the Texas Senate, the first African American woman from the South to be elected to Congress, the first African American female “Governor for a Day” in Texas (1972), and the first African American woman to give the keynote speech at a Democratic National Convention (1976). Jordan is noted for her legislative work with civil rights, voting laws, the ERA, and also for her participation in the Nixon impeachment hearings.


LCA Applauds Librarian of Congress for Expanding DMCA Exemptions (From the Association of Research Libraries)

“The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA)—ALA, ARL, ACRL—applauds the decision by the Librarian of Congress to expand the exemption for the creation of film-clip compilations for classroom and educational use to all college and university faculty, regardless of academic discipline. According to Section 1201 (a) (1) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Librarian of Congress is allowed once every three years to adopt exceptions to the anti-circumvention provisions that place technological protections on copyrighted works. LCA also applauds the Librarian’s decision to renew the exemption to circumvent protections that block the read-aloud/screen-reader function on e-books”. For more information on the exemptions, visit the ARL Web site and the US Copyright Office Web Site.



Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries

Friday, August 13, 2010

UK LIbraries 8.13.10

President Todd Announces K Week Activities:

“K Week, the fall welcome week for new students, is one of the most exciting weeks of the year at the University of Kentucky. Hundreds of us are directly involved in the planning and execution of K Week, but hundreds more volunteers are needed. A complete schedule of events can be found at www.uky.edu/KWeek, and faculty and staff are invited to participate in all K Week events. There are many opportunities to meet and greet our new students. I encourage you to participate in one or more of our welcoming events, which are scheduled from early morning to late night.”


UK Libraries Faculty Retreat:

I am looking forward to UK Libraries’ Faculty Retreat on Monday. The Faculty Council has put together an informative program that provides opportunities to discuss UK Libraries’ future and to learn more about activities of our colleagues. Vince Kellen, UK’s Chief Information Officer, will be the featured speaker.


I hope you’ve had a pleasant and productive Friday the 13th. Stay cool this weekend!

Friday, August 6, 2010

UK Libraries 8.6.10

Debbie Sharp named to Interim General Education Oversight Committee:

Debbie Sharp has been named an ex officio member of the Interim General Education Oversight Committee (IGEOC) and will serve as expert-in-residence for questions regarding the information literacy components of the new general education course proposals under review. The IGEOC serves as a sub-committee of the Undergraduate Council and will, among other things, provide input and recommendations on issues that may arise as implementation of the new curriculum takes place. This committee will operate for a period of two years, from May 17, 2010 until May 15, 2012.


UK Libraries Represented at National Newspaper Meetings:

Kopana Terry spoke to the iArchives User Group this week at the National Endowment for the Humanities about UK’s unique model of converting content using a hosted hybrid model. UK Libraries developed this model in partnership with iArchives in an effort to retain intellectual control over our content while minimizing the infrastructure costs. Many other institutions are now examining this method of content conversion for adoption in their institutions.

Mary Molinaro spoke to the annual National Digital Newspaper Project Partners meeting at the Library of Congress regarding use of social networking tools to increase usage of historic newspaper content. UK Libraries uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs to share content with users. Mary shared strategies for getting started and sustaining this avenue of publicizing content. UK's contributions to NDNP can be accessed the through http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.


History of Photography Exhibit Opened in Great Hall of Special Collections:

This past week Jason Flarhardy installed an informative history of photography exhibit in the Great Hall. The exhibit can be seen Monday through Friday between 8 am and 5 pm.


One-Time Payment:

Wondering when the one-time payment will be coming your way? UK staff and faculty eligible for the one-time payment of up to $1,000 are scheduled to be paid on September 3, 2010 paychecks for employees paid bi-weekly, or August 31 for employees paid monthly.

◦Eligible employees with annual full-time (1.0 FTE) base salaries of $70,000 or less are eligible to receive the maximum payment of $1,000.

◦Eligible employees with annual full-time (1.0 FTE) base salaries of $70,001 - $74,999 will receive one-time payments of less than $1,000, with the amount decreasing on a sliding scale, with a minimum payment of $200 for those on the higher end of this salary range.

Salary eligibility is based on an otherwise eligible employee's pay rate as of July 31, 2010.

For more information about eligibility and other details, see: http://www.uky.edu/HR/One-TimePayment2010.html.

Terry Birdwhistell
Dean of Libraries