Libraries@UW-Madison

Newsletter Archive | Library Communications

Issue 35

7/30/2004

News for Staff of UW-Madison Libraries

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LIBRARY NEWS

The merge is complete. Ebling Library opened June 21 and officially became the library for health sciences. Materials and staff from the former Middleton Health Sciences, Power Pharmaceutical and Weston Clinical Science libraries were combined. The new library is named for Paul Ebling, an alumnus from the Medical School's 1955 class.
In an effort to make researching with online databases easier, UW-Madison Libraries have implemented linking software called SFX. This software allows library patrons to link directly to a full-text version of an article or e-book by clicking on a "Find It" button next to the title in the search results.
Read more about "Find It"
Mary Folster of the Business Library presented some general information about the LibQUAL+ survey during a Public Services Forum July 20. Data is now available from surveys administered last spring. Reports cover the Association of Research Libraries libraries as a whole, the UW System libraries and UW-Madison Libraries. The survey had three dimensions: affect of service, library as a place and information control. Information control was the area that showed the most needed improvement. This area involved questions regarding access to electronic resources and collections. Other institutions that previously conducted LibQUAL found that often the most common need for improvement was not adding resources but improving communication about resources with patrons. Many results from the survey warrant more analyses and in-depth discussion about a plan of action. Library staff can view the LibQUAL survey results from the Staff Functions Web page. Questions about the survey or the results can be directed to Mary Folster, Business Library, at mfolster@library.wisc.edu.
The UW-Madison Libraries is a key partner in a nearly $400,000 preservation project. Through a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the libraries will be preserving fragile materials about U.S. railroads and their influence on American life, landscape, history and technology.
Read more about the railroad preservation project
The Wisconsin Primate Research Center Library and Information Service has a new look for their Web site. The WPRC staff worked with School of Library Information and Studies students to revamp the site. The new site complies with accessibility standards and offers a fresh look. Information is also organized in a new way to display services and resources.

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NOTABLES

Ebling Library added five new librarians while preparing to open their doors June 21.

Rebecca J. Bailey is the new Information Architecture librarian. She began working with the UW-Madison Libraries two years ago as an intern for Access Services.

Linda A. Balsiger went across campus to be the new Public Services coordinator. She previously worked at College Library.

Ebling's new Distance Services and Outreach Librarian is Stephen M. Johnson from the Mayo Clinic Health Information Service where he provided research for Mayo’s health publications and provided training for electronic resources.

The Document Delivery Coordinator position has been filled by J. Patrick T. O’Toole. He comes to the library system from the Oscar Mayer Foods Corporate Library.

Gregory J. Prickman is the Historical Services librarian and came from the Corporate Archives Department of SSM Health Care in St. Louis, Mo.
Former Wendt academic librarian Anne Vandenburgh will be presenting information from her book about pilot Charles Lindbergh during a brown bag lunch series August 17 at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Vandenburgh's recently published Lindbergh's Badger Days highlights the pilots years as a UW-Madison student in the early 1920s and his return visits to the area in later years.
Tom Murray will retire Aug. 3 after 16 years as director of Wendt Library. Murray spent 37 years in various positions with UW-Madison and, in an e-mail to general library system staff, claimed this last position was the most interesting and rewarding of them all. Instead of a party, Murray invites anyone who would like to bid him farewell to e-mail him a sentence or more about the work they have done together. Murray will enjoy his retirement with his wife, Molly, and will continue to live near Mount Horeb. He plans to tackle projects ranging from restoring farm tractors to training puppies.

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FEATURES AND EVENTS

On June 16, 1904, Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom took epic journeys through Dublin via the pen of James Joyce in Ulysses. June 16 marked the 100th anniversary of that great journey on what is now known as "Bloomsday" and involves celebrations by Joyce enthusiasts in various cities throughout the world. Some Bloomsday participants even dress like characters from the novel.

Read more about the holiday and Memorial Library's celebration
The WiLSWorld Conference this year, highlighted new options for the digital age. Various presentations and breakout sessions gave participants an understanding of new technology, ranging from e-Learning to Virtual Reference. The conference was titled The Virtual Chase: In Hot Pursuit of Electronic Solutions.
A new exhibit titled Chivalry is on display in Special Collections through Aug. 31. The exhibit demonstrates various themes of chivalry from the medieval period to the 21st century. An array of materials are on display from manuscripts to Broadway musicals. The exhibit is in conjunction with the Eleventh Triennial Congress of The International Courtly Literature Society and was co-curated by Christopher Kleinhenz and Keith Busby of UW-Madison's Department of French and Italian and Kelley Osborne of Special Collections. Kleinhenz is also the vice president of the Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries Board of Directors.

Left to right: Kleinhenz, Busby, and Osborne,
co-curators of the Chivalry exhibit, shown with Special
Collections Curator Robin Rider at a reception for
participants in the Eleventh Triennial Congress
of The International Courtly Literature Society.

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IN THE NEWS

The Isthmus published a lengthy article June 18 discussing artists who have worked at Tandem Press and the working atmosphere they enjoyed at the press. The article acknowledges that Tandem Press has become a mecca for national artists to visit and put their ideas in print. Friend of the UW-Madison Libraries board member Paula Panczenko, director of the press, was quoted. The story took a brief look at her personality and how she creates a unique working environment heralded by artists .

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SNAPSHOTS




Photos courtesy Katie Linder Former Library Communications Editing Intern Katie (Gilbert) Linder shares photos from a trip to the The British Museum's Reading Room. More about the Reading Room

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Published

Tales of food and family make up a recent chapbook of poetry released by the UW-Madison Libraries' Parallel Press. Stephen Murabito's A Little Dinner Music explores family experiences and stories on a flavorful note.
Read more about A Little Dinner Music
In her poetry collection when gertrude married alice, Eve Robillard evokes Paris between the World Wars through the lives of expatriate artists and writers. This latest release from the Parallel Press draws on the relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, as well as the work of Joyce, Rodin, Picasso and others, to playfully recreate a city filled with fleeting memories and historical musings.
Read more about when gertrude married alice
Steenbock's July Newsletter is available online and discusses a new library, a collection and two new resources for patrons. The newsletter highlights the opening of Ebling Library, a combination of the former three health sciences libraries. The issue also notes that the cover story of the Spring Friends of the Libraries magazine discussed a collection housed by Steenbock. The Miller Collection of bee literature came to UW in 1922 and has been exceptionally well preserved. The newsletter also announced two new resources available to patrons of Steenbock Library. The library has started a pilot project with Wendt Library to locate and rush journal articles not available on campus to patrons within three days. Also new for patrons, Steenbock practicum student Carole Blemker developed a new research guide for food safety and security.

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In Passing

Ruth Shapiro, who volunteered in Special Collections for the past few years, passed away July 22. Ruth had previous experience as a medical librarian in Allegheny county and at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for more than 30 years before she retired in 2000. Susan Stravinski, a librarian in Special Collections, worked closely with Ruth and remembers her as a lively, funny person who brightened up Thursday afternoons and made significant contributions to the work of the department. An obituary in The Capital Times said that Ruth had a lifelong interest in and patronage of the arts and was an inspiration to all who knew her. Debra Shapiro of the School of Library and Information Studies is Ruth's daughter.

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25 YEARS AGO IN THE LIBRARIES

A creative birth announcement in the July 3, 1979, issue of Added Entries.
Click here for a larger image

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Quotation

"I would sooner read a timetable or a catalog than nothing at all."

—William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), English author

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Libraries@UW-Madison is written by the staff of the News and Editorial Office.
Managing Editor: Kristin Knipschild

Please send questions, comments or story ideas to:
Don Johnson, djohnson@library.wisc.edu, 608.262.0076, 330C Memorial Library or
Kristin Knipschild, kknipschild@library.wisc.edu, 608.262.2853, 348 Memorial Library.