Libraries@UW-Madison

Newsletter Archive | Library Communications

Issue 47

3/21/2006

News for Staff of UW-Madison Libraries

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LIBRARY NEWS

The newly created Reference Services Task Force would like library staff to complete a survey about the future of reference in the libraries by Friday, March 24. The survey contains four questions and should only take a few minutes to complete. All answers are anonymous.

The RSTF has already conducted surveys with 14 library groups on campus and hopes the data collected will help determine the future of reference services to the campus community and beyond.
On March 14, the libraries launched an expanded version of the "QuickSearch" function in the E-Resource Gateway. QuickSearch now provides 18 subject areas for searching across several databases simultaneously with one search. Previously, QuickSearch only provided a search of general resources, although it was used heavily, according to campuswide statistics.

Members of the Ex Libris Public Access Working Group and the MetaLib Working Group developed and tested the additional QuickSearch sets, using feedback from subject specialists, library users and public service librarians.
The libraries will survey 5,000 randomly selected UW-Madison students, faculty and staff March 27-April 10 using the Web-based tool LibQUAL+. Results from the 10-minute e-mail survey will help to improve library services, policies and environmental enhancements to more effectively serve the campus community.
Read more about the LibQUAL+ survey
The Wisconsin Group Catalog, BadgerCat, was launched March 1 and provides the opportunity to search the collections of nearly 500 Wisconsin libraries as well as WorldCat. All UW-Madison Libraries collections will appear in BadgerCat because they are already a subset of WorldCat. While BadgerCat provides access to new collections within the state, WorldCat will remain as the primary discovery tool for resources not held on campus.
The Library Express Coordinating Group launched a new Article and Book Delivery Web page. The information contained in the previous page's "grid" is now available within the Library Express Frequently Asked Questions page.

In addition to these changes, the committee also worked to improve the Web page describing services for businesses and individuals.
The Partners in Giving campaign from 2005-06 raised $2.76 million, the second-highest total in the history of the State Employees Combined Campaign. As reported in the last issue of Libraries@UW-Madison, 118 General Library System staff members pledged or donated $37,481 of that total.
The Memorial Management Group adopted WiscCal as the official calendaring system for Memorial Library. All committees will use WiscCal to schedule meetings with other staff members and to reserve rooms in the library. Staff who are involved in committees or have scheduling responsibilities are required to have working knowledge of WiscCal and hold an updated calendar in WiscCal by May 15.

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NOTABLES

General Library System Director Ken Frazier will give the welcome address at the Academic Staff Institute 2006 April 5 at the Pyle Center. The Institute is a professional development opportunity for academic staff that includes presentations and interactive sessions which allow staff to network and reflect on their role on campus.
College Library Director Carrie Kruse won a 2006 Association of College and Research Libraries Women's Studies Section Award for Significant Achievement in Women's Studies Librarianship. The award, sponsored by academic book publisher Routledge, honors a significant or one-time contribution to women's studies librarianship.
Read more about the award
An op-ed by Harriet Brown, Madison writer and author of The Promised Land, a poetry chapbook published in 2004 by the Libraries' Parallel Press ran in the Feb. 20 edition of The New York Times. The article, "Go With Your Gut," argues that eating foods that you enjoy, as long as they have nutritive value, can be more beneficial than forcing yourself to eat healthy foods you don't like.
Former Reference Librarian Helene Androski will be leading a discussion at the upcoming Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians conference on Friday, March 31. The discussion, "Nature Writing to Inspire and Console," will center on the book Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac and the genre of nature.
Emilie Ngo Nguidjol, formerly of Memorial Reference and Francophone Studies, was elected to the board of the West African Research Association early this year. The board's mission is to help increase collaboration and scholarly exchange between the United States and West Africa. Emilie served on the board until her departure at the end of February.
Steenbock's Elizabeth Hassemer received a Multitype Advisory Library Committee (MALC) scholarship to attend an out-of-state conference or educational activity. Elizabeth will attend and present the Library Orientation Exchange (LOEX) conference in College Park, Md., next May where she will make a presentation.

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FEATURES AND EVENTS

Wisconsin's largest used book sale, featuring more than 15,000 books on nearly any subject, returns Wednesday through Saturday, March 22-25, to benefit the Friends of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Library.
Read more about the book sale
Les Howles from DoIt will present a "Writing for the Web" workshop 9:30-11 a.m. Wednesday, March 22, in 1003 Engineering Centers Building. In anticipation of the new library Web site, the steering committee is hosting this workshop specifically for library staff. The workshop will provide practical guidelines and techniques to improve writing skills for the Web.
Ramón Colás, co-founder of the Independent Library Movement in Cuba, will hold two presentations Wednesday, March 22, where he will talk about violations of human rights in Cuba and the impact of his work in promoting intellectual freedom. The presentation, titled "Literacy, Censorship and Intellectual Freedom: The Independent Libraries of Cuba," will be from 3:30-5 p.m. in the SLIS Commons, Helen C. White, and again from 7-8:30 p.m. in Memorial Union (Check TITU for room location).

Colás' will be hosted by UW-Madison senior Kelsey Vidaillet, through a Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowship Project sponsored by the Morgridge Center.
Many libraries will be holding exhibits in conjunction with the Southern Graphics Council Conference, April 5-9. This year's conference, "Genetic Imprint," intends to blend Madison's instrumental role in both biotechnology and printmaking. Kohler Art Library will host an exhibit titled "Rooted in Wisconsin: Artists' Books and the UW-Madison," while Memorial Library will host the exhibits "Paperworks: Books and Paper Pieces" and "Mitochondria: Wisconsin Women of the Word" in addition to the exhibit in Special Collections, "Lothar Meggendorfer & Movable Books." "Paperworks: Books and Paper Pieces" will be on display in Memorial Library's main lobby April 1-14 and will include works from Dieu Donne Papermill. The co-founder of Dieu Donne, Sue Gosin, is receiving the 2006 Printmaker Emeritus award from the SGC. The "Mitochondria" exhibit will be shown on the second floor of Memorial Library.
The 2006 Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians Conference will be held in Stevens Point, Wis., March 28-31. The conference, "Academic Libraries: Pointing Toward New Directions," will include a preconference, 28 sessions and 14 poster sessions.
One of Chazen Museum of Art's "In My View" lectures was given March 21 by School of Library and Information Studies Director Louise Robbins. Her lecture, "Informed by Art," will focus on American paintings "Takashimaya" by Thomas Blackwell (1974) and "Untitled" by Mark Rothko (1968), using context and point of view.

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NEW RESOURCES ON THE WEB

During February, the UW Digital Collections Center added two new collections to the digital resources of the UW System libraries. The center also added nearly 15,000 pages, more than 500 images and 3,200 audio minutes to existing collections. The new collections are American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices and Guide to the Indexing of South Asian Studies Periodicals.

American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices is a new collection that includes interviews with speakers of American English dialects from across the nation, each speaker reading the short tale "Arthur the Rat." This story was devised to obtain phonetic representation of all phonemes in American English throughout the country. The interviews were recorded between 1965-1970 for the Dictionary of American Regional English project. American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices is a collaborative effort with the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, DARE and the UWDCC. The project is funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Guide to the Indexing of South Asian Studies Periodicals is a new collection with the intent to identify and list South Asian periodical titles and identify if, and to what extent, a particular title has been indexed. At this time, the collection includes nearly 5,000 bibliographic records collected from UW and the Library of Congress' Cooperative Acquisitions Programs in New Delhi and Islamabad. The Guide was made possible by a generous "Innovation and Development" grant from UW-Madison's International Institute, funds from the General Library System, and with the help of the Center for South Asia.

The Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture now holds three volumes of cabinet maker George Brookshaw's drawings from 1817. Brookshaw was also known as G. Brown and specialized in painted furniture. An 1823 volume of George Tod's drawings and descriptions of "glass houses" was also added to the collection. Tod was a surveyor and conservatory builder for various noblemen and the queen of England.

More than 500 images were added to the Publishers' Bindings Online: The Art of Books collection. This collaborative project with the University of Alabama Libraries presents 19th-century books with decorative bindings. The project intends to expand the awareness of the book as an artifact and their role as windows to the history, culture and industry of 1815-1930.

The University of Wisconsin Collection now includes new images of campus life in the early 20th century. The new photos, from the Meuer Albums Collection, include images of campus sports teams, organizations, Greek houses and university events. The collection also includes images of Charles Lindbergh's visit to Madison in June 1928 (pictured).
In light of Black History Month in February, the Wisconsin Historical Society provided free online tools to help educators teach children about the Underground Railroad and specifically the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Historical Society has also provided online tools this month for Women's History Month. The new resources emphasized this year include documents that recover the voices of “forgotten” women, such as those of minorities, factory workers, maids, laundresses, teenagers and farm wives. One such account comes from Adele Gratiot, a young mother who tells the story of her family's move to the Lead region, their neighbors, and the Winnebago War of 1827 and the Black Hawk War in 1832.

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IN THE NEWS

Chris Kleinhenz, vice president of the Friends of the UW-Madison Library and professor of Italian, was able to assist columnist Doug Moe in his search for the correct name of the city in Italy which hosted the Winter Olympics. The column, published Feb. 11 column in The Capital Times, debated whether it was Torino, Turino or Turin.
The Business Library provided the backdrop for a story on Channel 3 during the week of Feb. 13. The story, which debuted during the 10 p.m. newscast, was about former Badger football player Wendell Bryant, who will be returning to campus to earn his degree.
The Capital Times published an article March 4 about the changes in the atmosphere of academic libraries, including comfortable furniture and a food-friendly attitude. The main article was accompanied by a sidebar explaining why the libraries have ended subscriptions to high-cost journals.
Recent issues of Wisconsin Week have featured a variety of library events and services. The libraries' rapid article delivery program was featured in the Feb. 14 issue while current exhibits were mentioned in the Feb. 14 and Feb. 28 issues.

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SNAPSHOTS




The UW-Madison Libraries and the UW Press worked together to publish a Print-On-Demand book titled Women in Print. More than 25 copies were published in Chicago in mid-March. James Danky, an editor of the book, traveled to Chicago to see the books as they were printed on the press (above). Women in Print is already available online through the Office of the Women's Studies Librarian.

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PUBLISHED

A review by Elsa Althen of the Biology Library was published in the January issue of The Charleston Advisor. She wrote about The Birds of North America Online.
The first issue of Memorial Community News was published March 1. It provided information about the West Corridor remodeling, recent survey results about cell phones, among other stories. Marta Gomez of the Conservation Lab was featured in the "Staff Spotlight."
The spring edition of Ebling News is now available online. This issue features new PubMed enhancements, the historical exhibit "This Dread Messenger" and information about Ebling Library Liaisons among other articles.
The February issue of DPLS News features human subject research, off-campus access to RoperExpress, a summer research program and the Social Science Microcomputing Laboratory mobile lab among other topics.

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25 YEARS AGO IN THE LIBRARIES

The March 20, 1981, issue of Added Entries announced the "Day in Honor of Margaret E. Monroe" festivities to celebrate the library school professor's retirement. Monroe was honored May 1, 1981.

The last issue of Libraries@UW-Madison announced that the lecture given that day has been digitized and added to The History Collection.

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Quotation

"Never judge a book by its movie."

—J.W. Eagan

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Libraries@UW-Madison is written by the staff of Library Communications.
Managing Editor: Kristin Knipschild

Please send questions, comments or story ideas to:
Don Johnson, 608.262.0076, 330C Memorial Library,
Kristin Knipschild, 608.262.2853, 348 Memorial Library, or
e-mail Libraries@UW-Madison.