The Agenda - Faculty and Staff Newsletter

Category: Event

  • Snapshot Day 2021

    NJLA has announced that the 2021 New Jersey Library Snapshot Day will begin on February 1 and be held throughout the month of February. Snapshot Day is an annual celebration where the New Jersey library community comes together to document the wonderful people, places, events, materials, and experiences that make up a day in the life of the library.

    Snapshot Day started in New Jersey libraries in 2007 as a response to the simple question: “what would happen if libraries went away, even for a day?”

    Snapshot Day’s focus has shifted to sharing images and stories on social media. While statistics help quantify what is happening in libraries, stories make these numbers personal. Stories put a human face on library usage that helps legislators, administrators, voters, and other library stakeholders identify with the essential work that New Jersey libraries do every day.

    And this mission has a new urgency. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, New Jersey libraries have pivoted, and found innovative and thoughtful ways to continue to meet the needs of communities throughout the Garden State. From virtual story times to curbside pickup and parking lot WiFi, libraries have continued to answer the calls in their communities. Now it’s time to share those stories.

    The pictures and stories that you post, share, and submit will help us advocate for increased resources for New Jersey libraries. Statistics help quantify results. But pictures and stories show impact. Library stakeholders throughout the state need to see the impact of library services, so they know what they stand to lose if they do not continue to support and fully fund libraries.

    If you would like to support this initiative, please send your images/stories to mbadessa@libraries.rutgers.edu and they will be considered for our social media accounts. For more information, visit the Snapshot Day website.

  • Banned Books Week in New Brunswick

    By Judit H. Ward and Nicholas Allred

    New Brunswick Libraries partnered with the Student College, Academic, and Research Libraries Association (SCARLA), the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA), and the SC&I Alumni Association to host an online Banned Books Week event on October 1, 2020. The engaging event called Banned: a virtual read-out and discussion on the freedom to read featured read-outs of banned books from students and faculty, flash talks from SC&I and NBL faculty, a zine workshop, and trivia from LISSA. The 90-minute student-hosted event was extremely well received. It managed to connect a variety of audiences across Rutgers fostering a greater sense of community through sharing personal narratives and experiences. See a sample list of Banned Books we read at the event.

    The Books We Read team at Chang also documented the event with a page dedicated to Banned Books Week 2020, complemented with a collection of short essays inspired by the flash talks. In the Introduction to Banned Books Graduate Specialist Nicholas Allred poses the ultimate question “Why study censorship?” His perspective, based on his main interest in British literature, suggests that censorship can often provide a window into the anxieties of the censoring authorities. As an example, he mentions George Orwell’s Animal Farm, banned in the Soviet bloc, “because the allegory of a barnyard revolution hijacked by a regime of self-serving pigs who hollow out its utopian promises hit too close to home.”

    Censorship has also shaped publishing and literary history, lending a thrill of the forbidden to challenged works and spurring DIY publication tactics like zines, the topic of Art Librarian Megan Lotts’ presentation entitled What is a Zine? In her definition, zines represent a unique subculture which has emerged around making and collecting as a powerful tool representing creative, low-cost, DIY means of self-expression and idea sharing. She recommended exploring zines in libraries not only as a creative way to learn about visual culture, open-access, visual literacy, and information but also as an engaging and non-threatening way to talk about issues around cultural appropriation, cultural sensitivity, and inclusivity.

    The Banned Books Week event also reminds us of what we have to lose. A flash talk by science librarian Judit Ward What is Samizdat? highlighted this term from the Cold War, referring to the underground publication and circulation of articles or books with political views in stark contrast to the party line. Samizdat editions were books that covered current political topics, written by foreign authors with political content, or new publications of blacklisted authors. Forbidden to publish, read, and circulate, these titles taught generations to reflect and read between lines for ever.

    “Censorship succeeds when no one talks about it”––NBL Special Projects Librarian and SC&I lecturer Nancy Kranich emphasized the importance of celebrating Banned Books Week in her flash talk entitled Ban No More. Focusing on the role of libraries and librarians, she also suggested that more banning would occur without librarians, teachers, journalists and others speaking out to defend the freedom to read. Although books in libraries are constantly challenged, i.e., someone tries to remove or restrict them based on their content, library policies and practices can ensure that (unlike during the Cold War in the Eastern Bloc) the freedom to read will prevail as one of the most basic freedoms of democracy.

    A large portion of challenged titles belongs to a genre called Young Adult (YA) literature. Challenged for their difficult topics related to gender, mental health, violence, or racism to protect the readers dealing with these problems in their everyday lives, many of these Banned Bestsellers can actually function conversely and assist processing the issue at hand instead, as suggested by Julie Rossano, Books We Read team member and graduate student in the course taught by Marc Aronson at SC&I.

    Banning books has been a long practice as a form of censorship for a great variety of reasons. Spearheaded by the American Library Association, Banned Books Week (September 27 – October 3, 2020) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. The Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books based on reports received from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in the United States.

     

  • Robeson Pivots to Online Workshops & Drop-in Sessions

    Did you know Camden, New Jersey was once considered the epicenter of the American recording industry with the likes of Elvis, Duke Ellington, and Marian Anderson all cutting records at the RCA-Victor Recording Studios? This is just one of the many things learned by the attendees of the numerous fall workshops and drop-in sessions offered by the faculty of Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers-Camden.

    With the COVID pandemic preventing Robeson Library from offering its usual in-person roster of workshops, the faculty pivoted to virtual formats via WebEx and Zoom and offered over 70 different sessions to students, faculty, and staff. The workshops ran the gamut from traditional information literacy sessions to advanced database search techniques to academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism. Other sessions were offered on informed voting, digital privacy, streaming media, and open educational resources. Robeson faculty members also highlighted their respective areas of research and even a Camden-centric quizzo night was offered.

    “The Camden fun facts were a way for new students who may not have even been on campus to learn about their adopted host city,” said Robeson Librarian Bart Everts, host of the Rutgers-Camden and Camden Fun Facts and Rutgers-Camden Trivia Night sessions. An encore session of the trivia night is being offered on November 12th at 6pm.

    The workshops were promoted on the Robeson and Rutgers Libraries social media platforms, and Library Associate Edward Robinson had the idea to include a printed calendar of events with every Click and Collect and personal delivery order processed by the Robeson Access Services Department.

    Robeson Library has many more workshops coming up in November and December. For registration information, please visit our calendar of events at https://go.rutgers.edu/zxsdq8u8

  • Ann D. Gordon to Give Presentation on Women’s Suffrage in New Jersey

    2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) granting women the right to vote. In celebration of this milestone, Rutgers Research Professor Emerita of History Ann D. Gordon will give a presentation, “Bringing the Story Home: Agitating for Woman Suffrage in New Jersey,” on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 4 p.m.

    Activists organizing for women to gain voting rights were everywhere across the United States, island territories included.  The struggle to win the right to vote is a national story chock full of local details, highlights of which will be explored in this presentation.

    Ann D. Gordon is Research Professor Emerita of History at Rutgers University. She has studied the movement for woman suffrage for nearly four decades as an author, editor, and lecturer. Her six-volume edition of the Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony was published from 1997 to 2013. Toward celebrating woman suffrage at this centennial, her essay on the 19th Amendment appears in the National Park Service’s website publication, 19th Amendment and Women’s Access to the Vote Across America; she served as a historical advisor to the National Archives in preparing its suffrage centennial exhibit, Rightfully Hers; and, until the pandemic, she lectured often on the history of voting rights.

    This program marks the opening of the Special Collections and University Archives online exhibition, On Account of Sex: The Struggle for Women’s Suffrage in Middlesex County, New Jersey. More details about the exhibition will be forthcoming.

  • Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook

    Rutgers University Libraries to Screen Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook
    Followed by Panel of Experts
    National Voter Registration Day
    Tuesday, September 22, 7 pm – 8:30 pm

    “When you deprive people of the right to vote, the vote being the very fiber of this wonderful quilt we call a democracy…When you begin to tear away the threads, saying this person can’t vote, that person can’t vote…the next thing know, you will not have a democracy.” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)

    The Rutgers University Libraries (New Brunswick) are observing National Voter Registration Day, September 22, by airing the documentary film Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, an award-winning documentary that exposes the nefarious tactics used to suppress the vote and serves to spark discussion on the actions needed to protect our democracy. This event is part of a fall series to encourage campus-wide dialogue about the 2020 election. The American Issues Institute, producer of the film, will host the RU screening via its Zoom Webinar platform for a week prior to the screening, then from 6 – 7 pm on September 22, followed by a panel discussion from 7 – 8:30 pm about the issues. We encourage students, faculty, staff and community members to join the conversation.

    Discussion panelists will include:

    • Mac Heller and Tim Smith, the film’s producers
    • Lorraine Minnite, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Department Chair at Rutgers Camden and expert on voting rights. Author of The Myth of Voter Fraud, and Keeping Down the Black Vote: Race and the Demobilization of American Voters
    • David Greenberg, Professor of Media Studies and History, Rutgers-New Brunswick and author of a forthcoming book on John Lewis
    • Christabel Cruz, director of NEW Leadership® at the Center for American Women and Politics.
    • Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor, Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers, Peabody winning producer of Uncivilpodcast and social justice advocate
    • David Goodman, Vice Chair, Andrew Goodman Foundation

    Following the event, the library will provide a link to a recording of the session and make it available to the Rutgers community.  It’s an opportunity for all of us to energize students, faculty and staff at this critical moment in our nation’s history when we’re isolated from each other but eager to join in discussions about the issues that will shape our collective future.

    Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, says of RIGGED, “I cannot think of a better moment for this powerful film. It reinforces the reality of voter suppression, which I think so many more Americans have begun to recognize and understand.”

    To register to watch the video and participate in the Zoom event, click here.

    To learn more about Election 2020, see the Library’s new LibGuide, produced by Sherri Farber and Nancy Kranich.

    For more information, contact Nancy Kranich, nancy.kranich@rutgers.edu

    RIGGED Trailer – 2 mins.
    https://vimeo.com/296045604 

    Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook – with Jeffrey Wright (NOV 2019)
    70 Minutes
    https://vimeo.com/371681258
    password: rigged

  • ELUNA 2020 Goes Online for Annual Conference

    ELUNA 2020 logoThe annual Ex Libris Users of North America conference, ELUNA, scheduled for May was cancelled due to the pandemic. However, the planners of the annual conference have scheduled a set of free half-day webinars during the month of July to share product and working group updates. The webinars will be spread over seven days and each day’s session has a separate theme. Staff members are encouraged to review the conference schedule and sign up for the sessions of interest to you. If you are not able to attend or have a prior commitment, the webinars will be recorded and made available for later viewing.

    Please note that you need to register for each webinar that you would like to attend during the scheduled time or to access the recording.

    • Opening Session & Updates: Ex Libris & Alma. July 7, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm eastern – Register Now!
    • Updates: Summon & Rosetta. July 8, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:10 pm eastern – Register Now!
    • Updates: Learning, Research, and Resource Sharing, Leganto, and RapidILL. July 13, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:25 pm eastern – Register Now!
    • Updates: Customer Success, Analytics and Interoperability, & Esploro. July 14, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:10 pm eastern – Register Now!
    • Updates: Library of Experiences, CDI, Content, & SFX. July 16, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:10 pm eastern – Register Now!
    • Updates: Voyager, Aleph, & Linked Data. July 20, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:10 pm eastern – Register Now!
    • Updates: Primo, Keynote, & ELUNA Business Meeting. July 23, 2020. 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm eastern – Register Now!

  • Uncovering Masks: Ritual, Fun, Transformation, and Protection

    A decorative mask crafted for the exhibit out of foam and beads.

    The Carr Library exhibit on masks was developed as a supplement to the Mid-Winter Mask Making student engagement event held on February 7, 2020 in partnership with the Friendship Fridays program organized by Rutgers Global. In the initial stages of development, masks were interpreted as objects from a more distant point of view. As the COVID-19 pandemic became a global health issue by March 2020 and began to impact day to day activities, masks quickly turned into a necessary and sought after object. The demand for masks as personal protective equipment skyrocketed and vendors continue to be overwhelmed with requests, and are unable to fulfill orders, or require an extended period of time for processing and shipping. This has also led to more creative and innovative outlets with people completing DIY masks and recycling different fabric materials to do so.  Masks are being made for personal use, as well as to donate to others in need to share this precautionary measure.

    The center case of the exhibit featured masks from India and Korea as well as books from the Libraries’ collection that revolved around the ritual and cultural uses of masks by different groups around the world.

    Requirements made by states throughout the U.S. for people to wear masks while out in public have also altered the way we prepare ourselves to leave our homes. There are new rituals of putting on gloves and a mask to help flatten the curve and prevent the spread of the virus. The way we see other people has changed, as eyes are the only facial features left exposed, and proper distance must be kept from others. Masks have now taken on a new meaning and significance, and will be enveloped into our attire and lifestyle for the foreseeable future.

    The exhibit explores the ways masks are constructed and how these objects serve larger purposes. Like the personal protective equipment masks made at home, masks can be made from nearby materials on hand. Whether these items are found in the natural environment such as wood, bone, and clay, or man-made products like plastic and beads. These materials are combined together to develop the structure of the mask and enhance the imagery of the object through design and decoration. Regardless of material type, masks are constructed with a use and purpose in mind.

    The right-side case of the exhibit featured the book Masks by Jamie Shalleck–a captivating visual portrayal of the different ways masks are involved in our lives and throughout history.

    Widespread uses for masks were identified in the exhibit as relating to qualities of fun, ritual/culture, identity and protection. Most commonly, people associate masks with a form of costume or disguise. These celebrations make masks a fun accessory for Halloween or a masquerade and can allow the wearer to be creative with their appearance. The process of decorating the mask itself is entertaining and can be elaborately done to mimic something in nature, feature bold colors, or glisten with jewels and beads. The masks used in Mardi Gras parades and Venetian carnivals depict this celebratory nature of the objects and how they can be combined with an ensemble to develop a whole new appearance and costume.

    Masks have also been a prominent part of cultural and social rituals. These objects exist as ritual devices of transformation and storytelling. Whether it be part of an ensemble for a ritual dance, a way to connect religiously, or to initiate members into a group. The masks are made to follow a pattern set over time through ritualized experience. Masks not only add to the sense of excitement and theatrics, but also create a sense of solidarity and belonging through the group experience. The repetition of these rituals causes the masks to become a part of one’s identity as it relates to a culture’s way of life.

    A protective mask modified with associated words and expressions.

    In another sense, people can portray themselves a certain way to mask their identity and inner self from the outside world. Virtually, individuals can devise new identities and ways of representing themselves externally that differ from what lies behind their public profile. What kind of masks do we put on around others and how does this impact the way we view ourselves and others?

    Masks can serve people in these intangible ways, but also are physically important when implemented as tools of protection. Constructed of materials such as bone or metal, masks have been brought into warfare as a form of armor. Often-times masks feature important cultural symbols or meanings in the design and construction, which can act as social or political protection and power as well. Or in the case of recent events, masks are tools to fight against the spread of disease and illnesses by creating barriers between people and prevent contact. Giving the wearer protection from the external environment and a sense of security and safety.

    To expand on the ideas of the Masks exhibit, a libguide was created to offer a list of resources and other examples of how masks are present in society and used for various reasons. Books, articles, and images/videos related to the themes of fun, ritual/culture, identity, and protection are present on the page. Additionally, links to other exhibits on masks and how masks have been used in social movements and literary works are available. Discover more information about this topic in the libguide https://libguides.rutgers.edu/masks.

    Lauren Rossi and Triveni Kuchi

     

  • Quick Takes on Events and News – January 2020

    Targum Documentary Spotlights NBMSA

    Islamic Art Wiki-a-Thon Returns to Dana Library 

    Dana Library hosted its second Islamic Art Wiki-a-Thon last semester. Professor Alex Seggerman’s Islamic Architecture course was one of a group of classes participating in the December 9 Islamic Art Wiki-a-Thon. Students spent the semester learning how to do research and edit Wikipedia pages. They prepared and wrote drafts, updating current Wikipedia articles on various Islamic architecture sites. During the event, they came together and made official changes to articles. They were joined asynchronously by students at Temple University and the University of Texas. 

    On Exhibit at Douglass Library 

    MARY H. DANA WOMEN ARTISTS SERIES GALLERIES
    Gendering Protest: Deborah Castillo and Érika Ordosgoitti
    Exhibition: January 21–April 3, 2020
    Curator: Tatiana Flores, Associate Professor of Latino & Caribbean Studies and Art History
    Gallery Hours: M-F 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
    Public Event
    Reception and Artist’s Lecture: Wednesday, March 25 | 5:00–6:45 p.m.
    RSVP: womenart@cwah.rutgers.edu
    Galleries and event are free and open to the public.
    cwah.rutgers.edu @CWAHatRutgers #GenderingProtest 

     

  • Special Collections Open House

    You’re invited to an open house at

    Special Collections and University Archives

    Thursday, January 9

    1 – 4 PM

    Alexander Library

    Featuring snacks, demonstrations, and tours.

    RSVP

    Sign up for a tour of our galleries and vast storage areas

  • SAPAC Schedule 2020

    Join the Scholarly and Professional Activities Committee for these upcoming talks.

    Lies, Damned lies, and…What LibQual+ 2019 and other statistics mean to me

    Thursday, January 16, Noon-1:00 pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library, New Brunswick
    Grace Agnew, Special Advisor for Strategic Initiatives and Analytics

    So we did this survey in April, 2019.  But what does it mean for me?  Will anything change?  Does anything need to change?  Why do we collect numbers, anyway?  Grace Agnew will highlight the findings of the 2019 LibQual+ statistics, with specific emphasis on individual user groups and libraries, as well as other statistics we are collecting to get a handle on how we are doing with services and collections.  Much of the time will be discussion, as attendees share what they think the statistics mean, based on their observations when working with users.

    Learning from the Smithsonian: Reflections of a Museum Studies Fellow

    Thursday, February 13, Noon-1:00 pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library, New Brunswick
    Kayo Denda, Librarian for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Douglass Library

    The presentation will be based on my 4 week-stay in Washington D.C., during summer ’19 as a museum studies fellow affiliated with the Smithsonian, Center for Learning and Digital Access. I will provide an insider’s view of the nation’s leading historical institution, its uniqueness and its challenges as they forge their future. The presentation will highlight select Smithsonian projects and tools, such as the Learning Lab platform, with great potential for the library community.

    Ithaka S+R Research study

    Wednesday, March 26, Noon-1:00 pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library, New Brunswick
    Triveni Kuchi, Social Sciences/Instructional Services Librarian and Faculty & Graduate Services Coordinator, NBL
    Jim Niessen, World History librarian, NBL
    Jon Sauceda, Music/Performing Arts librarian and interim liaison to Spanish, Portuguese, Latinx, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, NBL

    We examine the research practices of faculty in a particular field, namely language and literatures, to identify what resources and services scholars currently use and wish they had access to at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. This research was part of a study coordinated by Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research and consulting organization, working in conjunction with the Modern Language Association (MLA). In this presentation we would like to share our findings and recommendations.

    The Nick Virgilio Papers

    Monday, April 20, Noon-1:00 pm, Conference Room 290, Robeson Library, Camden (with Webex to remote locations)
    Julie Still, Reference Librarian/Collection Development Coordinator, Robeson Library

    The Nick Virgilio Haiku Archives arrived at Rutgers (and later at the Robeson Library) in several copier paper boxes over a decade ago. In January the Rutgers University Libraries released the fully searchable database of these poems. The process of getting from Point A to Point B is long and convoluted, full of fits and starts. This presentation will focus not just on the technical nuts and bolts, but also on the human element involved, and what consideration might be due those whose name is invoked in someone else’s work.

    Understanding Open Access Trends in Business Schools: A Bibliometric Analysis of Open Access Faculty Publications in Accounting Departments at Three Universities

    Monday, May 11, location TBA
    Jonathan Torres, Business Librarian, Dana Library

    Open access publications and journals continue to be an emerging trend in a variety of academic areas. Studies have indicated that open access journals offer a citation benefit. (Salisbury et.al, 2017) One of the many benefits of OA mentioned in previous studies states that, “advocates argue that OA will increase research efficacy as measured by citation counts and/or citation impact factor” (Atchison and Bull, 2015, p.133). Further research highlights the fact that free access to literature has the potential to increase authorship and readership (Philip and Walter, 2011). Nonetheless, studies have indicated that a top priority for faculty is having their publications viewed by peers within the same field because that impacts their career. As a result, providing articles for open access to the public is secondary. Faculty perceptions of article and journal accessibility tends to vary based on disciplines.

    This presentation will examine the outcome using bibliometric analysis between (OA) open access and non-OA publications from the accounting departments of three business schools (University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Auburn University). These schools were selected based on the comparable sizes of the departments. The research will demonstrate faculty OA compared to non-OA publications and their relative scholarly impact and merits for the period 2013-2018.

    SAPAC 2019-2020 Committee Members:
    Janet Brennan Croft, Co-Chair
    Bart Howard Everts, Co-Chair
    Amy Kimura
    Laura Costello
    Fobazi Ettarh