The New Brunswick Libraries announced their schedule of #Stressbusters events for the spring exam period. Highlights include a photo booth at the Math/Physics Library, button making at the Art Library, and pet therapy sessions at Alexander, Douglass, Kilmer, and LSM.
MARAC Spring 2017 was held April 20–22 in Newark.
Don’t despair if you happened to miss out on the recent Mid Atlantic Regional Archives Conference in Newark, as Tara Maharjan put together a comprehensive Storify of the event (titled Adaptable Archives: Redefine, Repurpose, and Renew) that’s the next best thing to having been there in person.
Several new exhibits opened across the Libraries this past month:
At Paul Robeson Library, There’s a Run in My Tights: Classic Comic Book Covers from the Golden Age and Beyond is on display through May 4. This display, which opened in advance of the 2017 Camden Comic Con, highlights superheroes such as Bat Girl, Aquaman, Luke Cage and the X-Men, as well as villains like Cat Woman and misunderstood monsters like Werewolf By Night.
A group exhibition of works by students in the Women, Gender, and Creativity House of Douglass Residential College is on display now at Douglass Library. Students in this community explore topics of gender, sexuality, identity, creativity, perception, and visual communication of women in the arts. The exhibition highlights the self-portraits, sculptures, video performances, and written works produced by the student artists during the course of the academic year. It closes on May 1, so be sure to check this one out while you can.
Finally, many new resources were announced in April:
The Andrew Hill Collection at the Institute of Jazz Studies contains the papers, music, and audiovisual recordings of acclaimed pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator Andrew Hill (1931–2007). The collection was processed as part of the 2016 Jazz Archives Fellows residency.
Attitude Check (vol. 1 no. 1, 1969) via Independent Voices.
JAMAevidence provides guides to the systematic consideration of validity, importance, and applicability of problems and outcomes in health care. It consists of three textbooks, user tools, and forms useful to the critical appraisal process. See more in our deep dive.
Academic Video Online Premium provides access to over 50,000 videos from reputable producers such as BBC and PBS, mostly on the subjects of social sciences, American history/American studies, music and performing arts, science and engineering, and health sciences.
Independent Voices is a full-text database of alternative press periodicals published in the U.S. in the second half of the 20th century. It includes publications like Aegis (1978-87), Death Ship Times (Fat Albert’s) (1972-74), The Feminist Voice (1971-72), Meatball (1969-71), Off Our Backs (1970-76), The People’s Voice (1980-1983), San Francisco Good Times (1969-72), Up from the Bottom (1971-74), Where It’s At (1968-70), the Yardbird Reader (1972-76), and Zeitgeist (1965-69), among dozens of others.
In 2016, President Barchi asked the Libraries to pilot the OAT Project to address soaring textbook costs and to introduce more affordable materials into the classroom. The original plan was to provide 12 grants to faculty to incorporate low-cost course materials into their classes. Thanks to higher than expected faculty interest and the quality of their proposals, the Libraries quickly expanded the pilot program to 32 grants, impacting courses across the university in fields ranging from psychiatry, sociology, and public affairs to English, business, and physics. (For a complete list of grant recipients, please click here.)
Click here to read the news release, which includes reflections on the project from grant-winning professors Petros Levounis (Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences), Neil Sheflin (Department of Economics, Rutgers–New Brunswick), and Matthew Giobbi (Department of Psychology, Rutgers–Newark).
Kilmer Library Named in Honor of James Dickson Carr
This month, the Board of Governors voted to rename Kilmer Library in honor of James Dickson Carr, Rutgers’ first African American graduate. He completed his degree in 1892, was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, and went on to attend Columbia Law School.
Chancellor Richard Edwards told Rutgers Today that the library’s new name will be a fitting tribute to Carr, who was a noted scholar.
“Having Mr. Carr’s name on a building that is a core part of academic life where students go to study and where research is conducted is an important way to recognize his accomplishments,’’ he said.
Following graduation from Columbia Law School, Carr went on to become an assistant district attorney of New York County and held other offices in New York City government. To learn more about this accomplished Rutgers alumnus, please read this article from the Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries.
31st Annual Bishop Lecture: “Through the Eyes of a WWI Combat Engineer”
The 2017 Bishop Lecture will be presented by Dr. Virginia Dilkes, whose father served in WWI as a combat engineer.
Join Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives for the opening reception and the 31st annual Louis Faugères Bishop Lecture by Dr. Virginia A. Dilkes on the subject of “Through the Eyes of a WWI Combat Engineer,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, 2017.
The lecture will also be the opening reception of the Rutgers University-New Brunswick Spring 2017 exhibition “Heaven, Hell, or Hoboken!”: New Jersey in the Great War. The exhibition, commemorating the Centennial of the Great War, will examine the storied history of our state during the Great War, showcasing one-of-a-kind documents, photographs, and artifacts from Rutgers University’s Special Collections and University Archives, the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, and the Johnson & Johnson Archives.
Virginia Dilkes was born and raised in Iselin, New Jersey. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Michigan. Her interest in World War I stems from her father, who was a combat engineer in WWI. She has edited and published her father’s World War I memoirs in the book Remembering World War I: An Engineer’s Diary of the War. She is a volunteer for the U.S. WWI Centennial Commemoration Commission.
Celebration of Scholarship Takes Place in March
The annual Celebration of Scholarship will take place this year from March 27 to March 31. There will be coordinated events and displays across the Libraries, a social media campaign, a website presence, and more.
We need your support in soliciting submissions from Rutgers faculty of works to include in our showcase. In a departure from years past, we are accepting projects of all different types, not just books.
The submission forms and event info for Camden, Newark/New Brunswick, and RBHS are all available on the Celebration of Scholarship webpage.
Dana Library to Participate in Women in Media-Newark’s Annual International Film Festival
From the Rutgers–Newark press release: “Women in Media-Newark will hold its eighth annual International Film Festival March 28 through April 6 in celebration of Women’s History Month. Working in conjunction with Rutgers University–Newark, their major partner, WIM-N will host film festival over nine days at six venues. All events are free and open to the public.
“On Mach 31 – April 1, a symposium on Tayari Jones’ acclaimed novel ‘Silver Sparrow’ will take place as part of the film festival, in collaboration with Rutgers University-Newark’ s John Cotton Dana Library, as part of the Essex County Library Directors ‘Big Read Film’ screenings. A natural hair care demonstration and panel discussions also will take place at this free event. Dr. Consuella Askew, director of the Dana Library, states, ‘The John Cotton Dana Library at RU-N is a proud partner of the WIM-N Film Festival and the Symposium on Dr. Jones’ novel ‘Silver Sparrow’. Libraries are by design culturally based organizations. We acquire and make accessible many resources – not just books – that foster an informed citizenry in an increasingly global world. By virtue of its mission, our partnership with the WIM-N organization helps us meet this objective by enabling us to connect with our community in an engaging and meaningful way. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with WIM-N in the future.’”
READ Club Meets at Rutgers Art Library
A recent news story in the Daily Targum highlighted the READ club–“Rutgers’ first and only book discussion group,” according to their website. This group meets each month to escape the rigors of textbook and classroom reading and discuss a work of fiction, ranging from contemporary novels and literary fiction to poetry and short story collections.
The club meets in the Art Library and will be discussing Selma, 1965: The March that Changed the South at its February meeting.
#WednesdayWisdom Rolls Out in March
Wednesday Wisdom kicks off in March with an inspirational quote by Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis.
In response to a student’s suggestion on Instagram, we’re taking steps to add an inspirational flair to our library spaces and social media accounts. Each Wednesday starting on March 1, we will post a motivational quote to our social media channels using the popular hashtag #WednesdayWisdom. The quotes will also be provided in advance for posting throughout the libraries. Special thanks to Mary Hasaballa for the idea and to all the volunteers who are helping to bring a little positivity to the everyday lives of our students!
New Acquisitions in Special Collections and University Archives
The latest post on the What Exit? blog details acquisitions from fall 2016 to winter 2017. Highlights include titles such as The Mass Grave at the First Reformed Church, Scarlet and Black Volume 1: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History, The Ironbound: An Illustrated History of Newark’s “Down Neck,” Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Bruce Springsteen’s American Vision, and The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl: Adventures in Life and Love in the Heart of Dixie.
University of Oklahoma Libraries Survey
The University of Oklahoma Libraries invite you to participate in a research study being conducted under the auspices of the University of Oklahoma Norman Campus, entitled “Faculty Status: The Next Generation,” IRB #654523.
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether faculty status and the opportunity to earn tenure are important considerations for recent graduates of MLS/MLIS programs who are seeking professional jobs in academic libraries.
If you received a master’s degree in library or information science in 2012 or later, you are eligible to participate in the study. The findings from this project will provide information that will shed light on the preferences of job seekers who are relatively new to the library and information profession.
Your participation will involve completion of an online survey and should take about 5 to 10 minutes of your time. Your involvement in the study is voluntary, and you may choose not to participate or to stop at any time. This survey is anonymous. No identifying information about you will be gathered.
If you have any questions about this research project, please feel free to call Karen Antell at 405-325-4142 or email kantell@ou.edu. Questions about your rights as a research participant or concerns about the project should be directed to the Institutional Review Board at the University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus by phone at 405-325-8110 or via email at irb@ou.edu.
Overnight library hours are among the most frequently requested service enhancements students would like to see in the New Brunswick Libraries. Popular during finals, students would like the option to work 24/7 during other parts of the academic year too. Twenty-four hour spaces are also standard in most of our peer libraries—in fact, only two of our Big Ten partner institutions do not provide this service.
In response to user request and with one-year pilot funding from the New Brunswick Chancellor, the New Brunswick Libraries are launching 24/5 hours in two locations starting on October 10. Kilmer Library and parts of the first floor and basement level in Alex will be open overnight Sunday – Thursday. That means those libraries will open for their regular Sunday operations and remain open through regular closing time on Friday nights. 24/5 hours will operate during the fall and spring semesters including reading days and finals, excluding university holidays and intersession periods.
Overnight operations will support student study in quiet, collaborative, and group environments. OIT and Libraries computers will also be available. Library student workers will be onsite until 2 a.m., providing some circulation services, but from 2 a.m.–8 a.m., the spaces will be monitored by Rutgers University Police Department security staff and no library services will be available. Rutgers students and affiliates will have to show a Rutgers ID in order to gain entry to the building from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Throughout the year we will take hourly headcounts to measure usage and identify patterns. We will also set assessment benchmarks to determine whether the pilot was successful and whether the 24/5 hours should be continued.
I’m excited to bring this pilot to the students in New Brunswick this fall and look forward to seeing how the spaces are used overnight to support student work, learning, and success!
The New Brunswick Libraries hosted several events to welcome students to the new semester, as part of the campus-wide Welcome Days activities, which are organized by New Student Orientation and Family Programs (a division of Student Affairs).
This year, staff and librarians at the Mathematical Sciences and Physics Library in Hill Center challenged students with a giant tumbling tower, while the Library of Science and Medicine offered free snacks and science puzzles. At the Alexander Library, students enjoyed cookies and the chance to spin a wheel for prizes after successfully answering library trivia. Kilmer Library offered carts of granola bars and other treats popcorn was handed out at the steps of the Art Library on College Avenue, and the Douglass Library offered students a much-appreciated coffee/cookie break.
All of these activities were made possible through the annual Senior Class gift, which is offered in appreciation to the library for hosting the wildly popular ClubAlex dance. The Undergraduate Experience Team sends a HUGE thank you to all of the staff and librarians who made these events possible and helped to create a warm welcoming atmosphere at the libraries.
The New Brunswick Libraries announced their schedule of #Stressbusters events for the spring exam period. Highlights include a photo booth at the Math/Physics Library, button making at the Art Library, and pet therapy sessions at Alexander, Douglass, Kilmer, and LSM.
Overnight library hours are among the most frequently requested service enhancements students would like to see in the New Brunswick Libraries. Popular during finals, students would like the option to work 24/7 during other parts of the academic year too. Twenty-four hour spaces are also standard in most of our peer libraries—in fact, only two of our Big Ten partner institutions do not provide this service.
