Rutgers Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) is pleased to announce the December issue of its Impact e-newsletter. Please click this link to read the latest HSL news, events, and features, including:
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Paul Robeson Library‘s exhibit for the NEA Big Read/Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay has been extended through January 2023. The event is hosted in partnership with the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts (RCCA). Attendees can receive free copies of Gay’s book (while supplies last) and contribute a tag to the accompanying installation piece by RCCA.
On December 9, the New Brunswick Libraries’ Shipping, Logistics, and IT departments held their annual holiday party and white elephant gift exchange. Guests enjoyed pizza, snacks, refreshments, and dessert in Alexander Library’s break room. The always-entertaining gift exchange featured many amusing and unusual items, encouraging much wheeling, dealing, and stealing. A good time was had by all!
Congratulations to Art Librarian Megan Lotts for having her drawing of Scott Hall (from inside the Art Library) selected for the cover of this month’s C&RL News! Read the newsletter at this link.
Stop by the following NBL locations for finals week/stressbuster events:
Paul Robeson Library, in partnership with the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts, is hosting an exhibit for the NEA Big Read/Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay now through December 9, 2022.
“Ross Gay’s poetry collection celebrates life and goodness and that which nourishes us, fleetingly and forever, through love and loss,” said Noreen Scott Garrity, director of the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts. “He touches on everyday living and notices what we often take for granted. We are looking forward to welcoming guests to share in this enjoyable literary experience.”
Complimentary copies of Gay’s book will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in early November, and participants will have the opportunity to contribute to a What Are You Grateful For? installation piece constructed by the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts.
Launched in 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read aims to inspire meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections in participating communities. In partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA supports programming centered around one of 15 different contemporary books.
For more information, visit the Big Read website.
Robeson Library hosted two events for Rutgers–Camden’s International Education Week (November 14–18). On Tuesday, November 15, the Global Studies Department held an International Quizzo game. On Wednesday, November 16, Robeson’s Bart Everts and Edward Robinson facilitated a Game and Puzzle Night which brought together Rutgers and Camden County College students for a night of classic board games, puzzles, food, and friendship. Click this link to view more photos.
As part of a long-standing agreement, Robeson Library serves as the research library for the Camden campuses of Camden County College and Rowan University.
Rutgers University Libraries are proud to announce the opening of the Hatchery Innovation Studio, an innovation and creation center located in Alexander Library on the College Avenue campus. This new library space is the first of its kind at Rutgers and offers students a wide range of flexible, collaborative spaces to work on projects, practice pitches, and explore design and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
The Hatchery provides a stimulating environment where students can ideate; learn from each other, faculty, and industry innovators; and discover passions, challenges, and solutions. The 4,000-square-foot studio can accommodate up to 85 people and features 11 flexible meeting and creative areas; multimedia equipment, including a television, entertainment system, and computers; contemporary, modular furniture; dry-erase boards and art supplies; and a ping pong table.
The Hatchery is a strategic partnership between Rutgers–New Brunswick Libraries and Rutgers’ Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA). The mission of IDEA is to integrate design and entrepreneurial thinking into the student experience. During the program, students participate in research, design challenges, and entrepreneurial thinking, as well as contribute to interdisciplinary projects focused on solving complex societal challenges.
To learn more about the Hatchery and to take a virtual tour, please visit libraries.rutgers.edu/hatchery.
On October 25, 2022, the Libraries celebrated the Hatchery’s grand opening with more than 60 guests. IDEA staff provided tours of the space, and IDEA students offered live project demonstrations.
Consuella Askew, Vice President for University Libraries and University Librarian, delivered welcome remarks, together with Prabhas Moghe, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs; Francine Conway, Chancellor-Provost of Rutgers–New Brunswick; and Dee Magnoni, Associate University Librarian at Rutgers–New Brunswick Libraries. Three IDEA students—Fauzan Amjad ’24, Kritika Singh ’24, and Scott Rubin ’24—shared their experiences about the Hatchery and the IDEA program.
“The Hatchery is a unique space that developed from a partnership between the Rutgers University Libraries, Rutgers University Leadership, and IDEA,” Askew said. “It provides a dynamic environment serving as a third space for our students to connect with our library and disciplinary faculty members, and our community members, to engage in the innovation process.”
Askew noted, “The Hatchery would not have been possible without the generosity and support from University Academic Affairs and Rutgers–New Brunswick. I thank Prabhas and Francine for their ongoing contributions and advocacy of this unprecedented space and the Libraries.”
Moghe recounted the history of the Hatchery’s development and expressed his excitement for the new space and its potential for innovation.
Conway discussed the Hatchery’s role within the university: “The Hatchery is directly aligned with Rutgers–New Brunswick’s Academic Master Plan in its vision of bringing students together from diverse schools and disciplines for valuable, hands-on problem-solving.” She added, “I am excited for this partnership that will help students unlock new skills, explore the subjects that most deeply interest them, and build valuable experience that will propel them into the future.”
Magnoni expressed her gratitude to the university and the IDEA community: “The Hatchery is an innovation space that began with a conversation, took shape through a design process with IDEA students and staff, teaching faculty, and Division of Continuing Studies personnel. Consuella Askew provided the runway to proceed, Prabhas Moghe championed the effort, and Fran Conway supplied the scaffolding for our future success with the Rutgers–New Brunswick Academic Master Plan. Cheers to our tremendous collaborators, supporters, and partners!”
Read Magnoni’s Hatchery article at this link.
Veronica Armour, Director of IDEA, said, “We are excited for this partnership—IDEA is a first-year program that provides space for students to explore the innovation process by thinking about what problems they would like to solve. There is no better place for us to be situated than in the library to be able to build this community of student scholars, faculty, and industry mentors towards the discovery and exploration of interesting ideas.”
IDEA students gave presentations at the Hatchery’s grand opening.
The Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) is pleased to announce the launch of the long-awaited Count Basie Family Papers and Artifacts finding aid.
A native of Red Bank, New Jersey, William James “Count” Basie (1904–1984) was one of the giants of jazz, a global icon, and still one of the most influential, popular, and recognized figures in American music. The Institute acquired Basie’s papers and artifacts in 2018 and is responsible for ensuring its long-term preservation. The roughly 200-cubic-foot collection, consisting of more than 1,000 items, is unparalleled in its size and thorough documentation of Basie’s life and career, as well as those of his wife, Catherine, and daughter, Diane.
The papers portion of his collection is now available to the public for research and enjoyment. The artifacts and the remainder of the collection will be accessible in mid-2023. Please visit libraries.rutgers.edu/basie to access the finding aid.
The Basie Family Papers and Artifacts document the vast impact of Count Basie’s enduring and storied career in jazz and American history and provide an unparalleled view of his family and private life. The collection is an essential resource for researchers in jazz, music, post-war American history, and American culture, especially black American culture. It is also critical for scholars, educators, writers, filmmakers, students, and the general public because of its breadth and depth.
The collection contains extensive primary sources and objects ranging from Basie’s earliest years in Kansas City until his death. One-of-a-kind artifacts comprise approximately half of the items, including Basie’s piano and organ, select home furnishings, artwork, apparel, and accessories. Although the materials cover the entirety of Basie’s lifetime, the artifacts represent the latter years of his life and career particularly well, including many accolades, awards, honorary degrees, and proclamations he received during that period. Unique archival materials never before available to researchers comprise about one-third of the collection, including personal papers, business records, photographs, clippings, scrapbooks, ephemera, correspondence, and audio and moving image recordings.
Catherine Basie’s life and accomplishments are also well documented in the collection, including her extensive civic and charity work (for which she was recognized by the major leaders of the day), her background as a dancer and singer, her social network, and the centrality of family in her home life.
The Count Basie Collection Archival Processing Project is funded in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the New Jersey Department of State, in addition to funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Park Service, National Endowment for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Institute of Jazz Studies is the world’s foremost archives and research library exclusively dedicated to jazz, an American art form that has transformed the world. Founded in 1952 by pioneer jazz scholar Marshall Stearns (1908–1966), IJS has been a leading institution in the preservation and access of jazz heritage. The Institute relocated from Stearns’ apartment to Rutgers University–Newark in 1966 and is part of the Rutgers University Libraries. In 1994, IJS moved to spacious new quarters on the fourth floor of the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers–Newark.
To learn more about the Institute of Jazz Studies, please visit libraries.rutgers.edu/ijs.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of the Institute of Jazz Studies, Count Basie Family Papers and Artifacts.
Rutgers Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) is pleased to announce the November issue of its Impact e-newsletter. Please click this link to read the latest HSL news, events, and features, including:
Subscribe today to get Impact delivered to your inbox!