Celebrating Open Access Day 2008

BY MARK NEWTON

On Tuesday, October 14, the Libraries hosted an event in the Hicks Undergraduate Library iLab in recognition of the first Open Access Day, sponsored by SPARC, PLoS, and Students for Free Culture. The sponsoring groups prepared a Web cast program to generate awareness of open access research among members of the international research community. Attendees at dozens of institutions from several countries were treated to a live video stream presentation and question and answer session with Richard Roberts, a Nobel Prize winner and an active advocate for new models of scholarly publishing.

Afterward, Purdue librarians engaged attendees in a conversation about campus efforts to foster open access to research, which included a discussion of the electronic collections in the Purdue Digital Repositories and the open access journals produced by the Purdue University Press. Faculty and student participants representing a broad range of disciplines seized the opportunity to explore this growing arena of scholarly communication and to discuss the challenges facing access to academic literature with members of the library faculty. To view some video selections from the event, visit http://www.vimeo.com/oaday08.

How do liberal arts scholars work? When starting a research project, where do they begin: is it a Google search, a conversation with colleagues? What sources do they consult: the web, databases or serendipity in the library? How has research changed since the advent of the world-wide-web? These are questions that the social science and humanities librarians are asking. We hope to find some answers from Purdue faculty and students at our HOW SCHOLARS WORK series. Every Thursday afternoon in October we will meet with researchers at 4:00 - 5:30 in the HSSE Library Conference Room.

We started out with four undergraduate students on October 2nd: Aubrie Harland, Emma Meyer, Ben Miller, and Erica Weber. Then on Friday, October 3rd Carole Palmer from the Graduate School of Library & Information Science at University of Illinois gave the keynote address, sharing with us some of her findings on the topic. Other faculty members and graduate students in the lineup include:  Marcia Stephenson - Foreign Languages & Literature, Angelica Duran - English, Nick Rauh - Foreign Languages & Literature, R. Douglas Hurt - History, Eric Hansen - Philosophy graduate student, Tyler Johnson - History graduate student, Susan Niskanen - Sociology graduate student, David Parrish - Art & Design, Melinda Zook - History, Susan Watts - Accounting, Stacy Holden - History, Richard Hogan - Sociology, and Whitney Walton - History.

To view a complete listing of the presenters in a printer-friendly PDF, click here.

Libraries' International Presence in eScience and Data Curation

Dr. MJ Van Deventer, portfolio manager for CSIR’s (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) information services, and Heila Pienaar, deputy director of library services for the University of Pretoria, visited Purdue Libraries from Pretoria, South Africa last week. The pair met Dean Mullins at the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) conference in Durban, South Africa, in August, 2007.  They then asked Dean Mullins to speak through video conferencing in February 2008 to the first African Digital Management and Curation Conference and Workshop in Pretoria. “He [Dean Mullins] said the exact right things at the exact right times,” commented Van Deventer. “The researchers and librarians at our conference [in Pretoria] were not fully grasping the ideas behind data curation, but after Jim’s presentation there was a noticeable difference for the rest of the conference. We were very impressed by his and Purdue’s roles in data curation.”

Van Deventer and Pienaar further developed their relationship with Purdue researchers when they experienced nanoHUB, a web-based resource for research, education and collaboration in nanotechnology spearheaded by Purdue University and NSF. While working on a malaria research project, Van Deventer and Pienaar had the opportunity to receive grant funding to visit Purdue and used part of their visit to spend time with researchers in the Purdue Libraries. Last week, they met with Chris Miller, Marianne Stowell Bracke, Jake Carlson, Scott Brandt, Jeremy Garritano, and had lunch with the Libraries associate deans. They discussed data curation practices, policies, and the role of librarians in the curation process.

“We can all be proud of Purdue Libraries’ international presence in eScience and data curation,” said Dean Mullins. “I’m always grateful for these opportunities to meet, learn from, and collaborate with researchers and librarians from across the globe.”

On October 1st, Purdue University Libraries Distinguished Lecturer and award-winning presidential historian Michael R. Beschloss had a private, afternoon session in the HSSE Conference Room. He spent about forty-five minutes with over forty faculty and graduate students from the Departments of Political Science and of History, plus a few Purdue Libraries faculty members.

Before I introduced him, he obtained my permission to ask the audience questions, besides answering theirs. He then engaged the audience with searching, occasionally riveting questions, and some people quizzed him, as well. Among the issues that arose in the give and take were the way female candidates are regarded and the ways that age and race might affect the vote. Immediately after the session, Beschloss privately expressed to me his admiration for the audience.

One of Beschloss’s first questions was not who we ourselves would vote for, but from our observations, who we thought would win the presidential election. After naming one of the candidates, he asked for a show of hands. He expressed surprise, and his posture and facial expression indicated the utmost seriousness. His most stunning question was: “It is the day after the election. [Your favored candidate] has lost. Why?”

New Faculty & Staff

Dawn Stahura, UGRL

I was recently hired as a Library Assistant IV in the Hicks Undergraduate Library. My primary job duties include working the reference desk, scheduling the reference desk hours, iLab set-up and acting as liaison between UGRL and ITD and ITAP on computer and software issues.

I spent the previous six years as a clerk in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. I am a part-time graduate student at IUPUI studying to obtain my masters degree in Library and Information Sciences. I should graduate next fall! I am originally from Rensselaer, Indiana but have resided in Lafayette since 1997 when I attended Purdue as an undergraduate earning my bachelors in creative writing. I am married to Matt and we have two awesome cats named Edgar and Izzy. Matt and I own a tattoo and body piercing shop called Revolution on Purdue’s campus where he works as manager and leading tattoo artist. In my free time (what is that?) I read good books, watch horror movies with Matt, or visit with my beautiful niece Elise. My favorite holiday is Halloween as it is also my wedding anniversary!

I am located at UGRL room G951 and can be reached at 494-2762 and stahurad@purdue.edu

Thanks for a Job Well Done

Thanks to everyone who responded to the premier of Green Tambourine! Some of our colleagues were inspired to offer their own green tips, so this week’s column practically wrote itself.

Carolee McGill-Barker (ACS) has several ideas for greening our work practices, such as printing only what is necessary, and using the back sides of used paper for either printing or scratch paper. Carolee also recommends using an ink-saving print feature called “Economode” when printing drafts or personal use copies. From the Print dialog box, click on the Properties button; from the Properties dialog box, click on Economode under Print Quality. 

Claire Alexander (EAS), Jim Derringer (MATH) , Carolyn Laffoon (EAS),  and Donna Slone (ENGR) are the PSET Division’s Green Team, and they made a recommendation to the PSET Libraries that they would like everyone to consider: turn off your computer monitor when you log off for the day. Turning off the monitor will not interfere with software updates and other maintenance that are done by ITRS during off-peak hours, and it saves electricity, too. The energy savings of a few watts per hour per monitor may seem negligible, but when you consider that there are some six hundred computer monitors in the Libraries, it is easy to see that merely turning off our monitors at the end of the day could not only reduce our organizational carbon footprint, but also reduce the university’s electric bill.

Maribeth Slebodnik (LIFE) is an avid gardener who reduces the amount of trash she generates at home by composting all of her vegetable and non-meat food scraps. And composting (eventually) provides free, earth-friendly fertilizer!  Maribeth also recommends washing and re-using plastic food bags many times  (except bags that were used for raw meat products), and using a compact fluorescent bulb on a timer or light sensor for your outdoor lamppost, which increases safety in your neighborhood but keeps cost to a minimum.

Keep those green tips coming!  Email them to jkinkus@purdue.edu.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, APSAC (Administrative and  Professional Staff Advisory Committee), is holding an employee self-improvement fair, “Be Your Own Best Champion,” for all staff in the PMU ballrooms on Tuesday, October 21 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Over 30 entities, including the Libraries, will have booths providing information on programs and resources available for University employees that encourage personal and professional development. President Córdova has written a letter, posted on the APSAC Web site http://www.purdue.edu/apsac/index.html asking supervisors to allow all staff to attend either on paid time or to flex work schedules as necessary as this fair supports the professional development initiative in the new strategic plan.

Food and beverages will be served!

LibQUAL+™ By the Numbers

As of Monday, October 13, we had 528 completed responses to our survey:

• 231 undergrads
• 184 graduate students
• 108 faculty

Students and faculty have until October 26 to submit the survey. A reminder email will be sent this week and next week. Librarians who are in contact with faculty in the departments they serve are encouraged to please remind them to take the survey and let us know how we are doing! For more information on LibQUAL+™, visit http://www.lib.purdue.edu/info/libqual.

As the Boilermakers and Hoosiers gear up for their November 22 showdown at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium - the 83rd battle for the Old Oaken Bucket – the archives of both universities are paying tribute to the history. The two have collaborated on a Purdue-IU Web site that documents the history and significance of the bucket rivalry.
 
The Web site, www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol/bucket, also includes scores from the very first game between Purdue and IU in 1891 to last season, and sections on the stadiums, art with selected game programs, bands and traditions.

Though the rivalry started in 1891 and includes 110 games (68 Purdue wins, 36 IU wins and six ties), the bucket wasn't introduced until an eight-man committee from both schools met in 1925 to discuss joint projects between the two schools and proposed a football trophy. “The Web site tells the story of varying accounts of how old the bucket is and where it originated,” said Sammie Morris, head of Purdue Archives and Special Collections.

A few selected old photos from the rivalry are being displayed in a case at the entrance of the Hicks Undergraduate Library through November 28.

Representatives from the graduating Class of 1960 have generously decided to support the Archives and Special Collections renovation project to commemorate their 50th anniversary.

The exhibit space for the archives will be named in honor of the Class of 1960, which will raise $100,000 to support the project. After a tour of the Archives in late September, the alumni were captivated by the beauty of the new space and fascinated by the idea it will soon hold the treasures and history of their university.

During the course of the tour, class representatives became interested in learning about the activities that happen in the archives and about preservation in particular. It so captured their attention that in their deliberations afterwards, they decided to set another $50,000 goal to create a preservation fund to help maintain and care for our most valuable items.

The Class of 1960 project will be announced in the fall 2008 Libraries Newsletter, due to be mailed to approximately 30,000 alumni, staff, and friends the week of November 3.The members of the class will begin receiving solicitation letters this fall, and the fund raising campaign will continue for another year.
Our gratitude goes out to the members of the Class of 1960.