Archives and Special Collections Update

BY SAMMIE MORRIS

PILLAR: Robust Local Collections (Digital and Print)

Happy American Archives Month! In October archivists around the country celebrate the archives profession and seek to raise awareness of the value of archives and the work that archivists do. I thought I would take this time to update you on some of our activities in Archives and Special Collections (ASC).

At the recent President’s Council annual dinner, President Córdova announced the $2 million gift received from Barron Hilton and the Hilton Foundation to fund the Barron Hilton Flight and Space Exploration Archives. This support provides funding to endow an archivist to build and manage the rapidly growing collections relating to the history of aeronautics and astronautics in ASC. It was wonderful to hear Eugene Cernan, Purdue alumnus and the last man to walk on the moon, speak at the event about why he felt supporting the collection was important.

J.C. Allen photo of Aeronautics Lab 1943ASC recently acquired a collection of approximately 30,000 glass plate negatives, film negatives and photographs by J.C. Allen, Purdue’s first photographer. The collection documents a variety of buildings, campus scenes, people, athletics and university activities from 1914 to the early 1960s, and will be critical to scholars studying the visual history of the university. In addition, J.C. Allen photographed rural scenes and agriculture related activities, barns and buildings in the local region. The collection will be of significant research interest to scholars of agricultural history, once it has been processed and made available for use.

Much of the work in archives happens behind the scenes. There is an entire cycle of accessioning and processing work, including creation of detailed online guides or finding aids to collections, that happens in ASC to make collections accessible and visible to scholars. The collections are used in a variety of ways from onsite access in the reading room, to use in information literacy instruction, exhibits, presentations and publications. For collections with high research demand, or that highlight the strengths of the Purdue Libraries, ASC works with Digital Programs and Information Access to enable digitization of the collections for global access online in e-Archives.

Sometimes there can be a sense of urgency to make collections available, as ASC will often have the only copy of a given document, letter, or photograph that may be needed by a scholar. Faculty and staff in ASC have adopted new archival practices to make collections available as expeditiously as possible. ASC staff are able to quickly create minimal online records in Archon for new acquisitions to allow scholars who are interested in the collections, many of whom live out of the state or country, to easily identify and locate materials found in ASC. This has resulted in an increase in virtual requests to access the collections.

As archival practices adapt to meet changing user needs, the types of materials collected by archival repositories are also evolving. Archives and special collections will always preserve the physical rare books and manuscripts in our collections, but we must also meet the need to manage and preserve born digital collections, or collections that were created originally in electronic format and have no physical counterpart, but that are unique and have long-term research value.

As the university archives, part of ASC’s mission includes serving as the institutional memory of Purdue. To meet this mission, ASC is committed to collecting university publications, important documents, and photographs generated by Purdue that document the history of the university. Many of these materials that used to be produced in print have now shifted to born digital. ASC is working with the Digital Programs and Information Access department to address the need to collect and preserve the university’s important born digital collections.

If you are interested in learning more about the work we do in ASC, the ASC faculty and staff are offering a team presentation to LCSSAC as part of its Lunch and Learn series (see related story below). Although the presentation was originally scheduled for American Archives Month in October, due to scheduling conflicts it will now be offered on November 1. We invite anyone interested to attend.

 

October celebrates Information Literacy Awareness

PILLAR: Campuswide Information Literacy

On October 1, 2009, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation establishing October as National Information Literacy Awareness Month. It is important in today’s digital world for everyone to be information literate — know how to find access and evaluate information to improve their education, their environment, their health and their workplace environment.

National Information Literacy Awareness display case 2011This year, the Purdue Libraries is recognizing the month with a week-long display case exhibit in Stewart Center from October 3-10, designed by Elaine Bahler.

There are many great examples of teaching and promoting information literacy at Purdue. The mission statement for the Purdue Libraries Information Literacy Program guides the Libraries planning and decision-making. The Libraries engage in every existing method for teaching information literacy competencies. Tutorials are available to all on the Libraries web site. Anyone can submit a message to the “Ask a Librarian” service to receive advice on finding information. Members of the Libraries faculty teach information literacy courses, consult with student project teams and individuals and guest lecture in courses. There are several collaborations among faculty in the Libraries and the Colleges and Schools that promote student success through information literacy.

For more information on National Information Literacy Awareness month visit http://infolit.org/national-information-literacy-awareness-month/

 

New Faculty and Staff

PILLAR: Campuswide Information Literacy

Clarence MaybeeClarence Maybee
Information Literacy Specialist

I am very excited to join such a vibrant and talented group here in the Purdue University Libraries as the Information Literacy Specialist. One of the things that attracted me to the Libraries at Purdue is how central student learning is to the Libraries’ mission. It was my own interest in how people use information to learn that led me to librarianship in the first place. As I step into my new role as the Information Literacy Specialist I look forward to working with all of you to ensure that Purdue students graduate as savvy information users who are able to successfully navigate the ever-changing information landscape.

On a more personal note, I was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania (about an hour from Pittsburgh) and I received my BA from Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. After college I moved to the Bay Area in California, where I was a professional poet (meaning that I had a lot of odd jobs). However, the library profession called to me and I went back to school at San Jose State University (SJSU) where I graduated in 2005 with a Masters in Library and Information Science.

My first librarian position was at Mills College in Oakland, California (where I had been the Circulation Manager while attending SJSU). Prior to joining the faculty at Purdue I was the Information Literacy Librarian at Colgate University in Central New York.

Currently, I am enrolled in a part-time, distance doctoral studies program in information science, which is jointly offered by SJSU and the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Although I keep lobbying for it, going to Australia is not a regular part of the program. We do, however, all meet up in San Jose each summer. My doctoral research will look at “teacher-student interaction” as a way of understanding how students learn to use information.

I moved here with my wife, April, who is very excited to be back in the Midwest. She grew up in Minneapolis. We are settling in nicely to West Lafayette, and look forward to getting to know all of you better. My office is located in the Hicks Undergraduate Library, Room G933. You can contact me at 494-7603 or cmaybee@purdue.edu. 

 

Staff invited to Distinguished Lecture Series reception and lecture featuring Ruth Reichl

PILLAR: Campuswide Information Literacy

Ruth ReichlPurdue Libraries will present the ninth speaker in the Distinguished Lecture Series, Ruth Reichl, on Tuesday, October 18 at 7 p.m. in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The event is free and open to the public, with a book sale, by Von’s Book Shop, and signing to follow.

Ruth Reichl is recognized as one of the nation’s most influential figures in the food world. Author, food critic and former editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine is a six-time recipient of the James Beard Award. She currently is Editor-at-Large at Random House and serves as a judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.”

The lecture, “Eating Our Words.” will take a look at food writing at different times and places in the world, in an attempt to discover what the changing language of food can tell us about ourselves.

This lecture is made possible by major funding to the Libraries from the estate of Anna M. Akeley, and is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the College of Health and Human Sciences.

Click here to read the news announcement of this lecture.

All Libraries staff are invited to attend a reception beginning at 5 p.m. in the Periodicals Reading Room, HSSE Library. RSVP by Oct. 13 at libevent@purdue.edu or 49-42849.

 

Planning ahead for Libraries' reduced hours over Winter Break

BY BUSINESS OFFICE

PILAR: Infrastructure

During Winter Break, Purdue Libraries will have reduced hours and several libraries will close on the three weekdays between the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Engineering (ENGR), Hicks Undergraduate (HIKS), Veterinary Medicine (VETM) and Hicks Repository (HKRP) will be open December 27, 28 and 29 daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Staff in libraries which will be closed those three days may take vacation days, but no one will be required to take vacation.

Any staff person wishing to work those days will have an opportunity to do so, but not in a library that is closed. Staff from closed libraries should work with their supervisor as soon as possible to agree on a plan for those days.

Staff in libraries which will be closed those three days who wish to work are encouraged to contact Laurie Sadler about working in HKRP. Arrangements to work in HKRP must be made in advance and with approval from appropriate supervisors. No additional staff will be needed in VETM. ENGR and HIKS will be open, but it is unlikely additional staff will be needed. However, if Operations Coordinator (OC) Amanda Gill or OC RaeLynn Boes discover they need additional staff for service desk coverage in either location, they will work with each other to find staff.

For time card purposes, December 27, 28 and 29 should reflect time worked or vacation (or, if you are ill, sick leave). According to the Purdue Employee Handbook, an employee needs to be in paid status for at least one-half of the day before and one-half of the day after a holiday to be paid for the holiday. Please refer to http://www.purdue.edu/faculty_staff_handbook/benefits/univ_holidays.html for more information. Anyone with questions about this should talk with their supervisor or with Jennifer Scruggs in the Libraries Business Office.

 

LCSSAC to host new Lunch and Learn Series

PILLAR: Infrastructure

On November 1 Libraries Clerical Service Staff Advisory Committee (LCSSAC) will be offering a new approach to their popular Lunch and Learn Series. “A Day in the Life of” will feature various offices, departments and libraries within our system.

Archives and Special Collections will host the first event providing staff with the opportunity to see and experience what their colleagues do on a daily basis and perhaps offer a sneak peak at what will be happening with some of their future exhibits. Interlibrary Loan will be featured on February 1, 2012. More details about these presentations along with an RSVP form will be included in future issues of INSIDE.

If any department is interested in hosting a Lunch and Learn opportunity, contact LCSSAC at lcssac@purdue.edu or your district representative.

 

Press awards students at JPUR luncheon

PILLAR: Robust Research and Scholarship Program

The Purdue University Press luncheon for the inaugural Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research (JPUR) Awards was well received by attendees. Director of the Press, Charles Watkinson, along with Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Dale Whittaker, and Libraries Dean, Jim Mullins, presented this year’s awards to Ji-Hye Seo, Award for Best Paper, and Erica Morin, Award for Editorial Excellence. Each recipient was presented with a certificate and an award of $250. Recipients were determined by the staff of JPUR in consultation with the Faculty Advisory Board.

Reread information about JPUR in the September 21 of INSIDE.

Purdue Press lucheon launches JPURAward for Best Paper in the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research: Ji-Hye Seo for her article entitled, “Solving the Mystery of the Atacama Nitrate Deposits: The Use of Stable Oxygen Isotope Analysis and Geochemistry.” When Seo wrote this, she was a junior in the Department of Chemistry and performed her research under the supervision of Dr. Greg Michalski. The article clearly explains the interesting nature of the problem in a way that is accessible to a non-specialist audience: Where did the largest nitrate deposits in the world come from? Are they the result of microbiological or photochemical processes? Seo then clearly describes the methodology adopted and the conclusions she came to. You will have to read the article to find out what her conclusion was. Seo’s paper presents good science in an interesting way that is broadly accessible to a wide audience. It is a great example of what JPUR aims to do and will set the standard for future contributions.

Award for Editorial Excellence: Erica Morin, a member of the Student Editorial Board and currently a PhD Candidate in History. Together with other members of the Student Editorial Board, Morin worked with the undergraduate authors to develop their writing so it would be accessible to a non-technical audience. She worked particularly closely with Jamie Steiner on her study of school size and Meghan Henschen and her colleagues who studied the effects of wind turbines on weather conditions. Not only is Morin skilled in working with words, but she also understands the importance of clear imagery. Morin has been a great champion of the journal and always goes above and beyond. For example, faced with a lack of illustration of the turbines themselves, she drove out to the Meadow Lake Wind Farm and took photographs on behalf of the authors, which supplied the cover image for the first issue of the journal.

contents
  • Archives and Special Collections Update
  • October celebrates Information Literacy Awareness
  • New Faculty and Staff
  • Staff invited to DLS reception and lecture featuring Ruth Reichl
  • Planning ahead for Libraries' reduced hours over Winter Break
  • LCSSAC to host new Lunch and Learn Series
  • Press awards students at JPUR luncheon
  • Off the Shelf
  • Staff Anniversaries
  • Announcements
  • Libraries in the News
  • Copyright in the News
  • Staff Publications & Presentations
  • What's Cooking?

 

Off the shelf

Continuing Vacancies

To view all Purdue job postings visit the Purdue employment page. If you have additional questions, contact Julie Hillgrove, 494-2903.

 

STAFF ANNIVERSARIES

Dawn Stahura, Hicks Undergraduate Library, is celebrating 5 years at Purdue.

 

Announcements

Heartbeat of the University
125 Years of Purdue Bands

Archives and Special Collections Exhibit
September 6-December22
HSSE 4th floor
STEW

Libraries Distinguished Lecture Series
Featuring Ruth Reichl
"Eating Our Words"
October 18
7 p.m.
Fowler Hall
STEW

Libraries Distinguished Lecture Reception with Ruth Reichl
October 18
5 p.m.
Periodicals Reading Room
HSSE
RSVP by October 13 at libevent@purdue.edu

Libraries All Staff Meeting
October 19
2-3:30 p.m.
STEW 310
or
October 20
9-10:30 a.m.
STEW 310

Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature Exhibit
October 25-December 3
Hicks Undergraduate Library
HIKS

Open Access Week
October 24-28
Watch for announcement about events

Information Literacy Research Symposium at Purdue
November 11
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
www.conf.purdue.edu/ILRS

 

Libraries in the news

UNS Press Release, September 22
Purdue Bands celebrate 125 years with exhibit, book 

UNS Press Release, September 22
Purdue Leads Development of Resource to Help Researchers Find Data; quotes Michael Witt
Also appeared:

UNS Press Release, September 26
Renowned food critic/editor, bestselling author to speak on campus

Purdue Exponent, September 28
Libraries are not for frat antics, non-study activities; letter to the editor, pg. 6

Purdue Exponent, September 29
All students have the right to use libraries to study; letter to the editor, pg. 6

Purdue Exponent, October 3
Purdue receives $2 million for archive; pg. 1

SLA (Special Libraries Association), October 3
SLA Board of Directors Election; Hal Kirkwood elected as Director

UNS Press Release, October 3
BCC to host Indiana Black Librarians Network conference; Roland Parrish, keynote address

 

COPYRIGHT in the news

On October 3, 2011 the judge dismissed all charges in the UCLA video streaming case.  There is much cause to celebrate but there are still major issues that the court did not render a decision on.  As I reported earlier, UCLA had been sued for copyright infringement by a video distribution company, AIME, for streaming videos to the classroom. UCLA purchased DVD’s and performance rights for those DVD’s from AIME.  UCLA made digital copies of the videos so that they could be streamed via a course management system to students enrolled in specific courses. UCLA took a strong stand arguing that their use of the videos was protected by both the fair use and education exceptions under U.S. Copyright Law. AIME disagreed.

The Court dismissed the case for two major reasons.  First, UCLA is a state school and thus has sovereign immunity which means that in most cases states cannot be sued in federal court.  Second, the Court ruled that AIME did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.  AIME is only the distributor of the videos.  They do not own the copyright and only the copyright holders can bring a copyright infringement claim.  [Note: For example, this why the Copyright Clearance Center does not file infringement suits on behalf of the publishers they represent.  However, it does not stop them from supplying the publishers with data on potential infringements and financing lawsuits such as the George State case].

As part of the ruling, the judge accepted without discussion or clarification that streaming of a video is not a distribution and that the copying of the video to a digital form was considered incidental fair use in light of the public performance rights granted with the purchase of the video.  This is certainly good news.  However, it is still unclear if the courts would rule that streaming without a public performance license is permitted under either fair use and/or the education exceptions.  The Court dismissed the claims brought by AIME without prejudice which allows AIME to correct the errors in their case and refile the lawsuit. The Court also dismissed with prejudice the claims against the UCLA Board of Regents and the individuals who were acting within their official capacity named in the lawsuit. Since it was dismissed with prejudice then AIME would have to sue other defendants.  AIME has until October 17, 2011 to amend their complaint.

If you have questions or comments contact Donna Ferullo at ferullo@purdue.edu

 

STAFF PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Kirkwood, Hal P. and Monica C. Kirkwood. “Historical Research: Historical Abstracts with Full Text or Google Scholar” Online, Vol. 35 (4), July/August 2011.

Donna Ferullo gave a presentation September 16, “Applying © in Research” for 22 graduate students in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

Donna Ferullo attended the 12th Interlending and Document Supply Conference sponsored by the Document Delivery and Resource Sharing Section of The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) September 19-21.

 

What's Cooking?

Apple Beef Stew
Visit the Libraries Intranet site for directions for this recipe.

 

CONNECT WITH LIBRARIES

 

 

Copy Deadline

Copy for the October 19 issue is due by October 18. Send to tmabrown@purdue.edu