STEWART CENTER RENOVATIONS AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIBRARIES

In the 1/13/14 issue of INSIDe, Dean Jim Mullins’ article, “Libraries Moving Forward,” explained the upcoming transfer of some Libraries space in Stewart Center (STEW) to support the IMPACT program. Jim noted that the active learning approach of IMPACT, the Purdue program to transform learning, utilizes group and team activities that require larger and differently configured spaces than existing classrooms on campus. Over the past several years, Libraries has provided three spaces in Hicks Undergraduate Library for renovation into IMPACT classrooms and created an active learning classroom in the Engineering Library. Until the Active Learning Center is completed in 2017, however, there will be few other spaces on campus that can accommodate the increase in IMPACT/active learning courses. Therefore, a group of meeting rooms on the third floor of STEW will be converted into two IMPACT classrooms in 2015. Like other STEW meeting rooms managed by Extended Campus and Purdue Memorial Union (PMU), the rooms to be converted are heavily scheduled for conferences, meetings, seminars, etc. Because of this, STEW 279 (originally the Reading Room of the 1913 Library Building and most recently the home of the Libraries’ Data and Metadata Group and the Digitization Unit) will be renovated to create two meeting rooms in order to replace some of the space converted to classrooms.

Jim’s INSIDe article also noted that transferring STEW 279 from Libraries to other campus units will result in the relocation of a number of Libraries units within STEW. Here’s an update on the STEW renovations and what they’ll mean to us in Libraries over the coming months.

Over the past few months, Auxiliary Services has relocated all Libraries faculty and staff housed in STEW 279 and emptied the room of its contents in preparation for construction, which is scheduled to start in mid-September (any day now!) and be completed in mid-March 2015. The architectural features of the original Reading Room, now hidden under the 1950’s facade, will be preserved in order to permit the potential restoration of the room at some future time. In addition to creating two new meeting rooms that PMU will schedule, the project will create an entrance corridor leading from the east-west hallway of STEW second floor to the Dean’s Office/Administrative Offices. There will be decorative signage and the small hallway between the Administrative Offices and STEW 279 will be carpeted and feature wooden bookcases for Libraries-related display purposes. During construction, the contractor will maintain a pathway through STEW 279 so that it will continue to be possible, using the STEW main elevators, to reach the Administrative Offices without taking the stairs.

The repurposing of STEW 279 with resulting displacement of a number of Libraries units led to the provision of funding from the Provost’s Office to repurpose STEW 190 (which until 2013 housed the interview rooms of the Center for Career Opportunities) for use by Libraries. This gave us the opportunity to determine how to better accommodate other units as well as those formerly located in STEW 279. We decided to use STEW 190 for the Purdue University Press and Scholarly Publishing Services. Construction is expected to start October 1 and the space should be available for occupancy by early 2015.

The move of the Press from its present space in STEW 370 will permit the Resource Services staff now in STEW 170/176/178 to relocate to the third floor space vacated by the Press. This move will provide the opportunity to house all of the Resource Services staff on one floor and to develop new layouts for some of their space. The first floor space vacated by Resources Services will then be renovated to house the Data and Metadata Group, with part of the north end of STEW 170 retained for use by Auxiliary Services. Planning for this renovation is currently underway, with a potential start date of February or March 2015. While this project is underway, members of the Data and Metadata Group will remain in other parts of STEW, including offices in HSSE Library and on the ground floor level of STEW.

The short version of all of the above is that the Libraries’ space in Stewart Center will be a work in progress for at least six months, resulting in several Libraries units moving into spaces newly planned and organized to better accommodate their work and services.

The Libraries Reading Room, 1913 and the former Data and Metadata and Digitization office space, 2014.

ARL LEADERSHIP FELLOWS VISIT PURDUE LIBRARIES

From September 10-13, Purdue University Libraries hosted the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Leadership Fellows. The intent of this program is to help prepare mid-level academic research library administrators to assume positions of dean or director of university libraries, or university librarian at research universities in the future. The Fellows, numbering 26, came from universities throughout the United States and Canada including two of our own, Beth McNeil and Paul Bracke. All but one of the Fellows attended the Purdue visit. The focus of the Purdue Program was development/advancement/fund raising/communication. These are areas that most would not have responsibility for or have direct contact with until they are in the position of a dean, director or university librarian. The rich program had speakers that included Dr. Timothy Seiler, a director at the School of Philanthropy, Indiana University; President-emeritus Martin Jischke; Associate Vice-President for Advancement Alyssa Wilcox; representatives of our alums and donors including Pris Gerde, Larry Hiler and Roland Parrish. Additional presentations included Rick Cosier, dean-emeritus Krannert School and Judy Schumaker, director of advancement for the College of Health and Human Sciences, and former director of advancement for the Libraries. Dianne Parr Walker, director of the Notre Dame Libraries joined me in a session providing experience and perspective of the senior library administrator at public and private universities. Sandy Howarth acquainted them with the metrics for assessing the performance of a person working in development. The workshop culminated with the Fellows analyzing a case study to apply what they had heard and learned over the two days (active learning), and then reported out to the group about how they would approach this 'potential donor' for a major gift. The visit ended with a dinner that Kathy and I hosted at our home that evening.

It was through the efforts of a great number of people working together to make this workshop a success, especially the insights and contributions of Sandy Howarth, director of advancement along with her colleagues in the University Office of Advancement and Shannon Walker, director of strategic communication. In the Libraries many logistical details were masterfully organized by Carole Tolley, JoAnne Carow, Katie Van Kammen, Elaine Bahler and Teresa Brown. And finally, we could not have planned such an outstanding program without the insights and contributions of Beth and Paul.

ROLAND PARRISH SPEAKS TO LEARNING COMMUNITY STUDENTS

On September 12, Roland G. Parrish spoke to a group of freshmen students directly admitted to the Krannert School and several participants in the Business Opportunity Program, for which Mr. Parrish was a founding member, in his namesake library. The students attended as part of taking MGMT 175: Information Strategies for Business Students, a course taught by Parrish librarians on how to use information to make business decisions.

Parrish described how he finds and follows trends, using business information. The students asked him many questions about his Krannert experience, how he manages his time, and how he chose to go into McDonald's franchising. He also talked about his Purdue experience and encouraged them to take advantage of and enjoy their college experiences.

The theme of the MGMT 175 learning community course, which takes places in the Parrish Library Learn Lab classroom, is “Informed Leadership.” As part of learning about library resources and business decision making, the students meet with business executives to learn about how they use information to make business decisions.

NEW e-ARCHIVES WEBSITE

Archives and Special Collections is excited to announce the launch of our new e-Archives. The new e-Archives is designed to enhance the scholarly experience for the hundreds of thousands of researchers from around the globe who visit each year. The new site includes improved search, navigation and display capabilities. Search and Advanced search options are now readily available on the home page. Detailed information about each collection is also newly accessible via the home page. Researchers can employ a myriad of advanced search tools to conduct queries across all or selected collections, search within previous results and quickly sort results by area of scholarly interest. Researchers also may choose the manner in which content is displayed at multiple points of the site. For example, readers of multi-page documents will find the new Page Flip View very helpful. In order to better assist researchers, information regarding citation of archival materials has been added following collaborations with the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Reproduction request information is now more prominently visible. Finally, users can comment or tag individual items.

These increased user options all combine to provide a more user-friendly and functional home for digital archival collections. Archives and Special Collections wishes to thank Matt Riehle, Noel Diaz and all of Libraries IT for their tireless efforts in implementing the update. Visit the new and improved e-Archives at http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu.

SHARING MODELS OF PARTNERSHIP AND DISSEMINATION: PURDUE LIBRARIES/JTRP/INDOT HOST NEIGHBORING STATE DOTs

On Friday, September 5 the Purdue University Libraries, the Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP) and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) hosted a day long meeting with representatives from the Department of Transportation for the State of Ohio and Illinois. The representatives came to Purdue to learn more about the partnership between JTRP and the Purdue Libraries in the production and dissemination of the JTRP technical reports, which has become a leading model of collaboration and solutions for the dissemination of transportation technical research.

“The meeting with our colleagues from Ohio DOT and Illinois DOT was a great opportunity to highlight the collaboration between JTRP, INDOT and Purdue Libraries” says JTRP Director Professor Darcy Bullock.“The close integration of the Purdue University Press and Scholarly Publishing Services into the JTRP publications and assignment of DOIs is emerging as a best practice that other states want to emulate to increase the dissemination and impact of their research.” When asked about the partnership, Dean Jim Mullins said, “It is indeed heartening when an initiative that was undertaken to assist a Purdue unit such as JTRP be more efficient and productive becomes a model for the broader field and is recognized for its leadership. It also demonstrates the importance of collaboration within the University.”

The partnership between JTRP and the Purdue Libraries began in 2006 to improve the production, dissemination and stewardship of over 60 years’ worth of technical research. Since 2006 the over 1,700 JTRP technical reports that are available in the Purdue e-Pubs repository have been downloaded nearly 950,000 times. Beginning in 2013 the collaboration between the Purdue Libraries and JTRP expanded into the deposit of affiliated data sets into the Purdue University Research Repository (PURR).

For more information about the partnership and extended relationship of the Purdue Libraries and JTRP please read, Lisa Zilinski, David Scherer, Darcy Bullock, Deborah Horton and Courtney Matthews “Evolution of Data Creation, Management, Publication, and Curation in the Research Process.,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. Vol. 2414(1), pp. 9-19, 2014. doi: 10.3141/2414-02. http://trb.metapress.com/content/T5803434252J5400

Participants from ILDOT, OHDOT, INDOT, JTRP, and the Purdue Libraries included:

Cynthia Gerst, Research Program Manager, Ohio DOT
Zona Kahkonen Keppler, Library Administrator, Ohio DOT
Amy Schutzback, Engineer of Physical Research, Illinois DOT
Laura Mlacnik, Bureau Chief Materials & Physical Research, Illinois DOT
Megan Swanson, Technical Research Coordinator, Illinois DOT
Tim Wells, Research and Development, INDOT
Tommy Nantung, Research and Development, INDOT
Will Wingfield, Public Information Officer, INDOT
Dave Scherer, Scholarly Repository Specialist
Darcy Bullock, Director
Debbie Horton, Managing Director
Teresa Morris, JTRP Communications Director

MAKING WAY FOR THE ALC

The Engineering Administration Building (ENAD) demolition is slowly making way for the Active Learning Center (ALC).