DIGITIZING A UNIQUE COLLECTION

Digitizing print collections unique to Purdue has been a major goal of the Purdue Libraries for many years, but in September 2014 work began on digitizing a very unique collection — the Eli Lilly collection of type specimens. (A type specimen is a specimen, or set of specimens, on which a botanist or mycologist base their description of a new species.)

Purdue’s Kriebel Herbarium acquired the Lilly collection in 2012. In 2014, Marianne Stowell Bracke (project director), in partnership with the Herbarium staff, received an ILMS/LSTA grant to digitize the Lilly collection and the Herbarium’s historical correspondence for inclusion in the state’s Indiana Memory project.

Digitizing the specimens provides access not only to medicinal plant and drug discovery history, but also to species distribution, land use history and collector history. Many of the specimens were originally purchased by Lilly as sets from prolific collectors. These specimens document botany across America and other parts of the world from the 1800s to the early 1900s. Each specimen in the Lilly collection was officially accessioned into the Kriebel Herbarium. Once the data has been evaluated, the records will be available through Purdue e-Archives and the Herbarium website. Until then, sample images can be viewed on the Purdue Herbaria website.

The Herbarium’s historical correspondence documents the beginnings and early development of the herbaria collections at Purdue, various events in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology and professional and personal details of prominent faculty. The images and data created from this collection have been added to Purdue e-Archives.

The project was carried out in Kriebel by undergraduate students trained in herbarium digitization practices, including using the HerbScan system, specimen photography software, data entry and georeferencing. They also received training in specimen handling and using botanical reference materials. Quality control was provided by the digitization manager, Jordan Bailey.

Spring Fest 2015 participants were among the first to view the specimen images and the physical collections. The success of that event has encouraged the Kriebel staff to plan future herbarium displays.

PURDUE LIBRARIES AT OPEN REPOSITORIES

The International Conference on Open Repositories has been held in past years in Helsinki, Madrid, Prince Edward Island, Edinburgh and Sydney, so we were fortunate to have it take place in our backyard in Indianapolis in June. In addition to sponsoring the conference, Purdue Libraries made a good showing with faculty and staff representing all three of our repositories (Purdue e-Pubs, Purdue e-Archives, and PURR) as well as the University Copyright Office who attended and participated. Michael Witt served as a reviewer for the program and chaired a session on repository tool integration and international repository networks and Donna Ferullo presented on a panel, “DMCA Takedown Notices: Managing Practices From the Perspective of Institutional Repositories.”

Purdue Libraries repository participants: Michael Witt, Dave Scherer, Donna Ferullo,
Cliff Harrison, Carly Dearborn, Neal Harmeyer, and Standa Pejša

In addition to sharing our work at Purdue with colleagues from around the world, we covered most of the conference tracks, learning the latest developments and practices related to repositories. Neal Harmeyer was impressed by the focus on ongoing education and professional development for the variety of professionals in attendance, while Standa Pejša appreciated the hands-on workshops and “24/7” lightning talks mixed in with regular presentations. Cliff Harrison commented that the keynote by Google’s Anurag Acharya was “enlightening in terms of how web crawlers interact with repositories. Gaining that understanding along with a set of best practices to follow provided a takeaway that can be implemented to help optimize discoverability of repository content from the web.” Carly Dearborn enjoyed learning how other institutions were approaching difficult issues surrounding access to sensitive archival materials. She also enjoyed getting an international perspective on issues relating to data management and access. David Scherer really enjoyed learning how other institutions structure and operate their institutional repositories. He noted that while we operate our own unique repositories, it’s nice to know that we all face the same broad issues and challenges when providing access and dissemination to our institution’s research and scholarship. In the end, we're all in this together."

Papers and plenary presentations from Open Repositories can be found on the conference website.

HARVARD PURDUE DATA MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM

Harvard Library and Purdue University Libraries collaborated on and hosted a two-day data management symposium at Harvard on June 16-17. The focus of the symposium centered on new roles for libraries as part of data management strategies during all parts of the research cycle. Attendees at the Symposium came from across the country.

The Symposium incorporated visionary ideas, new concepts and inspirational speakers. The purpose was to promote data awareness and integration of library services into the research cycle, and to demonstrate that data management is not simply about compliance but also about building relationships and engaging stakeholders at all levels.

Well-managed data can allow researchers to develop new lines of inquiry that would not have been possible previously and to communicate their work in innovative ways; librarians can contribute to this effort.

“The invitation by Sarah Thomas, my counterpart at Harvard, to collaborate on this Symposium is recognition of the high regard Purdue Libraries is held for its leadership role in Data Management. I was very proud of the presentations and participation of Purdue colleagues,” said Jim Mullins.

The Symposium was planned by a joint committee made up of Harvard and Purdue individuals, from Purdue it included Paul Bracke, Scott Brandt and Michael Witt. Others who participated in or attended the Symposium from Purdue included, beyond those mentioned above and below were: Amy Barton, Marianne Stowell Bracke, Carly Dearborn, Nastasha Johnson, Pete Pascuzzi and Line Pouchard.

The following day, Thursday, June 18, a workshop was held that brought together the folks from only Harvard and Purdue to explore in more detail specific challenges facing data management at the two universities. Presentations there were given by: Amy Barton, Scott Brandt, Marianne Stowell Bracke, Paul Bracke, Nastasha Johnson, Line Pouchard and Michael Witt. Contributors to the workshop included Carly Dearborn, Nicole Kong, Megan Sapp Nelson and Pete Pascuzzi.

Purdue University faculty members who presented at the symposium included:

Introduction: Data Management at Purdue for 10 years — A Similarity with the Travails of Odysseus?

• James L. Mullins, Dean of Libraries and Esther Ellis Norton Professor, Purdue University – http://library.harvard.edu/harvard-purdue-data/intro

“Research Data Management: Our Collaborative Future”

• Jeffrey T. Bolin, Ph.D, Associate Vice President for Research Centers, Cores, and Research Development Services and Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University –  http://library.harvard.edu/harvard-purdue-data/management

“The Researcher’s Perspective”

• Sylvie Brouder, Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University – http://library.harvard.edu/harvard-purdue-data/perspective

“Internal Drivers: Researchers and Data”

• Sylvie Brouder, Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University – http://library.harvard.edu/harvard-purdue-data/internal-drivers

“Repositories Services”

• Michael Witt, Associate Professor of Library Science and Head, Distributed Data Curation Center (D2C2), Purdue University Libraries – http://library.harvard.edu/harvard-purdue-data/repository

WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO'S RECEIVED A LIBRARIES SMILE?

A thank you, a word of praise, a smile — all are messages that can really make someone’s day. When you send such a message via the Libraries SMILE Program, it tells a co-worker that you appreciate something about them. It could be something they did, their positive attitude, their creativity, how they figured something out, the difference they made on a project, or the difference they make every day.

How can you send a Libraries SMILE message? To find out, take a look at the article in the April 15, 2015, issue of INSIDe. There, you’ll also find out about the monthly drawing which results in a $25 gift certificate, generously supported by the Dean, to one of the previous month’s SMILE recipients. And to make it easy to send a SMILE to a fellow employee, you can use the SMILE AWARD link in the sidebar of every INSIDe issue, including this one.

Going back to the question posed in the title of this article, who do you know who’s received a Libraries SMILE? As it turns out, quite a lot of people!

The list below covers the most recent year-and-almost-a-half of SMILE recipients. Some have gotten more than one SMILE. If you’re someone who has both received and sent SMILEs, you probably know that a SMILE can be as satisfying to send as to receive.

So, make two people very happy: Send a SMILE today!

SMILE Recipients January 2014 — May 2015

(Note: An asterisk indicates a SMILE recipient is no longer employed in Libraries)

LCSSAC ELECTS NEW OFFICERS

Libraries Clerical Service Staff Advisory Committee (LCSSAC) held its annual election of officers for the 2015-16 fiscal year. Beginning on July 1 the following officer positions will go into effect:

Chair — Dianna Deputy deputyd@purdue.edu
Vice Chair — Cheryl Oliver csmith68@purdue.edu
Web Assistant — Ann O’Donnell atodonne@purdue.edu
Secretary — Roger Strater hawken@purdue.edu

April Maybee, amaybee@purdue.edu, and Dan Roltello, drotello@purdue.edu, fill the other two positions on LCSSAC.

If you have questions, concerns, suggestions etc., please feel free to send a LCSSAC LINK Letter to lcssac@purdue.edu or contact any representative. More information about LCSSAC can be found on the Libraries’ intranet.

Thank you to retiring members, Connie Richards and Allen Bol for their dedication to making LCSSAC a success.

AROUND THE LIBRARIES

Nicole K. Zimmerman, Academic Regulations Specialist, provided information and instruction to Libraries staff members who hire student employees to ensure they are following FERPA (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act) guidelines. The class was held the HSSE Conference Room on June 19.