By Liz Dickinson
WVU Today
It’s a library, but you don’t have to whisper. In fact, talking and laughter mean students are actively using the newly renovated first floor of the West Virginia University Evansdale Library.
And that is music to Mary Strife’s ear.
An initiative between the WVU Libraries and the Provost’s Office will again help up to five faculty members enhance their courses while earning a $3,000 stipend.
The WVU Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program (ILCEP) is focused on integrating information literacy into the classroom. The University’s 2010 Plan, www.wvu.edu/~2010plan, states that information literacy will be a curriculum component across all disciplines by 2010.
Broadly speaking, information literacy means the set of abilities needed for digital learning by students and instructors to make effective use of the dazzling array of information options in the 21st century university.
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Typically, students visit the Libraries to work on a paper or project that they will then take to class, but a fashion design and merchandising (FDM) senior is setting a new trend. Amanda Gill is the first among her classmates to create an exhibit for the newly renovated Evansdale Library.
“I took a visual merchandising class and did projects within that class, but this is taking what I’ve learned and making it a real world experience,” Gill said. “I wanted to make everything look perfect and professional.”
Fashion design and merchandising senior Amanda Gill poses beside her exhibit in the Evansdale Library.
The Outstanding Librarian Award nominations deadline is fast approaching. This award is presented once every three years to recognize exceptional contributions toward the delivery, development, or expansion of library services or special programs for the constituencies of WVU. Attributes sought in the finalist may include leadership, initiative, creativity, dedication, and exemplary attitude. The award is open to both current and retired WVU Libraries faculty.
Nominations will be accepted from WVU administration, faculty, and staff and must be submitted on the official nomination form by February 15.
In today’s digital age, students are presented with numerous sources of information that may or may not be factual. They are often not aware of the various research techniques and resources available to them and do not know how to gauge whether or not the information that they find online or in databases is from a reliable source.
Saya Bobick, Melissa Chesanko, Jayné Chapple, Arnita Sitasari, and Laura Trent, graduate teaching assistants in the Center for Women’s Studies, decided to research this problem in an attempt to better serve their students. The graduate students conducted two hands-on workshops for each of their Introduction to Women’s Studies classes in collaboration with Carroll Wilkinson, West Virginia University librarian.
Chesanko commented that the information literacy sessions for her classes gave her an opportunity to learn along with her students.
“Each time Carroll comes to our class I pick up something new,” she said. “It also serves as a great reminder about searching effectively and checking the validity of the sources I use in my own research.”
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If you used the Health Sciences Library any time over the past 34 years, there’s a good chance Sally Brown had a role in your research quest. Brown, who served as reference coordinator at the Health Sciences Library, retired November 30.
“Sally’s personality and her knowledge of this library will be very much missed,” said Susan Arnold, director of the Health Sciences Library. “She’s always so cheerful, and she is always willing to pitch in. That’s something I really appreciated about her.”
Dean of Libraries Frances O’Brien, Sally Brown, and Health Sciences Library Director Susan Arnold.
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The Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries will remain open for extended hours during Dead and Finals weeks. There will be no extended hours on the Friday or Saturday in between.
For Dead Week, the Downtown Campus Library will open at 1 p.m. Sunday and remain open until 8 p.m. Friday. The Evansdale Library will open at 9 a.m. Sunday and remain open until 8 p.m. Friday.
For Finals Week, the Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries will open at noon Sunday, Dec. 13, and remain open until 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18.
For more information, check out the Libraries’ calendar:
www.libraries.wvu.edu/hours
The WVU Library Faculty Assembly announces the opening of nominations for the Outstanding Librarian Award. This award is presented once every three years to recognize exceptional contributions toward the delivery, development, or expansion of library services or special programs for the constituencies of WVU. Attributes sought in the finalist may include leadership, initiative, creativity, dedication, and exemplary attitude. The award is open to both current and retired WVU library faculty.
Nominations will be accepted from WVU administration, faculty, and staff and must be submitted on the official nomination form by February 15, 2010.
Nomination forms and more info: www.libraries.wvu.edu/awards
In the age of tweets, blogs, YouTube videos, and Facebook postings, people strive to share information with as many as possible and as fast as possible. Even television networks have ventured onto the Internet to capture more viewers for their hit shows.
The academic world is slowly waking up to this new paradigm, and open-access journals are cracking the rigid scholarly publishing system.
Traditionally, reading the latest research requires academic libraries to pay high subscription fees for electronic journals that are available exclusively to students, faculty, and staff and for paper versions housed on campus.
However, more eyes than usual will be able to read WVU’s latest research about infant health thanks to how the researchers chose to publish their findings.
After Dr. Giovanni Piedimonte and his team recently made discoveries about how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) affects infants, they published their work in PLoS (Public Library of Science) ONE, an open-access journal. That choice made their findings available to anyone with access to the Internet.
“If a paper is accepted, everyone on the planet can access the paper with no charge,” Piedimonte said. “They can be in Pakistan or Afghanistan and still be able to read the paper. The audience is enormous.”
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The West Virginia Library Association presented Penny Pugh, Head of Reference at the Downtown Campus Library, with the Dora Ruth Parks Award for long and outstanding service to libraries and librarianship in West Virginia.
Penny Pugh
Presenting the honor during the organization’s fall conference, the Awards Committee praised Pugh for her accomplishments as a reference librarian and as a leader in WVLA.
“Her strong work ethic, her depth of knowledge, outstanding leadership and willingness to find solutions through collaborative work are well-known attributes,” the nomination letter reads. “Penny has made remarkable contributions to libraries through her work.”
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An exhibit in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection, in Wise Library, marks the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry.
On Oct. 16, 1859, the abolitionist and a small band of loyal followers seized control of the Harpers Ferry Armory in a plot to build an army to overthrow the South and free the slaves. Although his plan failed, the incident ignited a debate about slavery that spread across the nation and divided the country.
John Brown on Trial, sketched by David Hunter Strother
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Two curators from the WVU Libraries’ West Virginia & Regional History Collection will travel to the Huntington Museum of Art on Sept. 20 to speak about art and rare books.
John Cuthbert, WVRHC Curator, and Harold M. Forbes, Rare Books Collection Curator, will speak as part of an exhibit titled “American Masterpieces from the Daywood Collection,” which focuses on the contributions of Arthur and Ruth Dayton.
“The Daytons were likely the most significant collectors of fine art and rare books in the history of our state. They were also generous philanthropists,” Cuthbert said. “Their legacy lives on in the collections of the WVU Libraries and the Huntington Museum of Art as well as in the Daywood Foundation, which Mrs. Dayton founded to provide support for higher education and other worthwhile endeavors.”
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Some students might find studying more enjoyable this fall thanks to a summer makeover at the Evansdale Library.
A renovation project is transforming the library’s dated main floor into an aesthetically pleasing space more conducive to studying, doing research, and collaborating on group projects.
“Once the renovation is complete, the Evansdale Campus will have a bright and open library that is equipped with great resources,” said Mary Strife, Director of the Evansdale Library. “Students will want to spend time here focusing on their work or relaxing between classes.”
The Evansdale Library will welcome back students on the first day of class, but it may be a few weeks before everything is done. Computer stations and study carrels won’t arrive until the end of the first week, and a large desk to house reference and circulations services is scheduled for installation in September.
In the interim, the Libraries expect any inconveniences to be minor. Computers will be available in the classroom on the main floor and at carrels on the second floor and lower level. Students can also check out laptops or bring in their own and use the wireless network.
As the fall semester approaches, faculty can now simply go online to renew books they have borrowed from the WVU Libraries. Previously, policy required faculty to physically bring borrowed books to the Library at least once a year to be renewed.
For more information about the Libraries’ borrowing policy: http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/borrowing/loans.htm.
The WVU Libraries will mark the state’s founding by focusing on abolitionist John Brown in a June 19 event in the Downtown Campus Library.
This year is the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry. On Oct. 16, 1859, Brown and a band of followers seized control of the Harpers Ferry Armory in a plot to build an army to overthrow the South and free the slaves.
John Brown on trial. Sketch by David Hunter Strother.
“John Brown’s Raid is one of the most poignant events in American history,” said John Cuthbert, curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. “Perhaps more than any other single act, it led to the outbreak of the Civil War. John Brown has been cited as the person who contributed more than any other to the start of the Civil War.”
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Two Honors graduates are the first to be named Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholars. Chelsea Derlan, who earned degrees in psychology and Spanish, and Kelly Trimble, who earned her degree in Slavic and East European Studies, received the award at a ceremony in the Charles C. Wise Library over Commencement Weekend.
“These students did remarkable work. There is a tremendous amount of scholarship in these theses,” said Keith Garbutt, Dean of the Honors College. “This award recognizes and rewards it.”
Chelsea Derlan and Kelly Trimble are the first to be named Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholars.
The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) consortium will honor a WVU staff member and two former students for their achievements with Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs).
John Hagen, Program Coordinator for ETDs, will receive the ETD Leadership Award, which recognizes members of the university community whose leadership and vision has helped raise awareness of the benefits of ETDs, and whose efforts have improved graduate education through the use of ETDs.
“Over the past decade, John’s commitment to ETDs at WVU has resulted in a program that serves as a model for many other universities,” said Christine Jewell, NDLTD Board Member and Awards Committee Chair. “John has led regional and international workshops for the NDLTD, and he has hosted many visitors who come to WVU to learn about the ETD program. John has become recognized internationally for his ETD implementation and open access advocacy.”
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The WVU Libraries are co-sponsoring an international conference focused on publishing academic research online and providing free access to the public.
ETD2009: Bridging the Knowledge Divide, the 12th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD), runs June 10-13 at the University of Pittsburgh.
“The goal of the ETD2009 Conference is to provide a congenial and engaging atmosphere through which participants can learn about electronic thesis and dissertation programs and other areas of scholarly communication,” said John Hagen, Program Coordinator for ETDs. “Our aim is to live up to our motto of “Bridging the knowledge divide.”
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Back in the old days, someone may have shared their thoughts for a penny. But today, for two students and a professor, sharing their thoughts is worth a whole lot more. As an incentive for completing WVU Libraries’ LibQual survey this spring, three randomly selected participants received iPod nanos. Myra Lowe, Associate Dean of the Libraries, presented the prizes during Finals Week. Pictured are Wanmei Wang, a statistics graduate student; Mollylin Best, a forensic and investigative science graduating senior; Lowe; and John Penn, associate professor of chemistry.
The Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries will remain open for extended hours during Dead and Finals weeks.
The libraries will remain open continuously from 9 a.m. Sunday, April 26, until 8 p.m. Friday, May 1, and from 9 a.m.-6 pm. Saturday, May 2. For Finals Week, they will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 3, and remain open continuously until 8 p.m. Friday, May 8. They will be open from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 9.
For more info, check out the Libraries’ calendar: www.libraries.wvu.edu/hours
