Ohio Council of Library and Information Services
OCLIS, the Ohio Council of Library and Information Services, will meet at 10:30 a.m, Tuesday, November 3, at the State Library of Ohio. In addition to the usual OCLIS business agenda, Helene Blowers (Director of Digital Strategy, Columbus Metropolitan Library) with speak on “Finding the Phoenix: Feathers, Flight and the Future of Libraries.” Ms. Blowers will present an overview of current and important trends in librarianship. All are welcome!
OCLIS is an umbrella organization for library related associations and organizations in the state of Ohio, dedicated to facilitating information sharing and collaboration among the many professional groups for librarianship in Ohio. Learn more at the OCLIS website.
Case Western University
Newly hired at the Kelvin Smith Library is Philip Hall, Analyst Programmer II, who began work on September 1st. In other staff news, Joanne Eustis, University Librarian, has announced her retirement as of December 31, 2009. Dr. Eustis has been at the University since 1998. Read more here.
Cleveland State University
Barbara Strauss was promoted to the highest rank of Librarian. She also was promoted to Assistant Director for Technical Services. She received her library degree from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Library, the Outagamie Waupaca Library System in northeast Wisconsin and OCLC, before coming to Cleveland State University in 2004.
Denison University
Denison University welcomes four new Library Liaisons.
From left: Moriana Garcia, Lareese Hall, Roger Kosson, Josh Finnell
Moriana Garcia the new Natural Sciences Liaison, received her B.S. in Pharmacy from Federal University of Amazonas, an M.S. in Pharmacology from University of Sao Paulo, a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from University of San Paulo, and an M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science from Kent State University. Moriana is a self-declared avid reader of Science Fiction. She also tells me that she is a visually oriented person, and truly believes in the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Lareese Hall is the new Fine Arts Liaison. She received her B.A. in English (Studio Art minor) from Oberlin College, an M.F.A. in Writing and Literature from Goddard College, and an M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science from University of Pittsburgh. Lareese has an ongoing interest in environmental design and public art in urban landscapes.
Roger Kosson is the new Social Sciences Liaison. He received his B.A. in Political Science from University of Michigan, an M.S. in Public Policy from Rutgers University, and his M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science from Dominican University. Roger is an avid runner. He has run marathons in Chicago and Houston, as well as half-marathons in Chicago, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, and Springfield (IL). He will be running the Columbus half-marathon in October.
Josh Finnell is our new humanities librarian. He has a B.A. in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis, an M.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from University of Illinois. When I asked Josh what he wanted folks to know about him, his reply was: “In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis, running, and engaging in multiple fantasy sports leagues. I also have an unhealthy obsession with hip-hop.” To learn more about his hip-hop interest, see his article in Library Journal, “The Blingdom of God: Books on the Religion of Hip-Hop.”
Denison Library Celebrates 125th Anniversary as Federal Depository
Kathryn Brazee (L) with Deputy Director Mary Prophet (R)
Denison University Library is celebrating 125 years as part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The library was designated as a depository library on April 17, 1884. The purpose of the depository program is to ensure that all members of the general public have easy, free access to government information in all formats.
An anniversary celebration was held Thursday, September 17 in the Presidents Room of the Library. Former Superintendent of Documents of the United States Government Printing Office Fran (Francis) J. Buckley Jr. was the featured speaker. Kathryn Brazee, representing the United States Government Printing Office, presented the 125th Anniversary commemorative plaque.
Heidelberg University
Head Reference Librarian, Nancy Rubenstein, was appointed Director of Library Services, at Heidelberg University’s Beeghly Library, replacing former director, Ed Krakora, who accepted the directorship of the Ashland University Library.
Reference Librarian, Laurie Repp, assumed the title, Assistant Director of Library Services.
Kent State University
The Kent State University Department of Special Collections and Archives is pleased to announce the appointment of Lae’l Hughes-Watkins as the 2009-2010 Dr. Gerald H. and Victoria C. T. Read Graduate Assistant. Ms. Hughes-Watkins is starting graduate studies in the School of Library and Information Science this fall. She is a graduate of Youngstown State University, having earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and political science and a Master of Arts in English. She has also completed graduate certifications in professional writing and editing and the teaching of writing.
For her Master of Arts degree, Ms. Hughes-Watkins wrote a thesis on Fay M. Jackson, who, in 1937, became the first African American female foreign correspondent for the Associated Negro Press. In completing her thesis, Ms. Hughes-Watkins conducted extensive research with archival sources. In part, her experiences with this project fueled her interest in pursuing a career in archives and special collections. Among her numerous honors and awards, she is included in Who’s Who Among American College Students, was the recipient of a Martin Luther King Scholarship and a Jambar Reporter Award for her student reporting work at Youngstown State.
As part of her appointment as the Read Graduate Assistant in Special Collections and Archives at Kent State, Ms. Hughes-Watkins provides research assistance to patrons, processes archival collections, and participates in digitization projects—an area of archival administration in which she is particularly interested.
A program of the Kent State University Libraries, the assistantship is funded by a generous donation from the Dr. Gerald H. and Victoria C. T. Read family and is intended to provide intensive pre-professional experience in special collections and archives to a student enrolled in the School of Library and Information and Science.
Miami University
Arianne Hartsell-Gundy and Eric Resnis have been selected to participate in the ALA Emerging Leaders program. The ALA Emerging Leaders (EL) program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations. Learn more at the Emerging Leader website.
Ohio University Lancaster
The Hannah V. McCauley Library at Ohio University Lancaster has recently just completed a major renovation project. The million dollar renovation began in the fall of 2008. The new library was opened September 8, 2009 in time for the first day of the fall quarter. WSA Studio of Columbus, OH
designed an ultra modern plan utilizing as much natural lighting as
possible incorporating three large skylights on the upper level and an
exposed ceiling on the main level. The library offers twenty public
workstations for users plus a twenty-four work station classroom during unscheduled class/workshop hours. Plans are underway to incorporate an
Information Technology Help Desk Intern who offers technology support at the circulation/reference desk.
The main level of the library houses: the circulation/reference
desk, three group study rooms, four staff offices, a P-Circ workroom, a
break room/processing room, a teacher’s work area, reference materials,
current periodicals and the children’s literature and curriculum materials
collection. This level is a talking floor because of the amount of activity.
The upper level houses the collection of approximately 53, 000
items, a group study room, eight public computers, microfilm and microfilm
machine and plenty of quiet study areas. Incorporated in the renovated
library are three “centers” which will increase traffic bringing additional exposure of library services. A Business & Institution Training Center
offers twenty-four hands on workstations as well as an instructor’s station. The campus academic support center under a new name (the Math &
Writing Center) will formally relocate at the end of fall quarter. A
Testing Center offering proctored testing for OU Lancaster students as well
as non-Ohio University students has also been incorporated in to the new
library. This Testing Center offers fifteen computer workstations for
testing in additional to places to take written exams.
Please feel free to stop by and say hello if you in the Ohio University
Lancaster area! You can reach us at 740-654-6711, extension 221.
Submitted by Ann M . Watson, Library Director
Oberlin College
Eboni Francis is a new reference and instruction librarian in the Main Library. She fills the position previously held by Haipeng Li, who left Oberlin in April 2009 to become associate library directory at the Newark campus of Rutgers University. A 1997 graduate of Oberlin with a double major in English and African American studies, Eboni earned her MLS at Kent State University. She comes to Oberlin from The Ohio State University, where she worked for four years as the librarian for the Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Studies Library and also as an outreach specialist. Eboni also worked as an information specialist for the Columbus Dispatch. As a student at Oberlin she worked in both the reference and preservation departments.
Shawnee State University
Shawnee has welcomed Technical Services librarian Suzanne Johnson-Varney. Suzanne’s MLS is from Kent State. She was awarded an IMLS Fellowship for Rural Librarianship in 1999. She previously worked as INFOhio Liaison for the Hamilton Clermont Cooperative Association (H/CCA) and the South Central Ohio Computer Association (SCOCA) providing library automation support for many Ohio K-12 schools. Before working at INFOhio, Suzanne was a Reference/Adult Services Librarian with the Clermont County Public Library in Cincinnati, The Portsmouth Public Library, and the Manchester Public Library.
The SSU Clark Memorial Library received one of 30 grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story”. A series of programs took place in September to support the national broadcast of the Smithsonian documentary, “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story” about the Federal Writers’ Project, part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA).
The WPA initiative was a unique cultural experiment designed to get a nation back on its feet after a disastrous Depression. The Portsmouth Public Library and the Southern Ohio Museum collaborated with the Clark Memorial Library to host programs for the community. There were 17 programs presented during September 15 – 30, 2009 which looked closely at the unique accomplishments of the Federal Writers’ Project. Programs included a “Soul of a People” festival recreating the 1930s era for the community. The Writers’ Project produced the “American Guides,” a series of travel guides for each state and the Ohio Guide was featured. WPA writers interviewed former slaves and recorded the life histories of thousands of citizens all across America. A number of writers who toiled in FWP offices around the country later became prominent literary figures in the U.S., among them Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, Studs Terkel, Eudora Welty, and Richard Wright.
The first program, Soul of a People Kickoff, recreated the 1930s era for the community was held at Portsmouth Public Library on 15 September 2009 from 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. The documentary was shown at the Southern Ohio Museum that also hosted the program about Music of the WPA and a book discussion about Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. The campus programs included a lecture on Hurston’s book, a dramatization of the Slave Narratives; Oral Histories from Portsmouth; presentation by the author of American Made, Nick Taylor, and after a campus screening of the documentary the lead scholar facilitated a discussion of the Writer’s project, its impact and legacy.
Southern State Community College
As the new LRC Manager at SSCC’s North Campus, Angel Mootispaw is excited about the opportunity to join the college during such a crucial time in the field of academia. With the recent changes in technology, education is moving toward an era that will bring forth eLearning in ways that we have not experienced before and she looks forward to being a part of the transition and development that will take place at SSCC.
Angel’s academic background includes an undergraduate degree in English and Education from Ohio University and a Master’s in Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University. As the new LRC Manager for the North Campus in Wilmington, she hopes to assist students in a traditional and an online environment so that their needs can be met in a way that is convenient and comfortable for them.
Angel replaces Luann Edwards, who recently left the LRC to become a full-time English instructor at Southern State.
Wright State University
Karen Kimber will retire from Wright State University Libraries on November 30th after 34 years of service. Karen received her MLS from the University of Iowa in 1975 and began her career at WSU shortly after. Karen serves as the Collection Development Coordinator for the Social Sciences and Humanities at WSU and specializes in History, Political Science, Government Documents, Law, Urban Affairs, and African American Studies. She has been very active with Ohio Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) over the years, receiving their Clyde Award in 2005, recognizing outstanding achievements or service in the field of government information. Karen will be greatly missed at Wright State.
University of Rio Grande
In recognition the 27th annual National Banned Books Week observance, Sept. 26 through Oct. 3, Davis Library at the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College hosted an interactive exhibit entitled Libraries and the First Amendment. Designed by the Chicago-based McCormick Freedom Museum the display looked at the library’s role in enabling and protecting First Amendment freedoms. The show featured topics such as censorship, access to information, children’s rights, and the use of libraries as meeting spaces.
In addition to the main exhibit at the Davis Library, visitors were encouraged to explore a companion web exhibit where online viewers could investigate specific First Amendment controversies libraries face, vote on key issues and add their voice to a larger, national discussion on libraries and their importance to maintaining democracy.
To accompany the exhibit and celebrate the freedom to read, Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society on campus, partnered with the university’s Friends of the Davis Library group to offer a Banned Books Week Read-Out! where volunteers read excerpts from their favorite “banned books.”
Daily readings from a wide range of books that have been challenged over the years—including the American Heritage Dictionary, which was challenged in 1987 by the Anchorage School Board in Alaska for its inclusion of slang definitions of certain words, prompted lively discussions on our First Amendment rights.
ALAO Newsletter 