Dethloff Posts Recap of ILL Discussion Group
Nora Dethloff
Nora Dethloff, assistant head of Information and Access Services at the University of Houston Libraries, blogged about the Reference and User Services Association Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section Interlibrary Loan (RUSA STARS ILL) Discussion Group which took place at ALA Midwinter 2016. Read more
Dean German Addresses Knowledge Management
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
An article penned by Lisa German, dean of the University of Houston Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair, appeared in the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Knowledge Management (IFLA KM) Section newsletter.
In “What does Knowledge Management Mean to You?” Dean German discusses how organizational knowledge is shared at UH Libraries. Read more (PDF page 12)
Dean German is a member of the IFLA KM Standing Committee. The IFLA KM Section promotes conversations between its members and others who are interested in knowledge management, including sharing strategies, organizational processes and practices, and the implementation of knowledge management culture in libraries and information environments.
New Exhibit Highlights African American Literature
The University of Houston Libraries is opening an exhibit in honor of Black History Month.
Literature by African American writers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks, will be on display at the University of Houston Libraries in February.
In conjunction with the African American Read-In scheduled for February 9, the exhibit, African American Literature, Modern and Contemporary, will include rare and first editions of books by 20th and 21st century African American writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, and Mat Johnson, from the Harlem Renaissance to the present day.
The exhibit will run from February 1 through February 29 near Special Collections in the MD Anderson Library (second floor).
January 2016 New Databases
New databases in a variety of subjects are now available from UH Libraries.
The following databases are now available from the University of Houston Libraries:
Pronunciator
Provides interactive, self-paced language learning for 80 languages and ESL for 50 non-English languages. This resource includes audio lessons, interactive textbooks, quizzes, intelligent flashcards, phrasebooks and pronunciation analysis. User manuals are available within the resource.
PsycTHERAPY
Database of streaming psychotherapy demonstrations featuring some of the most renowned therapists in North America working with participants on a host of therapeutic topics. Allows viewers to go straight to the heart of clinical practice with demonstrations of psychotherapy as it is done by today’s leading practitioners. Resource for teaching and training in psychotherapy practice and for education about psychology.
Rock’s Backpages Library
Rock’s Backpages is an ever-growing archive of legendary interviews (both audio and transcript), classic features, and groundbreaking reviews by rock writers from the 1950s to the present.
Liaison Librarians Visit TX/RX Labs
The University of Houston Libraries Liaison Services group recently visited TX/RX Labs, a non-profit hackerspace located in Houston’s East End District.
The UH Libraries Liaison Services group visited TX/RX Labs. Photo provided by Lindsay Cronk.
As part of an interactive workshop, members of Liaison Services learned about 3D printing technology and created their own 3D printed objects. They also took a guided tour of the 40,000 square foot space and learned about the manufacturing and creative capabilities available at the labs.
Established in 2008, TX/RX Labs offers courses in and access to its rapid prototyping lab, wood shop, machine shop, electronics lab, and a wide variety of other tools. The goal of TX/RX Labs is to educate the public about technology and show how seemingly complex techniques can be used by anyone.
New Digital Collection: The Astrodome, Eighth Wonder of the World
The world’s first indoor, air-conditioned sports stadium, the Houston Astrodome was nicknamed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” when it opened in 1965. The construction of the Astrodome was instrumental in bringing Major League Baseball to Houston, and the Dome would also host the NFL’s Houston Oilers and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. A selection of over 100 items, including promotional photographs, newsletters and brochures, and documents on the creation of the Astrodome, illustrates the history of the stadium and the key individuals who brought this vision to life.
The Astrodome, Eighth Wonder of the World collection is now available in the University of Houston Digital Library.
The bulk of the items in the digital collection are derived from the George Kirksey Papers. Kirksey was a well-known sportswriter who became a baseball promoter. In the late 1940s, he began his work to bring major league baseball to Houston. Eventually he would join with several other men, including Houston oilman and civic leader R. E. “Bob” Smith and Houston mayor Roy Hofheinz, to form the Houston Sports Association. This group would become the owners of the Colt .45s, later known as the Houston Astros, and would advocate for the construction of the Astrodome.
The selection of items for this project includes Houston Sports Association and Astrodome promotional materials and ephemera, photographs of the Dome and of Colt .45 and Astros players and staff, Astros and Colt .45s press releases, and other documents relating to the creation and operations of the Astrodome in the 1960s.
The original materials are available in UH Libraries Special Collections in the George Kirksey Papers and the George Fuermann “Texas and Houston” Collection.
January 2016 Technology Training
Technology training at UH Libraries is open to all students, faculty and staff.
Workshops in Photoshop, PowerPoint, Access, Excel, Word, Prezi, InDesign, and Acrobat are being held in January at the University of Houston Libraries.
The Technology Training program at UH Libraries offers free technology courses to current UH students, faculty and staff. Classes are held in the Learning Commons Training Labs on the first floor of the MD Anderson Library.
View the full calendar and reserve your seat.
Dean German Elected to SPARC Steering Committee
Dean Lisa German has been elected to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Steering Committee.
Lisa German, dean of the University of Houston Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair, has been elected to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Steering Committee for a three-year term running from January 2016 through December 2018.
SPARC is an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to create a more open system of scholarly communication. SPARC’s activities are focused on open access to scholarly and scientific research articles, open data, and open educational resources.
Before joining UH, German served as associate dean for collections, information, and access services at Penn State University, and has also held leadership positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Wright State University. She joined UH in 2015.
German has widely published and presented in the areas of library collections, management, planning, policy development, implementation and assessment. She is co-author of the 2013 book, SPEC Kit 339: Innovation and R&D in Libraries, an examination of the role of research libraries in the strategic advancement of innovative measures. Consistently engaged in professional development, German has participated in the Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians at Harvard University, as well as the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Research Library Leadership Fellows Program.
German is active in professional service at the university, regional, and national levels, having chaired a number of committees on various aspects of acquisitions and technical services. She has served on several editorial and advisory boards, including a current appointment for Library Resources and Technical Services. Notable for her expertise in collections, technical services, organizational and workflow assessment, as well as strategy, German has been a sought-after consultant to academic research libraries on an international scale.
UH Libraries Hosts New Speaker Series
A new speaker series at UH Libraries opens with Mike Furlough of HathiTrust.
The University of Houston Libraries will open its new speaker series, Libraries Rising: Enriching Conversations, on January 13 with Mike Furlough, executive director of HathiTrust Digital Library.
HathiTrust is an organization that includes over 100 academic and research institutions working to transform scholarship and research in the 21st century. Furlough’s talk, “HathiTrust and Your Library: An Update for 2016,” will highlight HathiTrust’s services and its major programs focused on shared print, computational research, and federal documents. Since HathiTrust’s founding in 2008 it has grown to become a worldwide force for collective action in the library community. Its collection now holds nearly 14 million volumes, and its activities as a partnership extend beyond simple notions of a digital library. Its 110 members are creating a common good for the benefit of readers worldwide, but are also developing services of lasting impact for their own researchers and students. This update will focus on how the University of Houston and other Texas libraries can build on HathiTrust for their own needs.
Furlough’s research has focused on how libraries and universities develop organizational support for emerging scholarly communication practices. Getting the Word Out: Academic Libraries as Scholarly Publishers, which he co-edited with Maria Bonn, was published by the Association of College and Research Libraries in 2015. Furlough is currently on the Board of the Digital Preservation Network and is a member of The Future of the Print Record working group sponsored by the Modern Language Association and American Historical Association.
Libraries Rising: Enriching Conversations is a new series presenting thought leaders from diverse disciplines to discuss bold ideas in teaching, learning, and discovery. The inaugural talk, which will be held on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. in the MD Anderson Library Rockwell Pavilion, is free and open to all members of the campus and scholarly community.