Harvey Help: Textbooks for Students

A letter to all UH faculty:

—

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, many of our students have been deeply affected by hurricane Harvey.

Textbooks can be a heavy financial burden at the best of times and may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle to affected students returning to UH. In an effort to assist these students and lessen their financial burdens, UH Libraries encourages faculty to consider the following options:

1. Submit a list of your assigned textbooks to the UH Libraries’ Course Reserves service. The Libraries will obtain as many textbooks and course materials as possible and place them on reserve at the service desks at either M.D. Anderson Library, the Jenkins Art & Architecture Library, or the Music Library or in Blackboard through ARES Course Reserves system.
2. Please send your textbook title(s) and as much additional information (i.e., author/editor, publisher, edition, etc.) as possible to libreserves@uh.edu so that these materials can be made available to students. You may also send a copy of your course syllabus.
3. Find electronic books and journal content through UH Libraries
4. Supplement your curriculum with free, online textbooks from the Open Textbook Library or OpenStax that can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost and cover a wide variety of topics/subject areas. These open textbooks have been faculty-reviewed and are used at multiple higher education institutions. Learn more by visiting the Open Textbook Library or OpenStax.

Thank you for helping us help students at this difficult time!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nora Dethloff, Head of Research Materials Procurement at ndethloff@uh.edu

 
Best,

Lisa German
Dean of University Libraries
And Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair
University of Houston
4333 University Dr.
Houston TX 77204-2000
713-743-9795
Lagerman@uh.edu
  

UH MD Anderson Library Now Open Earlier

University of Houston MD Anderson Library has extended regular operating hours, now open at 10:00 am on Sunday and 6:00 am Monday through Friday.

Sunday 10:00 am – 1:45 am
Monday 6:00 am – 1:45 am
Tuesday 6:00 am – 1:45 am
Wednesday 6:00 am – 1:45 am
Thursday 6:00 am – 1:45 am
Friday 6:00 am – 9:45 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 7:45 pm

Find hours for all UH Libraries branches.

In Memoriam: Richard “Dick” Dickerson

Richard “Dick” Dickerson, previous University of Houston archivist, passed away this month.

Mr. Dickerson spent many years at UH Libraries as the university archivist and curator for the Carey Shuart Women’s Research Collection and the Houston and Texas History Collection. He retired from his position at UH in 2011, and is remembered by many here, like Special Collections’ Julie Grob, who worked with him.

“Dick was deeply committed to the archival profession, charming in his interactions with donors, and extremely knowledgeable about Texas history,” Grob said. “He was a founding member of the Archivists of the Houston Area and encouraged networking among area institutions. Dick liked to spin tales from his small town upbringing in Cleburne, Texas, while also appreciating the culture and variety to be found in Houston. He will be missed by many at the university, in the community, and in the profession.”

Oral History in Research

Lisa Cruces, Hispanic Collections archivist at the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections, recently attended the University of Texas at Austin Voces Oral History Research Summer Institute. Held in Austin, the week-long institute was designed for faculty and graduate students working with oral history.

Scholars from across the country attended the institute, which was co-taught by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, PhD, UT Austin, and Todd Moye, PhD, University of North Texas. Participants examined a range of topics related to creating, teaching, and researching with oral histories. Composed of lectures, site visits to archives, and guest speakers, including Monica Perales, PhD, UH Center for Public History and Department of History, the institute aimed to empower scholars to create oral histories and to thoughtfully make them accessible through collaboration with repositories and publication.

“My chief reason for attending the institute was to learn more about oral histories and how they can help expand the documentation and history of Latinx communities in Houston,” Cruces said. “We have rich histories in Houston to preserve, but not all of them are textual. Secondly, I’m eager to support the work of UH faculty, Mark Goldberg for example, who is working on documenting the Jewish Latina/o community. Now, we’re one step closer.”

UH Libraries Advances to 61 in ARL Library Investment Index

University of Houston Libraries has advanced to number 61 in the newly released rankings from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The move represents a 4-point increase from the previous year’s ranking of 65, and a 16-point increase in the last two years.

The 2015-16 ARL Library Investment Index indicates data provided by 114 colleges and universities based on dollars spent for total library expenditures, salaries and wages of professional staff, library materials expenditures, and the number of professional and support staff.

“Our new ranking signifies not only strong growth in our collections of research materials and services, but also demonstrates the exceptional support granted to us by the University, and particularly the Office of the Provost,” said Lisa German, dean of University Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair. “With your support, we are able to advance student success, knowledge creation and preservation, and globally competitive research.”

See more: The Chronicle of Higher Education – Spending by University Research Libraries, 2015-16

UH Libraries Now a Samvera Partner

The University of Houston Libraries is pleased to be the newest Partner of Samvera.

Samvera, the new name for Hydra, is an open source repository solution for digital asset management. UH Libraries has been actively involved in the Samvera Community and is poised to contribute code, documentation and expertise in support of the Samvera Project.

Learn more about UH Libraries’ support of Samvera.

New Digital Collection: Outdoor Nature Club Newsletters

Joseph Heiser founded the Outdoor Nature Club (ONC) in 1923, with the aim of strengthening bonds among nature lovers, studying local flora and fauna, and working with local initiatives aimed at civic improvement through beautification. The ornithology group, who produced the Spoonbill newsletter, was the ONC’s most active study group. Although the Texas Gulf Coast region is abundant in birdlife and significant wilderness resources, Texas is rarely known for its environmental stewardship. Articles in the Spoonbill span nearly a century and cover an array of wilderness preservation topics, demonstrating the dedication of Houston and Texas residents to environmental and wildlife issues during the 20th century.

Joseph Heiser, often labeled Houston’s John Muir, was synonymous with the ONC for the first half of the twentieth century and produced a number of the early newsletters. In the 1930s, Heiser, along with other members of the ONC, spearheaded preservation of a wildlife sanctuary on Vingt-et-un Islands in Trinity Bay, where ONC birders discovered one of the largest colonies of nesting roseate spoonbills in America. Working with the National Audubon Society, ONC members proposed to lease the island from the state of Texas and hire a warden. By 1931, the ONC had successfully established the sanctuary, banded the roseate spoonbills, and adopted the spoonbill as their organizational symbol.

For the environmental historian, the Spoonbill and ONC history offer parallels between the evolving ethos of the Sierra Club, established originally as a wilderness recreation group in California, and the ONC, the first wilderness recreation group founded in Texas. The newsletters of the Outdoor Nature Club include several publications: Zephyr (1924-1926), The Bulletin (1931-1937), Trailblazer (1948-1950), and Spoonbill (1952-2007). The original materials are available in UH Libraries Special Collections in the Outdoor Nature Club Records.

UH Libraries Receives Certificate of Tree Planting

A new, sustainably designed recycling unit will be coming soon to the MD Anderson Library Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion. Through the purchase of the unit from DeepStream Designs, and in partnership with Trees for the Future, 100 trees will be planted in Africa on behalf of the University of Houston Libraries. The village project was implemented to save the homes and way of life of people whose land has been devastated by deforestation. Fast-growing trees will help to protect fragile and eroded natural resources.

New Exhibit: The Visionary Work of Bert L. Long, Jr.

A new exhibit opens this week at the University of Houston Libraries.

The Visionary Work of Bert L. Long, Jr. celebrates the donation of the Bert L. Long, Jr. Papers to UH Special Collections. Long was a Houston-based artist known for his vibrant paintings and his monumental ice sculptures. Throughout his career, Long demonstrated an unstoppable dedication to his work and projects, and his vision of a cohesive and inclusive arts community in Houston fueled this dedication.

The exhibit will be open through September 19 on the second floor of the MD Anderson Library.

Printing Now Available in 24 Hour Lounge

The University of Houston Libraries now offers printing in the MD Anderson Library 24 Hour Lounge. With the print release station, users have the option to print from a USB drive, by emailing documents, or by installing a printer package on their personal laptop.