Dedication of the Haukohl Art and Architectural Collection

On August 18, 2015, Dean of Libraries Lisa German and Dr. Patricia Oliver, Dean of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, formally received a distinguished art and architectural book collection gifted by Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl, at a ceremony held at the College of Architecture.

Read news release | View event photos

UH Libraries Welcomes Math and Science Librarian

A new librarian for natural sciences and mathematics has joined the University of Houston Libraries.

Mea Warren serves as the liaison to a number of academic departments, including math, physics, computer science, and earth and atmospheric sciences. She will provide research support and collection development for faculty members, as well as instruction sessions for courses common to majors in the sciences.

Warren has worked in a variety of libraries, including at the Environmental Protection Agency, before arriving at the University of Houston. She is inspired to offer new perspectives on outreach and instruction initiatives, adding to an already highly service-oriented culture at the Libraries.

The Libraries is the central institution on campus for learning and research endeavors, and Warren is excited about the direction in which it will go. “UH is constantly evolving, and the Libraries are, too,” she said. “It’s becoming a space that is more tech-focused, and we’re concentrating on new services we can offer to increase knowledge bases across not just what you can read in a book, but what you can do on a computer. From learning new software to creating better search strategies, it’s all about creating and utilizing knowledge.”

Miscellany about Mea

• Her first impressions of the Libraries and the University: “Everyone in the Libraries is really open and friendly and willing to help. The campus is very diverse, with many research opportunities and room for growth.”
• Favorite author: “I’m a huge fan of Sharon Draper.
• Top TV picks: Scandal, House of Cards, How to Get Away With Murder
• Favorite cuisine: Texas barbecue, Thai

2015-2016 Poetry and Prose Series

The 2015-2016 season of Poetry and Prose: Creative Writers at the University of Houston kicks off on September 16.

Now in its 16th year, Poetry and Prose provides a venue for the talented authors and poets of the Creative Writing Program at UH in the Honors College Commons in the MD Anderson Library.

The 2015-2016 series line-up includes:

• September 16 – new Creative Writing Program graduate students Lauren Espinoza, Daniel Chu, Aza Pace, Chris Liek, Joshua Foster, Mandi Casolo, Corey Campbell, Lani Yu
• October 14 – Faculty Alex Parsons and Mat Johnson
• November 18 – Ecopoetics – Faculty Martha Serpas
• February 24 – Faculty Tony Hoagland and Nick Flynn
• April 13 – featuring undergraduate Creative Writing Program students with work appearing in Glass Mountain

Each reading is held on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. All readings are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

Creelman Selected for TRLN Management Academy

Kerry Creelman, coordinator of undergraduate instruction and outreach, and liaison to athletics, has been chosen for the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) Management Academy: The Business of Libraries.

The TRLN Management Academy is an experiential learning program that prepares mid-level library managers to administer complex and diverse resources, including staff, budgets and technology. Participants were selected through a competitive process, possessing management experience and a statement of interest most closely aligned with the program’s design.

Creelman joined the University of Houston Libraries in 2009 as the English librarian and was promoted in 2012. Her research interests include assessment of the student learning cycle, learner-centered instruction pedagogy, and leadership and management in libraries.

LinkedIn at the Library

There are over 39 million students and recent college graduates using LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. Students can find numerous opportunities through LinkedIn, including jobs, internships, graduate schools, and volunteer positions. Additionally, employers are increasingly using web search to learn more about potential job candidates, making it essential for every college student to establish a professional online presence.

The University of Houston Libraries, in partnership with University Career Services and UH Social Media, will host an event to help students gain a competitive edge using LinkedIn. LinkedIn at the Library will provide students with the tools and knowledge to maximize their use of the powerful career and networking platform. The September 23 event will be held at the MD Anderson Library Rockwell Pavilion.

The free event is open to all UH students. Staff from the UH Libraries, Career Services, and Social Media will be on hand to provide friendly critiques of students’ LinkedIn profiles (similar to a résumé critique) and offer best practices for networking on LinkedIn. Representatives from Career Services will conduct a LinkedIn and personal branding presentation, followed by a Q&A. Professional portraits will be offered to students to use in their LinkedIn profiles.

Registration is now closed.

What: LinkedIn at the Library
When: Wednesday, September 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: MD Anderson Library Rockwell Pavilion

Astrodome Memories Project to Host Scanning Event

The Houston Public Library’s Astrodome Memories project will host an oral history and scanning event on Saturday, August 8, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to preserve and share experiences of the 8th Wonder of the World.

Members of the public can bring in their Astrodome-related items, including photos, posters, game programs, souvenirs, and other memorabilia, to be added to the materials already available online. Oral histories will be recorded, and Texas Archive of the Moving Image will be available to collect Astrodome films and videos for free digitization.

Project partners, including the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections, have contributed materials to provide access to a broad collection of archives related to the construction of the Astrodome, as well as memorabilia documenting the use of the Astrodome for the last fifty years.

Oral History and Scanning Event
August 8, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Julia Ideson Building Auditorium
Houston Public Library
550 McKinney Street
Houston, TX 77008
For appointments, call: 832-393-1522

Libraries to Host Open House for Students

As part of the University of Houston Weeks of Welcome, the UH Libraries will welcome students back to campus during its Just Ask! Libraries Open House.

Students are encouraged to drop by the MD Anderson Library on Monday, August 24, or Tuesday, August 25, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to learn more about the Libraries’ services and programs.

Staff will be stationed at a table in the library atrium, providing informational handouts, answering general questions, and giving away snacks.

First-Ever Artist Health and Wellness Event Slated for Fall 2015

The University of Houston Libraries will host the Artist Health and Wellness Colloquium and Resource Fair on October 3, 2015, the first of its kind at the University.

This free, day-long event is open to students, faculty and staff, and the general public, and will be held at the MD Anderson Library. The event is designed to increase access to information and resources on safe and healthy practices for artists and performers through a unique learning experience, by bringing together community artists, health professionals and arts organizations.

“Artists in all genres have specific issues in wellness that are unique to their profession,” said Stephanie Lewin-Lane, coordinator of the UH Music Library and one of the event organizers. “A solid understanding of safe and healthy practices within their field will ensure that they are able to create within their art form for many, many years.”

Aspiring and working artists will learn techniques for maintaining good health and ways to avoid overstressing the body as they practice their art. Scholars will also present both historical and trending perspectives on the intersection of art and health science. Topics of particular interest to performing artists include repetitive motion, nutrition, voice scoping, stress management, performance anxiety, and body alignment. The event will culminate with a resource fair.

C. Richard Stasney, deputy chief of otolaryngology at The Methodist Hospital, will deliver the keynote address, with an introduction by Jefferson Todd Frazier, director of the Center for Performing Arts Medicine at The Methodist Hospital. Breakout session speakers include Stacey Gorniak, assistant professor of health and human performance at UH; John Harvey, director of the Center for Creative Work, Honors College, UH; and Teresa Chapman, associate professor of dance, UH.

For more information and to register, visit the Artist Health and Wellness Colloquium and Resource Fair web site.

UH Librarian Conducts Workshop in Colombia

A University of Houston librarian recently traveled internationally to provide instruction on resource description and access (RDA) cataloging.

Heylicken “Hayley” Moreno, resource description coordinator in the department of Metadata and Digitization Services, developed and instructed a two-day workshop on RDA cataloging in Spanish for the conference “Present and Future of Cataloging Standards,” held in Bogotá and Cartagena, Colombia.

The conference provided participants with practical experience in cataloging with RDA, and presented new developments that are occurring in the US with BIBFRAME, a bibliographic model that uses linked data. Moreno’s workshop focused on the current practices that have been put in place with RDA, and guided catalogers in the application of these new changes with various formats including audiovisual and electronic resources.

Four universities helped sponsored this event: Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Universidad de Cartagena, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, and Fundación Universitaria Tecnológico Comfenalco with the support of Referencistas S.A.S.

Expansion of Houston Hip Hop Collections

University of Houston Libraries Special Collections announces three major enhancements to the Houston Hip Hop Collections, the region’s definitive archive of hip hop music and culture.

Photographer Peter Beste and journalist Lance Scott Walker have entrusted UH Special Collections with materials related to the production of their 2013 book, Houston Rap, nine years in the making. The book documents the lives of Houston hip hop musicians, both renowned and underground, as well as the changing urban neighborhoods from which the sound developed. The Peter Beste and Lance Scott Walker Houston Rap Collection contains photographic prints, digital images, audio interviews, correspondence, posters, T-shirts, artifacts and more, providing an in-depth look at Houston’s home-grown rap scene.

Preservation work on a prominent audio component of the Houston Hip Hop Collections has recently been completed, expanding access to one-of-a-kind recordings of Houston hip hop artists. Students and scholars now have the option to come to the Special Collections reading room and hear mp3 files of the separate tracks of master recordings from Keenan “Maestro” Mosley’s Samplified Digital Recording Studios, including several sets by DJ Screw. The original recordings were captured on the now obsolete Alesis digital audio tape (ADAT) format.

Cataloging of the DJ Screw Sound Recordings, the original vinyl records from which the DJ made his influential mixtapes, has been completed, increasing the materials’ online discoverability. More information about the DJ Screw sound recordings use policy can be found here.

For more information on Houston hip hop research, contact Julie Grob.