Spring 2017 Libraries Open House

The University of  Houston Libraries will welcome students back to campus during its Just Ask! Libraries Open House, Tuesday, January 17 and Wednesday, January 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Students are encouraged to drop by the MD Anderson Library to learn more about library services and programs. Library staff will be on hand to answer common questions about MD Anderson Library and the campus branches.

South Central States Fedora Users Group

The University of Houston Libraries will host the South Central States Fedora Users Group meeting on January 11-12, 2017.

The meeting will include presentations on current implementations and work underway at peer institutions, discussion for users considering the tool, Fedora workshops led by Fedora experts and developers, and conversations intended to foster collaboration among users and in support of the Fedora project.

Anyone in the region who is currently using Fedora or considering using Fedora for management of digital assets as a repository or archive is welcome to attend the Users Group meeting. Attendees will be asked to present upon their various projects in either long or short sessions. Training delivered by the DuraSpace Fedora team will also be available. The meeting is intended for all Fedora users regardless of technical skill level.

Attendance is free and registration is required.

Second Annual UH African American Read-In

The University of Houston Libraries is pleased to host the second annual African American Read-In on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

UH faculty, staff and students are invited to read their favorite poems, passages of fiction or nonfiction, lyrics, plays, or speeches written by African Americans aloud to an audience in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion at the MD Anderson Library. Guests, classes, and organizations are encouraged to attend. Sign up to be a reader.

The event’s successful debut at UH in February 2016 drew strong engagement and interest in continuing the read-in. UH Libraries proudly joins schools, churches, bookstores, libraries and professional organizations across the country in celebration of diversity in literature with the National African American Read-In, now in its 27th year.

The African American Read-In is made possible through campus partnership between the UH Libraries, the UH Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the UH African American Studies program, and the UH Department of English.

View photos from the 2016 UH African American Read-In.

What: UH African American Read-In
When: Tuesday, February 7, 2017 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion, MD Anderson Library

January Book Club

The University of Houston Libraries and the UH Women and Gender Resource Center will co-sponsor a book club discussion in January 2017, which is open to all UH students, faculty and staff, alumni and friends.

Readers are invited to gather at the Student Center South Heights Room 224 for a literary conversation on Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Lisa Cruces, Hispanic Collections archivist at UH Libraries Special Collections, will be leading the discussion.

What: Spring Book Club Discussion on Lab Girl
When: Thursday, January 5, 2017, 12 noon
Where: Student Center South Heights Room 224
Who: UH students, faculty and staff, alumni and friends

LinkedIn Event Scheduled for February

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, have brought back an event to help students gain a competitive edge using LinkedIn. The first LinkedIn at the Library took place in the fall of 2015, and, due to popular demand, will return on February 13, 2017, providing students with the tools and knowledge to maximize their use of the powerful career and networking platform.

The free event is open to all UH students. Staff from the UH Libraries and Career Services 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 networking presentation, followed by a Q&A. Professional portraits will be offered to students to use in their LinkedIn profiles.

No registration is required to attend. Drop-ins are welcomed.

What: LinkedIn at the Library
When: Monday, February 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: MD Anderson Library Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion

New Digital Collection: John F. Staub Marginalia

John F. Staub (1892-1981) practiced architecture in Houston for nearly sixty years and became one of the region’s best-known domestic architects. An MIT graduate from Tennessee, he began his architectural career in New York City under residential architect Harrie T. Lindeberg. In 1921, Staub came to Texas to oversee the construction of three Lindeberg houses in Houston. Staub then decided to settle in Houston and would eventually start his own architectural practice in 1923. He quickly became known for his domestic architecture and substantially contributed to the desirable neighborhoods of River Oaks, Broadacres and others. He designed 31 houses in River Oaks alone, thereby helping to establish the architectural flavor of that neighborhood during its first three decades. He is best known for Bayou Bend, which is now a house museum containing the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s American decorative arts collection. Staub also designed notable non-residential buildings, including the Junior League Building, the original River Oaks Country Club, the Bayou Club, and the original library at the University of Houston (which is now the blue wing of the MD Anderson Library). He remains best known for his residential architecture, however.

Staub amassed a collection of books on architectural types, regions and styles, which he referenced when designing his vernacular-styled houses. In the late seventies he made notes in these books in order to assist scholar and architect Howard Barnstone, who was then engaged in writing The Architecture of John F. Staub: Houston and the South. In these notes, Staub identifies books and images that influenced his own designs. This exhibit allows viewers to compare this marginalia and images from the books with photographs of his finished houses.

Near the end of his life Staub donated his book collection to the University of Houston Libraries. It may be viewed in the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room of the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library.

New Article: The University of Houston’s Liaison Services Advisory Board

Christina Hoffman Gola and Miranda Henry Bennett authored “The University of Houston’s Liaison Services Advisory Board: A case study in leadership development and succession planning” which appeared in the November 2016 issue of College & Research Libraries News.

Malizia Selected for Provost’s Leadership Academy

Michelle Malizia Catalano, director of library services for the health sciences at the University of Houston Libraries, has been selected to participate in the UH Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy (CCLA).

Provost Paula Myrick Short launched the CCLA to address the need for leadership and professional development in UH academic departments. The year-long program prepares individuals for departmental leadership roles, with a curriculum that is based on UH System Board of Regents strategic principles, and is carried out in support of UH strategic goals.

In her role at UH Libraries, Catalano oversees targeted delivery of information services to students, faculty and the public for the forthcoming Health Sciences Library that will be located in the Health and Biomedical Sciences Building II, currently in development. Previously, she served as the associate director for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine South Central Region program, a federal contract held by the Texas Medical Center Library. She has worked in health sciences libraries for over 15 years in a variety of roles, including reference, instruction, technology services, outreach and administration. Her areas of expertise include database searching, instruction, and program planning. She has presented at a number of conferences nationwide on various topics, including health literacy, grant writing, evidence-based practice, searching PubMed/MEDLINE and public health information resources.

Condron Selected for Provost’s Leadership Academy

Melody Condron, resource description and management coordinator at the University of Houston Libraries, has been selected to participate in the UH Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy (CCLA).

Provost Paula Myrick Short launched the CCLA to address the need for leadership and professional development in UH academic departments. The year-long program prepares individuals for departmental leadership roles, with a curriculum that is based on UH System Board of Regents strategic principles, and is carried out in support of UH strategic goals.

In her role at UH Libraries, Condron provides leadership and expertise in bibliographic resources description and management. Her research interests include information organization theory, advances in next-generation library systems, personal digital archiving, and cooperative metadata.

New Digital Collection: Annual Reports from the Hilton Hospitality Industry Archives

The Annual Reports from the Hilton Hospitality Industry Archives digital collection highlights annual reports from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, from three modern hospitality companies: Hilton Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, and the Hot Shoppes, later renamed Marriott Hotels. Through these digitized pages, one can learn about the dynamic history of these companies and their evolution into world-renowned leaders in hospitality.

The annual reports provide a wealth of information related to their operation and the transition from small hospitality companies to large international corporations. For example, Hilton’s acquisition in 1954 of the Statler Hotel chain forced it to deal with monopoly issues and tax regulations for several years. The reader can also learn about the varied ways hotel companies raised money to fund the expansion of their hotel chains. Both Hilton and Sheraton had aggressive growth programs, both domestically and internationally. The international expansions also show the important role American companies played in the era of the Cold War.

The technological revolution that the world experienced in the mid-twentieth century likewise is reflected in these annual reports. One unique issue that plagued the travel industry in this period were the costs of reservation centers and the long-distance telephone call, a problem that ceased to exist with the advent of digital communications. Other timely issues revealed in the annual reports include the commitment of millions of dollars to install air-conditioning systems in hotels and restaurants and the challenge of the “motor-lodge” to the traditional downtown hotel structure following the advent of interstate highways. The first Marriott, the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington Virginia, highlights the growing importance of automobile accessibility to the hotel business.

The annual reports also reflect the changing nature of American society in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Inside these reports are images revealing shifting consumer tastes and preferences in interior design and fashion. Advances in modes of transportation, from railroad, to propeller airplanes, to the advent of jet age are also shown, providing a unique glimpse into this dynamic period of American history.

The original reports can be seen in the Hospitality Industry Archives located in the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.