UH Special Collections Acquires OZONE Magazine

University of Houston Libraries Special Collections has acquired the complete run of OZONE Magazine, the leading print publication on Southern hip hop from 2002 to 2010.

Published by photographer Julia Beverly, the magazine profiled Southern rappers such as Lil’ Wayne, T.I., David Banner, and Pitbull. Over the years, OZONE featured several Houston-area artists, including Devin the Dude, UGK, Lil’ Flip, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, and Chamillionaire.

OZONE, Beverly noted, was well positioned to document the rise of Southern hip hop. “It all happened very organically, and that’s why it was so beautiful,” she said. “Every era in music and culture deserves a historian to preserve it for future generations, and I’m glad we could fill that role for Southern hip hop.” The magazine’s contributors became known for being in the right place at the right time, and the magazine’s content, particularly its photo galleries, offered a fresh and timely take on the people and culture of Southern hip hop.

OZONE began as a local publication in Orlando, FL, highlighting the city’s biggest DJs, artists, promoters, and events. Circulation of the underground magazine grew a core readership, fueled by promotional rounds in dozens of cities from Miami to Atlanta to Houston. “A lot of Southern rap fans had been feeling overlooked, so they were really excited to become a part of something to call their own,” Beverly said.

A highlight in the life of the magazine was the 2006 OZONE Awards, a success owing to the publisher’s perseverance in overcoming event-planning obstacles. The sell-out show received incredible support from established talent such as Lil Wayne, who headlined the show, and Ludacris, who arrived with MTV cameras recording footage for his Diary episode. The show also introduced breakthrough acts like T-Pain, Plies, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, and Pitbull very early in their careers.

The collection is available for use by scholars, students, and the general public in the Special Collections reading room. Until it has been cataloged, interested researchers may contact the curator for the Houston Hip Hop collections, Julie Grob.

New Exhibit: Mexican American Studies at UH

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, University of Houston Libraries Special Collections is honored to present the Mexican American Studies at UH exhibit.

On view throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the exhibit highlights the founding of the Center for Mexican American Studies and the contributions of Mexican Americans to campus life throughout the years. Included in the exhibit are photographs, documents, and books spanning over four decades.

Materials will be on view on the 2^nd floor of MD Anderson Library from September 15 – October 15, 2016. For more information, contact Lisa Cruces.

Graduate Student Open House

University of Houston graduate students are invited to the Fall 2016 Graduate Student Open House on September 28 at the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion in the MD Anderson Library. The event will be held from 4 to 6 p.m.

Join us for an afternoon of food, conversation, and activities with your fellow grad students. Learn more about how the UH Libraries’ resources and services can help you.

September 2016 Technology Training

Free workshops in Access 2013, Adobe Acrobat, EndNote, Excel 2013, HTML and CSS, Illustrator CS6, Photoshop CS6, and Word 2013 are being held in September at the University of Houston Libraries.

The Technology Training program at UH Libraries offers 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 GWLA Board

The Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) membership recently elected Lisa German, dean of the University of Houston Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair, to the Board of Directors. Beginning January 1, 2017, German will serve as a member at large.

GWLA is a consortium of 36 research libraries located in the central and western United States. GWLA is a dynamic, effective, project-oriented consortium, nationally recognized as a leader in the transformation of scholarly communication, and a facilitator in the application of new information technologies.

New Beta-space Open to All UH Students

The University of Houston Music Library has created a new, multipurpose space to serve the unique research and study needs of students in the creative and performing arts.

The Beta-space Study Room, located within the Music Library on the second floor of the Moores School of Music building, is an inviting and functional area featuring multimedia, recording and music software, visual tools, and other resources for creativity and inspiration. Students are encouraged to adapt the flexible learning space to suit their needs and interests.

Created as a “one-stop shop,” the Beta-space Study Room is the ideal environment for group work, reflection, and imagination. Students are often overwhelmed with studies, practice, and performances, all while searching for the resources and space on campus to carry out their work. The Beta-space Study Room addresses this need by housing creative tools and services in one spot, so that students can focus their time and energy on the things they need to accomplish.

All UH students, regardless of major, are invited to use the Beta-space Study Room.

View photos of the Beta-space Study Room.

‘Storied’ Exhibit Opens at UH Libraries

University of Houston Libraries welcomes visitors to the new exhibit, Storied: The First Ten Years of the Creative Writing Program.

From the exhibit:

In 1979, the University of Houston founded its Creative Writing Program under the co-directorship of poets Cynthia Macdonald and Stanley Plumly. Within a short time, it would become a leading program for teaching the craft of writing, and one of the few to offer a PhD in literature and creative writing.

Macdonald, who would remain at UH until her retirement, was joined on the faculty by famed short story writer Donald Barthelme, poets Edward Hirsch and Richard Howard, essayist Phillip Lopate, novelists Robert Cohen and Rosellen Brown, and playwright Ntozake Shange. During the mid 1980s, Inprint formed as a fundraising group for the program, providing fellowships for graduate students and backing for the student-run magazine Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. The UH Creative Writing Program founded other successful programs, including the Houston Reading Series and Writers in the Schools (WITS), which contributed to the development of a strong literary community in Houston.

Using UH Libraries Special Collections materials, this exhibition details the founding and first decade of the program, spotlights the lives and careers of faculty members Cynthia Macdonald and Donald Barthelme, and showcases works by alumni who graduated between 1979 and 1989.

Visitors are invited to view Storied: The First Ten Years of the Creative Writing Program on the first floor of the MD Anderson Library starting August 22, 2016 through January 2, 2017. For more information, contact Julie Grob, 713-743-9744, or Mary Manning, 713-743-5893.

UH Libraries Announces Microgrant Winners

The University of Houston Libraries has awarded funds to several teams through the 2016-2017 Microgrant Program.

Now in its 8th year, the Microgrant Program fosters new and innovative ideas in support of the Libraries’ Strategic Plan and the University’s Strategic Initiatives.

Librarians and staff submitted proposals for new services and programs which would benefit teaching, learning and research objectives of the UH community, and will work in cross-departmental teams to implement their ideas.

The UH Libraries Microgrant Program winners for 2016-2017 are:

Project title: Cougar Cub Day
Nora Dethloff (project lead), Xiping Liu, Wenli Gao, Jackie Bronicki

A fun-filled day for eligible school-aged children of university employees from selected colleges, departments, and the library.

Project title: Fair Use Week 2017
Nora Dethloff (project lead), Jeannie Castro, Julie Grob, Stephanie Lewin-Lane, Ashley Lierman, Adam Townes

In celebration of Fair Use Week 2017, the members of the Copyright Team will hold an event which will include the screening of the film Freedom of Expression: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property and a panel discussion about copyright and fair use in the creative arts.

Project title: Crafty Coogs: Recycled Plastic Book Bag
Stephanie Lewin-Lane (project lead), Tim McGittigan, Kaylie Kahlich

As part of the UH Office of Sustainability‘s “Crafty Coogs” series, the Music Library and the Office of Sustainability will partner to host a recycled book bag creation event utilizing recycled plastic bags, damaged/unusable music scores, and recycled clothing.

Project title: Free Tax Preparation
Gillian Bautista (project lead), Susan Ryan, J. Michael Thompson

Free federal income tax preparation for our students/staff/faculty who are US residents.

Project title: More User-Friendly Distance Education Interlibrary Loan
Margaret Dunn (project lead), Nora Dethloff, Selina Khan, Gillian Bautista, Lakeshia Clark, Alma Gallo, Susan Ryan

A pilot project to provide a trackable and user-friendly way for patrons to return items to ILL by including a return-shipping label with a shipment.

Project title: Women on Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon
Mary Manning (project lead), Bethany Scott (project lead), Melody Condron, Vince Lee, Catherine Essinger

A day of events focused on creating and improving Wikipedia pages related to women and feminism.

UH Libraries Data Management Plan Resources

The Data Management Planning Tool, or DMPTool, is a resource that will help in the creation of a funding agency-specific data management plan for grant proposals.

A data management plan is a document that describes what a researcher will do with his or her research data both during a research project and after the completion of a project. The DMPTool enables University of Houston researchers to easily create a formal data management plan that can be inserted into a grant application, generate documentation on data management procedures for a project, or help new researchers and graduate students to plan for critical points in the data lifecycle, such as data sharing, preservation, reuse, and transitions.

With DMPTool, researchers can:

• Create ready-to-use data management plans for specific funding agencies
• Meet funder requirements for data management plans
• Get step-by-step instructions and guidance for data management plans
• Walk through the steps necessary to create data management plans for several funders (NSF, NEH, NIH)

For more information on data management or the DMPTool, please contact Adam Townes.

New Business Librarian at UH Libraries

The University of Houston Libraries welcomes Orolando Duffus, the new business librarian in Liaison Services.

Please describe your role at UH Libraries and talk about some of your professional goals and/or research areas.

As the business librarian, I will liaise to five departments: economics, finance, accounting, information and logistic technology, and decision and information sciences. That includes information literacy instruction, helping to support data needs and develop the collection. I hope to be embedded in the classes as I continue to build relationships with faculty.

My research interests focus on mentorship of underrepresented students and understanding the information and research needs of international students. Regarding service to the profession, I’m currently on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 2017 National Conference Invited Papers Committee.

Please share a bit about your background and interests. How do these inspire and shape your approach as a librarian?

I’m from Jamaica and came to the US on a track and field scholarship. My early beginnings influenced my interest in library science. I had a different understanding of libraries in general. In Jamaica, libraries were seen as sacred and somewhat uninviting. Many high schools didn’t have libraries. Students didn’t know what databases were. I became interested in library science as a way of reaching those students. Inspiration came from my library internship as an undergrad. It opened my eyes to what libraries were, and I found that there is so much more to librarianship. Working in a library, you see a human side, and there are lots of opportunities for outreach.

Please describe your first impressions of the University of Houston.

When I began looking, people I knew spoke highly of the institution. Great things are happening here; colleagues are widely presenting and publishing. I wanted to be a part of a warm and collegial unit where I can contribute to the literature and to the profession. What appeals to me is the scholarship that has been ongoing here, as well as the opportunity to be mentored as I mentor others.

What is your favorite book/movie/cuisine/hobby?

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird
I learned a lot from reading this book in high school. We spent time discussing being brave and standing up in the face of injustice, and also knowing when to select your battle. Those are principles that can be applicable to many different areas. The book inspired an interest in reading.
Movie: Titanic
Cuisine: Jamaican jerk chicken with rice and peas with plantains
Hobbies: Soccer on Sundays; volleyball; track; road races