UH Libraries 2017 Staff Awards

The University of Houston Libraries recognized its top-performing librarians and staff at an awards reception on March 29 at the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion. Dean Lisa German addressed the gathering with a message of appreciation for excellence in service, innovation and dedication shown by the Libraries’ exceptional group of professionals.

The Dean’s Library Advocate Award was presented to Augustina H. Reyes, professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, UH College of Education. This award recognizes a University of Houston employee who has worked closely with the Libraries during the past year, and who has made a significant contribution to the success of the Libraries.

The Outstanding Group Award recognizes a team that has made a meaningful contribution to the Libraries’ success. Dolores Carmona, Mildred Clark, Crystal Cooper, Melody Condron, Diana Dulek, Albert Duran, Dee Dee Edwards, Manny Gil, Jack Hall, Drew Krewer, Allison Lam, Xiping Liu, Renee Fiorini-McManus, Jyoti Vyas, Anne Washington, Annie Wu, Andy Weidner, and Christin Zepeda of Metadata and Digitization Services (MDS) received this award, demonstrating a commitment to innovation by leading projects like the adoption of the RDA in the Libraries’ catalog, the administration of the UH Digital Library, and the development of a new, open-source digital asset management system (DAMS).

The DAMS Implementation team, Annie Wu, Santi Thompson, Andy Weidner, Sean Watkins, Bethany Scott, Drew Krewer, Anne Washington, and Matt Richardson, received the Trailblazer Award for Leading Organization Change. Receiving their project from the evaluation work done by the DAMS Task Force, the group has designed and developed a new data model and ecosystem of software tools, creating an end-to-end digital preservation and access workflow for the Libraries’ digital collections.

The John P. McGovern Rookie of the Year Award winner is Emily Vinson, who, in a short time frame, has made significant contributions to improving conditions for the Libraries’ fragile, unique, and at-risk audiovisual collections while building strong relationships with colleagues and encouraging them to get involved in the community.

The Student Achievement Award recipients are Ty Nguyen (Music Library) and Romaen Saleh (MDS), both demonstrating superior performance and accomplishments. The McGovern Outstanding Student Award went to Tola Oyeleke (Architecture and Art Library), who has demonstrated responsibility, autonomy, and attention to detail in her work.

Christin Zepeda was honored with the Staff Achievement Award for her exemplary job performance in MDS and for demonstrating important Libraries values. Free Lane, known as an admirable and inspirational colleague, also received the Staff Achievement Award. The McGovern Outstanding Staff Award recipient is J Fisher, who goes above and beyond to provide a quick response to a request, creative solutions, and overall excellent customer service.

The Librarian Achievement Award recipients are Drew Krewer, who has displayed superior performance, substantial contributions to research and scholarship in the profession, an excellent leadership; and Stephanie Lewin-Lane, who has been recognized for advancing the Music Library’s efficiency, service orientation, and integration with the academic departments it supports. Andy Weidner received the McGovern Outstanding Librarian Award for providing outstanding leadership and significant contributions for the success of professional organizations, development of the DAMS Implementation project, and contributions to scholarship and research in the digital library field.

Microgrant recipients were also recognized at the event. The 2016-2017 teams included Cougar Cub Day, Fair Use Week 2017, Crafty Coogs, Free Tax Preparation, More User-Friendly Distance Education Interlibrary Loan, and Houston + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon.

The 2017 Staff Awards committee members are Bethany Scott (chair), Orolando Duffus (vice chair), Mark Cooper, Lindsay Cronk, Diana Dulek, Matthew Moore, Daniel Pshock, Mary Rico, Emily Vinson, and Anne Washington.

View photos from the 2017 Libraries Staff Awards.

Culture Remix: Illegal Art, Copyright, and the Music Industry

The University of Houston Libraries Copyright Team will host a free event that aims to shed light on controversies related to fair use.

The event, Culture Remix: Illegal Art, Copyright, and the Music Industry, will include a viewing of the documentary Freedom of Expression: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property, and a conversation about the experience of Houston experimental 80s band Culturcide. Q and A will follow.

Speakers include Dan Workman of Houston’s Sugarhill Recording Studios, and former member of Houston-based experimental punk band Culturcide; Michael A. Olivas, William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law, UH Law Center and interim president of UH-Downtown; and Justen S. Barks, Alonso PLLC, adjunct professor of entertainment law, UH Law Center.

Snacks will be provided.

What: Culture Remix: Illegal Art, Copyright, and the Music Industry
When: Monday, April 10, 12 noon – 2:00 p.m.
Where: Student Center Space City Room

Project Explores Interlibrary Loan of 3-D Objects

Nora Dethloff, assistant head of Information and Access Services at the University of Houston Libraries, is a co-investigator on a Texas Tech University Libraries project team that is reimagining resource sharing.

The project, Sharing and Helping Academics Prepare for Educational Success (SHAPES), is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. As users’ demands for new types of resources increase, librarians from Texas Tech and UH are working to fulfill the need for sharing of 3-D objects by creating a database of plans that can be rendered through a networked printing service.

Video: Texas Tech librarians discuss an interlibrary loan program for 3-D objects.

“We’re envisioning the program as the interlibrary loan of three-dimensional objects,” Dethloff said. “For instance, someone at Texas Tech could discover a plan that was created here at UH for a replica of a human retina, and they could then request to have that object created on a 3-D printer at Tech through a transmittal of the plan.”

The new service can also provide a means of “loaning” unique or rare items that are currently only available in-person. Through shared plans and replication, students of one institution would be able to see, touch, and interact with an exact replica of a rare item held at another.

Learn how a Texas Tech education professor is using 3-D models in the classroom.

The project team is building the repository and testing the mechanism that will transmit data in order for patrons from either institution to discover available 3-D object plans, which heretofore were limited to those with access to an engineering lab or high-end software for 3-D object modeling.

New Exhibit: Barthelme’s Snow White Between the Covers

A new exhibit featuring the works of literary luminary and former UH Creative Writing Program professor Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) will open at the University of Houston Libraries on April 1.

Barthelme’s Snow White Between the Covers celebrates the Catastrophic Theatre April 7 world premiere of Snow White, a theatrical adaptation of Barthelme’s 1967 novel, a satiric collage based on the story of Snow White. Curated by Julie Grob of UH Special Collections, the exhibit follows Snow White from typescript to translation as it appears in different forms over the years.

Special Collections is proud to be the future home for Catastrophic Theatre records.

Grob will participate in a panel discussion at Catastrophic Theatre’s Snow White kick-off party on Sunday, March 26 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Grand Prize Bar.

UH Libraries is a proud partner of the Catastrophic Theatre production of Snow White.

New Exhibit: Russian Propaganda Art, 1917-1930

As part of Enchanting World: Centennial of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the University of Houston Libraries will house a public exhibit of Soviet and anti-Soviet propaganda posters from the revolution and early years of the Soviet Union. The exhibit consists of 33 posters (reproductions) selected from the Poster Collection housed at the Hoover Institution Archive at Stanford University.

Curated by UH students, the exhibit opens Thursday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. on the third floor of the MD Anderson Library, with a gallery talk by Katya Kudryavtseva, PhD, a Stetson University professor of art history and specialist on Russia. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be open through July 31.

Enchanting World is a series of public events in 2017, including musical concerts, theatrical performances, visual arts exhibitions, public lectures, and symposia related to the centennial of the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Electronics Kits Now Available

Electronics kits are now available for checkout at the MD Anderson Library Learning Commons.

Ten each of the following are available for a one-week checkout:

• Arduino Base and Supply Kits
• Raspberry Pi 2 Kits
• TI LaunchPad (MSP430 version)

Arduinos are intended for beginners, with a focus on hands-on circuit/electronics making along with some programming. Raspberry Pi computers share characteristics with the Arduinos, and are focused on programming. TI LaunchPads, used in many of UH Electronic and Computer Engineering courses, are best for intermediate/advanced users.

In addition to the kits, three sets of testing and measurement equipment are available, including an oscilloscope, power supply and multimeter, in the Learning Commons for testing of projects and designs.

Accessories, including sensors and motors for the kits, additional starter kits, and dedicated space within the Learning Commons for “maker” activities will be added through the remainder of the semester and into the summer.

Learn more with the makerspace research guide.

Cronk Recognized as Library Journal ‘Mover & Shaker’

Lindsay Cronk, collections and online resources coordinator at the University of Houston Libraries, has been named a 2017 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal.

Cronk is one of 52 outstanding professionals in the library field who were recognized for their innovative work in shaping the future of libraries.

Spring 2017 Newsletter Now Available

The University of Houston Libraries spring 2017 newsletter is now available online.

Inside: UH Special Collections, New Digital Collections, and Librarian News.

Library Assessment Conference 2018 to Convene in Houston, Texas

The following is a news release from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).

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The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the University of Washington (UW) Libraries announce the next Library Assessment Conference will be held in Houston, Texas, in the fall of 2018. The University of Houston (UH) Libraries and Texas A&M University Libraries will serve as hosts for the event, working with the conference sponsors on local arrangements and meeting planning.

Since 2006, the Library Assessment Conference has convened every two years. The conference goal is to build and support the wide-reaching community of library assessment practitioners and researchers who have responsibility or interest in this broad field. The multi-day event is a mix of invited speakers, workshops, and contributed papers and posters that stimulate discussion and provide feasible ideas for effective, practical, and sustainable library assessment. Previous conferences have been held in Charlottesville, Virginia (2006, 2012); Seattle, Washington (2008, 2014); Baltimore, Maryland (2010); and Arlington, Virginia (2016).

Planning for the 2018 conference will begin immediately and details about the event will be posted on the Library Assessment Conference website. The exact dates of the conference will be announced this spring.

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About the Association of Research Libraries

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.

About the University of Washington Libraries

The University of Washington (UW) Libraries, located in Seattle, is the largest library in the Pacific Northwest. The UW Libraries is well-known for its innovative programs and services in assessment, organizational development, user spaces, and institutional collaboration. Its print and digital collections support world-class research and scholarship in such areas as health sciences, environmental sciences, area and language studies, and the Pacific Northwest. UW Libraries is on the web at http://www.lib.washington.edu/.

About the University of Houston Libraries

The University of Houston Libraries advances student success, knowledge creation and preservation, and globally competitive research. UH Libraries comprises the MD Anderson Library, the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, the Weston A. Pettey Optometry Library, and the Music Library, providing high-impact collections, spaces, and tools that spark opportunities for transformational learning, discovery, and scholarship.

About the Texas A&M University Libraries

The Texas A&M University Libraries, located in College Station, serve 67,000 students, 3,700 instructional faculty, and 19 colleges and schools. The Libraries are driven by: information literacy programs to support University strategic missions, digitization and conservation efforts to protect collections, scholarly communications programs to enhance scholarly visibility, open access projects to reduce student costs, and re-imagining of library spaces to invite collaboration.

March 2017 Technology Training

Free workshops in Access 2013, Adobe Acrobat Pro XI, EndNote X7, Excel 2013, HTML and CSS, Photoshop CS6, Project 2010, SPSS, and Word 2013 are being held in March.

The Technology Training program at UH Libraries offers technology courses to current UH students, faculty and staff. View the full calendar and reserve your seat.