UH Libraries Announces Microgrant Winners

The University of Houston Libraries is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014-2015 Microgrant Program.

The program, now in its 6^th year, was created to foster new and innovative ideas in support of the Libraries’ Strategic Directions and the University’s Tier One Initiatives. Librarians and library staff submitted fresh, experimental concepts for novel services and programs which would benefit teaching, learning and research objectives of the UH community.

The UH Libraries Microgrant Program winners for 2014-2015 are:

Project title: Houston Art Libraries Collaboration
Chelby King (project lead), Chris Conway, Catherine Essinger, Donovan Parker

In conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Hirsch Library and The Menil Collection Library, the Architecture and Art Library will host an open house at each location for School of Art faculty, graduate students, and museum researchers. Attendees will be introduced to services, collections and primary resources unique to that library. Each open house will include a tour of the host facility, a meet-and-greet reception, and a booklet with summary information about each library for students.

This event series builds upon a partnership agreement signed by MFAH and UH in 2012 to encourage collaboration between arts researchers at both institutions. It aims to support research needs of graduate students; provide opportunities for collaboration, networking, and the generation of ideas; and strengthen institutional partnerships.

Project title: Research in the Real World Lecture Series
Donovan Parker (project lead), Chris Conway, Catherine Essinger, Chelby King

A series of lectures created for UH students in the School of Art will be held each semester. Lectures will consist of panel discussions with art and design professionals. Topics will include research methodology specific to art and design careers, and the information resources of which students should be aware. This project supports student success and strengthens institutional partnerships.

Project title: African American Read-In
Rachel Vacek (project lead), Julie Grob, Andrea Malone, Jesse Sharpe

Since 1989, the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English has sponsored the National African American Read-In. UH Libraries will host a Read-In for which students, staff and faculty can sign up to read self-selected book passages, articles, poetry, speeches, and other works written by African Americans. The Libraries will identify unique materials from Special Collections and the stacks to inspire those in search of reading material. This project supports the Libraries’ goals of providing innovative programming and pursuing transformative partnerships.

Project title: Bundt Cake for Charity
Rachel Vacek (project lead), Kelsey Brett, Lee Hilyer, Alex Simons

November 15th is both National Bundt Cake Day and National Philanthropy Day. The Libraries will host a bundt cake sale with proceeds going to a philanthropic organization. With each cake/slice sold, Bundt Cake for Charity aims to bring awareness of the Libraries’ services and programs to a wider audience.

UH Libraries Welcomes New Music Library Coordinator

As one of the University of Houston’s hidden gems, the Music Library serves students and faculty of the Moores School of Music. A new coordinator of the Music Library recently joined the team to lead programs, services, and collections in support of performing arts curricula and research, and to serve as liaison to Theatre and Dance.

Stephanie Lewin-Lane brings substantial experience in the performing arts to the role, and an enthusiasm for music that she seeks to impart to students.

“Music has always been a major part of my life,” the vocalist said. As a music scholar and performer, Lewin-Lane has an advanced repertoire of knowledge that spans renaissance to rockabilly. Her extensive performance résumé includes opera, jazz, and improvisational theater. She directed a madrigal group with the Bristol Renaissance Faire for 12 years and has formed several other performing groups. She also taught voice lessons, and was part of a rockabilly and hot jazz band in her hometown of Milwaukee, WI. She is as familiar with baroque music as she is with contemporary Hip-Hop.

Immersed in the world of performance, Lewin-Lane decided to augment her knowledge of performing arts by going back to school. She earned a Master of Library and Information Studies and a Master of Music in History and Literature.

Lewin-Lane’s research interests focus on ethnomusicology, specifically, women in rockabilly, American pop music of the 1920s to 1950s, Tin Pan Alley, the music of Shakespeare’s play, and music copyright and intellectual property. Her master’s thesis explored the influence of two performers, LaVern Baker, an R&B singer of the 50s and 60s, and Janis Martin, nicknamed the Female Elvis.

Lewin-Lane sees connections between pop and classical music, which she views as a “great gateway to help students feel comfortable with the idea of studying music in a scholarly way.” Finding those parallels between the two genres makes it more accessible.

Lewin-Lane recently taught a class on conducting research with theater resources. She looks forward to leading more workshops on information literacy specific to the performing arts, exploring topics such as avoiding plagiarism and writing a bibliography.

Her door is always open for students with questions. “What’s most exciting about being a librarian is working with people and helping them,” she said. She believes that students who build support structures by finding librarians and advisors who can mentor them will have the most successful academic careers.

She devotes time to being involved in the music and performing arts community, and wants to share that enthusiasm and appreciation with students. “The great thing about music is that it transcends so many things,” she said.

The Music Library is home to an excellent voice and opera collection. Students have access to a substantial score selection, CDs, DVDs, books and streaming music. Find more music resources online, and visit Stephanie Lewin-Lane at the Music Library on the second floor of the Moores School of Music building. Summer hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm.

Evolution of LGBTQI Literature on Display at UH Libraries

A new exhibit at the University of Houston Libraries underscores the evolving themes of LGBTQI literature from the late nineteenth century to present day.

LGBTQI Literature: Celebrated Classics and Contemporary Works features works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama from UH Libraries Special Collections that were written by, and are focused on, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex.

Exhibit selections are drawn from the Norma J. Lee Collection, the Edward Lukasek Gay Studies Collection, and the Library of Cynthia Macdonald.

VIDEO: Interview with Edward Lukasek on exhibit highlights.

“The books in this exhibit changed society and touched people’s lives,” said Julie Grob, coordinator of digital projects and instruction, and curator of the exhibit. “Many of them were groundbreaking, considered so shocking when first published that their authors or publishers were put on trial. Others played a role in expanding the new political and sexual freedoms of the seventies, and many express the diverse experiences of sexual preference, gender, race, ethnicity, and gender expression in contemporary society.”

Classic titles from the pre-Stonewall era include a second edition of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, and Orlando by Virginia Woolf. The 1970s gay liberation and women’s liberation movements are represented by works such as Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran and Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown. Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, and the poetry of Mark Doty and Thom Gunn, depict the AIDS crisis. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel represent modern voices in LGBTQI literature.

The exhibit runs from June 20 (to coincide with Houston Pride Week) through September 26, 2014 in the MD Anderson Library. For more information, contact Julie Grob, curator, at 713.743.9744.

UH Special Collections Archivists Selected for SSA Leadership Roles

Two archivists with the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections were appointed to leadership positions at the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) recent Annual Meeting.

University archivist Mary Manning was chosen as SSA president-elect for a three-year term. She currently serves as vice president and chair of the Annual Meeting Program Committee.

Hispanic Collections archivist Lisa Cruces was appointed as editor of the quarterly newsletter, The Southwestern Archivist. Cruces will also be chairing the Publications Committee, and collaborating with liaisons and archivists throughout the southwest to raise awareness of diversity initiatives, ongoing projects and archival collections.

SSA is a professional organization serving 530 archivists, special collections librarians, preservationists, conservators, and records managers in the member states of Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

“The organization has grown significantly in the past few years,” Manning said. “One of our major goals over the next few years is working to better serve underrepresented archivists and affiliated professionals.”

In Memoriam: Rosemary Summers McBride

Rosemary Summers McBride, a 1942 University of Houston alumna and supporter of UH Libraries Special Collections, passed away in April.

Her appreciation for her alma mater involved continuing interest and participation in university programs. In 2001, she created The Rosemary Summers McBride Endowment, to which she contributed generously.

Head of Special Collections Pat Bozeman says, “Rosemary McBride not only was monetarily generous to Special Collections, but she took exceptional interest in its goals and programs, befriending a number of the staff over the years. I considered her a close friend and miss her very much. Her indomitable spirit will always be with me.”

Innovation at UH Libraries: Microgrant Program

University of Houston librarians and library staff have a unique opportunity to make a big impact.

The UH Libraries Microgrant Program, open to all UH library staff and librarians, is designed to foster the creation of new and innovative ideas in support of the Libraries’ Strategic Directions and the University’s Tier One Initiatives.

Librarians and staff are encouraged to submit fresh, experimental ideas for new services, methods, initiatives and technology. The Microgrant Committee has streamlined the submissions process, and detailed resources for applicants, including an FAQ and how-to guide, are available on the Libraries Intranet.

Librarians and staff who are awarded microgrants have a direct, positive influence on the Libraries’ mission of providing a high-quality library experience for each user, and also realize a substantial benefit to professional growth.

Why UH Librarians and Library Staff Should Apply

• Thought leadership: Share your ideas on a broad scale. Funded projects can generate valuable data and insights, with the potential for presentations and publications that advance careers and the profession.

• Unleash your creative side: Your vision moves the UH Libraries forward by translating inspired concepts into tangible successes.

• Collaboration: Learn from your colleagues. Projects funded by the Microgrant Program cultivate inter-departmental engagement and promote knowledge-sharing.

The Microgrant Committee invites UH librarians and library staff to an Open Forum on Wednesday, June 4 at 11:00am in Room 10-F. Meet the committee members and find out more about how you can participate, and bring your questions and comments about the application and process.

New Library Discovery Interface Improves Search for UH Students, Faculty

Students and researchers at the University of Houston will soon have an enhanced online discovery experience.

UH Libraries is implementing a new and improved OneSearch, making it easier for users to find what they are looking for.

The new OneSearch, accessible from the Libraries’ home page, provides targeted results from a wide variety of sources, including databases, the Libraries’ catalog and the UH Digital Library. The improved OneSearch goes live on June 2.

OneSearch users will benefit from the following enhancements:

• Greater relevancy of results
• Easy filtering for full text only
• Clean and simple user interface
• The Recommender Service offers additional full text results related to your search
• Save Your Citations feature
• Export results to RefWorks

The Libraries’ OneSearch Implementation Team and the Resource Discovery Systems department will gather user feedback over the course of the summer to further enhance the discovery interface. Users who are interested in sharing feedback, taking part in focus groups or participating in usability testing may contact discovery systems librarian Kelsey Brett to be included.

UH Libraries Wins ‘Best of Show’ Award

The University of Houston Libraries was chosen as a winner of the Best of Show Awards Competition at PR Xchange, for its video titled University of Houston Libraries.

The Best of Show Awards Competition is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) Library Leadership Administration and Management Association – Public Relations and Marketing Section, and is overseen by the PR XChange Committee.

The annual Best of Show Awards Competition at PR Xchange recognizes top public relations materials produced by libraries. Winners are selected for content, originality and design by a team of public relations, graphic design, communications and marketing professionals.

The UH Libraries winning entry in the Advocacy – Electronic cateogory was created as a strategic centerpiece for the redesigned Libraries employment web page. The video includes dean Dana Rooks and librarians discussing the Libraries’ high-performing organizational culture, and showcases its services and features designed to support the academic and research needs of UH students, faculty and staff and the scholarly community.

The video was produced as a collaborative effort by librarians and staff, and was coordinated by the Libraries Office of Communications.

The UH Libraries will be recognized at the Best of Show Ceremony at the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas next month.

UH Libraries’ Dean Rooks Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Dana Rooks, dean of Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair, was presented with the Texas Library Association Lifetime Achievement Award at the 101^st TLA Annual Conference last month.

The award recognized Dean Rooks’ distinguished career, noted for her excellence in librarianship and outstanding contributions to the profession. She is known amongst her colleagues as a committed leader and mentor.

Her career began in 1970 at the University of Oklahoma Libraries. After four years, she moved to the University of Missouri – St. Louis Libraries. Rooks then joined the University of Houston in 1980 as the Business and Economics Librarian. She was named Dean in 1997.

Dean Rooks has held several national leadership roles, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). She is an active member of the American Library Association (ALA), having served on the Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).  She also served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), and as Vice-Chair of the Board of AMIGOS Library Services.

Dean Rooks founded and served as president of the Texas Council of Academic Libraries, and is one of the founders of TexShare, providing leadership in the creation and development of the innovative model for statewide library resource sharing. She has served as president of the Texas Library Association, and currently serves as Chair of the Texas Digital Library Governing Board Executive Committee.

Dean Rooks is the recipient of the 2009 TLA Distinguished Service Award and the 1997 Librarian of the Year Award. She is a prolific author and expert in the areas of administration and organizational development, the application of library technology, and library fundraising.

Her achievements in fundraising have had an impact on the academic careers of countless students and scholars. She completed a $20 million campaign for a Library building addition, secured significant support for collection endowments, three endowed chairs, and numerous endowments for program support, including staff recognition and library excellence

Hispanic Collections Archivist Awarded Scholarship to RBMS Preconference

Lisa Cruces, Hispanic Collections archivist at the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections, has been awarded a scholarship to attend the 55th Annual Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) preconference, “Retrofit: Exploring Space, Place and the Artifact in Special Collections.”

This highly competitive scholarship has been offered to first-time RBMS preconference attendees since 2000. It is intended to promote attendance and participation by students, qualified paraprofessionals, early career librarians and librarians with limited professional development support; to introduce attendees to RBMS and ACRL; and to foster diversity in RBMS and the profession.

Cruces recently joined UH Libraries in the newly-created role of Hispanic Collections archivist to document the influence of Hispanic history and culture in Houston.

“I’m very thankful and thrilled to be the recipient of this financial award,” said Cruces. “Along with being eager to attend my first RBMS pre-conference, I’m especially drawn to this year’s metaphorical themes of space, place, and the artifact. I will strive to bring back knowledge and strategies for expanding our services to undergraduates and graduate students in archival research and engaging Hispanic members of the community in the representation of Houston history. Also as a new member of the archives profession recently arrived at a new institution, I’m excited to learn more from my peers across the country and share the great collections and projects happening at UH.”