Duggan Library Blog

Life on the Mississippi

Doug — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:28:10 +0000

Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi is a memoir that chronicles his life as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the Civil War. The Rivers Institute just purchased a fine copy. It is a first London edition in the original red cloth. It was published by Chatto & Windus in 1883 and precedes the American edition of the same year. Portions of the publication first appeared in Old Times on the Mississippi in 1876. You are welcome to come and take a look at it in the Archives.

Have you heard?

Ken — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:28:25 +0000

Just out is the 2009 Word of the Year. If you are “connected” you probably already know this. But, just in case, the WOTY is “unfriend” beating out the likes of hashtag, sexting, and paywall, among others. See this CNN story for more details.

Unfriend joins previous winners such as chad, metrosexual, Y2K and bailout. Do you remember the years? If not, you can refresh your memory at the American Dialect Society web site.

Maybe the prospect of being “unfriended” is the real reason I don’t have a personal social networking account. Then again, as Tennyson wrote:

‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Tennyson, from the Gutenberg Project

Ken

The Navigator

Doug — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:15:30 +0000

The Rivers Institute at Hanover College, in celebration of the bicentennial of the first successful steamboat to navigate the Ohio River, has purchased a rare copy of The Navigator.
The 1811 edition of Cramer’s The Navigator, gives an early account of the Lewis and Clark expedition and contacts twenty-seven woodcut charts of American inland waterways. The book also holds directions for navigating the Monongahela, Allegheny, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and includes descriptions of river towns, villages, harbors and settlements.
2011 marks the bicentennial of an event that changed the course of history in North America and the world. The Steamboat The New Orleans travelled down the Ohio River from Pittsburg encountering along the way the Great Comet of 1811, the greatest earthquake ever recorded in the continental United States and even a vast squirrel migration. Coming upon the Falls of the Ohio, The New Orleans was forced to turn around and go back up river, proving that it could be done and helping to bring North America into the Industrial Revolution.

Promoting Critical Thinking

Ken — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:48:42 +0000

There have been several recurring suggestions for the library of late - two of which are “more bean bag chairs” and “more group study rooms, please”. Well, we couldn’t agree more.

As an example of making lemonade [reconstruction] when presented with lemons [water damage], we have turned previous offices on the second floor into three new group spaces; one traditional group study room with tables/chairs & portable white board, and two non-traditional spaces that we are calling “think tanks”.

The two think tanks are located behind the new glass-enclosed group study room at the top of the center stairs on the second floor. These are sparsely furnished with only a small table and bean bag chairs (six in the larger room and five in the smaller space) . The idea was to create a relaxing and uncluttered space where library users could be encouraged to think (which sometimes is a different process than studying).

In addition, over the Christmas break, we will have a section of one wall in each of think tanks applied with whiteboard paint so that fleeting thoughts can be captured, perhaps Einstein-like, as needed.

As with all group spaces, these are available on a first-come basis with priority given to groups of three or more. We do ask that you leave the burgundy-colored bean bags in the think tanks though the blue bean bag chairs can continue to be moved about the library as you desire.

Whether you use the rooms for group study, committee meetings, discussion, meditation, or brainstorming, we trust you will enjoy the new “think tanks” and hope you will let us know what you think!

Ken

Do you suffer from samhainophobia?

Kelly — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:52:35 +0000

If so, this time of year must make you really nervous! Samhain (sometimes called Samain) was an ancient Pagan festival, where giant fires were built to frighten away the dead walked the Earth on that night. Over time, the ritual migrated into prayers for those who died “unpure” and eventually was called Halligan in England; the night before it was All Hallow’s Eve.

Maybe you suffer from aelurophobia (fear of cats) or spectrophobia (fear of ghosts), coimetrophobia (fear of cemeteries) or, if you’re a vampire, phenogophobia (fear of daylight).

We all have our fears and Halloween is the perfect (or worst, depending on whether you enjoy being scared) time of year to get spooked.

Me? Aerophobia, algophobia, apiphobia… (and that’s just the A’s) Wonder what I’m afraid of? You’ll have to come over to look them up, unless, of course you have sophophobia (fear of learning).

Source: Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears and Anxieties (Refc RC 535 D63 1989)

- Kelly

Two point (Oh?)

Ken — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:58:50 +0000

In March 2008 we (the Duggan Library) did an exhaustive user survey (we do this every four to five years). There were 166 student respondents and several questions focused on web 2.0 technologies and applications. For example, 56% replied that they read/had read a blog but only 8% had subscribed to an RSS feed. When asked awareness about the Duggan Library blog, only 15% knew that we provided one. In part, because of such disparities, the library has embedded our blog in our web site, LibGuides, and (now) Facebook presence to ensure maximum exposure. Hopefully, readership has increased, and no matter where/how you encounter our blog we trust you find it informative.

In addition, since that survey, the library has added more instructional screencasts (on-demand instruction in real your time), a downloadable library toolbar, (reference) chat, Twitter and Facebook accounts, federated search portal (Metalib) and electronic pathfinders (LibGuides). While we are glad for those who avail themselves of these “2.0″ offerings to enhance their academic experience we always find ourselves wishing for greater participation - and not just because we think these tools/information are useful. Another reason to consider, for example, subscribing to the library’s blog via an RSS feed (so that the content is pushed to you) is that such utilization helps prepare you for life after Hanover, whether that be grad school or directly into the workforce.

Establishing good practices now with using collaborative technologies (next up Google Wave ?) will likely make your next transition easier. Learning how to appropriately and professionally interact in an online environment is a major part of just about any chosen field so why not get in the habit and “experiment” on us?

Ken

Open Access Week

heather — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:28:30 +0000

This week is the first International Open Access Week. As the organizers say, “Open Access Week is an opportunity to broaden awareness and understanding of Open Access to research, including access policies from all types of research funders, within the international higher education community and the general public. The now-annual event has been expanded from a single day to accommodate widespread global interest in the movement toward open, public access to scholarly research results.”

While the traditional model of production and dissemination of scholarly and expert research is going strong (we need only witness the continuing, increasing costs of our subscription scholarly journals and research databases), the Open Access movement is gaining stride to remove many of the cost barriers to access to research literature. You can read more about Open Access and Open Access Week here.

The Duggan Library uses and provides access to several Open Access resources, and many more can be found by searching “open access journals.” Here are just a few to get you started.

DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
Includes over 4000 scientific and scholarly journals

Free Medical Journals

Highwire Press
A division of the Standford University Libraries, enabling free access to peer-reviewed journals

Making speeding legal

Ken — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:58:55 +0000

I don’t know if you caught this or not but Finland recently declared broadband access to the Internet a legal right (low affordability though not compulsory). Come again? According to the Communications Minister it is part of Finland’s effort to develop an information society. “We decided that broadband connections are no longer this kind of luxury product and just for entertainment.”

Meanwhile I am coping with dial-up connection because where I live apparently isn’t strategically located for high speed access unless I am willing to commit for two years at (information super-) highway robbery prices. To put that in context, am I willing to pay every month three times what I pay for water, sewage, and trash pickup? At the moment my answer is clearly “no” though as I wait for pictures of my new granddaughter to download (videos? fuhgeddaboutit) I start to question my priorities (maybe I should consider waste management or maybe I’ve just been watching too many Soprano reruns).

On a somewhat related note we now have a month dedicated to promoting information literacy . At least all of this recent movement is a start to governments recognizing responsibilities that come with this information superhighway (thanks Al, really). And, while some speak of the demise of libraries in the near future, I believe libraries will continue to play a vital role in connecting people to each other and to the information they seek long after I retire.

Now, coming full circle, should the U.S. consider following Finland and make 75 mph the legal limit on said highway or should we be content with the right to remain silent?

Ken

Not special, just different

Ken — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:44:08 +0000

As we have entered into a another academic year with new services and resources, a revamped look to the first two floors, an emphasis on marketing and publicizing, and making the very best use of funds, the thought occurred to me that while I think the library is indispensable nevertheless there may be some who might ask, “what’s so special about the library?”

My first response might be “we are not special, just different”. Of course, I could also quickly point to our mission and overwhelm you with lots of examples in defense of that mission but I think considering the (valid) question from a broader perspective is worth exploring. Here are a few items, in sum, that I believe substantiate this idea of being different (different not being better or worse, just different).

Sure it is a dedicated building but is the library for research or simply a quiet place to study? The library (as a physical entity) is rightly, I believe, a place for each activity, though to find a happy medium in this tension with respect to open hours will always be a personal one. There would be a few users who would live in the library were it open 24 hours (not physically healthy I would suspect) while there are some users who never darken the doorway (not intellectually healthy I would caution). In any case we continue to provide weekend and evening (with reference assistance) hours for however you need to use the facility.

Are librarians staff or faculty? Again, the answer is both. As terminally-degreed (M.L.S.) professionals we are administrative appointees (12 month contracts) at the College, but with faculty status. This means, among other things, we are active on campus in committees, participate in faculty meetings, and teach (not only providing curricular support via library instruction sessions but also from time-to-time have been involved with teaching for-credit courses). Though ours are not tenure track positions we can apply for administrative leaves (a sabbatical if you will), receive Faculty Development Grants, and attend/participate in professional conferences with the College’s support. On the other hand we provide statistics, administer budgets, do evaluation, manage student workers, maintain a web presence, order materials, and other jobs (yes, even paper pushing) typically defined as administrative.

So, is the library an administrative or academic unit? In a sense, we are a combination. The library is an administrative department [as evidenced by policies and procedures ] under the umbrella of Academic Affairs, serving equally all academic departments. We provide academic support to students and collaborate with faculty. Concomitantly, we rely on other campus departments, like IT, Physical Plant, and the Business Office, et al, to provide that support properly. However the library is categorized, without productive partnerships we simply could not meet user needs at the level you expect and that we hope we provide.

Additionally, though our primary purpose is serving existing students, we are also available to the community (for example, many local school children have enjoyed campus visits arranged through the Archives) as well as involved professionally at the state level through our consortial participation with PALNI (library system including PantherCAT) and ALI (many online databases). Are these academic or administrative responsibilities? Staff or faculty tasks? Ownership or access modes? Are such demarcations important? If so, when and why?

After giving this some thought, I guess I have reached the conclusion that the library is the educational equivalent of the hybrid car; shifting between dual functions for maximum efficiency, no matter the landscape. Although I don’t believe we are special (for that implies a notion of greater importance) I can say that we are a bit different. While such seeming ambiguity might challenge assumptions and expectations of some, I think recognizing the library’s distinctiveness is a key to successfully fulfilling our mission as we strive to reflect the very best that Hanover College has to offer.

Ken

Paper Cuts

Doug — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:26:33 +0000

According to this morning’s Louisville Courier-Journal, students see lots of flaws in using Kindle to replace textbooks. Amazon.com gave out Kindles to more than 200 college students at several different campuses. Among the biggest complaints was a small keyboard under a 9.7-inch screen that made typing notes difficult during class. This may be the wave of the future, but Amazon.com still has a lot of work to do.