Library News – Page 55

Have a Taste for the Exotic? Check out Special Collections Exhibit about Asian Food

To celebrate the upcoming Asian Pacfic Heritage Month, Special Collections has collaborated with the Asian American Coalition (AAC) to create a display of cookbooks from the Szathmary Collection.

The exhibition showcases ten Asian countries: Malaysia, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Japan, Korean, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia, and China. AAC members added their own personal momentos and souvenirs to the exhibition, as well as artifacts from the Thompson Travel and Ethnic Art Artifacts.

Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook by Mark Robinson.
East Meets West Cuisine: An American Chef Redefines the Foodstyles of Two Cultures by Ken Hom (China).
Discovering Korean Cuisine: Recipes from the Best Korean Restaurants in Los Angeles, Allisa Park editor.
Simple Laotian Cooking by Penn Hongthong.
Indonesian Regional Cooking by Sri Owen.
Filipino Cuisine: Recipes from the Islands by Gerry G. Gelle.
Cracking the Coconut: Classic Thai Home Cooking by Su-mei Yu.
The Best of Nicole Routhier (Vietnam)
Cook Malaysian by Lee Sook Ching.
Indian Home Cooking: A Fresh Introduction to Indian food, with more than 200 recipes by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness.

Asian American Coalition (AAC) is an umbrella organization which is dedicated in building a stronger Asian American community both on and off campus. Asian Pacific Heritage Month (APAH) located in April, is a month-long event promoting and celebrating Asian awareness and culture.

Acknowledgements
Exhibition Planning: Lilly Chen and the Asian American Coalition
Installation: Lilly Chen, Chiaki Sakai, Greg Prickman and the Asian American Coalition
Special Thanks: Greg Prickman, Kathy Hodson and the Special Collections.

Did You Know? You Can Get FREE newspaper articles.

Did you know that you shouldn’t PAY for newspaper and magazine articles that you find on the Web?

The next time you’re asked for your credit card while doing your research online, check the UI Libraries’ resources first.

Our Resources by Type – News and Newspapers will link you to a wide range or current and historical newspapers. E-journals can link you to electronic coverage for your title.

If we don’t have the article in print or electronically, you can get it free through our Interlibrary Loan service.

Celebrate Women’s History Month: March 10

The Herstory Subcommittee of the Council on the Status of Women & the Iowa Women’s Archives present

A Women’s History Month Reception
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Program begins at 5:15, refreshments served.

Join us in celebration with guest speaker(s) Prof. Linda Kerber and Prof. Leslie Schwalm in the Iowa Women’s Archives (3rd floor, UI Main Library).

Transitions: scholarly communication news for the UI Community – March 2009

March 2009
Issue 1.09

Welcome to the Spring issue of Transitions.

The purpose of this irregular electronic newsletter is to bring to readers’ attention some of the many new projects and developments affecting the current system of scholarly communication, with emphasis on new products and programs, the open access movement and other alternative publishing models. Scholarly communication refers to the full range of formal and informal means by which scholars and researchers communicate, from email discussion lists to peer-reviewed publication. In general authors are seeking to document and share new discoveries with their colleagues, while readers–researchers, students, librarians and others–want access to all the literature relevant to their work.

While the system of scholarly communication exists for the benefit of the world’s research and educational community and the public at large, it faces a multitude of challenges and is undergoing rapid change brought on by technology. To help interested members of the UI community keep up on these challenges and changes we plan to put out 4 issues per year of this newsletter. Please visit our web site, Transforming Scholarly Communication, to find out more about this topic.

This newsletter aims to reflect the interests of its readers so please forward comments, suggestions and entries to include to karen-fischer@uiowa.edu.

Table of Contents:

Google Books Settlement – updates

Publish in Wikipedia or Perish

Long-term Open Access Journal Ends Free Access

Study Suggests Library Dollars Spent Corrolate with Grant Income

Misunderestimating Open Science

Institutional Repositories: Thinking Beyond the Box

MacArthur Foundation Adopts a Research Access Policy

Negotiating a Creative Commons License

Framing the Open Access Debate

How the Media Frames “Open Access”

Publishing an E-journal on a Shoestring: Sustaining a low-buget OA journal

University Presses Find Strategies to Survive Economic Crisis

New Open Access Search Tool for Economics

An Open Access Resource for Women’s Health

Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab

Kraft Earns Midwest Archives Conference Presidents’ Award

Nancy E. Kraft, Head of Preservation at the UI Libraries has been selected as a 2009 recipient of the Presidents’ Award presented by the Midwest Archives Conference.

Nancy has advocated for the preservation and proper management of Iowa’s cultural treasures throughout her career. She is a leader in the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium and has been personally involved in the development of a successful statewide preservation training program through the Consortium. Those efforts alone would make her eligible for the Presidents’ Award but she is nominated for her extraordinary work following the historic levels of flooding that struck Iowa in the summer of 2008.

Last June when all UI employees were officially asked not to report to work, Nancy assisted repositories and archives in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. She worked late into the night during that time, even though she was under no obligation to do so. She continued performing this service for other repositories at various times on nights and weekends for the balance of the summer and into early fall.

“I simply could not have survived the flood without Nancy’s assistance,” said Susan Kuecker, curator of the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa. “Even though Nancy was off of work the week of June 16, she and I were constantly in touch. I had an e-mail from her on Sunday evening, June 15, offering assistance. I called her at 7 a.m. on June 16 and arranged to have a meeting with her and our director at 8 a.m.”

The Presidents’ award, established in 1986, recognizes significant contributions to the archival profession by individuals, institutions and organizations not directly involved in archival work but knowledgeable about its purpose and value. Recipients are chosen by a committee comprising the three most recent past presidents of MAC from nominations submitted by committees in each of the 13 states in the MAC region.

“Nancy’s tireless efforts following last June’s devastating floods alone merit this recognition,” said David McCartney, University Archivist and one of the nominators. “In addition, her lifelong commitment to assisting our profession is deeply appreciated. We thank her for all she has done for us in preserving and strengthening our collections.”

Gerritsen Collection of Women’s History online records added to InfoHawk

The Gerritsen Collection was begun by Aletta Jacobs Gerritsen in the late 1800s. The online resource delivers two million page images exactly as they appeared in the original printed works. It includes monographs, periodicals and pamphlets in fifteen languages, and is searchable by keyword and Boolean operators.

Nearly 4500 records were added to InfoHawk and Smart Search. When you search a particular topic in the library catalog, you may find pages from the Gerritsen online collection.

A Medical Look at the Lincoln Assassination

The next History of Medicine Society presentation will feature Dr. Blaine Houmes, Cedar Rapids Emergency Medicine Physician, who will speak on “Medical Aspects of the Lincoln Assassination.”

Dr. Houmes is known for his extensive knowledge of Abraham Lincoln and is an avid collector of Lincoln literature and artifacts. As an emergency medical physician he has a special interest in the medical events relating to Lincoln’s assassination. Dr. Houmes’ collection features prominently in the exhibit now on display at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch: “Abraham Lincoln: Three Collectors’ Perspectives”

Date:               Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Time:              5:30 – 6:30 pm
Location:        Room 2032, Main Library
As always, light refreshments will be served

Driving Directions
Parking Information
Accessibility Information

Because the presentation will take place in the Main Library, you’ll also be able to take advantage of the related exhibit currently on display in the North Lobby: “Lincoln’s Legacy in Iowa; a Bicentennial Celebration.”

Of special interest also is the University of Iowa Libraries’ new web site, Abraham Lincoln Digital Collection which showcases the University of Iowa Special Collections’ holdings of books, letters, pamphlets, and memorabilia that explore the life and legacy of Lincoln.

Kraft to Serve as State Disaster Preparedness Planning Co-Director

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02) announced the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences awarded a grant of $40,000 to develop a statewide disaster preparedness and response plan for Iowa.

“Iowa is home to many unique cultural and historical treasures,” said Congressman Loebsack. “I am pleased to announce funding that will establish an action plan that will work to save and protect artifacts in the event of another natural disaster, like the Floods of 2008.”

The grant funding will be used by the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium in partnership with the State Historical Society of Iowa, the Iowa Museum Association, and the State Library of Iowa to marshal resources to act as first responders for cultural entities in the event of disaster. Nancy E. Kraft, University of Iowa Libraries Preservation Librarian, and Jerome Thompson, State Curator at the State Historical Society of Iowa, will serve as co-project directors.

“We learned during the Floods of 2008 that a rapid response can save a significant portion of a collection. This grant will help us put a plan in place so cultural institutions anywhere in Iowa can get prompt assistance during a disaster,” stated Nancy E. Kraft.

Specifically, the grant will fund surveys of institutional preparedness, knowledge of resources, geo-referencing location of cultural repositories, raising awareness of the need for disaster response plans, developing a strategy for establishing first responders, and developing applicable disaster response planning tools. This will ensure that in the event of an emergency situation, Iowa’s cultural entities are able to quickly respond and provide safe conditions for collections.

Birth of Primetime TV was at the Univ of Iowa’s W9XK

The switch to digital telecasts is on, and to mark the occasion the Iowa Digital Library has released a new online collection celebrating the birth of American prime-time TV more than 75 years ago.

This “birth” didn’t happen in a laboratory at AT&T, General Electric or RCA, however. Instead, regularly scheduled TV programs were launched on the University of Iowa campus, in a building at the corner of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Street in Iowa City.

W9XK, as the experimental TV station was known, went on the air in 1933. For six years the station presented a two-nights-per-week schedule of “sight and sound” lectures, musical performances, and drama. A small but loyal audience using special receivers viewed the telecasts from as far away as Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

Television was in its infancy in the 1930’s when the U.S. government licensed about 30 such experimental stations around the country, mostly in large cities. What set W9XK apart from the others was its pioneering schedule of programs, according to university archivist David McCartney.

“While other stations were airing test signals to prove the viability of certain types of transmission systems under development, W9XK went one step further and offered programs on a regular basis,” he said. “It was not only a technical effort of the College of Engineering but faculty from the School of Music, the Department of Speech and Theatre Arts, and other areas of campus also collaborated.”

The online collection is at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/w9xk. It features photographs, correspondence, and newspaper clippings from the University of Iowa Archives.

Did You Know? You don’t have to pay for newspaper and magazine articles.

Did you know that you shouldn’t PAY for newspaper and magazine articles that you find on the Web? The next time you’re asked for your credit card while doing your research online, check the UI Libraries’ resources first. Check e-journals to find electronic coverage for your title. If we don’t have the article in print or electronically, you can get it free through our Interlibrary Loan service.