Ball State University Libraries' News

Libraries Provide Valuable Benefits to Students, Faculty

2008-07-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

The Libraries’ vision is to provide services that support student pursuits for academic success and faculty endeavors for knowledge creation and classroom instruction. Simply stated, we promise to be a destination for research, learning, and friends.

During the week of July 7, we asked students and faculty visiting the University Libraries what they valued most. Student responses were supportive of our destination concept by saying that the libraries are the place to go for them to get work done.

“I come here every day when I’m researching, so I’ll stay from two to four hours per day,” said Carissa Buchholz, a junior studying natural resources and environmental management. “I value the fourth floor because it is a quiet zone, and I can come here to focus and work.”

Faculty member Michael Brown, an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, agrees. “I can come to the fourth floor and get work done with no distractions,” he said.

For some people, Bracken Library’s meeting and study rooms are an important attribute. There are 16 rooms of various sizes that can be reserved by the campus community. Haoyan Li, a student from China, said, “I like that my friends and class can use the meeting rooms and work together on assignments.”

Sherrod Bybee, a recent Ball State graduate and new member of the Channel 8 Weather Team at KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska, relates how video editing technology in the Libraries’ Multimedia Computing area allowed him to produce a polished résumé DVD containing his weather forecast segments. He feels that these examples of his work helped him to secure the job and launch his career.

Many people complimented the University Libraries for providing desktop and laptop printing and the availability of movies, CDs, and laptops for borrowing.

“I appreciate checking out DVD movies from the library,” said Cody Cramer, a graduate student in counseling. He also recognized the value of being able to easily print copies of articles, classroom PowerPoints, and other materials for study.

Interlibrary Loan Services are another highly valued service. Just ask Bridget Hahn, a graduate student in the Department of History. She refers to the ILS staff as heroes.

“I recently took a graduate writing seminar in which the bulk of the course is crafting a semester long research paper. I chose a topic that couldn't be easily researched on campus, but the folks in Interlibrary Loan helped me to obtain the materials I needed with a few books even arriving two days after I had requested them,” she said. “The prompt service, dedication to getting materials I needed and the ability to be reached for questions makes the people in Interlibrary Loan irreplaceable.”

The University Libraries’ personnel, collections, technology, study spaces and meeting rooms all contribute toward making the University Libraries valuable to the campus community. The Libraries are the destination for students and faculty to visit time and time again for research, learning, and friends

Libraries' Services, Collections Heavily Used by Students

2008-07-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

At the end of March, 2008, we published a listing of the University Libraries’ five key accomplishments for the period July 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008. You are invited to view our Performance with Purpose accomplishments at
http://bsu.edu/library/media/pdf/Accomplishments-2007-2008.pdf.

Now that fiscal year 2007-2008 is completed, we have final counts for several important metrics that demonstrate our service performance outcomes. For example, our turnstile count shows that 1,311,438 persons passed through the Libraries’ turnstiles, an increase of 10,048 or 0.8% over the same period last fiscal year. We increased the number of library education sessions to 933, up by 1.2% over last fiscal year. Bracken Library was open to serve students and faculty for 360 days during the last fiscal year, offering 120.5 hours of service during the academic semesters and almost the same number of hours during interim periods.

Since the end of the fiscal year, we have been analyzing Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 data that we collect from our circulation records, public computer workstations, printer logs, and other sources. While the data for both the fall and spring semesters are very similar, I will review Spring 2008.

Interpretation of the data shows that of 3,582 freshmen, 44.9% of those students borrowed something from the Libraries. The data shows that 86.5% or 3,099 of our freshman used the Libraries’ public workstations at least once during the semester. Other data show that these same users represent 35,163 or 17.1% of the 205,397 computer sessions during Spring 2008 semester. Closely tied to utilization of the Libraries’ almost 400 public workstations is the use of our public printers. Our public laser printers, which offer students free printing from the desktop or laptop, were used by 3,207 freshmen, 65.0%, who executed 76,896 print jobs.

The data presents a lot of interesting and valuable information that will help librarians and library administrators to identify which student groups we need to work on even harder to attract to the University Libraries. Similar past analyses have been fruitful and we are succeeding in attracting more users to the Libraries. The data in this table shows that 88.7% of our freshmen have used at least one library service. This number grows for sophomores (91.7%), juniors (92.3%), and seniors (93.3%).

E-mail Signature Blocks Can Communicate Library’s Brand

2008-07-17T11:28:00.000-04:00

The use of e-mail has greatly changed the way we communicate. It is quick and easy, and effectively using e-mail can greatly add to a librarian’s productivity. Its electronic nature also allows for easy tracking and monitoring of projects.

At the bottom of an e-mail after the content, a writer has many options on how to sign off. For the past five years, Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of Ball State University Libraries, has encouraged all University Libraries’ personnel to use a consistent e-mail signature block when sending out official Libraries' correspondence.

He recognizes that a well-crafted e-mail signature block can provide important information about the writer and it also affords the librarian with a branding opportunity. It is an electronic calling card that can be viewed by all persons who read the e-mail.

“Using the e-mail signature block is an easy and inexpensive way for librarians to call attention to their library and to communicate its mission, tag line, slogan, or other important information with each e-mail,” said Dr. Hafner.

To increase the impact of using the signature block as part of a library promotion strategy, the e-mail signature of all library employees should use the same font, background colors, and quote the same slogan, tagline, or other message that is being promoted. For impact, it should be limited to 6 to 10 lines.

Books Help Us Discover the Past — Understanding the Present

2008-07-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

by Teresa L. Story, Collections Development Assistant

The Ball State University Libraries offer an impressive military history collection, developed by careful selections of resources and enhanced by thoughtful donations of faculty and private citizens over many years. As an assistant to the librarians who select, develop, and manage the Libraries’ collections, I have many opportunities to view resources before they are catalogued for use by our students and faculty.

While military history is not necessarily a topic that I might select for my own reading enjoyment, I was intrigued by a recently donated book about World War II, Finding Your Father’s War: A Practical Guide to Researching and Understanding Service in the World War II US Army by Jonathan Gawne. It is a handbook for laypersons interested in researching a family member’s experience as an enlisted soldier in World War II. The book features photos, charts, research sources, and general information about the various units in the U.S. Army.

Similar to other veterans of WWII, my father rarely discussed his military experiences. My knowledge was limited to knowing that he was an airplane mechanic and sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. I learned additional information from his discharge papers as I prepared his memorial services, yet I regretted that this unique time of his life had remained a mystery for so many years. As I glanced through the pages of Finding Your Father’s War, I was thrilled to discover even more about my father’s military past.

Perhaps symbolic of Dad’s desire to bury memories of that time, his military documents and related paraphernalia were discretely stored in a small briefcase in his bedroom closet where he kept them.

Until Finding Your Father’s War came upon my desk, I had no idea what these long forgotten items meant or the circumstances in which they were awarded. I learned about the Distinguished Unit Citation awarded to his unit, the Good Conduct Medal authorized by his commanding officer, and the ribbons that all service personnel received at the end of the war.

I was able to match his Unit award, technician’s badge, ribbons, and uniform insignias to photos in the book of the same items. A uniform jacket covered in a plastic bag and trinkets in a briefcase are now more significant to me than ever before. Because World War II veterans are dying at an increasing rate, library tools such as Finding Your Father’s War are very useful in helping us fully appreciate our loved ones’ military experiences and sacrifices.

With additional research, I hope to gain further insight about how this historic war personally affected my father, a young man from rural Tennessee, and its impact on the remainder of his life and our family.

Digital Humanities Summer Institute Excellent for Librarian’s Skill Building and Networking

2008-07-17T11:23:00.002-04:00

This past Memorial Day, while most Hoosiers were enjoying a long, relaxing weekend full of family gatherings and barbeques, I was settling into a week of learning, discussion, and networking at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI), a week-long workshop/conference hosted annually by the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

The Institute, held May 26-30, 2008, was an intense combination of lecture, track-based coursework, and fellowship among information professionals who use computing technologies in their day-to-day work. Many of the attendees were librarians. Others were technologists, educators, and researchers working in humanities-based fields like art, history, and English. Several of the students attended the DHSI on a scholarship, including me.

During each day the attendees branched out into specific and separate classes, and each evening we gathered together for lectures of interest to the whole group. These seminars focused on topics like information authority, digitization projects, three-dimensional imaging, and digital scholarship. During these group lectures, we heard from experts working in the digital humanities and learned from their experiences. Videos of the lectures are available at the DHSI Web site, www.dhsi.org/blog.

My course track, “Multimedia: Design for Visual, Auditory, and Interactive Electronic Environments,” offered advanced skill development for interactive online environments. From basic Web best practices to specific tools like Blogger and Dreamweaver, this course immersed its students into the world of new media and allowed us to learn several new skills in a very short time.

The skills I learned at the Institute are easily applicable to my work with the University Libraries’ digital projects such as the Digital Media Repository. For example, by honing my existing Web development and digital photography abilities, I can better present our students and faculty with digital content for their research and classroom instruction needs.

I also gained experience with several tools that can be used to publicize the University Libraries’ digital assets, such as podcasts, digital movies, and blogs. These emerging technologies can help to promote the University Libraries’ vast digital resources.

For more information about the DHSI experience or multimedia tools, contact Amanda A. Hurford, Digital Initiatives Multimedia Developer, AAHurford@BSU.edu, 765-285-3349.

Information Services Outreach to Indiana Academy Parents

2008-07-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

Sending a child to college is never easy for a parent, but imagine sending your high school student away from home to finish their junior and senior years. That is what about 150 parents did earlier this year.

They chose to send their students to a residential campus, The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities located in Muncie, Indiana.

Recently, Information Services librarians Brenda Yates Habich, Stacy Chaney-Blankenship, and Lisa Jarrell partnered with the Academy in a new outreach program and they became involved with the Academy’s new student orientation. The librarians talked informally with parents during the orientation process and offered information about what to do should their student call home unsure about where to go for research help.

A 2006 survey about college parent experiences found that 74% of parents continued to communicate with their son or daughter two to three times a week once they left for college, and that the parents’ primary concern was their child’s academic success. This survey can be viewed at www.collegeparents.org/files/Current-Parent-Survey-Summary.pdf.

Taking information from this report into consideration, our librarians decided to create a program in order to reach out to parents of the Academy’s incoming students. The goal was to inform parents and students that the University Libraries’ programs, services, and rich collections can help support the needs of the students since Academy students are considered members of the Ball State University community.

The Academy students have the same access to the University Libraries as any Ball State undergraduate, and they use the University Libraries as their primary library while enrolled at the Academy. Many of the students have never experienced using an academic library before coming to the Academy.

The outreach activities are designed to help familiarize the students with the library and help them to feel more comfortable using our programs, services, and collections.

The parents’ initial reaction was extremely positive. They were receptive to the outreach, to our brochures and conversations about resources, and about help for the students and contact information.

One parent said, “This is wonderful! Now I can just send them to you and you’ll help them.” Another responded, “This is so helpful. Thank you for taking time to be here.”

Future plans include a more in-depth session in mid-August with incoming juniors to explain how to use the library for their classes and to provide contact information for these new students.

For more information, contact Brenda Yates Habich, BHabich@bsu.edu, 765-285-1101, or Stacy B. Chaney-Blankenship, SBChaney@bsu.edu, 765-285-3325.

Euro 2008 Soccer Brings Ball State’s International Students Together

2008-07-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

Many of Ball State’s international students set their laptops and books aside for a few hours while at Bracken Library to watch the European Championship together.

From June 19-22, 2008, the quarter-finals resulted in Portugal’s loss to Germany while Croatia and Turkey tied at one goal each. Russia beat the Netherlands 3-1, and Spain took the win over Italy on penalties with a score of 4-2.

The library staff enjoyed the students’ camaraderie and positive spirits during the playoffs. The semi-finals on Thursday and Friday, June 25 and 26, ended with Germany ousting Turkey at 3-2 and Spain trumping Russia, 3-0.

The final game was billed as a clash of Germany's efficiency and power versus Spain's fluidity and creativity. Spain had not won a major tournament since 1964, yet they finally proved they are able to cope with pressure of the highest stage. Spaniard Fernando Torres scored the only goal for a 1-0 win over Germany.

The comfortable seating and large screen television in Bracken’s lower level provided a great opportunity for students to enjoy the Euro 2008 soccer matches, which topped the television ratings in all of the participating nations.

Meet Some Board of Governors Members, Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library

2008-06-16T15:38:00.000-04:00

Board of Governors of the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library plays an important role in helping the University Libraries achieve their objective for providing the best resources for research, teaching, and learning. Meet some of our board members:

Marilyn Carey’s experience of serving on community boards includes 12 years with Muncie Community Schools and two terms as a trustee member of the Muncie Public Library. She was a media specialist at Muncie Central High School and had the distinction as “First Lady” of Muncie for eight years while the late Mr. James P. Carey served as mayor. Her hobbies include looking for treasures at antique sales and auctions. Mrs. Carey’s term is 2007-2010.

Dr. Nicole Etcheson, Alexander M. Bracken Professor of History in Ball State’s Department of History, considers Bracken Library to be the most essential building on campus. “The staff in Interlibrary Loan Services have been exceptionally helpful and efficient. I couldn’t do my work without them. All of the staff at Bracken that I’ve worked with from circulation, projection services, maps, and archives have been very professional and gone out of their way to be helpful.” Dr. Etcheson teaches Civil War and Reconstruction, Indiana History, the U.S. history survey courses, and graduate courses with expertise in 19th century U.S. She is working on a book about the Civil War home front in Putnam County, Indiana. Dr. Etcheson’s previous book, Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era was a History Book Club selection in 2004. Dr. Etcheson’s term is 2006-2009.

Dr. Carol A. Flores, Department of Architecture at Ball State University, brings students to Bracken Library during her Symbolism and Meaning in Architecture class (ARCH 495). There are early publications and some primary architectural texts in the Archives and Special Collections unit which Dr. Flores shares with the class. She also visited the area frequently while writing Owen Jones: Design, Ornament, Architecture, and Theory in an Age in Transition.

“I enjoy being on the board because it is a great opportunity to meet other people who are interested in improving education and some of the services we deliver,” she said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the members and I like the vision that the board is taking.” Dr. Flores’ term is 2007-2010.

Hank Milius, President and Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Services Corporation, worked with personnel in the Archives and Special Collections to prepare for an exhibit focusing on the 30th anniversary of the company. He was pleased that he found everything he needed for the exhibit. Meridian Services is a private, not-for-profit behavioral healthcare system. After the exhibit, he was asked to join the FAMBL board by John B. Straw. Hank and his wife, Terri, have four grown sons, two of whom are married and twins who recently graduated from Purdue University. He enjoys fly fishing in his spare time. Mr. Milius’ term is 2007-2010.

The Honorable Marianne L. Vorhees, a circuit court judge, joined the board in 2007. Her friend, Nancy Turner, former head of Archives and Special Collections at the Ball State University Libraries, encouraged her to get involved because of Marianne’s passion for libraries. “I really enjoyed the recent annual dinner and Andrew Dale’s program about his father’s fight against the Klan,” she said. Marianne and her husband, Skip, have three children: a daughter who will be a sophomore at Ball State, and sons in middle school and high school. Her term is 2007-2010.

Dr. Thomas H. Spotts, Associate Professor in Ball State’s Department of Technology, joined the board in 2007. He is the coordinator of the graphic arts management program at Ball State and currently teaches introduction classes and a printing management course. He often brings his Introduction to Graphic Arts class to the Archives and Special Collections for a presentation on early books. Dr. Spotts’ term is 2007-2010.

Additional members of the Board of Governors will be profiled in future issues of The Library Insider during 2008.

Libraries' Program Goals for Academic Year 2008-09

2008-06-16T14:40:00.000-04:00

The Ball State University Libraries serve to support the vision and mission of Ball State University as a national model of excellence for learning-centered academic communities to advance knowledge, improve economic vitality, and enhance the quality of life.

The vision of the University Libraries is to be recognized by students, faculty, and other members of the University’s academic community as a destination for research, learning, and friends. This statement reflects our strategy for the libraries’ programs, services, and collections.

Our fundamental service objective is to support students’ pursuit for academic and scholastic success and faculty endeavors in the creation of new knowledge, classroom instruction, enhancement of academic outcomes, the use of information technologies, and greater personal awareness.

The main characteristics of the Libraries’ programs, services, collections and technologies are the following:
Librarians and other specialists to help students and faculty with research projects and papers
Access to rich digital and print content for scholarship and research
Physical and digital space for students and faculty to pursue learning and research projects
Computers, software, and information technologies for students to complete classroom assignments and for students, faculty, and scholars conducting research and creative projects
Individual and collaborative spaces for study and group learning
Great hours for library access and scholastic achievement

The University Libraries’ Strategic Goals, 2008-2009
Our strategic goals identify the focus and outcomes that our professional and paraprofessional personnel strive to achieve in providing a wide range of sophisticated library and information services to our students, faculty, and other members of our academic community. These goals include the following:

Provide uniformly gracious services in a user-friendly environment that supports learning, research, and classroom instruction
Increase access to information resources at the desktop for students and faculty
Expand the University Libraries’ digital initiatives and facilitate development of emerging media opportunities for learning, research, and classroom enhancement
Provide a broad range of computer-based learning resources, applications, and services to enhance student learning and that support an undergraduate research culture, and expand technical training opportunities for faculty and staff, and training opportunities for students
Increase diversity within the University Libraries’ workforce and expand programming in the academic community to promote awareness of diversity

The following 12 objectives are key elements of the Libraries’ Business Plan for fiscal year 2008-2009:
Creation and deployment of a Libraries’ Materials Request/Notification System to notify faculty, administrators, and others when an item they have recommended for purchase is available for check-out
Creation of Web-based mini tutorials for library instruction
Distance education outreach through Web page design and online chat with librarians
Expansion of the Libraries’ ability to provide library services in Second Life, a 3-D virtual space
Expansion of intensive computing tools to provide students and faculty with greater access to emerging media resources and for data analysis, gaming, video editing, and animation rendering
Exploration and acquisition of a federated search utility, and expansion of the Libraries’ link resolver technology for increased use of our academic databases and access to full-text resources
Increase in the number of Libraries’ sponsored conferences, workshops, and campus events
Libraries’ programming to include an Emerging Technologies Speaker Series
Outreach to students who are living in University housing
Licensing to allow BSU’s alumni to access some or all of the Libraries’ academic databases
Targeted immersive learning opportunities using the Archives and Special Collections, including data storage
Virtual Press and Cardinal Scholar digital repository expansion to include publications by faculty, students, alumni, and other academic organizations

Contemporary Chairs Added to Bracken Library

2008-06-16T14:29:00.000-04:00

Bracken Library’s first floor has taken on a bold look with the addition of 30 new upholstered arm chairs in the public seating areas. According to Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of University Libraries, “The new chairs are replacing some of Bracken’s long-time familiar blue oak chairs which have been a signature of Bracken

The new lounge chairs are manufactured by Sauder Education Company, Archbold, Ohio, as part of their Moment Series. The series provides the necessary durability for high volume seating experienced on Bracken’s first floor.

The chair’s design takes advantage of modular renewable construction so that components can be easily replaced on site if they become warn or damaged. Similarly, the chairs feature removable upholstery that facilitates easy cleaning, repair, or replacement. Seat cushions are made of crush-resistant high-quality foam that provides students and faculty with plush comfort. Each chair has English oak wood feet adding to the arm chair’s contemporary look.

These new arm chairs, along with the recently acquired outdoor furniture on Bracken’s north and south plazas, are part of the continuing transformation of the University Libraries to create an inviting, friendly, useful space for students and faculty — a destination for research, learning and friends.

LSTA Innovative Library Program Grant Supposrt Second Life Library Project

2008-06-16T14:27:00.000-04:00

An LSTA Innovative Library Program Grant award in the amount of $5,400 will be used to create a virtual reference area and exhibit. These will serve as a test bed for experimentation and innovation centering on provision of digital content and library services for the expanding user population participating in Second Life, http://secondlife.com, a 3-D virtual world. The prototype reference area will provide access to subject specialists and interactive exhibit modules focused on the University Libraries’ rich resources documenting Muncie, Indiana as “Middletown,” a representative American community.

The project will allow librarians to develop the skills necessary to provide rich library resources and services using state-of-the-art new media in this emergent digital environment. The University Libraries will support the work of students and faculty in Second Life while developing best practices for the provision of library services in virtual worlds for the benefit of libraries statewide.

Second Life is a compelling 3-D virtual world where library users can meet and interact in an immersive and collaborative environment. Participants access the world using a computer and are connected in the virtual environment where they create an avatar, a virtual representation of themselves, that they can control in the same manner that one might control a video game character.

Ball State University faculty and students are increasingly using the Second Life world as a virtual classroom. Lectures are conducted and group projects are being undertaken in it. There is great potential for Second Life to become a vehicle for distance education, allowing students to interact in virtual classrooms and library spaces.

For the project, Archives and Special Collections and the Center for Middletown Studies will collaborate to develop content for the exhibit. The central purpose of the exhibit will be to provide an overview of Muncie as Middletown, a representative American community. There will be a core module that will provide an introduction to the Studies. Additional modules will present the six subject areas covered by the Middletown Studies. The modules will include interactive elements such as click-through PowerPoint presentations and hyperlinks to external resources and streaming media such as oral histories and film clips.

The reference area will include a desk and a “drop box.” The desk will be staffed on a scheduled basis and by appointment for the provision of reference services. The “drop box” acts as a mailbox allowing visitors to leave messages and questions for staff when they are absent from the desk or to schedule reference interviews with an archivist.

For more information, contact John B. Straw, Assistant Dean for Digital Initiatives and Special Collections, JStraw@bsu.edu, 765-285-5078

University Libraries Awarded LSTA Grant from Indiana State Library

2008-06-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

An LSTA Digitization Grant award in the amount of $21,194 will be used to create a Middletown Women’s History Digital Collection to provide online access to archival materials documenting the experiences of women in Muncie, Indiana, from the 1880s through the 1930s. The resources will illuminate women’s history in the six areas of the seminal Middletown studies conducted in Muncie as a representative American community beginning in the 1920s: Getting a Living; Making a Home; Training the Young; Using Leisure; Engaging in Religious Practices; and Engaging in Community Activities.

Through increased access to diaries, correspondence, scrapbooks, and other records of women and women’s organizations, the resource will expand research opportunities in women’s studies, women’s history, U. S. history, sociology, and other disciplines. It will provide fresh historical perspective and new areas for investigation focusing on women in Middle America.

Items to be digitized include:
Altrusa Club of Muncie, Inc., Records, 1923-45
Cassady/Nelson Family Collection, 1887-90, 1926
Grace Arthur School Memory Book, 1926-32
Louise Carey School Memory Book, 1915
Mae Evans Papers from the Fred and Penny Prow Collection, 1916-31
Marsh/Ryan Family Collection, 1902
McRae Club Records, 1894-1950
Mina McCormick Becket Diaries, 1933-34
Muncie Business and Professional Women’s Club Records, 1919-62
Reticule Circle Club Records, 1927-40
Riverside Culture Club Records, 1913-34
Unitarian Universalist Church Records, 1894-1942
Women’s Club of Muncie Records, 1876-1942
Women’s Franchise League of Muncie Records, 1912-19
YWCA – Muncie, Indiana Branch Records, 1911-38

Ball State’s Center for Middletown Studies and the Women’s Studies Program will be partners in the grant project. The resources will be part of a Web-based teaching tool under development by the Center for Middletown Studies in partnership with Archives and Special Collections. Ball State’s Women’s Studies Program will provide two student interns to assist with transcription of selected hand-written items and will promote the resource through their Web site and publications. Students from the program will also utilize the materials for classes and assignments.

Over the past several years, Ball State University Libraries have utilized more than $75,000 in Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants to create digital collections. These collections have ranged from U.S. Civil War documents to oral histories to an historic anti-Ku Klux Klan newspaper.

University Libraries Upgrade Desktop Computers in Scholar Carrels

2008-06-16T14:22:00.000-04:00

A primary and essential objective of the University Libraries is to make available the best possible technology to our students and faculty for accessing information resources at the desktop. One of the ways that we are accomplishing this is by providing the latest computer technology and software throughout the University Libraries.

This includes expanding and upgrading the desktop computer equipment we provide in each of Bracken Library’s 48 Scholar Carrels that are located on the east side of the third and fourth floors.

Bracken Library’s Scholar Carrels are unique, distinctive workspaces that are designated for individual scholarship. Each room provides about 40 square feet of space. In general, these spaces are reserved by the semester and are renewable for up to three consecutive semesters. They afford graduate students and faculty with a private, secure environment to focus on research and pursuit of academic achievement.

This upgrade includes installing faster desktop workstations that have large hard drives, a LCD flat-screen monitor, an optical mouse, and keyboard.

These systems provide our scholars who use the carrels with convenient access to the Libraries’ online academic databases and information resources using the University’s award-winning WiFi network that is fully accessible throughout the Libraries. In the past, only those scholars who brought their own laptops had a computer available for their use in their Scholar Carrel.

Of course, users can also use their own laptops in these carrels instead of the desktop or they can use it in addition to the workstation in the carrel.

Each PC workstation is equipped with the Microsoft Office 2007 suite and other productivity software such as SPSS, EndNote, and the major instant messaging clients (AIM, MSN, Yahoo!). This equipment and software allows each scholar easy access to the Libraries’ academic resources, and it provides a state-of-the-art academic achievement environment for discovery and writing.

For more information, contact Bradley D. Faust, University Libraries’ Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu, 765-285-8032.

Marketing Communications Manager Speaks about Marketing Libraries

2008-06-16T14:20:00.000-04:00

Susan G. Akers, Ball State University Libraries’ Marketing Communications Manager, spoke at the May 30, 2008 Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) Conference held in Indianapolis, an event attended by 130 people. The focus of her talk was how to apply the 4 P’s of marketing, created in the early 1960s for use in business models, to the library environment.

Susan explained the value and use of the 4 P’s — product (librarians, collections), price (time), place (library), and promotion (communication, outreach) when transferred to a non-business environment.

An important take-away from Susan’s talk was that marketing in a library refers to everything the librarians do to promote the library. This includes service delivery, how phones are answered, an inviting atmosphere, developing and improving consistent customer service, relationship building, and looking for creative ways to promote the librarians and resources to the user community.

Susan identified several important benefits and outcomes from raising awareness about library programs, services, and collections. These include:

Create and maintain a relationship between the library and its user community
Create and reinforce the library’s brand to students, faculty, and administrators through information dissemination about the library’s programs, services, and collections
Create demand among user community members for the library’s programs and services
Provide awareness about services accessible through the library that support the college’s or university’s core mission for teaching, learning, and research
Provide a consistent message to students, faculty, and administrators about the library to build behavior that results in increased library utilization

Part of Susan’s presentation focused on performing a SWOT analysis as a first step in formulating a communication/marketing plan. The concept of using a tagline to assist in branding the library was also discussed.

Ken Gibson, Director of Duggan Library at Hanover College, said he and a colleague jotted down several creative taglines that could be applied to Hanover’s library system and that he could see further application from the presentation in promoting the PALNI consortium.

Hand-outs included an article on how good signage contributes to a positive library experience and “40 Marketing Tips for Academic Libraries on a Shoestring Budget (aren’t we all!)” available at the May 28, 2008 blog entry on www.marketingyourlibrary.com.

For information, contact Susan G. Akers, Ball State University Libraries’ Marketing Communications Manager, SAkers@bsu.edu, 765-285-5031.

Danny L. Taylor, Libraries’ Periodical/Reserves Assistant, Nominated for Fifty over 50 Award

2008-06-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

Danny L. Taylor, who has been employed by Ball State University Libraries for 37 years, was honored on May 15, 2008, by Ball State’s Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology and the Community Center for Vital Aging during its annual Fifty over 50 awards ceremony.

The annual recognition dinner recognizes 50 people over the age of 50 who are selected from community nominations and who can be characterized as “ordinary people

Danny was nominated by Judi E. Egbert, Assistant Professor of Social Work, at Ball State University. In her letter of nomination she writes: “Danny is the ambassador of friendliness and service for Muncie. He earned his bachelor degree at Ball State about 30 years ago, and soon thereafter went to work with the University Libraries. He has been a stalwart processor of reserve materials that have served thousands of students, and he has trained and supervised dozens of students so they could help pay their way through college.”

Professor Egbert noted a key avenue of Danny’s service is the many panels on which he has served that focus on educating students about disabilities. Students comment about how much they learned from his upbeat, can-do attitude.

“Were we all so congenial and determined as Danny, our community would have a more enriching air,” she said.

Membership in Consortium Saves Money for the University Libraries in Obtaining Databases

2008-06-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

The Ball State University Libraries offer an impressive selection of electronic resources, including journals and academic databases. Our Libraries’ personnel continually strive to enhance the Libraries’ collections to meet the information needs of students and faculty while keeping pace with the ever-rising cost of scholarly resources and the tremendous increase in publishing activity.

The Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI), a consortium of 73 academic libraries, is a partner in helping its members to achieve savings in subscription costs to academic databases. This past spring, as part of its initiative for eResources, ALI signed an agreement with the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) that will result in ALI member libraries being able to save money when subscribing to selected academic databases.

For the University Libraries, for example, when we renew our subscription, this agreement will produce immediate savings for the LexisNexis Academic databases, a service that includes nearly 5,000 publications spanning business and financial, environmental, legal, medical, and news.

ALI’s agreement with SOLINET brings 200 existing product offerings and 50 publisher and vendor relationships to the partnership, and SOLINET will also undertake specific negotiations on behalf of ALI and its member libraries as needed.

The University Libraries anticipate that this is only the beginning of other favorable deals to come from being an ALI member. According to an ALI Resource Advisory Committee report, “… this relationship will offer ALI member libraries a broader range of electronic resources through a single agent, at optimum pricing, with management information available to each ALI member library for resources that they have acquired.”

Ball State University Libraries’ participation in the ALI-SOLINET partnership will help enhance our students’ pursuits for academic success and will help to increase faculty endeavors for knowledge creation, research, and classroom instruction.

This initiative between ALI and SOLINET represents a significant development in cooperation among ALI libraries to increase the range of resources provided to the students, faculty, and communities that they serve while making the most of available fiscal resources. According to Dan N. Bowell, Chair of ALI’s Database Licensing Task Force and University Librarian at Taylor University’s Zondervan Library, “It provides a strong complement to the resource sharing, including direct borrowing, that exists among ALI libraries.”

For more information, contact Hilde M. Calvert, University Libraries’ Head of Collections Development and member of the ALI Database Licensing Task Force, HCalvert@bsu.edu, 765-285-8033.

John M. Ditsky Collection Donated to the Libraries to Enhance Steinbeck Research

2008-06-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the generosity of Mrs. C. Suzette Ditsky, students, faculty, and researchers studying the life and work of Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck will have access to the papers of renowned Steinbeck scholar Dr. John M. Ditsky.

Mrs. Ditsky donated her late husband’s books and papers to Ball State University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections where they will join the papers of fellow Steinbeck scholars Dr. Tetsumaro Hayashi and Roy Simmonds as part of the Libraries’ outstanding Steinbeck Collection.

Dr. John Michael Ditsky (March 9, 1938 – May 15, 2006) received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1967 and was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Windsor, Canada, from which he retired in 2003 after 37 years of teaching. Prior to his tenure at the University of Windsor, he taught at the University of Detroit and Wayne State University. During his career, he served as vice president of the International Steinbeck Society, president of the New Steinbeck Society of America, and Chair of the Editorial Board of the Steinbeck Quarterly, and more recently of the Steinbeck Review.

In addition to his work as a Steinbeck scholar, Dr. Ditsky was an active poet, poetry editor, and music critic. He served as poetry editor of the University of Windsor Review for many years. He published four poetry collections, five critical volumes, and over 100 critical articles, essays, and book chapters on a variety of literary subjects. His vast publishing output and the many outstanding academic achievements of his career are reflected in his papers.

According to his long-time friend and colleague Dr. Tetsumaro Hayashi, Dr. Ditsky “was first and foremost a passionate and dedicated scholar, teacher, and mentor.” The collection of his books and papers available to students and researchers in the Ball State University Libraries will continue Dr. Ditsky’s “… legacy of extending a helping hand to emerging Steinbeck scholars.”

According to John B. Straw, Assistant Dean for Digital Initiatives and Special Collections, the addition of the John M. Ditsky Collection “… strengthens the reputation of the University Libraries as one of the premiere Steinbeck research collections in the world. The resources available at Ball State attract international scholars.”

In 2007, Mrs. Ditsky made a significant contribution to support the use of the Libraries’ Steinbeck collections when she established the Steinbeck Research Fund in honor of Dr. Distky. The fund is used to bring Steinbeck scholars to conduct research in the Archives and Special Collections. The first two recipients of the Ditsky Award were Dr. Kyoko Ariki, Shujitsu University in Japan, and Ms. Kay Bosse, University of Dayton, in 2007. The John M. Ditsky Collection will be a great resource for future recipients of the Ditsky Award to use in their research.

OCLC and Google Partnership Facilitates Research at University Libraries

2008-06-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

In May, OCLC, a nonprofit computer library service and research organization with over 9,000 member libraries, reached an important agreement with Google Inc. to share data that will allow click-through linking between Google Book Search and local library catalogs.

This agreement means that Ball State students and faculty who are users of the Google search service will be able to move seamlessly from Google Book Search results to records in CardCat, the University Libraries’ Web-based online public access catalog (OPAC). This breakthrough will facilitate the discovery of the Libraries’ rich resources for teaching, learning, and research.

Under the terms of the OCLC/Google arrangement, OCLC member libraries who are participating in the massive digitization Google Book Search project will share their WorldCat metadata with Google. WorldCat is the searchable OCLC catalog of 1.2 billion items held by its member libraries. Of the 20 academic, national, and civic libraries involved in Google Book Search, 16 are OCLC members. Included among the Google partners are premier institutions such as Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, and New York Public Library.

While Google Book Search provides users with digital access to over one million full-text books through the Google interface, the OCLC agreement will powerfully assist users searching for books without online full text. Though Google is aggressively digitizing books indiscriminate of copyright, users can only read the entire text of books that are either in the public domain, books published before 1924 that are no longer protected by copyright law, or books that are made available through special access arrangements with the author or publisher. For Google Book Search titles with limited or unavailable online text, Google Book Search users will be routed to local library collections through OCLC’s WorldCat, collapsing the cumbersome research layers formerly necessary for locating books and other materials in the local OPAC.

The innovative partnership between OCLC and Google will serve the international library community by increasing the visibility of unique institutional collections. Even more importantly, the linking utility brings us strides closer to the reality of the digital dream of a library without walls, where the world’s knowledge resources are discoverable and accessible to global users.

For Ball State students and faculty, this functionality will simultaneously widen the research scope, allowing our students and faculty to locate relevant resources anywhere in the OCLC network, and it will efficiently empower all users to directly pinpoint locally accessible materials available through the significant collections of the University Libraries — our students and faculty’s ultimate destination for research, learning, and classroom enhancement.

Danny L. Taylor Receives Prestigious Jane Morton Award

2008-05-19T15:03:00.001-04:00

Danny L. Taylor, Periodical/Reserves Assistant at Ball State University Libraries, is the recipient of the A. Jane Morton Award for Excellence in Staff. Danny received the award during the 43rd Annual Staff Recognition and Retirement Award program on April 17, 2008.

With 37 years of service to the University, Danny is well known within the Ball State community for his optimistic attitude, dedication, and superior customer service skills. Former students frequently ask about Danny and comment on how he has inspired them to make positive differences in their own and other people's lives.

Kathleen Pickens-French, Access Services Evening Supervisor, nominated Danny for the award.

“Danny’s love of life, Ball State and Bracken, inspires the people he meets,” says Kathleen. “His dedication extends beyond the library’s walls and into the university community where he takes the time to meet with students and to talk to classes about working with people with disabilities. Students walk away from these brief encounters with altered perspectives, increased awareness, and renewed appreciation for their own lives.”

“It is a real pleasure to work in the library,” Danny said. “I get up every morning and look forward to coming to work at Ball State. It makes me feel like I’m part of a big family.”

The recipient of the A. Jane Morton award receives a $1,000 gift, a framed and engraved "Between the Buildings ... is the Life" print, and a book of nomination and support letters.

The A. Jane Morton Award recognizes one exemplary full-time staff person for demonstrating continuous commitment and service to all facets of the Ball State community. A committee analyzes the achievements and contributions of each nominee and determines who is most deserving for going above and beyond expectations at work, for their active involvement on campus, and for their service to the greater community.

Ball State's 152nd Commencement

2008-05-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

by Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of University Libraries

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, Ball State University celebrated its 152nd commencement. Approximately 2,600 students received diplomas at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels.

As Dean of University Libraries, I would like to make some comments and share some observations.

Our graduating students have many people to thank for all of the help they have received along the way — significant others, parents, siblings, grandparents, in-laws, faculty mentors, and employers. And there is another group, too. They are the Ball State alumni who have gone before them since our graduates are the beneficiaries of our alumni’s earlier achievements.

Graduation initiates each of our students into the proud family of alumni who have offered their best. Now, because of what each of our students has accomplished at Ball State, each graduate is positioned to live a better life, to enjoy better opportunities, to hold better jobs, to have better choices, to achieve and build wealth, and to contribute to the communities in which each lives and works. In short, graduation from Ball State allows each of our graduates to claim his/her bliss and joy in the world.

Graduation marks the official completion of an important chapter in each student’s life. In leaving the Ball State campus and Muncie, a part of each student remains.

I urge each graduating student, as a proud new alumnus or alumna, to stay in contact with Ball State, to lend his/her voice and provide financial support for alma mater’s continued growth and development. The University's name recognition, the quality and reputation of its programs, and its success for recruiting and graduating leaders for tomorrow reflects directly upon each graduate and impacts the value of each graduate’s own degree.

As well, I urge each of our graduates to make the effort to stay in touch with fellow students, to develop a strong network of friends and contacts, and to commit one’s self to excellence and focus all creativity and time to make the world a better and more just place, influencing others to do the same.

I hope each graduate of the Class of 2008 will support important community resources, such as libraries that are open and available to everyone for self-education, since these facilities touch and enhance the lives of everyone within their sphere of influence.

As our graduates face tomorrow, my suggestion is that each quickly build on past achievements by setting new goals and seize opportunities that are waiting for you. Everything begins with an idea and happens through action.

I wish each graduating Ball State student abundant good health, happiness, and both financial and personal success.

Furniture Outside of Bracken Library Provides Additional Gathering Place, Expands Use of Library’s Two Plazas

2008-05-19T14:58:00.000-04:00

The University Libraries recently purchased five outdoor lawn tables to enrich Bracken Library’s north and south plazas. Since mid-April, students and faculty have been able to enjoy the green next to Bracken for research, learning, and discussion.

Already the tables are proving popular with students and others who want to catch some sunshine while taking a break or socializing outdoors, or while they enjoy food and beverages al fresco from the Bookmark Café.

Of course, Bracken’s plazas offer full wireless connectivity so that students and faculty can access the Libraries’ resources through their laptops, Macbooks, notebook computers, and Wi-Fi enabled small-screen devices, such as PDAs, Palm/PocketPCs, or smartphones.

The tables are olive color, feature a 42” diameter tabletop, have perforated backless seats, and provide superior corrosion resistance because of their all-aluminum construction. Their recycled content is 68% and each table is 100% recyclable. An additional feature is that the tables do not require the use of cleaning chemicals to maintain their finish.

On each plaza, one of the tables provides wheelchair accessibility. Each unit typically offers six backless seating positions; the wheelchair accessible units offer five. The tables were manufactured by Landscape Forms Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan, a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The outdoor furniture and the new indoor chairs recently added to Bracken Library are part of the continuing transformation of the University Libraries as a destination for students and faculty for research, learning, and friends. We want to make the University Libraries an inviting, friendly space that students and faculty visit first for their research and learning.

Purchase Award Helps Beautify Library

2008-05-19T14:52:00.000-04:00

The 73rd Annual Student Art Show, held at Ball State University’s Museum of Art, featured student artwork in all media, from painting and sculpture to video and furniture. Each year, a panel of professional jurors considers hundreds of works for selection in this show, narrowing the final selection to between 100 and 125. The result is a student exhibition that showcases outstanding student talent and quality artwork.

Ball State University Libraries selected for purchase Rooster, Guitar, Scott (oil on plywood with newspaper, 36”x36”), by senior Braydee A. Euliss.

Braydee, from Munster, Indiana, created the bright cubism-inspired artwork by starting with several sketches, one on top of the other, and manipulating the resulting image until she was pleased with the composition. The sketches were simply of a still life that contained, among several other things, a stuffed rooster, a guitar, and her professor Scott G. Anderson. She then transferred it onto the plywood, applied newspaper, and decided where to leave the raw wood showing through.

“Although the piece was created for an assignment, I feel I took it in a direction that made it my own, different from most of the examples I had seen,” she said.

Ball State’s annual Student Art Show began in 1935 and offers art students an opportunity to present artworks in a professional, juried setting. The accepted artworks were shown in Ball State’s Museum of Art through April.

Bracken Library Hosts Several Music Programs in April

2008-05-19T14:49:00.001-04:00

During April, the Ball State University community was graced with three outstanding musical performances by student groups.

Under the artistic direction of Lou Ann Young, the Ball State Dance Theatre (BSDT) rose from humble beginnings 20 years ago to become a premiere professional dance training troupe. On April 10, the celebration of these 20 years was provided through a sneak preview of the Department of Theatre and Dance's 20th Anniversary Ball State Dance Theatre Concert.

The BSDT Concert Preview highlighted and featured the choreography of some of the best works from current students and faculty including Kory Browder, Gregory Lund, Sarah Mangelsdorf, Stacy Pottinger, Audra Sokol, Michael Worcel and Artistic Director Lou Ann Young.

On April 17, the combined talents of the music fraternal organizations at the School of Music, ΣΑΙ and ΦΜΑ Sinfonia performed their annual Festival of American Music recital to a crowd of more than 60 people.

The Ball State University Saxophone Quartets #2 and #3 performed on April 25.

University Libraries’ Personnel Contribute to the Midwest CONTENTdm Users Group Meeting

2008-05-19T14:47:00.000-04:00

Personnel from the University Libraries contributed to the success of the Third Annual Midwest CONTENTdm Users Group Meeting held April 29-30, 2008, in Indianapolis, Indiana. CONTENTdm serves as the platform for the Ball State University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository (DMR). The Users Group meeting drew over 100 attendees from all over the Midwest.

The ] Libraries team responsible for building the Middletown Oral History Collections, funded in part by a LSTA digitization grant, conducted the pre-conference workshop, “From Spoken Word to Digital File: Making Oral Histories Available in CONTENTdm.” The presenters demonstrated how to plan, digitize, create metadata, and publish an oral history collection using CONTENTdm. Ball State presenters included James A. Bradley, Head of Metadata and Digital Initiatives, Amanda A. Hurford, Metadata and Multimedia Developer, Maren L. Read, Archivist for Manuscript Collections, and Jonathan M. Brinley, Metadata and Digital Initiatives Developer.

The workshop earned overwhelmingly positive feedback from the capacity crowd of participants. “[The workshop] gave us good ideas about the next steps for our oral histories” said Jane Kokotkiewicz of Indianapolis’ prestigious Park Tudor School. “The pace was very good. Just what I needed.”

Brad Faust, Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services, served as co-chair of the Users Group Meeting Program Planning Committee. His responsibilities included hosting the program proposal Web form, collecting program proposals from speakers, and communicating with speakers and other program committee members about session schedules, acceptance, and registration details. Brad also served as moderator for two of the presentations at the Users Group meeting.

Speakers in several sessions referred to CONTENTdm successes at the University Libraries. The 3-D rotating image process used at Ball State, which can be seen in the Doll Collection in the DMR, is being used as a model at IUPUI.

Technical advice and direction provided by Budi Wibowo, University Libraries’ Head of Digital Libraries and Web Services, was mentioned as very useful by the Keynote Speaker. The Architecture Image End User Copyright Agreement page, presented to DMR users before access to the Architecture Image collection is granted, was also hailed as a great example of digital rights management.

For more information, contact Bradley D. Faust, Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu, 765-285-8032

Libraries Provide Students with Comfortable Spaces, Access to Food, Beverages

2008-05-19T14:45:00.000-04:00

With backpacks, laptops, and other small-screen smart devices in tow, students gear up for studying at Bracken Library, often with a cup of coffee and sandwich in hand.

In late 2002, Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, newly appointed Dean of University Libraries, lifted a long-standing ban against eating and consuming beverages in the Libraries. This decision marked the beginning of the transformation of the University Libraries as an inviting space for student and faculty to gather for research and learning.

Today, Bracken Library proudly houses The Bookmark Café, which opened in January 2007, is located in Bracken’s southeast corner. It is a popular place to grab a cup of freshly brewed Seattle’s Best Coffees, Tazo teas, espressos, and more. There are also juices and many selections for breakfast and lunch. The Café, along with other amenities to the Libraries, are part of an initiative for students to think of the Libraries as their “third place” after homes and classrooms.

From comments made by students and faculty, changing the Libraries’ rules about food and beverages has helped to increase the number of visits and the amount of time that people stay in Bracken Library.

“I can save time by eating at the library or taking a break from studying to get some coffee without having to leave the building,” said Emily Akers, a senior. “The sitting area outside of the Bookmark Café makes it easy to meet someone to go over class notes or have a short meeting.”

The only library areas that are off-limits to both food and beverages is Archives and Special Collections, which contains rare archival material, and the two e-classrooms on Bracken’s lower level. In the time since removing the prohibition against food and beverages, the Libraries’ experience has shown that students generally clean-up after themselves, and to facilitate this, the Libraries have provided more and larger waste containers around the Libraries. Overall, allowing food and beverages has proved to be a good decision.

Bracken Library provides a vending area on its lower level, which provides sweet and salty snacks and a variety of beverages including coffee.