News from the Field
Rochester Institute of Technology preserves Hebrew wood type
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is preserving a rare collection of Hebrew wood types used by the Jewish-American press at the turn of the 20th century. The collection will be made accessible online for students and scholars in advance of a digital and print publication.
European Jewish refugees arrived in the United States in the late 19th /early 20th centuries and created a thriving Jewish-American press in major cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The Hebrew wood types in the Cary Collection include sets from one of the longest-running Yiddish daily newspapers still in publication, The Forward.
These Hebrew wood type letters spell the word “wood.” The letters are part of a rare collection of 30 different Hebrew wood type alphabets housed at the Cary Graphics Arts Collection. Image courtesy of the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection.
RIT’s Cary Graphic Arts Collection will print, digitize, and publish its collection of 30 different wood types of the Hebrew alphabet with a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Historic Preservation, Restoration, and Literature Fund. The foundation is supporting the initial preparatory work needed to create a digital and print monograph of the Hebrew wood types, including typesetting, printing, cataloging, and digitizing the collection. More information is available at https://www.rit.edu/news/rit-cary-graphic-arts-collection-preserves-hebrew-wood-type.
Choice launches redesigned Choice360.org website
Choice has announced the launch of an entirely rebuilt version of its public-facing website, Choice360.org. The new site’s updated, contemporary design and intuitive interface make accessing Choice content faster and easier than ever. The key feature of the new Choice360 is ease of navigation. In support of this, Choice staff have reorganized all content, including archived materials, into easily navigated sections: Media, Choice Picks, Choice Research, Blog (The Open Stacks), and Products. These sections provide rapid access to Choice’s most popular webinars, podcasts, white papers, LibGuides, guest editorials, subscription products, and more. With new material appearing on the site almost daily, Choice360 is an ideal source for information about current industry trends and for librarian-focused professional development tools. The redesigned site is available at https://choice360.org.
LYRASIS, Columbia University Libraries announce Virtual Copyright Education Center pilot project
LYRASIS and the Columbia University Libraries’ Copyright Advisory Services are joining forces to pilot a new Virtual Copyright Education Center. This pilot will introduce a robust progressive curriculum designed to enable cultural heritage professionals to move beyond a basic understanding of copyright. An initial copyright course will be made free of charge and distributed publicly. Advanced classes will be distributed through LYRASIS Learning, the LYRASIS online continuing education platform for libraries and knowledge professionals worldwide.
The pilot will include business planning with the goal of developing a sustainable service model and will be the first pilot delivered through the new Research and Innovation division of LYRASIS.
The project is the product of a $30,000 LYRASIS Catalyst Fund award to Columbia University Libraries’ Copyright Advisory Services in 2017 that funded research into the feasibility of a Virtual Copyright Education Center. The pilot will run between September 2020 and June 2021.
Springshare launches Pickup Manager tool
Springshare has launched Pickup Manager, a new LibApps tool designed to help libraries improve workflows around the pickup of library holds. Pickup Manager combines Springhare’s scheduling and communication features and fully integrates them with the integrated library systems (ILS) holds functionality. The end result is an affordable and user-friendly pickup management platform.
Features of the Pickup Manager include two-way communication with ILS holds and patron records, eliminating a lot of double-entry efforts with holds management; seamless and flexible scheduling of patron pickups with full SMS communication; powerful statistics and analytics around the holds service, helping libraries gain valuable insight into holds to enhance engagement with patrons; and integration with LibCal’s Equipment Booking module for pickup of equipment available for lending, for museum/zoo passes, and for similar “library of things” offerings. More information is available at https://blog.springshare.com/2020/09/17/pickup-manager-coming-early-october/.
Poetry London launches digital archive
Poetry enthusiasts can now browse and search the complete back catalog of Poetry London, thanks to a new digital archive created in collaboration with archiving experts Exact Editions. Available for institutional subscriptions, the fully searchable resource will grow with each new issue published and allows for seamless access to a treasure trove of work from emerging and acclaimed poets. A comprehensive search function allows readers to dive into digital issues stretching back to 1996 at their leisure, while Exact Editions’ web and app platforms allow users to jump between years and decades at the touch of a button. Poetry London has risen from modest beginnings as a listings newsletter into one of the United Kingdom’s leading poetry magazines.
Published three times a year, each issue features poems and reviews from London and far beyond, including work in translation. Learn more at https://institutions.exacteditions.com/poetry-london.
Project MUSE adds seven journal titles
Project MUSE has added seven new titles to its platform. These titles are not included in MUSE Journal Collections but are either open access or available to institutions as individual title subscriptions. The titles are published by a mix of longstanding university press partners and new participating publishers. Project MUSE has been expanding journal hosting services and expects to announce more new titles on the platform over the coming months. New titles include the Journal of Appalachian Health, The American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Capitalism: A Journal of History and Economics, CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature, Early Middle English, International Journal of Evangelization and Catechetics, and The Medieval Globe.
Brill ebooks now available through OASIS, Rialto marketplaces
A collection of more than 19,000 Brill ebooks through the ProQuest OASIS and Rialto marketplaces. Founded in 1683, Brill is a scholarly publisher with a rich history and a strong international focus. Brill’s publications cover the humanities, social sciences, international law, and selected areas in the sciences. They also include the imprints Nijhoff, Rodopi, Hes & De Graaf, and Hotei Publishing. Brill is one of many publisher-direct options available for acquisition on the ProQuest OASIS online ordering platform, long used by librarians to select and acquire academic content, and the Rialto marketplace built to unify and streamline selection and acquisition workflows for academic libraries. Librarians can choose ebooks and streaming video from a rapidly growing number of platforms within their usual ordering workflow.
The ACRL Board of Directors has announced that the face-to-face portion of the ACRL 2021 Conference scheduled for April 14-17, 2021, in Seattle, Washington, has been canceled because of the serious health risks posed by COVID-19.
ACRL 2021 will continue as a virtual-only event.
“ACRL’s highest priority is the health and safety of our community,” said ACRL President Jon E. Cawthorne of Wayne State University. “The Board feels that moving ACRL 2021 online is the best option to ensure that safety while continuing to provide the high-quality, interactive programming you’ve come to expect from our conference.”
The virtual ACRL 2021 Conference will be held over approximately the same dates in April 2021. More details about the virtual conference are forthcoming.
“While the Conference Committee is understandably disappointed that ACRL 2021 cannot happen in person, we are excited to channel our efforts into taking the conference virtual,” ACRL 2021 Conference Chair Beth McNeil noted. “We are grateful for your support and patience while we work through the details and look forward to welcoming everyone safely to the virtual event this spring.”
Proposal deadlines for ACRL 2021 remain unchanged. Contributed paper, panel session, preconference, and workshop proposal notifications are expected to go out by the end of December 2020. The deadline for Lightning Talk, Poster, Roundtable, TechConnect, and Webcast submissions has been extended to Monday, November 9. ACRL 2021 scholarship applications will also be automatically transferred to consideration for scholarships for the virtual conference.
“We are disappointed not to be together with our colleagues in Seattle,” added ACRL Interim Executive Director Kara J. Malenfant. “But at the same time, we are excited to funnel all of the enthusiasm, creativity, and terrific content to create a virtual event that is informative, engaging and memorable for the community.”
Additional information and updates on ACRL 2021 are available on the conference website at https://conference.acrl.org/.
ACRL announces the publication of “Fostering Change: A Team-Based Guide,” by Brianna Marshall, director of Research Services, University of California-Riverside; Dani Brecher Cook, director of Teaching and Learning, University of California-Riverside; and Cinthya Ippoliti, university librarian and director, Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and University of Colorado-Denver.
Developed over the course of a year with leadership from ACRL’s New Roles and Changing Landscapes Committee, this open access guide is a practical tool for teams immersed in the labor of leading change in the library and on campus. The goal of the New Roles and Changing Landscapes Committee is to help the academic and research library workforce effectively foster change in academic libraries and higher education environments.
“There is nothing more empowering than working with your colleagues to change your library and your campus for the better,” says Erin Smith, chief information officer at Westminster College and chair of the New Roles and Changing Landscapes committee. “At a time when so many things are completely beyond our control due to a global pandemic, this guide is a powerful, practical tool for academic library workers who know they still have important work to do despite the fact they can’t do it the same way they have always done it.”
“Fostering Change” takes you and your team step-by-step through understanding change, building engagement, and creating and instituting the change, allowing you to pick and choose different aspects of the process that resonate most. It’s intended to help place people at the center of every change process and give individuals across academic libraries the tools to spark, lead, and sustain change, no matter their organizational position. “Fostering Change” is packed with exercises, templates, and resources to use as you plan and execute change.
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