Tuesday Times

University Libraries Creates Innovation Fund
Do you have ideas about improving the way things operate at the Libraries? Joel Thornton, Head of Instruction & Liaison Services, reports that beginning July 1, an Innovation Fund will make resources available to teams seeking to experiment with those ideas. The fund’s purpose is to encourage innovation, experimentation, and collaboration within the Libraries. Program guidelines and submission forms can be accessed online.  These funds may not last long, so submit your proposals early. Initial submissions should be submitted to Joel Thornton. Exciting news, Joel!

Our Resident Architecture Expert Invited to Judge Landmark Libraries for LJ
Catherine Wallack, Architectural Records Archivist, has been invited to judge the latest round of New Landmark Libraries from Library Journal.  Wallack will read and evaluate submissions and participate in voting in a “quest to identify the best new academic library buildings that anyone building a library today should see for themselves, and tap for inspiration and guidance about what the library of today and tomorrow demands.”  Sounds fun, Cat!

University Libraries Welcome Fulbright Commission Executive Directors
Angela Fritz, Interim Head of Special Collections, reports that the University Libraries is pleased to welcome five Fulbright Commission Executive Directors who will be visiting campus this week. Special Collections will provide a tour of the department and research assistance, and the guests will have a day to explore the Libraries’ rich collections relating to international education and cultural exchange. The following Executive Directors will be visiting Special Collections May 28 – May 29: Michael Hawes, Canada; Lonnie Johnson, Austria; Luis Loureiro, Brazil; Matthew Sussman, Japan; William Vocke, Taiwan; and Nancy Neil, President, Fulbright Association Board of Directors. Fritz and Vera Ekechukwu will be working with the group and Cat Wallack is providing a special exhibit. Great work, team!

Elsevier Purchases SSRN, ScholarWorks@UARK Available as Alternative
Melody Herr, Head of the Office of Scholarly Communications, reports that Social Science Research Network (SSRN), the open access multi-disciplinary repository, was recently purchased by the corporate publisher Elsevier. Researchers and scholars at U of A looking for alternatives to SSRN can be steered toward our institutional repository, ScholarWorks@UARK. Herr’s office provides personal assistance for anyone who wishes to deposit work, as well as full support for campus units bringing in larger projects. Contact Melody Herr directly for more information. Thank you, Melody!

University Libraries Contributes Arkansas African American History to Umbra
Angela Fritz also reports that University of Arkansas Libraries has contributed 2,392 items to Umbra: Search African American History. Umbra is a digital platform that brings together historical content from archives, libraries, and museums across the United States.  The project documents African American history and culture, making the material widely available to new researchers and artists. As a contributing institution, the Libraries join the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, Digital Public Library of America, and over 500 academic and research libraries from around the country working to preserve and make this history freely available. Awesome news, Angela!

Library Catalog Design Charette to Improve Record Display
Want to help make our library catalog even better?  Beth Juhl invites you to an open design meeting on Tuesday, May 31 at 10:30am in Mullins 303B. The main task is to review the order of fields, label wording, and other elements of the detailed record display. In case you are not sure what a detailed record display is, view examples of a book and a journal/serial record in our catalog. See you next week!

Christina Wampler Provides ALPS Report from the Front Line
“I learned so much last week at the 2016 Arkansas Library Paraprofessionals Conference in Hot Springs. The keynote speaker, NFL referee Walt Coleman, emphasized the importance of always doing the right thing, maintaining a sense of humor in the face of adversity, and believing in our worth as employees. I attended many conference sessions relevant to my position at the Libraries, and I especially enjoyed Cedar Middleton’s engaging, informative presentation on Open Access. I look forward to attending the conference again in the future, as well as getting more involved in the ALPS organization. Anyone who is interested in joining ALPS or attending the next conference should check out the ALPS website or talk to our Regional Representative, Lynaire Hartsell.” Thanks, Christina! Christina Wampler, Cedar Middleton, and Lynaire Hartsell represented the University Libraries this year at the ALPS Conference, along with Sherryl Faulkner-Robinson and Ashley Mitchell.

Web Revisions Reflect Organizational Changes at the Libraries
Beth Juhl also reports that the Libraries Web Services are in the process of updating departmental names on the website to reflect the changes in the Libraries’ organizational structure.  Some of these changes are in place and some are in progress: Access Services has been replaced by User Services and Reference is being replaced by Research and Instruction Services. Also, pages are being developed for the Office of Scholarly Communications.  Thank you, Beth!

Staff Picks Needed for ‘Great Outdoors Month’ Book Display
We’re celebrating the Great Outdoors month in June and I’d like YOUR “staff picks” of books from the collection in Mullins to use for next month’s book display – the theme is meant to inspire us to get outside and enjoy Arkansas’s great outdoors, but you are welcome to interpret this however you like! Are you new to Staff Picks? It’s easy. Just send me the permalink to a “great outdoors” related book in the catalog along with a short description of why you chose the title. The books can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, academic – anything you want to showcase! I’ll add your description to the display.

Reminders and Such:

• Planned Downtime for ILLIad: the upgrade is scheduled for Thursday, June 9 during a two hour window between 9-11am. Kinks to be worked out as needed afterward!
• Walmart Shareholders Meeting: Parking information and meeting dates for the Walmart Shareholders Meeting are available on the Transit and Parking website.
• PAM Updates Circulation Policy for CD/DVD Check Outs: Patrons are now able to renew these items for one week. Previously, no renewals were allowed for these materials.
• Upcoming RefWorks Instruction for Summer Session: Richard Sakul, our Engineering GA, will be teaching two RefWorks sessions in June. Please help direct summer students and researchers to BELL 2258 for the sessions. Visit the Libraries’ Instruction Page for more information.
• Please remember to COPY the person or people who are serving as your back-ups in your out-of-office emails to me. It serves as not only an excellent last minute confirmation for you, but also a handy way for me to procure the contact info that I add to each entry. Thank you!

Out of Office Notices

Calendar of Libraries’ Events – Mark Your Personal Calendars!