Tuesday Times

*** Upgrade to Sierra/Innovative Servers Next Week: During planned downtime Tuesday, 8/9 starting at 9am, our catalog, ILLiad interlibrary loan system, remote access to databases, Find it!, and Index Arkansas will all be unavailable. Consult our “Down but Not Out” LibGuide for workarounds for locating and using the Libraries’ materials when the system is unavailable. ***

Parker Elected as SAA’s MDOR Co-Chair
Martha Parker, Digital Services Librarian in the University Libraries Digital Services Unit, was just elected co-chair of the Metadata and Digital Object Roundtable of the Society of American Archivists. MDOR is one of the largest roundtables within SAA, promoting “discussion, education, and collaboration among archivists who are interested in digital archival objects and the metadata that enables their access, management, and preservation.” Congrats, Martha!

Believe It or Not, Tony Stankus has Published 25 Pages on the History and Modern Making of Ham!
Quick: Which of the following ancient cultures invented the process for making ham?
A. Ancient Egypt
B. Ancient Greece
C. Ancient Rome
D. Ancient China
The answer is C. Ancient Rome.
There are many famous ancient Romans whose thoughts about ham have come down to us in surviving manuscripts: How to cure a ham (Cato the Elder); how generous it was for the gods to inspire the bringing together of salt and pork rumps for the making of ham (Cicero); where you can buy the best hams (Varro); how serving ham will seriously impress your houseguests (Plautus), and even complaints about how the prices for whole hams had ridiculously risen to the level of the prices for whole peacocks (the Emperor Diocletian). Read all about this and more in the most recent issue of the Journal of Agricultural & Food Information, v.17 (2-3), pages 174-199.  The paper is typically Stankus (25 pages) but the title is his shortest ever: “Ham.” Stankus wrote it while he was out for three months on sick leave earlier this year. He said sitting in wheelchairs for much of that time was a pain in the butt, but that pig butts have it worse (only the pigs don’t know about it at the time).

UARK Libraries Attend SEC Exchange to Discuss Potential Impact of Open Education Textbooks
Marei Houpert, Agriculture, Food, and Life Sciences Graduate Assistant; Lora Lennertz, Director for Academic and Research Services; and Elaine Thornton, Distance Education Librarian, met with ASG representatives Connor Flocks, President; Maggie Benton, Vice President; Shelby Cormack, Treasurer; Jase Rapert, Secretary; Spencer Bone, Senator; and Assistant Director for Student Government Leadership, Michael McAllister, to discuss Open Education textbooks and the potential impact adopting these resources could have on the students at U of A. The University Libraries and the University Bookstore are already working with stakeholders across campus to help instructors find quality Open Education textbooks and to use the resources in their classrooms. Great job, Team!

Parker Launches Marshallese Resources LibGuide
Martha Parker recently completed a LibGuide to connect the Marshallese community in Northwest Arkansas, along with the educators, administrators, and health professionals engaged with this community, to a growing collection of Marshallese resources, historical and geographical background information, and important links to services. Visit the Marshallese Resources LibGuide for more information, and share this guide with anyone who might be interested. Thank you, Martha!

Portraits On View Throughout Mullins Library’s Exhibition Space
The Libraries, in collaboration with Andrew Kilgore and Compassion Fayetteville, present 30 portraits from Let There Be Light, 100 Black Men. The exhibit, a major, ongoing project, is on view now through October in Mullins. Kilgore is photographing African-American males of all ages and backgrounds to create a “relatively accurate demographic representation of our Country’s African-American male population.” The portraits in this exhibit are hung without art labels, allowing the images to stand alone. Direct questions about the exhibit to Martha Guirl-Phillips or andrewkilgore.com.

Fall Social Media Strategy Meeting
Please plan to attend a quick brainstorming session for back-to-school social media planning on Thursday, August 11 at 2:15pm in MULN 472B. Along with several members of the Libraries’ ad hoc social media committee, you can help gather ideas for the Content Calendar, find out what tools/resources might help us create content, discuss pros/cons of analytics and “peak times,” talk about the usefulness of Snapchat, Periscope, etc., and more!  All interested Libraries’ staff and faculty are invited to attend. Email me if you need any additional info. Thank you!

Today is National Coloring Book Day
Still not hip to the coloring craze? Ashley Mitchell reports that the Coloring Gathering at Mullins Library turned 1 at the end of last month (7/22/15)! It’s the perfect chance to give it a try and find out what all the hoopla is about. The Coloring Gathering at Mullins Library meets Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30pm in the Staff Lounge. All are welcome to stop by and color – bring your own, or share the crayons, markers, coloring pencils, coloring books, and other art supplies of the group. Or, visit the Coloring Book Day website for more info. Thanks, Ashley!

Shout Out (n.) Informal. A message of congratulation, support, or appreciation.
“Shout out to our fearless fine art exhibits curator Martha Guirl-Phillips, and the steadfast Brian Curtis, for providing Libraries’ staff and patrons with lively, thought-provoking art. You guys meet the many needs of artist’s, their assistants, and the organizations that support them, to keep the walls of Mullins full of life. The exhibits that have hung these last few years are AMAZING!” – Kalli Vimr, PR Coordinator (This is a semi-regular feature for the Tuesday Times. Let your colleagues know how much you appreciate them by giving them a shout out in next week’s edition.)

Reminders and Such:

• Libraries Celebrate 70th Anniversary of the Fulbright Exchange Program: The Libraries’ Special Collections continues the celebration of the 70^th anniversary of the Fulbright Exchange Program with a blog post, Fulbright Program Turns 70! At the post, readers can view two photos from collections, learn a bit about the Fulbright Program, and link to the new Fulbright guide.
• Please remember to COPY the person or people who are serving as your back-ups in your out-of-office emails to me. It provides not only an excellent last minute confirmation for you, but is also a handy way for me to procure the contact info that I add to each entry. Thank you!

Calendar of Libraries’ Events – Mark Your Personal Calendars!

Out of Office Notices