Library Newsletter Spring 2016

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2016 Message from the Dean of the Library and Learning Technologies I often talk about the library as a collaborative operation. Librarians work with faculty across the schools and colleges to ensure that students and faculty have the information they need for their classes and research. We have taken a more direct approach to collaboration this semester, however, working with two faculty members who developed a course titled 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping that was offered in spring 2016. Rapid prototyping describes techniques often used in various industries to fabricate scale models of potential products. The course is the very definition of interdisciplinary and experiential – the class is taught by a chemist and a political scientist (both with 3D printing and “MakerSpace” experience) through the Entrepreneurship program in the School of Business Administration. It has attracted students from a wide variety of majors and minors, including business, sports business, management, marketing, physics, theatre arts, digital arts, English, computer science, music, journalism, and accounting. Students in the class developed a project from idea to prototype throughout the semester, learning about 3D design, Computer-Aided Design software (below), and 3D printing techniques. Much of the work was done in the library’s Innovation Lab where the students could print prototypes on one of the library’s eight 3D printers. -Susan M. Ryan, Dean of the duPont-Ball Library- Limited Edition Bible Donated to Library Thanks to the generous donation of Bruce and Suzie Kovner, the duPont-Ball Library now holds a limited edition Pennyroyal Caxton Bible. The Kovners have donated copies of this Bible to a number of prominent universities. According to the donors, our library was selected as a recipient “in recognition of the aesthetic and scholarly standards of Stetson University duPont-Ball Library and in particular your Special Collections and cross disciplines of Arts and Humanities.” The Holy Bible: Containing All the Books of the Old and New Testaments was designed and illustrated by Barry Moser, considered a master of wood engraving. This particular Bible is the only fully-illustrated Bible published in the 20th century; Moser engraved each of the Bible’s 233 illustrations depicting religious scenes based on the text. Published by the Pennyroyal Caxton Press in 1999, the library’s two-volume set is number 271 of 400 printed copies. The beautiful edition is bound in full limp vellum (rarely used in modern book binding) with the title stamped in 24-carat gold on the cover and spine. The type is modeled on a 16th-century type style and the paper made by a four-century-old German company. Commenting on the unique illustrations contained in the work, art historian Miles Unger wrote in the New York Times that “Mr. Moser may just have created the Bible for our time.” Welcome Melissa We are very pleased to welcome Melissa Fleming to the library as the Executive Assistant to the Library Dean. Melissa has worked at Stetson since 2013, previously serving as the Administrative Budget Coordinator for the five Natural Science departments. She has held various other administrative assistance positions in Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. Melissa brings to us a wealth of administrative and technical skills and she is already well settled into her library routine. ___________________________________________ Staff Retirements We like to think that the duPont-Ball Library is a great place to work, and many of our staff spend decades with us before making it to a well-deserved retirement. This year we have four retirements of long-time staff members who have more than 140 years of combined Stetson service! All of them have been especially dedicated to generations of Stetson students. Susan Connell Derryberry started working for the library right out of high school in 1972. For many years, she has been our Interlibrary Loan Coordinator, borrowing books and articles from other libraries so that faculty and students could finish research projects. Countless faculty-authored books thank Susan in the acknowledgements which serves as a testament to her service. Cathy Ervin has held a number of positions in the duPont-Ball Library and the Presser Music Library since 1992, but for the past 18 years she served as the Circulation Services Coordinator - supervising everything that happens around our front service desk. Cathy managed hundreds of student workers over the years, and helped many more students with various library services. Terry Grieb, Stetson class of 1968, came back to his alma mater in 1982 as the Head of Audio-Visual Services and has worked in various media services positions, ending his career as a Digital Media Learning Technologist. His work has involved media that evolved from 16mm film to digital video. He is known across campus for helping students with media projects and offering media support for many University events. Sims Kline began his Stetson career in 1976. He became Acting Library Director in 1982, then Library Director until 2002 when he stepped down to return to working with students as a research librarian. While Director, Sims served on the Florida Library Network Council. As a founding member of the Central Florida Library Consortium, he led a statewide initiative that resulted in state funding for multi-type library cooperatives. Sims is well-known for going the extra mile for students. _________________________________________ Goodbye to Jason In addition to our retirements, Head of Public Services Jason Martin is leaving Stetson to accept the Associate Dean position at the Walker Library at Middle Tennessee State University. We are happy for Jason as he advances in his professional life, and grateful for how much he has contributed to our library at a time of rapid change. In his four years with us, Jason has developed many good ideas that helped move us forward. We congratulate Jason on his new job and wish him well. The User Experience in Libraries A team of three librarians representing the duPont-Ball Library was selected to participate in the Northeast Florida Library Information Network’s (NEFLIN) User Experience, or “UX,” project. The purpose of the project is to gather data on how patrons use the library and uncover ways the library can meet their needs more effectively. In February, the team - comprised of Barbara Costello, Jason Martin, and Grace Kaletski - traveled to Orange Park to attend a kickoff event, where they learned the basics of UX and had a private consultation with a nationally-known UX expert. The following week, the same expert consultant made an on-site visit to the library and worked with the team to develop goals and a plan for gathering data. Throughout April, team members put the plan into action by observing patrons using our space, collecting diaries from students who had recorded their academic activities and library use for an entire week, and recording videos of students navigating the library website. Over the summer, the team will analyze the data, and identify and implement changes to improve the library experience for users. The project methodology and results will be presented at the NEFLIN annual meeting in September. -Barbara Costello and Grace Kaletski- ______________________________________________________ Library Research Prizes Each spring the library awards two research prizes: The Evans C. Johnson and the R. Neil Scott Research Prizes. The contest is sponsored by the library (and funded by donors in memory of the prizes’ namesakes) to encourage the thorough, effective, creative, and ethical use of research resources. Winners receive a monetary award and an engraved plaque. The 2016 Evans C. Johnson Prize went to Sylwia Jurkowski (above right with Dr. Kimberly Reiter) for her paper, What is the Evidence for Christianity’s Impact on Constantine the Great’s Architectural Program?, written for Dr. Reiter’s class, “How to Be an Ancient Historian.” Makayla Mitchell (right, with Dr. Paul Croce) won the R. Neil Scott Prize for her paper, Fracking: An Ingenious Solution or a Dirty Fuel in a Green Façade?, written for Dr. Croce’s class, “USA, The Natural Experiment: Environmental Debates.” This year, the quality of the entries was strong enough that the library also awarded an honorable mention to Mary C. Smith-Feinberg (above left) for Are We Humans or Are We Monsters? - also written for Dr. Croce’s class. We congratulate these talented students. Read more about the prizes at stetson.edu/library/resources/research-prizes. _______________________________________ Vietnam-Era Memorial Website A group of faculty, staff, and alumni worked for a number of years to create a Stetson Alumni Vietnam Era Veterans Remembrance site that honors our alumni who served in the military during the Vietnam era. The memorial site, dedicated in front of a large crowd at Homecoming in November, sits to the north of Griffith Hall in a beautiful and quiet open spot on campus. The benches, plantings, and water feature at the site provide a pleasant setting for the contemplation about service and sacrifice and about war and peace that the site is designed to encourage. An important goal of the project is to educate current Stetson students about the War and its lasting impact on our lives. To support the physical site, the library maintains a website that offers a range of information about the Vietnam War and the Vietnam era, as well as biographical information about our alumni who served. Find the Vietnam War Era Remembrance website at stetson.edu/library/vietnam-memorial. If you would like to donate to the project, you can do so online at stetson.edu/give (specify “Vietnam Memorial”) or by check to Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8286, DeLand, FL 32723. ___________________________________________ Haire Family Endowment The library recently received a wonderful gift from John (class of 1968) and Shelia Haire. The John Haire Family Library Endowment Fund was given to address the most pressing needs of the library that are not met with our annual operating budgets. While the University provides us with funds to keep the library running, we could not support an excellent library without donors who give us the funding needed to go above and beyond providing basic research collections and services. Our popular Innovation Lab is a great example – our 3D printing equipment and other hands-on technologies are all possible solely through our donors. We expect that the Haire Fund will allow us to implement new services or technologies based on what we learn from our User Experience project (described earlier in the Newsletter). We thank the Haire family for believing in our vision to make our library an outstanding teaching and learning center for our students, faculty, and staff. Lewis Stetson Allen Archives Endowment Lewis Stetson Allen was not only the great-great grandson of University benefactor John B. Stetson, but he was the family’s historian, tracing the Stetson family’s genealogy and keeping historians honest about the John B. Stetson story. The library could always count on Lewis to correct any factual error about the Stetson name that might be hiding in our Archives. Shortly before he passed away in 2015, Lewis turned his love of Stetson history into an endowment for the duPont-Ball Library’s archives. At Lewis’ request, the endowment yield will be used each year to research and preserve the Stetson family and Stetson company history, as well as the history of the relationship of the Stetsons with our University. Already, librarians have made great progress in tracing the latest generations of John B. Stetson’s direct descendants, contacting family members who have been overwhelmingly positive and helpful. We know that at least one great-great-great-great grandchild has been born, marking the sixth generation direct descendant of John B. Stetson. Stay tuned as we learn more about our Hatter heritage! ________________________________________ Follow the Library on Facebook Stay up-to-date on library news. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/StetsonLibrary. Find the John B. Stetson Facebook page which posts Stetson-related items of current and historical interest at facebook.com/johnbstetson1886 duPont-Ball Library • Stetson University • 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8418 • DeLand, FL 32723 (386)822-7183 • stetson.edu/library • facebook.com/StetsonLibrary