Library Newsletter Spring 2018

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2018 Message from the Dean of the Library and Learning Technologies Susan M. Ryan What is the mission of an academic library in a world filled with readily available information? Librarians have given much thought to the contemporary university library, looking at the mix of collections, services, and facilities that best meets the needs of our students and faculty. We are not abandoning our traditional role of providing high-quality curated information sources (both print and electronic) to the Stetson community, but that is no longer enough for today’s students. Students seeking employment in a 21st century world need to be creative critical thinkers who adapt easily to change. We focus, therefore, on the three areas articulated in our library mission: teaching and learning, collaboration, and innovation. Our Innovation Lab, for example, touches on all three: students and faculty find innovative experiential teaching and learning opportunities in the Lab, and the atmosphere encourages collaboration – collaboration between faculty and students, but also between students with similar interests. We promote information literacy – teaching students to consume and evaluate information with a critical eye. We expect to prepare Stetson graduates to pursue meaningful careers, and to help lead in a 21st century world. The library is doing our part to ensure that our students have the skill sets to meet those expectations. Let There Be Light… And Power! Thanks to two generous donors, we have upgraded lighting and our electrical infrastructure. Our beautiful Nemec Courtyard on the north side of the library is a popular outdoor student study space. The lighting, however, made the space dark and uninviting in the evening. Hardy Construction, Inc. provided the funding to install classic lighting fixtures that transformed the Courtyard into a safe space conducive to studying outdoors in our mild evening climate. Similarly, our new Quiet Study Area on the ground floor of the library has become one of our most popular study spaces. While this area had good lighting, it did not have electrical outlets to support the multiple electronic devices used by our students. An alumnus graciously funded an electrical upgrade project, and happy students are now plugged in and working hard. Welcome Kelly and Jackee! The library welcomes two new staff members this spring. Kelly Larson joins us as Stetson’s first professional Archivist. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree with a concentration in Archives, and comes to us from The Sage Colleges in New York, where she was the College Archivist heading the Archives and Special Collections department. She has hit the ground running, providing us with expertise and knowledge of “best practices” that she will apply to Stetson’s Archives. As an archivist and history buff, Kelly looks forward to sharing her love of archives and historical research with the Stetson community. She is available for archival reference and research assistance, and is happy to dig up answers for any questions you may have about Stetson’s fascinating past. Jackee Brame, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications, is a long-time Stetson employee who has worked in several departments on campus, most recently in the Finance Department as Purchasing Coordinator. She has taken on the library’s Circulation Coordinator position with multi-faceted responsibilities, including overseeing the front-desk service operation, as well as managing the library’s many student assistants. Jackee’s knowledge of Stetson and her service-oriented outlook make her a valuable addition to our staff. Ken Burns Vietnam Documentary A number of years ago, librarians worked with Ken Burns’ production staff to provide many photos and videos from the University Archives’ Max Cleland Collection. Max (’64), one of Stetson’s most distinguished alumni, gifted a large number of photographs and memorabilia to the library that depict his 50 years of service in the military and in government, including all of his Vietnam-related material. We were pleased to hear Max recount his experiences, as well as see our archival photos in the documentary. Especially gratifying was to see Stetson University Library Archives scroll in the credits along with the National Archives, presidential libraries, and other prominent archival repositories (below). We thank Max for his wonderful gift, his contributions to the documentary, and, most of all, for his service to our country. John B. Stetson’s Contributions We know that famed hat maker John B. Stetson offered so much monetary and other support to the University in its early days that DeLand College was renamed John B. Stetson University in his honor. But just how much, exactly, did Stetson contribute to the University? When this question came to the Archives in February, we consulted the most reliable source we could find: an old ledger book with a handwritten tabulation of all donors and gifts received by the University from 1884-1932. Using this resource, we tallied up all the donations attributed to John B. Stetson and his family. Though we know that some gifts were not included in the ledger, including land deeds and Stetson stock, this tally offers an approximation of the cash gifts and other items he contributed (a horse, wagon, and harness; wood for heating; a 40-light gas machine; and library books). The total comes to $282,623, so we know that he gave Stetson at least that much. Adjusting for inflation, this would be about $7 million today. The ledger also shows that after his death in 1906, his son, John B. Stetson, Jr., and widow, Elizabeth Stetson, continued to support the University: their donations amounted to an additional $121,550. 3D Printing and Scanning Demo Library Dean Susan Ryan, Innovation Lab Manager Tony Ganus, and Chemistry Professor Tandy Grubbs visited the DeLand High School Science National Honors Society to demonstrate the uses of 3D printing and scanning in the sciences. While Dr. Grubbs explained some ways in which he has used 3D printing in his classes, Tony conducted a live 3D scan of one of the students. We later turned the scan into a small 3D-printed rendering of the student who was excited by the remarkable resemblance of her 3D self (below). Entrepreneurship at Stetson The Stetson School of Business Administration is home to a dynamic Entrepreneurship Program that equips students to practice social and/or business entrepreneurship through learning creative problem-solving skills. The library’s Innovation Lab has been a part of that skill set development for a number of these students. We congratulate Thomas Oltorik (left), a business student who took home a $10,000 first place prize in a recent entrepreneurship competition. Thomas made his product prototypes in the library’s Innovation Lab. Staff Retirements Two long-time staff members recently retired from Stetson. Angela Story (below, right) started as a part-time reference librarian, and moved into a full-time position as the Government Documents Assistant before moving into her last position as Archives Specialist. She spent 16 years at Stetson, answering questions on all topics, but she especially loved researching Stetson history. Angela had a smile for everyone and an always-positive outlook. Ann Molohon (left) served the library and Stetson for 18 years. Ann worked many different jobs in the library, mostly working with serial publications, but adapting well to wherever we needed her. She worked tirelessly on many, many special projects without complaint. We will miss her quiet perseverance. Congratulations, Angela and Ann – enjoy your well-deserved retirements! Estate Gifts The library has benefited from a number of estate gifts over the years, including one of the largest endowments that the library has ever received. Endowments and gift funds allow us to supplement University materials and operations funds, and give us a chance to go above and beyond supporting the basic curriculum. To find out more about Estate Gifts to the library, contact Kate Pearce, Assistant Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement, [email protected]. 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 2017 Evans C. Johnson Prize went to Sarah-Kate Rines (above, right) for her paper, The Issues of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining in Appalachia, written for Dr. Asal Johnson’s (above, left) class, “Health and Human Rights.” Annabelle Hause (above, left with librarian Laura Kirkland) won the R. Neil Scott Prize for her paper, Instability in Nigeria’s Government, written for Dr. Baboucar Jobe’s “Introduction to Africana Studies” course. We congratulate these talented students. duPont-Ball Library • Stetson University • 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8418 • DeLand, FL 32723 (386)822-7183 • stetson.edu/library • facebook.com/StetsonLibrary