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| October 2006 |
HAVERFORD COLLEGE |
No. 4 |
Table of Contents
From the Director
by Bob Kieft
Readers of this newsletter will recall the several
articles that have appeared in its pages about grants from the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore
since the mid-1990s. This series of grants has encouraged the
Colleges to develop collaborative approaches to information/instructional
technologies and library services.
As Mellon has with many other individual colleges and consortia,
they have helped us improve our infrastructures and develop services
that allow us to “compete” in this technologically
advanced world with the services and utilities that universities,
with their larger staffs and more diverse missions, populations,
and locations, must create in order to do business. Although liberal
arts colleges continue to market the advantages of small classes,
faculty attention to individual students, residential settings,
and distinctive educational cultures, they also have to compete
for students in a world where cultural expectations for a media-
and technology-rich environment predominate -- where bigger, more,
and faster are assumed to be better. Colleges are thus as never
before asked to provide amenities and services that match in kind,
if not in size, those of universities and the commercial sector.
Mellon’s hypothesis has been that colleges can compete
technologically by collaborative leveraging of resources to create
an environment rich both in external resources or technological
possibilities and in the kinds of local interactions that are
the hallmarks of residential liberal arts education. A few years
ago, three Mellon-supported Centers for the development and teaching
of language learning technologies among
college faculty -- one each in Vermont, Texas, and Michigan --
became centers more generally for encouraging the exploration
of possible roles for information technologies throughout liberal
arts curricula. Dubbed collectively the National Institute for
Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE, http://www.nitle.org/),
these Centers have offered an array of learning and networking
opportunities as well as grants to individual colleges and consortia.
As a medium through which local, regional, and national cooperative
initiatives as well as training and workshops occur, NITLE proposes
to do something that colleges, unlike universities, have a lot
of trouble doing, namely, working together to solve problems,
meet challenges, and take advantage of opportunities common to
them all. To this end, NITLE organizes its programs not only to
invite colleges to collaboratively address the ways in which technology
informs all aspects of faculty and student work, but to build
communities of interest on campuses by bringing together project
teams of faculty, administrators, librarians, and technologists.
NITLE is now “graduating” from Mellon
support by inviting colleges to join in making it a “de-Centered,”
self-sustaining organization. Haverford has benefited from NITLE
programs over the years, and has joined the new collaborative
for a two-year experimental period, a period still subsidized
in part by Mellon. I hope that NITLE can serve as medium to further
the interests of our partnership with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore,
and can help Haverford especially position itself to offer the
campus enhanced service and expertise in instructional technologies.
I also hope that NITLE will be a means through which College Information
Resources staff can gain or develop knowledge and skills which
will benefit faculty and students and enrich their work through
professional ties with staff who do similar work at other institutions.
Academic Computing and Library departmental liaisons will be in
touch with faculty about NITLE opportunities that might interest
them.
-Bob Kieft is Director of College Information Resources & Librarian of the College
The Bi-College News-Library Collaboration
by Vanessa Gorman
Throughout the school year, The Bi-College News
documents the stories of Bryn Mawr and Haverford community life.
Interspersed with these stories, snapshots capture the moments
inadequately described by words. Paging through the April 25,
2006, issue, for example, finds a toga-clad Haverford President
Tritton running across campus as he opens the 2003 Dorm Olympics.
The collection's candid shots of campus life capture humor
and tradition.
Unfortunately, these vivid colors of campus life
are missing from the paper’s new articles-only online edition
<http://www.biconews.com>,
which provides broader access to the paper than the
enduring print edition. In an effort to reconnect the online stories
with their photos, the Bryn Mawr and Haverford Libraries have
embarked on a collaborative project with the staff of The Bi-College
News to create a digital photograph collection.
With the first issue of volume 38, in the fall of
2005, The Bi-College News staff began providing digital copies
of its published photos to the Libraries as each issue went to
press. At that time, the Libraries established a collection for
the photos in Triptych, <http://triptych.brynmawr.edu>,
a digital initiative of the Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore
College Libraries. Haverford’s Bibliographic & Digital
Services division catalogs the photos using print issues, which
provide captions, photographers’ names, and citation data
for most of the photographs. Additional research enriches these
records with descriptions, subject headings, name authorities,
dates, and locations. The resulting database contains searchable
metadata for each photo.
Campus discussions, such as this "First Thursday"
meeting from December 2005, are among the many images of campus
life preserved in the collection.
The collaborative photograph archive project progresses
in conjunction with the newspaper’s effort to digitize its
current and back issues. Eventually, The Bi-College News staff
hopes to archive the text of every issue dating back to 1904.
So far, the archive of articles <http://www.biconews.com/archives/>
includes a sampling of stories since the fall of 2000. The photograph
and article archives converge with volume 38, issue 9, from December
13, 2005. Beginning with that issue, the archived photograph records
contain links to their corresponding texts. Since Triptych creates
permanent URLs for each photograph, The Bi-College News will soon
be able to do the reverse: link its online articles to related
photos using spreadsheets of URLs supplied by the Library.
Since the collaboration began, more than 350 images, spanning
one newspaper volume, have been preserved in the Bi-College News
Photograph Collection. As the new school year begins, the Library
continues to cultivate its existing relationship with The Bi-College
News students to enhance the digital resources of the photograph
archive as well as the online newspaper.
-Vanessa Gorman is Bibliographic
& Digital Services Assistant
Teaching Japanese with Technology Workshop
by Hiroyo Saito
Yoko Koike, the director of Haverford’s Japanese
language program, received a grant from the National Institute
for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE) in 2006 to provide
Japanese instructors from participating colleges with a year-long
series of technology workshops. Nine Japanese instructors from
various colleges participated in the series, with the Haverford,
Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore language center directors serving as
technical consultants and workshop facilitators.
Three workshops were held in the Language Learning Center at
Haverford College: one in October 2005; another in November 2005;
and the last in June 2006. In addition to the lecture-style workshops,
an online discussion board for posting pedagogical and technical
questions and answers was utilized to share ideas, discuss problems,
and submit progress reports throughout the year.
The purpose of this NITLE-sponsored series was to help participants
formulate ideas for effective use of technology through presentations,
discussion, and hands-on workshops. Participants would then implement
their ideas in the classroom, and later assess their successfulness.
Each workshop included pedagogical and technical discussion and
hands-on sessions. The hands-on topics were selected based on
the participants' needs, interests, and technical skill levels.
The topics included video editing, Japanese text digital scanning,
Web site review, use of the Kanji (Chinese character) online template,
audio software, podcasting, computer-mediated communication tools,
and effective use of PowerPoint in the classroom.
The participants provided positive feedback and reports on how
they made use of the resources. In addition to the technical benefits,
the workshops allowed the Japanese instructors to create a community
where they can share teaching materials and discuss pedagogical
and technical issues. This series is a good example of inter-institutional
collaboration, and could be used as a model in other disciplines
for enhancing the use of technology in the classroom.
-Hiroyo Saito is Director of the
Language Learning Center
Magill Library Gets a Facelift
by Dawn Heckert and Heidi Scott; photographs by
Liz Romano
For several years, the Library staff has been talking
about the need for more collaborative study spaces and lounge
areas in Magill, and additional ways to make the building more
welcoming. Due to a confluence of major events, including a steam
leak in November 2005, we were given the opportunity this summer
to address some of these needs.
The Morley Alcove’s stylish new carpet
We started with the space that had suffered the
steam damage. Our first job was to pick out a rug for that area.
We decided on a field with an insert so as to give the appearance
of an Oriental area rug in the middle of the space. Overstuffed
comfortable sofas and chairs will soon replace the old worn furniture
that currently occupies this space. The fresh carpet and new furniture
will lend a club feel, appropriate for this alcove that houses
the Morley Collection (Christopher Morley became a prominent figure
in literary culture in the first half of the 20th century). This
area should serve as a wonderful lounge space for students.
Cozy seating near the New Books display
New arrangement for the browsing collection of popular fiction
in the Information Hub
The most noticeable change has been in the Reference Desk area.
In addition to replacing the weathered carpet, we replaced the
fortress-like reference desk with a more modular and welcoming
desk. The new desk will foster collaboration between reference
librarians and patrons. Further, it had become apparent that we
no longer needed the bookcases that were jutting out into the
room, so we had them removed. Into the space gained from removing
the shelving units we added five more computer stations and two
tables for collaborative work. The built-in bookcases will now
contain the “new books” display and a number of rotating
exhibits related to the curriculum. Two comfy chairs will give
this space a welcoming feel.
To brighten and make the space more welcoming, we
chose paint, fabrics, and wood stains that had a warm tone, and
we used a furniture layout that allowed more freedom of movement.
Lastly, we christened the area “The Michael S. Freeman Information
Hub” in tribute to Haverford’s former College Librarian
who was a promoter of information sharing and collaborative work
among librarians and the College community.
The new faculty publications display in the Info Hub.
We look forward to other changes since the College has pledged
more money for other revitalization projects. We will further
evaluate our space and look for ways Magill Library can be more
welcoming and patron-friendly. Projects being discussed are new
and improved signage, a welcome kiosk, and additional collaborative
study spaces.
Many thanks to Ron Tola, Fern Hall, and Sam Williams, Directors
of Facilities, Housekeeping, and Purchasing, respectively, and
the representatives from their departments whose hard work and
guidance helped us achieve our vision.
-Dawn Heckert is Circulation Services
Supervisor
-Heidi Scott is Library Administrative Assistant
-Liz Romano is Circulation Specialist, Evening Supervisor
Staff News and Notes
Compiled by Mike Persick
Norm Medeiros, Associate Librarian
of the College & Coordinator for Bibliographic and Digital
Services, was a contributor to Managing Electronic Resources:
Contemporary Problems and Emerging Issues (Chicago: ALA,
2006). Norm’s chapter, “House of Horrors: Exorcising
Electronic Resources,” reviews the processes by which academic
libraries have attempted to manage licensed electronic resources
over the past two decades. Norm also moderated “ERMS Implementations:
Are We Taming the Electronic Tiger?,” a preconference of
the 2006 American Library Association Annual Conference held this
past June in New Orleans.
Michelle Oswell, Humanities Librarian for Music
and Literature, graduated in March from Drexel University with
her master’s degree in Library and Information Science.
Hiroyo Saito, Director of the Language Learning
Center, presented a paper on “Course Management Systems
(CMS) to Promote Language Learning” at the NEALLT (Northeast
Association for Language Learning Technology) conference held
at the University of Pennsylvania from April 7-9, 2006. She also
presented a paper on “A Model for a Technology Workshop
Series with Lasting Results” at CALICO (the Computer Assisted
Language Instruction Consortium) conference held at the University
of Hawaii from May 16-20, 2006.
Margaret Schaus, Reference Librarian
& Bibliographer, is pleased to announce publication of Women
and Gender in Medieval Europe: an Encyclopedia, volume 14
in Routledge’s series, Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages.
Specialists wrote over 560 topical and biographical articles.
There are overview articles for countries and for literatures
by language. Lesser known topics, such as mothers as teachers,
and individuals, including the nun-artist Caterina Vigri, are
also included. Gender is considered in some unexpected ways, including
St. Joseph’s problematic unmasculine role, and the literary
heroine Silence, who is raised as a boy. Margaret edited the volume
with Susan Mosher Stuard (Haverford College, History Department)
and Thomas Izbicki (Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University).
Two new staff members have joined the Library. J'aime
Wells will be working in Special Collections as Executive
Secretary and Research Assistant. Before coming here, J'aime completed
a Ph.D. in philosophy at Rutgers, the State University of New
Jersey, and interned in the editorial acquisitions department
at Rutgers University Press. Christa Williford,
our new User Services Librarian, has just completed a two-year
Council on Library and Information Resources fellowship at Bryn
Mawr College Library, where she worked in Special Collections
and College Collections on instructional technology and digital
image archiving projects. She is pursuing her master’s degree
in librarianship at the University of Washington’s Information
School.
-Mike Persick is Acquisitions Librarian
& Assistant Catalog Librarian
