Category Archives: Reference

Coe Campbell, the Delroy & Patricia Hire Intern Recipient

My name is Coe Campbell and I was honored to receive the Hire Memorial Scholarship for 2018. Jonathan Jeffrey, the Department Head of Special Collections describes the internship. He says that “the Dr. Delroy & Patricia Hire Internship was established in 2015 to provide students with professional experience working in a special collections library, specifically with material from Allen and Monroe counties in Kentucky and Macon County in Tennessee.” This scholarship opened the opportunity for me to work in the Department of Library of Special Collections at WKU. This funded internship was more than an academic opportunity; it was a life changing experience. 

While doing research and working here at the Library, I felt like I was discovering myself as well as preserving history. I have learned to value everything while interning here, Christmas cards, letters, old farm signs and even business cards are important. I have found that behind every good textbook and history book there is a plethora of sources that no doubt came from a library. I have heard many say that libraries are boring places, others have stated that libraries as we know them are soon to die-out altogether; but I must beg to differ. A Special Collections library, like WKU’s, is a rich and vibrant source of knowledge and information. I would recommend anyone to come to the Special Collections Library spend even one hour in research; I promise they will find something that will spark their interest on almost any topic.   

This internship has inspired me to put my history major to use by hopefully pursuing a MA in Library Science so one day I can help people reconnect to their past. I also want to help to preserve the history of common folk so future generations will know that everyone regardless of their social or economic status is important in the history of us all. History to me is more than dates and important people. History is web of stories, personalities, and people all interconnected. I am thankful somewhere in that web of life; my own history will be found.  

Take a look at some of the things that I processed at Kentucky Library Research Collections  and through TopSCHOLAR.

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An American Odyssey: Photos from the Detroit Photographic Company, 1888-1924

An American Odyssey: Photos From the Detroit Photographic Company 1888-1924

An American Odyssey: Photos From the Detroit Photographic Company 1888-1924 cover

A child asleep in a cotton field. Jupiter and Minerva Terrace, Yellowstone.  A Pike’s Peak prospector. The Battery, Charleston. Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. Emancipation Day in Richmond, Virginia.  The glorious azaleas at the Magnolia Plantation.  Weighing sugar cane in Havana. Dinner hour on the docks, Jacksonville. Unloading bananas in Mobile.  The Liberty Bell. Child coal miners. All these remarkable historical images, and hundreds more, are collected in this new Reference acquisition (FOLIO REF TR 820.5 .A44x 2014).  “The archive of the Detroit Photographic Company (DPC) is probably the most important ever created on the subject of North America between 1888 and 1924…”  so begins the brief history of the company that produced the images in this extraordinary work.  Many of these were colorized with an early process known as Photochrom; therefore you can see a color image of the Grand Canyon 10 years before the invention of color photography.  The images of Kentucky show the tobacco markets and warehouses in Louisville.  Page 100 depicts White Sulphur Spring, Saratoga Lake, New York, and shows people drinking the “miraculous” sulphur water. Grab this weighty and wonderful tome, find yourself an afternoon, and dive in.

Blog entry by Lisa Miller

The Statue of Liberty in photochrom

The Statue of Liberty in photochrom

The Sagamore dock, Green Island, Lake George

The Sagamore dock, Green Island, Lake George

In the surf at Old Orchard, Maine (photochrom)

In the surf at Old Orchard, Maine (photochrom)

Gardens by the lake on the Magnolia Plantation, South Carolina (photochrom)

Gardens by the lake on the Magnolia Plantation, South Carolina (photochrom)

Arrowmaker, Ojibwa Brave, photochrom

Arrowmaker, Ojibwa Brave, photochrom

“Out for a good time” Long Beach, California

“Out for a good time” Long Beach, California

Hotel Green (top) and the Colorado Street Bridge over Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, California

Hotel Green (top) and the Colorado Street Bridge over Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, California

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Filed under Acquisitions, General, Latest News, Reference, Stuff, Uncategorized

Brian Coutts gave Best Reference 2015 seminar

Dr. Coutts Best Reference 2015

Brian Coutts delivering Best Reference 2015 seminar

Brian Coutts gave his “Best Reference” seminar on Friday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m. in Helm 5. Best Reference is an annual selection he makes for Library Journal,  the nation’s oldest and leading library trade journals.  The article appears in the March 1, 2016 issue in both print and online.  This year’s list included 31  titles from 20 different publishers, including 10 university presses and some small publishing houses.  This is the 30th consecutive year Brian has been involved with this project either as a consultant, coauthor or author.  A reception followed with cake and coffee.

Best Reference 2015 seminar

Best Reference 2015 seminar

 

Cake at the reception

Cake and Coffee Served at the Reception

Best Reference 2015 flyer

Best Reference 2015 flyer

Photo Album

Best Reference Article

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Filed under Acquisitions, AskUs!, General, Past Events, People, Reference, Stuff, Uncategorized

Arlis O. Harmon & WKU Folk Studies Intern’s Success

Graduate student intern's depiction of Harmon's life as a composer

Graduate student intern’s depiction of Harmon’s life as a composer.

In Library Special Collections, we have been fortunate to have Angela Arvizu from the Folk Studies Department as a graduate student intern beginning in June. Ms. Arvizu added 171 created the metadata records for Arlis O. Harmon’s original compositions of sheet music (which will soon be approved and internet accessible at kencat.wku.edu), researched and documented an exhibit’s contents using Past Perfect Collection Management software, and created a case exhibit which will remain on display until January 26, 2016 in the Special Collections Library of the Kentucky Building.Harmon Exhibit by Angela intern
Of her internship, Angela wrote: “The experience of being an intern at Kentucky Library Research Collections was gratifying….Harmon who died in 1992 was a composer and poetry writer from Kentucky. The work done during my internship organized and protected his collection of compositions. I appreciated the opportunity to work with Sue Lynn McDaniel and the Special Collections Library in this project.”

A closeup of items in Manuscripts, our Photograph Collection and our Sheet Music Collection

A closeup of items in Manuscripts, our Photograph Collection and our Sheet Music Collection

Often these internships and student work opportunities serve our WKU students well as they seek employment after graduation. Thank you, Angela, for a job well done!

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Filed under Old Stuff, People, Reference

It’s A Small World!

Primary source for family of Robert and Rhoda (Long) Ground

Primary source for family of Robert and Rhoda (Long) Ground

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday, October 19th, WKU Library Special Collections finding aids on KenCat and TopScholar provided access to a researcher accessing the Ground Family Tree http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_kl_non_mat/1/ from Italy. Although we had numerous hits in the past from all over the United States as the tree begins with Robert Ground, born 1767 in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, England, migrating to the United States around 1784.KL005

On Thursday, October 21st, we had a researcher interested in our Dorothy Grider Collection which was located via TopScholar.  We were able to meet the primary source request by sending the digital image above.

These are just two examples of how Library Special Collections now has a worldwide research population thanks to KenCat.wku.edu and TopScholar.  Our faculty are delighted to be making primary sources accessible around the globe!

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Filed under Reference, Uncategorized

Best Reference Sources of 2014

Brian Coutts presents Best Reference

Brian Coutts presents Best Reference 2014

Brian Coutts gave his annual workshop on the “Best Reference Sources of the Year” an annual selection he makes for Library Journal,  the nation’s oldest and leading trade journal.  The article appears in the March 1, 2015 issue in both print and online.  This year’s list included 33  titles from 20 different publishers’ including 12 university presses.  This is the 29th consecutive year Brian has been involved with this project either as a consultant, coauthor or author.  A reception followed with strawberry cake from Cocomo’s and Balinese coffee imported by Spencer’s.

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Strawberry cake from Cocomo’s at reception

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WKU Libraries faculty and staff were invited to attend.
Laura Delancey skims one of the Best Reference volumes as John Gottfriend listens to the presentation.

Brian Coutts, “Best Reference 2014” article 

Photo Album

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Filed under New Stuff, Past Events, People, Reference, Stuff, Uncategorized

153rd Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla

On the fifth of May each year Latinos in the United States and Mexicans everywhere commemorate the defeat of French troops near Puebla on May 5, 1862. On June 27, 1862 the New York Times reported “that the news of the unequivocal and complete defeat of the French army in Mexico will astound, not only France, but all Europe…” Mexican General Beriozabel was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on June 14, 1862 “We have taken some prisoners, who have been sent to the fortress, and have collected more than three hundred dead belonging to the enemy.”

 

The Battle of Puebla, 5 May, 1862 (oil) Mexican School, (19th century), hangs in Museo Nacional de Historia, Castillo de Chapultepec, Mexico

The Battle of Puebla, 5 May, 1862 (oil) Mexican School, (19th century),
hangs in Museo Nacional de Historia, Castillo de Chapultepec, Mexico

Next to the celebration of national independence, Cinco de Mayo is the most important civic holiday celebrated in Mexico today. Each year, Mexicans commemorate 5 May, 1862 through dances, patriotic speeches, parades, and in Puebla itself there is a simulation of the battle staged by the Ministry of War. In the United States, people of Mexican heritage also celebrate Cinco de Mayo as a reaffirmation of their identity. The holiday has become more culturally inclusive over the twentieth century as community events in the U.S. and the increasing Americanization of younger generations of Latinos. Still today, Cinco de Mayo continues to serve its original purpose of remembering the past and celebrating identity.

To read more about how commemoration of this battle became the background for the celebration of Hispanic pride in the United States, check out:

El Cinco De Mayo: An American Tradition by David E. Hayes-Bautista, available in Cravens Library and in e-book edition

El Cinco De Mayo: An American Tradition
by David E. Hayes-Bautista, available in Cravens Library
and in e-book edition

Encyclopedia of Latino Culture: From Calaveras to Quinceañeras edited by Charles M. Tatum, available in Helm Library, Reference

Encyclopedia of Latino Culture: From Calaveras to Quinceañeras edited by Charles M. Tatum, available in Helm Library, Reference

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos & Latinas in the United States edited by Suzanne Oboler & Deena J. González, available in Helm Library, Reference

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos & Latinas in the United States edited by Suzanne Oboler & Deena J. González,
available in Helm Library, Reference

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Celebrate Cinco de Mayo by Carolyn Otto & José Manuel Alamillo,
available at ERC

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Cinco de Mayo by Mary Dodson Wade & Nanci Reginelli Vargus,
available at ERC

Accounts of the battle are reported in our Historic New York Times and Chicago Tribune, and articles about Cinco de Mayo can be found on databases provided by WKU Libraries, such as JSTOR.

 

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WKU’s Research and Creative Database acquires new Readership Map feature

topscholarmap

Western Kentucky University’s research and creative database (TopSCHOLAR) has added a new feature called Readership Map. The new map pinpoints where researchers are located from around the world and what specific data they are viewing at that moment.

“This truly shows the international reach of the intellectual capital of WKU,” said Dean Connie Foster of WKU Libraries. “If you go to the website at any time, faculty, staff, and students’ materials are being downloaded all over the world. It’s a visual method to see where our scholarly works are reaching.”

According to Bepress, the parent company for the repository software Digital Commons, the following describes how the Readership Map works:

The Digital Commons Readership Map provides a dynamic visual display of location-based article downloads of open-access materials from Digital Commons and SelectedWorks sites. When a visitor downloads an article, a highlighted pin drops on the map to indicate the approximate location of the download. The title of the article and the title of the article’s publication (e.g., Dissertations) appears in a feed to the left of the map. When another download occurs, another pin drops; the highlight moves to the second pin, and the feed updates with new title information.

     Go to www.digitalcommons.wku.edu to see the Readership Map in action.

 

 

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New Faculty Orientation & Information Fair

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Faculty Orientation Agenda 2013

The faculty and staff of University Libraries participated in this year’s 2013 New Faculty Orientation on Friday, August 16.  Jack Montgomery, John Gottfried, and Jennifer Wilson answered questions at the lunch time Information Fair.

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(From Left to Right) John Gottfried, Jennifer Wilson, and Jack Montgomery at the Information Fair.

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John Gottfried and Jack Montgomery answering questions from new faculty members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The afternoon presentation included a welcome from Dean Connie Foster and then presentations on reference services, LibGuides and databases from John 2013-08-28 16_07_17-New Faculty Orientation & Information Fair _ WKU Libraries BlogGottfried, catalogs and TopScholar from Deana Groves and Research Instruction from Bryan Carson.  Jack Montgomery explained collection development and our desire to partner with teaching faculty.  He also introduced our new Patron Driven Acquisition program which will launch this fall.  A collection of selected resources will be added to our TOPCAT online catalog and become part of our permanent collection the second time they are selected by patrons.  Katie King introduced the libraries’ social media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Blog and our newest Pinterest).  The latter features pages on 2013-08-29 11_01_42-Greenshot capture formprograms and recent library acquisitions.  Brian Coutts talked about this year’s Literary Outreach programs including the Faraway Places and Kentucky Live series, the Kentucky Writer’s Conference, the Southern Kentucky Bookfest, One Book One Community reads program and Faraway Flix, a new series of foreign film nights.  He also discussed STACKMAP our new newest technical application which allows patrons to click on MAPIT in the public catalog to determine exact locations of circulating materials. Timothy Mullin talked about Library Specials Collections.  The New faculty received a copy of the libraries’ Centennial History.

 

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Link to the New Faculty Orientation Powerpoint:

New Faculty Orientation PowerPoint

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Filed under Acquisitions, Events, Far Away Places, General, Kentucky Live, Latest News, New Stuff, Past Events, Reference, Stuff, Uncategorized

April Reference Area Book Display

stress

April is National Stress Awareness Month. The library has many books on recognizing stress and its effects, as well as physical and psychological ways to manage stress.  Stop by the reference area to read about stress and learn how to manage its effects.

Books on Display

  1. Encyclopedia of stress / editor-in-chief, George Fink. QP82.2.S8 E53 2000 (Volume 1 of 3)
  2. Encyclopedia of stress and stress-related diseases / Ada P. Kahn ; foreword by Delbert H. Meyer. QP82.2.S8 K34
  3. Gale encyclopedia of mental health / Kristin Key, editor. RC437 .G36 2012
  4. Mental health disorders sourcebook… / edited by Amy L. Sutton. RC454.4 .M458 2009
  5. Encyclopedia of counseling / Frederick T. L. Leong, editor-in-chief. BF636.54 .E53 2008 (Volume 1 of 4)
  6. Encyclopedia of human emotions / edited by David Levinson, James J. Ponzetti, Jr., Peter F. Jorgensen. BF531 .E55 1999 (Volume 1 of 2)
  7. The complete mental health directory : a comprehensive source book for individuals and professionals / editorial director: Laura Mars: medical editor, Nada Stotland. RA790.6 .C62
  8. Fitness and exercise sourcebook …/ edited by Laura Larsen. GV436 .F53 2011

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