Author Archives: Susan Broady

by Susan Broady | September 23, 2015 · 5:57 pm

WKU Libraries announces winner of 9th Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award

Western Kentucky University Libraries has selected Wildflower, written by Alecia Whitaker, as the winner of the ninth Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award. The national award was created to honor the memory of former WKU librarian Evelyn Thurman, who made significant contributions to children’s librarianship and literacy during her 25 years of service to the university and community. Books eligible for the award must be written or illustrated by a Kentucky author or illustrator or have a significant Kentucky-related connection.

wildflower by whitaker

The book is about Sixteen-year-old Bird Barrett being discovered by a country music label while playing in her family’s bluegrass band. As her star rises, she must learn to stay true to her roots while navigating a brand new world of glamour and gold records in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Wildflower is a beautifully written book about following your dreams and staying true to yourself even when the road looks bumpy,” said Renee Hale, selection committee member. “The committee feels this is an important message to convey to our area students.”

Alecia Whitaker grew up on a small farm in Kentucky, worlds away from where she currently resides in fast-paced New York City. With a BFA in theatre and a BA in advertising from the University of Kentucky, Whitaker has always been a writer. She has published numerous essays, the popular one-act play Becoming Woman with a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and her first novel The Queen of Kentucky prior to writing Wildflower.

The author will be honored at an awards luncheon in November where she will receive a monetary award from Ms. Thurman’s endowment and a commerative plaque. While in the area, Whitaker will visit local schools as part of the Southern Kentucky Book Fest’s “Fall into Books” program. For more information about the Evelyn Thurman award, visit http://www.wku.edu/library/awards/evelynthurman.php.

This program is made possible by the Evelyn Thurman Children’s Author Fund, the Southern Kentucky Book Fest partnership, and WKU Libraries.

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by Susan Broady | September 11, 2015 · 7:58 pm

SOKY Book Fest continues partnership with Warren County 212° Academy

212° Academy students from Warren County will once again have the opportunity for a chance to win a spot on the author roster at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest in April 2016. For the fourth year in a row, students at the 212° Academy —a program for gifted and talented children in the Warren County schools—will be crafting ideas, writing stories, sourcing illustrations, and ultimately publishing books to be entered into a competition to become one of two authors who can participate in the professional book festival with public attendance in the thousands.

“We are so happy to offer this opportunity to eager readers and writers from the schools,” said Sara Volpi, Literary Outreach Coordinator for WKU Libraries and SOKY Book Fest organizer. “Learning to create and publish your own book is pretty special, but the winners of the contest will also get the chance to represent, sign, and sell their books at both Children’s Day and the main SOKY Book Fest day along with more than 130 bestselling authors from around the United States and other parts of the world, making this opportunity all the more exciting.”

According to Jennifer Sheffield, teacher for the 212° Academy, the goal of this project for students is to not only research and explore a variety of STEAM-related interests, but to experience the process of crafting a book for publication.

“Each book will be published through lulu.com, an online book self-publishing website, printed in full-color and assigned an official library ISBN number,” Sheffield said. The winning students will receive certificates of recognition and are invited to sign copies of their books at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest on April 22-23.

The contest is a combined effort between the Southern Kentucky Book Fest partners (Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Warren County Public Library, and WKU Libraries) and the teachers at the Academy.

For more information, visit www.sokybookfest.org or contact Sara Volpi at (270) 745-4502.

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by Susan Broady | September 8, 2015 · 9:06 pm

1866 Stereoviews of Mammoth Cave

The Department of Library Special Collections at WKU recently acquired a complete set of Charles L. Waldack’s 1866 stereoviews of Mammoth Cave. The collection of 42 stereoviews are magnesium light views about Mammoth Cave, and include scenes of the Hotel, guests, the African American cave guides, and many interior shots of cave formations. Stereoviews, also known as stereoscopic photographs or stereographs, were introduced in the early 19^th century for viewing two almost identical images through a stereoscope to offer a 3D illusion.

Originally from Belgium, Waldack came to the United States in 1857, and is the first photographer of the cave. Waldack was noted for bringing “sunlight” to the interior of the cave by the use of magnesium to create images of the cave and the surrounding area. The 42 views of Mammoth Cave were published by E. & H.T. Anthony & Co.

According to the Journal of Speleological History, “These were the first high quality photographs produced underground in any cave.” Waldack had a photography shop at 31West 3^rd Street in Cincinnati and made many excellent views between 1857 and 1873. His most significant were his 42 stereoviews of Mammoth Cave. Twelve of his photographs were printed as engravings in the 1870 book A Historical and Descriptive Narrative of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky by William S. Forwood.

“WKU has long been a premier research institution for speleology and karst studies, and we have a particular interest and emphasis on Mammoth Cave due to its proximity and its long history as a tourist destination,” said Jonathan Jeffrey, Department head for WKU’s Library Special Collections. “The Waldack stereograph collection is a major and unique acquisition for WKU; we are thrilled to make them available to our researchers.”

These stereoviews can be seen by visiting http://www.wku.edu/library/dlsc/index.php or by viewing it on the KenCat collection at http://wku.pastperfect-online.com/35749cgi/mweb.exe?request=keyword;keyword=waldack;dtype=d

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by Susan Broady | August 31, 2015 · 4:46 pm

Faculty members of Library Technical Services attend training

Department of Library Technical Services faculty Laura Bohuski and Amanda Drost had the opportunity to attend a 4-day Name Authority Cooperative (NACO) training at the University of Kentucky in June of 2015.

NACO is a program where participants contribute authority records for personal, corporate, and jurisdictional names; as well as uniform titles and series to the Library of Congress/NACO Authority File.

The Library of Congress defines authority control as a means of establishing a uniform recognized title for the body responsible for authoring a work and using that title whenever the name is required as an access point in a bibliographic record.

Why is authority control important? It provides the library user a way to search the catalog more easily. When a controlled heading is established for an author’s name, works by that author can be collected and accessed under the same access point in the library catalog. Authority control makes it easy to differentiate between people and corporate bodies with similar or identical names. It also allows librarians to link works together even if they have different titles and editions. These features of authority control ultimately clean up the library database and makes it easier for users to conduct research.

At their training, Laura and Amanda learned how to create authority records that meet the Library of Congress’s standards. By following these standards, they are able to contribute authority records to the Library of Congress’s authority file database, which is used by libraries worldwide.

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by Susan Broady | August 27, 2015 · 8:03 pm

WKU Libraries kicks off the 2015-16 Academic Year

WKU Libraries held staff, faculty, and library-all kick off meetings met Wednesday, August 19 in Helm 100. Dean Connie Foster welcomed and gave a brief presentation, charting the library course for the upcoming academic year. New faculty and staff were introduced. Glenda White, Dean’s Office coordinator, handed out numerous door prizes to everyone throughout the day.

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by Susan Broady | August 26, 2015 · 9:28 pm

Elizabethtown Library Faculty Tony Paganelli wins Dean’s Research Award

Dean Connie Foster announced Library Faculty Tony Paganelli as the inaugural research award winner at the faculty kick off meeting Wednesday, August 19 in Helm 100.

The winning research instruction session was designed to provide student interaction utilizing the Interactive Video Service(IVS) system for all four campus locations at WKU. The overall theme of the session was based on the NCAA College Basketball bracket system called March Madness, which the session was titled “Research Madness.” The information provided for the session is based on the WKU Libraries’ Statement of Objectives for Research Instruction.

The research session placed students in groups, which they had the opportunity to name their group or team. Once the teams were named, students were given instruction on specific research and library information. Following each instruction section, students had to complete a given task. The tasks were organized in three rounds: Elite Eight, Final Four, and the Championship. A grading system was created to determine which team won each round. Please note, all teams advanced to each round. The brackets were released at the end of the session to determine the winner.

The session provided the necessary information to aid students in the research process, while allowing them an opportunity to participate in a fun activity. I attached a full detailed abstract of the session, if that helps better describe the instruction. Let me know if you need anything else.

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by Susan Broady | August 18, 2015 · 6:47 pm

New faculty orientation fair

new faculty orientation 0672

Library faculty Jack Montgomery and Scholarly Communication Specialist Todd Seguin talked with new faculty at their orientation fair held in the Augenstein Alumni Center on Monday, August 17, 2015. New faculty were given packets of information about WKU Libraries, Library Faculty Subject Specialists, and how they can participate in TopSCHOLAR and SelectedWorks.

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by Susan Broady | August 17, 2015 · 7:45 pm

SOKY Reads 2015

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by Susan Broady | May 26, 2015 · 8:00 pm

Southern Kentucky Book Fest delivers record numbers

With record numbers in sales, enthusiasts came in masses to hear, meet, and buy books from their favorite authors and illustrators at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest held April 18 at the Knicely Conference Center. Bestselling author Diana Gabaldon, known for her popular Outlander series, filled a room with more than 500 fans, some who waited for hours at the entrance, eager to get seats close to the author. Other well-known authors such as Jamie Ford, Terry Brooks, Mary McDonough, and Doreen Cronin brought in their own fan clubs.

“Book Fest was a tremendous success,” said Kristie Lowry, SOKY Book Fest organizer. “We are getting such positive remarks on social media, in-person, and through surveys given to participants.”

More than 1,200 attended the Friday prior to the main Book Fest event for Children’s Day and the Kentucky Writers Conference. According to Lowry, a new writing workshop for teens was also well attended. “We wanted to offer something specifically for those in grades 9-12 and the response was terrific. We definitely would like to continue this program next year.”

Bowling Green resident Crystal Bowling has attended the Writers Conference more than once. “I enjoy attending for the discussions and ideas, not only for the authors presenting, but for the writers in the audience. It’s a wonderful event with a sense of community,” said Bowling.

Noted as one of the largest book festivals in the state, SOKY Book Fest has been named by the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA) to the Top 10 Festivals & Events for Spring for the third consecutive year.

In addition to sales from the event, Book Fest is funded with grants and donations by companies and individuals. Corporate donors included: Platinum Level – Dollar General; Gold Level – Daily News, Jim Johnson; Silver Level – WKU Conferencing & Catering, West Sixth Brewing, WKU PBS; Bronze Level – Fruit of the Loom, Meijer, Smuckers; Patron Level – Bell Orr Ayers & Moore, WKU Department of English, Logan Aluminum and Bowling Green Convention & Visitors Bureau.

SOKY Book Fest 2015

Kentucky Writers’ Conference

Book Fest Children’s Day 2015

Meet the Authors Reception

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by Susan Broady | · 7:23 pm