University Libraries celebrated the retirement of Interlibrary Loan Specialist Debra Day Friday, September 26, 2008. Debra began working at Western in 1984 and joined University Libraries in 1996. Department head Brian Coutts spoke, and Debra and her colleagues shared cake and other refreshments. We wish her well in this new chapter of her life.
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Retirement Party for Debra Day
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Library Faculty’s New Book Published!
Haiwang Yuan’s new book Princess Peacock: Tales from Other Peoples of China has been published!
China, the most populous country in the world, is also a nation of great diversity. In addition to the majority population of Han Chinese, there are 55 officially recognized national minorities–including Tibetan, Mongol, Manchu, Zhuang, Dai, and Gaoshan. The folklore of these minorities is often obscure and difficult to find in the English-speaking world, as is information about the people, their cultural histories, and their traditional customs. This book fills a gap by offering more than 50 representative folktales from China’s minorities, as well as background information on each of the ethnic groups.
Princess Peacock is a companion to Yuan’s The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales of the Han Chinese, published in 2006. Carefully selected from the fathomless reservoirs of Chinese folklore, the tales from the books combined give the American reader a glimpse of the richness and diversity of a folk literature from an ancient and yet fast-modernizing China, which will definitely play an increasingly important role in world fairs, particularly after its successful hosting of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
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| Chinese Students in ethnic costumes |
Listed in Marquis’s 2009 edition of Who’s Who in America and currently working on his two-volume encyclopedia on Chinese ethnic groups, Yuan is also serving on the editorial board for and contributing to the five-volume Berkshire Encyclopedia of China.
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
Every year Dr. Brian Coutts, Head of Public Services at WKU, reviews the Best Reference Books of the past year. But not only does he review reference works, he also writes and contributes to reference works.
The Encyclopedia of 
Latin American History and Culture, is a monumental work and represents the best of scholarship on Latin America. It includes over 5000 articles, and over 3000 biographies inclusive of all periods from prehistoric times to the present. It features over 100 full-color photographs in addition to hundreds in black-and-white. 
Dr. Coutts, who has a PhD in Latin America History, wrote the main country article for Belize, and the article for the capital of Belize – Belmopan. In addition, he wrote biographies for the first three Prime Ministers of Belize – George Price, Manuel Esquivel and Said Musa – as well as shorter articles on New Orleans, Spanish Louisiana and other topics.
WKU Librarian Wins National Achievement Award
Deana Groves, assistant professor and education catalog librarian at Western Kentucky University, was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Library Association last week at the ALA’s national conference in Anaheim, Calif.
The 2007 3M/ALA New Member’s Round Table Professional Development Grant was one of only three awarded in the United States in 2008 . The award, sponsored by 3M Library Systems for more than 30 years, recognizes selected librarians nationwide based on qualifications that include academic achievement, work experience, honors earned and library association activities.
“Deana’s achievements not only bring national attention to WKU library programs and faculty projects, but also support the university’s goal of developing international reach,†said Connie Foster, head of Library Technical Services. “She sets an exemplary standard and we are excited about this honor for her and WKU Libraries.â€
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DLPS Congratulates Nancy on Her New Position
On Thursday, June 26, 2008, Department of Library Public Services held a party to congratulate Nancy Marshall, Senior Reference Associate, on her new position as the Image Librarian with the Kentucky Library & Museum.
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Sue Lynn McDaniel and Nancy Marshall Honored
Sue Lynn McDaniel and Nancy Marshall were recently honored by a gift to the University Libraries for their research help on a new book, P.S. I Love You: the Story of the Singing Hilltoppers by University Distinguished Professor of History, Carlton Jackson. He is the author of many books including Forgotten Tragedy: The Sinking of HMT Rohna, Hattie: A Life of Hattie McDaniel, and Who Will Take Our Children: The Story of the British Evacuation, 1939-45. His latest book used many of the valuable primary resources available at the Kentucky Library and in the Reference Center.
University Libraries Faculty Award Winners
Western Kentucky University annually recognizes outstanding contributions by faculty members in the areas of Teaching, Research/Creativity, Public Service, and Student Advisement.
From University Libraries, Connie Foster, Head of Department of Library Technology Services, and Haiwang Yuan, Web Site & Virtual Library Coordinator, won the college-level awards for Public Services and Research/Creativity respectively. They are also the finalists for the university-wide awards.
A number of their colleagues went to their reception at the Student Success Center in DUC to congratulate them.
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Jack Montgomery’s Second Book
Magical healings, ghostly encounters and alternative perceptions of reality have been a part of the history and culture of America since the settlement. Providing historical research to support personal narratives and field interviews, WKU Associate Professor and Librarian Jack Montgomery takes the reader into a largely hidden community that has its ancient roots in the African, German and Celtic cultures and is still active today despite the presence of our modern post-industrial society.
The research for this book actually began while Jack was a student at the University of South Carolina in the mid-1970s. As part of his senior thesis in Religious Studies, Jack conducted interviews with traditional magical healers in South Carolina, and eventually also included healers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia. This research led to a thirty-four year fascination with folk religion, magical healing and shamanism. It is also an account of one man’s spiritual journey into the depths of American folk religion that includes elements of shamanism and applied mysticism.
In 2002, Jack secured a book contract. The result is American Shamans: journeys with traditional healers published by BUSCA Press and released in February of 2008.
Nancy Marshall, Paula Bowles and Their Displays
Nancy Marshall and Paula Bowles of Department of Library Public Services (DLPS) create displays for WKU Libraries’ events like “Kentucky Live!” “Faraway Places,” “Black History Month” and “Banned Books Week.” Library displays started when they created a display for Banned Books Week three years ago at the request of Dr. Coutts, Head of DLPS. Now they have grown into a regular program that uses two display cases featuring presenters and their works. Those that have been on display also include WKU librarians. One of the things that Nancy and Paula did was help Dr. Pam Johnson, Professor of the Journalism Department, create a display on banned books to celebrate the 1st Amendment. It was on display in MMTH for a month.
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Dr. Brian Coutts Selects “Best Reference Books” Annually for Library Journal
On Friday, April 27, DLPS Department Head Brian Coutts presented his annual “Best Reference Books” workshop to the University Libraries’ faculty and staff. From the hundreds of new print reference titles published annually, Brian selects the top thirty for a feature article in the April 15th issue of Library Journal. As co-author or author, Brian has been making these annual selections for the past two decades. Among the features he looks for are: original contribution to knowledge, quality of writing/editing/printing/illustrations, relevance, and uniqueness.
Topping this year’s list was the Encyclopedia Judaica, second edition and the Historical Statistics of the United States, millennial edition.
A competing list is selected by a committee of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of American Library Association (ALA) and published in the May 1st issue of American Libraries.
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