WKU Libraries Blog

by Ryan Dowell | May 19, 2015 · 6:15 pm

Yogi Berra: American Icon

Yogi Berra turned 90 last week, May 12, 2015

On May 12, 2015 former New York Yankee catcher and Hall of Famer Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra turned 90 years old. Yogi Berra was born in 1925 and grew up in the St. Louis’ Italian-American neighborhood “The Hill”. His father immigrated from Italy in 1909 and, valuing work above all, made Berra leave school in the eighth grade to find a job. Despite these challenges, Berra continued playing baseball and in 1942 was offered a signing with the New York Yankees, including a $500 signing bonus and $90 per month contract.

Yogi Berra, playing for the New York Yankees

Berra served in the Navy during World War II, participating in the D-Day invasion off of Omaha Beach. He returned to baseball with the Newark Bears in the middle of the 1946 season where at first his practices were unimpressive as the coach had him shagging baseballs and skipping batting practice. After Berra hit a few balls over the stadium lights during one workout he played every night for the rest of the season before getting a call from the Yankees. Today Yogi Berra is seen as an American icon for his nineteen season career, with over two thousand hits, 358 homeruns, fifteen All-Star games, and ten World Series championships, earning him a place in the Hall of Fame. His personal sayings or “Yogi-isms” are famous and include recognizable lines such as “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” and “It’s déjà vu all over again”. Berra went on to manage for the New York Mets and later the Yankees in the 1984 season before being fired by George Steinbrenner in 1985. The two reconciled prior to the Yankees’ “Yogi Berra Day” on July 18, 1999 and Berra has since been honored with a Yogi Berra Museum and Stadium and has attended appearances at the annual “Old Timer’s Day”.

As summer begins and baseball season progresses, WKU Libraries offers a vast collection of summer reading on any topic. To learn more about Yogi Berra, see:

When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!: Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball’s Greatest Heroes by Yogi Berra
Call Number: GV865.B4 A3 2001bx

You Can Observe a Lot by Watching: What I’ve Learned About Teamwork from the Yankees and Life by Yogi Berra with Dave Kaplan
Call Number: GV865.B4 A3 2008

Ten Rings: My Championship Seasons
by Yogi Berra with Dave Kaplan
Call Number: GV865.B4 A313 2005x

Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee by Allen Barra
Call Number: GV865.B4 B37 2009

Yogi: It Ain’t Over by Yogi Berra with Tom Horton
Call Number: GV865 .B4 A3 1989

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by Susan Broady | · 5:19 pm

“ Libraries celebrates its graduating student assistants and scholarship recipient”

WKU Libraries honored its graduating seniors and library assistant scholarship recipient this past week at a reception in Cravens Library. Fifteen library student assistants, some working as many as four years with the libraries, graduated this past weekend, including Emily Anderson, Kelsi Campbell, Danielle Davenport, Katie Decoursey, Ling Hao Liu, Christopher McConnell, Lyndsey Pender, Anna Pettus, Cecia Reyes, Ayaz Sadal, Kameron Simmons, Kelli Storm, Hieu Vo, Rachel Wyatt, and Anna Young. Dean Connie Foster recognized Abby Zibart, the library scholarship recipient, and also congratulated the graduating students. Library Department Heads Brian Coutts, Deana Groves, and Jonathan Jeffrey announced each student assistant from his and her respective work area and honored them with certificates, red towels, and a graduation gift from WKU Libraries. Each student picked out a book or video that will be housed in one of the libraries with a name plate in honor of the graduating student.

“We look forward to this time each semester to honor our graduating student workers,” said Amanda Hardin. “Some of them have been here for several semesters and through summers so they become like family to us. It’s just a small way to thank them for their time with us at WKU and show them how much we appreciate them.”

Photo Album

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by Susan Broady | · 3:57 pm

Who is up for the vote?

For a sample ballot for your county, go to: All Counties: http://apps.sos.ky.gov/electionballots/#W

Where Do I Vote? : https://vr.sos.ky.gov/vic/ Polls open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Get out today and vote!

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by Lynn Niedermeier | May 14, 2015 · 4:08 pm

“To Be: Not to Seem”

Cedar Bluff College commencement invitation

So declared the motto on the 1886 commencement invitation for Cedar Bluff College in Woodburn, Kentucky, a boarding school that educated young ladies from 1864 until fire destroyed its building in 1892.

In June 1877, Addie Darden was class salutatorian, and her greeting to those assembled for that year’s graduation exercises touched on familiar themes of happy memories, sad farewells, and hopes for the future. Addie used those sentiments to introduce a then-customary feature of commencement exercises, particularly at women’s colleges, where the “sweet girl graduates” showed off their proficiency in the “ornamental” subjects of their curriculum with readings and musical performances. “Some of our number,” she told the assembled crowd, “will give you songs and music, some of it bright and fair as their own sweet lives, and some will be in the minor chords of sadness; but each strain will speak to you in its own language, telling its own story.”

But Addie rebutted the notion that she and her classmates were just charm school graduates, academic lightweights who only seemed to be educated. Her second speaking duty was to deliver the Latin salutatory, an address that one might more readily associate with Harvard or Princeton. For her subject, Addie chose the Catiline Conspiracy–De Catilinae Conjuratione–and read her page-and-a-half speech, in Latin, to the gathering of parents, teachers and friends.

Addie Darden’s salutatories (both English and Latin) are part of the Manuscripts & Folklife Archives holdings of WKU’s Department of Library Special Collections. Click here to access a finding aid. For more collections about Cedar Bluff College and other Kentucky schools, search TopSCHOLAR and KenCat.

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Tagged as Addie Darden, Cedar Bluff College, Commencement

by Ryan Dowell | May 12, 2015 · 5:46 pm

Best Reference Sources of 2014

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 29^th 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.

Strawberry cake from Cocomo’s at reception

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

by Lynn Niedermeier | May 8, 2015 · 1:05 pm

“Sober Rejoicing”

World War II-era envelope illustration (SC 1819)

On May 7, 1945, only two weeks after the funeral of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the White House press office issued a short statement: the new president, Harry S. Truman, planned “to make an announcement to the nation by radio at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.” The end of World War II in Europe was at hand.

The press release was probably typed by Elizabeth (Phillips) Brite, a Bowling Green native, graduate of the Bowling Green Business University, and secretary to White House press secretary Jonathan W. Daniels. Elizabeth was uniquely situated to witness Washington’s anticipation of the Nazi surrender. On May 1, Truman had authorized Daniels to state that should hostilities cease, the President would “emphasize the necessity for thankfulness and for continuation by all Americans in the great war job which still lies before us.” On May 2, the State Department released a chronology of the week’s negotiations with Germany–the summons of a Swedish intermediary, German commander Heinrich Himmler’s secret peace offer and his claim that Hitler was fatally ill, and America’s coordination with its British and Soviet allies. Having demanded that capitulation be unconditional and delivered to all three Allied governments, President Truman agreed with London and Moscow that their announcements of victory would be simultaneous.

In Truman’s May 1 message, he had hoped that “there will be no celebration” in light of the unfinished struggle against Japan. Fred Vinson, a Kentuckian directing the Office of War Mobilization, took a similar stance. The government would “not attempt to prescribe a rigid rule of conduct” for local celebrations of victory, but he urged that there be no break in war production and “no greater interruption of normal activity than the peoples’ sense of sober rejoicing demands.” Although many heeded his request for restraint, Victory in Europe Day–May 8, 1945, which also happened to be President Truman’s birthday–nevertheless brought jubilation.

Press releases and other materials relating to V-E Day are part of the Henry and Elizabeth Brite Collection in the Manuscripts & Folklife Archives holdings of WKU’s Department of Library Special Collections. Click here to access a finding aid. For other World War II collections, search TopSCHOLAR and KenCat.

World War II-era envelope illustration (SC 1819) mocking Hitler by using the name of his father’s unwed mother.

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Tagged as Bowling Green Business University, Elizabeth Brite, Fred Vinson, Harry S. Truman, Jonathan W. Daniels, V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day

by Susan Broady | May 6, 2015 · 8:26 pm

WKU students receive undergraduate library research awards

Western Kentucky University students Logan Secrest (Buffalo, Ohio) and Wesley Osborne (Owensboro, Kentucky) received undergraduate research awards at a recognition ceremony in Cravens Library on Monday May 4, 2015. WKU Libraries and WKU University Experience faculty offer the awards in an effort to recognize the important role of good undergraduate research in college academic success.

“We look forward to honoring students for these research awards each semester,” said Sara McCaslin, University Experience Coordinator. “It’s a pleasure to spotlight students who have shown exceptional information literacy and research skills through their class projects. This critical skills set will aid them throughout their college careers as well as in life.”

Secrest is finishing his first year at WKU, transferring from the University of Great Falls in Great Falls, Montana. He received his award for his annotated bibliography on a Ted Talk analysis with Shawn Achor’s The happy secret to better work. His instructor was Cort Basham from the main campus University Experience class.

Osborne, a first-year student interested in Technology Management, received his award for the best career essay titled “Industrial Production Management.” His instructor was Anne Heintzman from the South Campus University Experience class.

Students received a monetary gift along with a plaque honoring their achievements. The winning documents, along with those of past recipients, are posted on TopSCHOLAR–WKU’s research and creative database—at digitalcommons.wku.edu/ueul_award/. For more information, contact Amanda Drost, chair of awards committee, at 270-745-2962.

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by Ryan Dowell | May 5, 2015 · 8:29 pm

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

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

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

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

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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by Susan Broady | · 6:54 pm

WKU Libraries receives national recognition for public relations campaign

Western Kentucky University Libraries received the “Award for Excellence” in the Library Public Relations Materials category at the awards banquet for the Academic Library Advancement and Development Network (ALADN) conference held in San Diego on Tuesday, April 21. The ALADN conference brings deans, advancement officers, and library professionals together to discuss current issues and share insights into the challenges of higher education fundraising as well as the importance of enhancing awareness of the resources and expertise found in academic and research libraries. All participating institutions are invited to enter materials into three of the ten categories which promote their institutions and advance their missions.

WKU Libraries’ award-winning materials featured WKU students from LibraryCampaign_Pottery190x240 different colleges and disciplines on campus in an effort to highlight the student and his/her major, and bring a general awareness to the libraries. Jennifer Wilson, WKU Libraries Marketing Coordinator and campaign organizer, said the advertising targeted the campus community and displayed the promotion on digital screens across the university, display ads in the College Heights Herald, images on the library website, large 22×30 inch posters in the main campus library Commons area, and through social media.

According to Kathleen Schmand, Director of Development and Communications for the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University and committee member of the awards program, the organizers recruit a cross mix of judges from marketing, development, and communications backgrounds. This librarycampaigncooking year the selection committee was comprised of marketing and development professionals from San Diego State University.

“ALADN attendees always provide a wonderful display of materials for the awards and the general marketplace,” said Schmand. “2015 was no exception. Through the marketplace we can share the amazing ideas created to tell the story of how a library contributes to the institution and ultimately the success of its students.”

Other contributors to the award included WKU Libraries Dean Connie Foster, WKU Photographers Clinton Lewis and Bryan Lemon, and WKU Graphic Design Student Patric Peters.

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by Suellyn Lathrop | · 3:32 pm

WKU Archives Intern

Ryun Warren, center, reviewing architectural drawings with fellow members of American Institute of Architecture Students.

My name is Ryun Warren, and I am a junior at WKU majoring in Architectural Sciences. This semester (Spring 2015) I had the opportunity to research, process, and catalog over two hundred sets of construction drawings pertaining to several projects on campus dating from the 1930s to the 2000s (UA30/1/1). Within these documents I was able to see how the design and drafting process has evolved over time, especially in regards to major technological advancements in the field (i.e. Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) software). The art of hand drafting has almost become a lost art with the efficiency of computer software in a fast-paced society. However, the majority of these sets of construction documents were hand drawn and reveal the level of detail and thought given to each building that is or has been a part of The Hill. From Van Meter Hall to the original Ogden College buildings, from iconic Cherry Hall to Diddle Arena, I was fortunate enough to be able to not only study architectural history but to study the history of our college campus, its story throughout time as told through its construction.

The importance of preserving this story was impressed upon me throughout my stay in the WKU Archives. Proper storage is the only way to ensure that these beautiful drawings withstand the test of time and are available for future generations to study and admire.

With over two hundred sets of drawings stored in various locations, a detailed catalog must be kept. I was trained to enter these drawings into PastPerfect – the cataloging database software used by WKU Library Special Collections to easily sort and process all of the documents, photographs, and manuscripts within its possession. These are available online through KenCat. In addition to PastPerfect, I created and maintained a detailed spreadsheet specifically for the construction documents containing such information as project title, associated buildings, drawing dates, architect(s) of record, and references to the PastPerfect photo entries where applicable (UA1C9).

This experience has truly been informative as both a study of architecture and a study of my WKU home. The history of this campus as told through its buildings is arguably as telling as any other means of relating the history of how The Hill came to be. Likewise, the proposed buildings and the thought of what WKU could have looked like if a different design won a bid provokes thought as to why a certain bid may have won and how people would interact differently with campus and with each other.

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Tagged as Architecture, Cool Stuff, Drawings, Internships, Research tools, WKU Archives