April-May 2001
Issue 13
Contents
What's New for Polk Library?
Early English Books On-Line
Web-Accessibility Resources
Could It Be in the EMC?--Celebrating National
Poetry Month (April)
'Hyacinths and Biscuits'--Poetry Recommendations
from Staff
Poetry Web Sites
“Poetry cannot afford to lose
its fundamentally self-delighting inventiveness, its joy in being a process
of language as well as a representation of things in the world.”
--Seamus Heaney (1939- ), The
Redress of Poetry (1995)
What's New for Polk Library?
Patrick Wilkinson
During the past several years, the staff of Polk Library has implemented many improvements in library services. A few of these improvements included a new web-based catalog, on-line renewal of library materials, access to full-text electronic journal articles and ebooks, increased off-campus access to electronic information through EzProxy, a hands-on lab for library instruction and a revitalized archives program. The library has even added approximately 80 new print periodical subscriptions in the past year!
The library staff is working on many projects now that will continue to improve library services in the future. A few of these are:
eReserve. The library has just purchased the electronic reserve services of Docutek. It will allow the library to store course readings electronically and make them available to faculty and students from any computer 24 hours a day. Polk Library will start a phased implementation of this service during the 2001-2002 academic year. The library should be able to provide eReserve for a few classes next fall and gradually expand this service. Although Polk Library is the first academic library in Wisconsin to contract with Docutek for this service, it is in good company. Major universities and prestigious colleges such as Auburn, Middlebury, UC Berkeley and William and Mary have successfully implemented this service with Docutek. You will see more information about this in the coming months.
One
System, One Library. UW Oshkosh students, faculty and staff are
fortunate to be part of UW System when it comes to access to information.
Through consortial purchasing by UW System libraries, the UW Oshkosh community
has access to more and better information resources than most universities
of our size and budget could afford. In addition, during the next academic
year, UW System plans to implement Universal Borrowing (UB). In short,
this will allow UW Oshkosh students, faculty and staff to search all UW
library catalogs at one time. Then, they can check out material on-line
from any UW library and have it delivered to the Circulation Desk at Polk
Library in a few days.
UB is in beta-testing right now. UW libraries hope to have this implemented
by December 2001. You will see more about this in the fall.
Information Literacy. In June, Polk Library is sending two librarians, Marisa Finkey and Karen Dunn, to the Association of College and Research Library’s Institute on Information Literacy. The goal of this week-long institute is to give librarians in-depth coverage of information literacy theory and provide practical tools and strategies librarians need to effectively develop and implement information literacy programs. The library’s goal is to try and make our library instruction program, (which already provides valuable service to campus by instructing almost 5,000 students and 250 class-sessions a year), even more effective.
Polk Library in the 21st Century. The staff of the library will continue its work developing a program statement for an expanded/renovated library. The library’s vision is a Polk Library that will be a student-friendly facility that will successfully integrate the best of traditional library collections and services with the best of new and emerging library collections and services. A successful library expansion and renovation program will symbolize UW Oshkosh’s commitment to students, faculty and staff, teaching and learning, and the wise use of information technology.
Native American Teaching Materials. Thanks to the efforts of Donald Mocker, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor, the library will have the resources to develop an outstanding collection of PreK–12 instructional materials and teaching aids related to Native Americans. Mary Keefer, Educational Media Collection Coordinator, working with an advisory group of COEHS faculty and others, will be developing this collection. In a few years, this should give UW Oshkosh the best collection of Native American teaching materials in the state. You will hear much more about this over the next year.
More ejournal articles and ebooks. Polk Library will continue to aggressively explore and add the best of full-text electronic information for the benefit of the campus community. The library will do this, when possible, in cooperation with other UW libraries and private Wisconsin academic libraries to get the most for our money. Please note that every issue of Polk Library News provides information on new electronic databases that are available to campus.
Library funding. Polk Library will continue to lobby, as appropriate, in support of UW System’s New Economy Stimulus Package, which contains a request for increased library funding. If funded, this will allow us to keep pace with “library inflation” (especially with print journals and electronic subscriptions). The library cannot provide the best of traditional print and new electronic information without some annual increase in its materials budgets. I want to thank UW Oshkosh’s Faculty Senate, which passed a resolution last fall supporting an increase in library funding. I suspect the support that library funding has received from United Council (students) and faculty senates within UW System was a factor in UW System placing increased library funding in their stimulus package.
Better Campus Communications. It is important for the library to communicate information about its services and collections to campus. During the past few years, the library initiated Polk Library News, created a position for an Outreach Services Librarian, and conducted Faculty College sessions and other workshops for campus. Also, it is important for the library to dialog with the campus community. In response to an excellent suggestion from Peggy Davidson, Chair of the faculty senate’s Information Technology Committee, the library will arrange a meeting early this fall for Departmental Library Representatives and library staff to discuss library collections and other issues. Ideas are welcomed regarding the best format for this meeting.
In short, Polk Library is creating a library for the future. It is and will offer a wide range of electronic library services and collections that are available virtually 24x7x365. At the same time, it is preserving and acquiring a core collection of traditional library resources that are still vital for teaching and learning. In addition, it will play an active role in strategic partnerships with other academic libraries in the state to leverage our resources for better service. For the next generation, academic libraries’ main task will be integrating the best of electronic information with the best of traditional sources to support a dynamic and changing learning environment on campus. The staff of Polk Library is looking forward to working with the campus in meeting this challenge.
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Early English Books On-Line
Cynthia Huebschen
Courtesy of UW Madison, users at UW Oshkosh have access to a new full-text database which contains full-text of historical books and publications: Early English Books On-line.
This database contains over 125,000 titles which were listed in Pollard and Redgrave’s Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing’s Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661). Many of the titles included here are available in full-text and/or full- image (including illustrations), reproduced as originally published by means of scanning.
Researchers may search for specific Shakespeare folios; for works by Bacon, Erasmus, Newton, Galileo, and Malory; for prayer books, almanacs, pamphlets, and proclamations, as well as other primary sources. The database is searchable by author, title, subject, bibliographic or reel number, or keyword. The database uses specialized software (DjVu plug-in and Adobe Acrobat) to display full-text and full-image entries. It may be necessary for a user to download the software from links the vendor has provided, depending on the configuration of your computer. If the software downloads itself when you select an item to view, it appears to take approximately five minutes to download and to render the document. After the first retrieval, subsequent full-text retrievals proceed more quickly.
The database can presently be accessed
at: http://wwwlib.umi.com/eebo
Links will be offered from Polk Library’s Web resources page within the
next few weeks.
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UW Oshkosh is committed to improving
the accessibility of web resources. Please visit the following web site
to learn how you can participate. Recommendations, tips, and training
opportunities await your dedication.
http://www.uwosh.edu/programs/accessibility/
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Could It Be in the EMC? Celebrating National
Poetry Month
Susan Kiedrowski
April showers bring more than flowers! April brings inspiration and rejuvenation as we take a closer look at all the poetry that surrounds us. It’s the time to pause for a few minutes to appreciate those tiny gems of literature that are all too often overlooked. Where can we go to find some of these gems?
While you are in Polk Library, venture into the farthest corner of the Educational Media Collection. There you will find, tucked into the 811 through 821 section, a fine assortment of poems to amuse or bemuse young and old alike. To ease your search for interesting poetry, pick up (or download from our website) a copy of our bibliography Poetry For Children and Young Adults: 1996-1999. This bibliography provides summaries and call numbers of children’s and young adult poetry, bilingual poetry, poetry anthologies, and biographies of poets. It also lists several related websites, and describes poetry software that is available in the EMC.
Finally, let’s hear a few words on this subject from the EMC Coordinator, Mary Keefer.
Q: “Mrs. Keefer, the Polk on-line catalog shows that the EMC has many books of poetry written for and by children and young adults. Much of that poetry is published in the last several years. Why do you feel that poetry is such an important part of a library collection?”
A: “When I was growing up, poetry was always ‘at a distance.’ It was something you didn’t understand. It seemed you needed an interpreter to figure out what the author was trying to say. It used to be that adult poetry was given to children. But that makes no sense.”
“Times have now changed and materials are much more readily available that children can enjoy. Poetry is more meaningful to them. Poetry can capture the things that children experience. Poetry for young readers is usually short and accessible in structure. Children’s collections are good because there’s ‘silly poetry’—poetry that invites young children to just enjoy the sounds of the words, that creates images that they enjoy saying. You look at kids when they hear Mother Goose. It’s nonsense but they want you to read it again and again. Also, educational methods have changed. Due to the integration of disciplines, poetry is more often used by teachers in the classroom, from preschool on up to high school. Poetry is no longer at a distance.”
“The beauty of poetry is this: it’s musical, it creates images, it creates an awareness of the tools of language. Poetry can aid in the development of children’s language. If we adults model enjoyment of poetry, then young kids will appreciate language, too. Poetry should be an everyday part of a child’s world.”
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'Hyacinths and Biscuits'*--Poetry Recommendations from Staff
Karen Dunn
Alvarez, Julia. The Other Side/El Otro Lado.
Dutton, Penguin Books, 1995.
Cisneros, Sandra. My Wicked Wicked Ways.
Knopf, 1995.
Neruda, Pablo. Cien Sonetos de Amor. Editorial
Losada, 1969.--Cien Sonetos de Amor/100 Love Sonnets--Stephen
Tapscott, (translator) University of Texas Press, 1986.
Soto, Gary. New & Selected Poems. Chronicle,
1995.
Sensual and earthy, Cien Sonetos de Amor/100 Love Sonnets is a must-read for the Neruda enthusiast. If you do not read Spanish, I recommend the lovely dual-language text noted above. I would also recommend the poetry collections of Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, and Gary Soto--I find their fusion of languages compelling.
Eric Graczkowski
Koch, Kenneth. Making Your Own Days. Touchstone/Simon
& Schuster, 1998
This book is a great beginning to clarifying language. There are many illustrations dissecting and demonstrating the effects of arranging words to create the most powerful image.
Dietz, Maggie & Pinsky, Robert. Americans’ Favorite Poems. W W Norton & Company, 2000
This book is a collection of 200 poems that draws on many different styles of poets. It is certainly a handy book to read for short contemplation. It provides exposure to individuals so that the reader may find what they really enjoy and go out and buy every poetry book dealing with that poet.
Mary Keefer
Doty, Mark. Sweet Machine: Poems. Harpercollins,
1998.
Kenyon, Jane. Afterword by Donald Hall. Otherwise:
New and Selected Poems. Graywolf Press, 1997. Piercy, Marge. The
Art of Blessing the Day: Poems With a Jewish Theme. Knopf, 2000.
“Fooling with Words”: A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft.--A Bill
Moyers Special. Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1999.
Husband and wife, Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall are premier poets. Jane’s poetry voice speaks to me. She was the poet laureate of New Hampshire. I also like Mark Doty and Marge Piercy--they are terrific. Additionally, “Fooling with Words”—the PBS video series with Bill Moyers is a great introduction to contemporary American poetry.
* “Poetry
is the achievement of the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.”
--Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), Atlantic Monthly,
March, 1923
For faculty, staff, and students interested in any of the poetry titles recommended by staff, consult the Polk Library On-Line Catalog. Please consider Interlibrary Loan for non-Polk titles.
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The Academy of American
Poets
http://www.poets.org
Poetry Daily
http://www.poems.com
Zuzu’s Petals
http://www.zuzu.com
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Polk
Library News is a publication of Forrest R. Polk
Library, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
Patrick
Wilkinson, Director, Polk Library
920-424-2147
wilkinso@uwosh.edu
“Knowledge
is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can
find information upon it.” --Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
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