April 2003, Issue 21
In This Issue:
Change: Problems & Opportunities
National Library Week, April 6-12
Department Of Homeland Security Web Site
Welcome to Our New EMC Coordinator!
New Database: Oxford Reference Online
Wisconsin Historical Society Targeted for Cuts
See What's Blooming in the Browsing Room
Spotlight on Reference
Staff Highlights
Change: Problems & Opportunities
Patrick Wilkinson
wilkinso@uwosh.edu
“Over the next five years,” a recent report states (1), “librarians will continue to be faced with managing an unprecedented array of content in a rapidly proliferating mix of formats.” The report goes on to state that change will take place in a universe in which user expectations are shaped by “tools, services and technologies that did not exist ten years ago” and that the library’s ability to respond to demands will be constrained by “tighter budgets,” “smaller workforces,” and “uncertain economic conditions.”
In the area of scholarly materials, the report notes that library spending for books is down and university press sales are declining dramatically. It predicts that print journals will decline, and electronic journals will continue to increase. According to the British Library, “scholarly articles may begin migrating away from traditional scholarly publishing toward ePrint archives and other types of initiatives.” Digitization projects such as the Library of Congress’ American Memory Project and the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections initiative will dramatically increase the amount of primary source material available to students and scholars via the Internet.
In this era of dramatic change and significant problems, there is also an opportunity for libraries to provide better access to information and enhanced library services. Polk Library and the libraries within UW System are committed to this.
Recently, library users on campus have seen the introduction of services such as electronic reserve. During the past two academic years, 156 instructors have posted supplementary class readings for 315 courses. This year we anticipate that there will be 60,000 “hits” on eReserve documents. Other new services have included new databases, universal borrowing, online renewal, virtual reference service, and a redesigned web site.
In the near future, library users will be able to take advantage of an electronic table of contents service, new electronic databases, and improved interlibrary loan and document delivery services.
All of these changes, problems and opportunities will involve choices regarding how best to meet campus curricular and research needs. Frankly, some of these choices will be difficult. The staff of Polk Library will endeavor to work with faculty in an effort to make the best choices possible. As always, if you have questions or concerns about library collections or services, please contact me.
1 “Five-Year Information Format Trends.” Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). March 2003. http://www.oclc.org/info/trends/
National Library Week, April 6-12
Renee Sengele
sengele@uwosh.edu
In recognition of National Library Week, April 6-12, Forrest R. Polk Library held a number of activities celebrating libraries.
|
|
Can you guess the books in which the following first lines appear? (answers are below) 1. “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” 2. “The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon.” 3. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” 4. “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” |
First Lines Answers: 1. The Catcher in the Rye 2. The Lord of the Flies 3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 4. Romeo and Juliet
Department Of Homeland Security Web Site
Mike Watkins
watkins@uwosh.edu
The Department of Homeland Security has opened its website at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/. The agency, which was created in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, is the first major agency created by the federal government in many years. The agency was created by Public Law 107-296— The Homeland Security Act. It will coordinate the activities of many previously existing agencies and agency subdivisions such as the Coast Guard, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Animal Health and Protection Service. For a complete listing of the agencies that will fall under Homeland Security’s purview, read the provisions of Public Law 107-296. The text can be found at the Thomas web site at http://thomas.loc.gov/ under the link to “Public Laws.”
Many of the existing agencies have had their names changed under the provisions of the act. For instance, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has become the “Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service” and the Border Patrol will become the “Bureau of Border Security.” The Department of Homeland Security has also created a web site known as “Ready.gov” which informs citizens about what they can do to be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack. The website is located at http://www.ready.gov/.
Welcome to Our New EMC Coordinator!
Polk Library welcomes Stephen Katz as our new Educational Media Collection (EMC) Coordinator. As the EMC Coordinator, Stephen will oversee the selection, purchasing, and evaluation of materials for the EMC, serve as the library liaison with the College of Education and Human Services, lead library instruction sessions for students, and provide reference assistance at the main Reference Desk.
Stephen Katz comes to UW Oshkosh with a background in librarianship and education. His work experience includes positions as the education librarian at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and as an elementary school teacher in special and regular education in schools using the Waldorf approach. His interests include reading, writing, and playing the alto recorder.
Stephen may be contacted via phone at 424-2320 or via email at katz@uwosh.edu. Welcome, Stephen!
New Database: Oxford Reference Online
Cynthia Huebschen
huebschc@uwosh.edu
In the beginning of April, Polk Library began a subscription to an online database called Oxford Reference Online. In contrast to the majority of our other electronic resources, Oxford Reference Online is a collection of reference works, including the contents of “100 well-known and trusted dictionaries and reference books” published by Oxford University Press. We anticipate this database to be valuable for students and faculty, enabling researchers to check facts, confirm spelling, look up definitions and quotes, search for foreign words, or browse names and terms in a variety of subjects.
Oxford Reference Online will include updated editions of classic and recent Oxford University Press titles in areas such as:
- general dictionaries
- English language references (Fowler’s Modern English Usage, proverbs, idioms, abbreviations)
- foreign-language dictionaries (French, German, Italian, Spanish)
- quotations
- art and architecture
- world history
- literature (including Shakespeare, African-American literature, English literature)
- mythology and folklore
- performing arts (dance, opera, music, theatre)
- political and social sciences
- religion and philosophy
- business (accounting, economics, banking)
- science (including dictionaries of biology, earth science, geography, weather, medicine and nursing, astronomy, physics, chemistry, computing, math)
The default is to a “Quick Search” option which searches all sources. The “Advanced Search” option allows you to use Boolean searching, easily limit your search to particular subject areas or particular books, search for similar words or spellings, and refine or sort results. Cross-references are included, as well as “over 1,000 high-quality, carefully-researched and well-maintained Web links.” Oxford plans to update titles and add new ones each year.
While some of this information can be found in various Web-based sources, this is the first product to collect such a variety of reliable information into a single, quality-checked database. The British-based Internet Magazine rated this database “site of the year” for 2002, and Oxford Reference Online has been recommended by Choice, Library Journal, and the Times Educational Supplement. Over 3,000 libraries worldwide have signed up for trials of the database.
Polk Library has links to Oxford Reference Online from each of the subject categories in our “Find Articles by Subject” section under the "General Topic" listings. You can also access Oxford Reference Online from the library's "Journal Article Databases A-Z" list at http://www.uwosh.edu/library/ae.html.
Wisconsin Historical Society Targeted for Cuts
Mike Watkins
watkins@uwosh.edu
The Wisconsin Historical Society has been targeted for another round of cuts in the current budget process. The Society, which is charged with preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Wisconsin, operates the Historical Society Library and Archives and also many of the historic sites in Wisconsin that are visited by tourists. Among the historic sites the Society operates are the Old Wade House, Villa Louis, Madeline Island, Old World Wisconsin, and the H.H. Bennett Studios.
The Society also administers the Area Research Centers, a system of libraries across the state that offer access to historical, local-area government records and other historical documents. The Area Research Centers have a transfer system that allows some archival information to be transferred from one center to another for the convenience of the researchers. Most of the Area Research Centers are housed at University Of Wisconsin System libraries. Polk Library is a participating library and as an Area Research Center offers access to records from Winnebago, Marquette, Fond du lac, Dodge, and Green Lake counties.
Initially, during the budget repair process last fall, the Society’s budget was cut 1.3 million dollars, which resulted in the elimination of fifteen positions. That cut in personnel brought the staffing level down to where it was twenty years ago. In response to the lost revenue and staffing, the society dropped its status as the Regional Depository library for the Federal Depository Library Program in Wisconsin. As a Regional Depository Library the Historical Society provided oversight to all the Federal Depository Libraries in the state including the Government Documents Division of Polk Library. The University of Wisconsin Madison Library Government Documents Division has taken over the Regional Depository library responsibilities for the state.
The current budget proposal would reduce the Historical Society’s budget by another 1.5 million dollars per year (Total: $ 3 mil.) in the next biennium. This proposal would result in the elimination of another thirty positions and will likely result in program realignment and the elimination of some services including the operation of some of the historic sites. For more information about the Society’s budgetary woes visit their web site at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/.
See What's Blooming in the Browsing Room
Amanda Swaw
Student Coordinator, Browsing Room
When Spring rolls around, we tend to think of new beginnings, final exams, and that the end of the semester is fast approaching. With that in mind, when you need a break, why not check out some springtime titles from the Browsing Room in Polk Library? Even if you are stuck studying or grading papers, you can escape for a while and enjoy this wonderful time of year through the pages of a book.
- Spring Collection by Judith Krantz
- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
- Flower Net by Lisa See
- Garden of Rama by Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee
- Better Homes and Gardens Complete Guide to Gardening
Spotlight on Reference
Renee Sengele
sengele@uwosh.edu
Many people know May 1st as “May Day,” a holiday known to some as a spring festival of flowers and maypoles, and to many others as a labor holiday. But did you know that May 1st is also Lei Day in Hawaii, Mother Goose Day, and Save the Rhino Day? Here are some other interesting facts about May 1st:
- Citizen Kane (EMC Audiovisual Collection: PN 1997 .C5116 1987), starring Wisconsin native Orson Welles, premiered on this day in 1941.
- Joseph Heller, author of the novel Catch-22 (Main Collection: PZ 4 .H47665 Cat), was born on this day in 1923.
- The American labor leader Mary Harris Jones, also known as Mother Jones, was born on this day in 1830. The political commentary magazine named for her, Mother Jones, is available in print at Polk Library back to 1993 and online in Ebsco’s Academic Search Elite database back to 1990.
Find out more reasons to celebrate May 1st (and every other day of the year) by taking a look at Chase’s 2003 Calendar of Events (Reference Collection: GT 4803 .C48 2003) or the History Channel’s This Day in History website (http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/).
Staff Highlights
Patrick Wilkinson, Library Director, and Joshua Ranger, University Archivist, presented "University of Wisconsin Digital Collections: The Start of a Grand Transformation" at the 2003 Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians conference on April 3. Patrick is the chair of the UW Digital Collections Advisory Committee. Joshua is a member of the UW Digital Collections Advisory Committee and helped create the Wisconsin Pioneer Experience digital collection. The Wisconsin Pioneer Experience is available online at http://libtext.library.wisc.edu/wipionexp/.
Joshua Ranger, University Archivist, also presented on the preservation of electronic public records at a workshop hosted by UW Extension March 6, 2003 in Madison. The meeting was one of a series created by Extension and the UW School of Library and Information Studies designed to better help county and municipal government employees deal with the changing landscape of their public records responsibilities in the digital realm.
Polk Library News is a publication of Forrest R. Polk Library, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Renee Sengele, editor (sengele@uwosh.edu) 920-424-7331
Patrick Wilkinson, Director, Polk Library (wilkinso@uwosh.edu) 920-424-2147