Polk Library News
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In September, the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections (UWDC) added the one-millionth image to its digital collections. The image “Harvest Time” is a painting by Lois Ireland, a Wisconsin native, which reflects the picturesque nature of Wisconsin and its rural heritage. The painting is included in Rural Artists of Wisconsin by John Rector Barton. In five years, the UWDC has developed into a significant digital collection that provides high quality digital resources from UW System libraries to faculty, staff, students, citizens of the state, and scholars at large. As new collections have been added, the use of the UWDC has exploded from 290,000 uses in FY 2001 to over 2 million uses in FY 2005. These collections have been used by faculty across System for instruction. A good example is Dr. Helen Bannan who successfully used the Wisconsin Pioneer Experience in one of her Women's Studies classes. Currently, UWDC (http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/) has a wide range of resources. Some of them are: The Ecology and Natural Resources Collection brings together two categories of primary and secondary publications: writings about research in ecology and natural resources conducted by University of Wisconsin faculty and staff; and unique or valuable titles in these fields held by the University of Wisconsin Libraries. The State of Wisconsin Collection brings together two categories of primary and secondary materials: writings about the State of Wisconsin and unique or valuable materials that relate to its history and ongoing development. The collection includes published material as well as archival materials. The materials were digitized from a variety of formats including books, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs, maps and other resources deemed important to the study and teaching of the State of Wisconsin. One interesting sub-collection of local interests is the Oshkosh Atlases and History Collection. This sub-collection was done in collaboration with the Oshkosh Public Library. The Wisconsin Folksong Collection, 1937-1946 represents materials from two collections housed in three discrete but closely related repositories. The Collection reflects and documents the state's colorful pattern of immigration and occupational development during this time period. The East Asian Collection includes historical images that present a visual archive of 20th century East Asian cultural heritage. Currently, the collection consists of images that document early 20th century China including the Sino-Japanese Conflict (1937-1945), a visual history of Buddhist practices and temples in China, and other images of daily life in both rural and urban China. The completed project will be a valuable resource for research into this region and its history. The UWDC represents three important values of UWS Libraries. Our libraries are committed to support teaching and research, to work cooperately (One System, One Library) to provide the best collections and services we can efficiently and effectively, and to reach out to the State of Wisconsin in the best traditions of the Wisconsin Idea to culturally and educationally enrich the state. UW Oshkosh can be especially proud of this accomplishment. Staff at Polk Library have played an important role along with other librarians in Madison and throughout the state to create the UWDC. Joshua Ranger, University Archivist, has been a valuable member of the system-wide committee established in 2001 to create a University of Wisconsin Digital Collections and has been a project manager/editor for several specific projects. In addtion, I have chaired this committee since 2001. If you have any questions about the UWDC, please contact Joshua or me.
Coming soon to the library website! A service that searches multiple databases in a single bound! Super Search is a service that will allow you to simultaneously search multiple databases, such as Ebsco Academic Search Elite and Proquest Newspapers. You can connect to Super Search!, enter your keywords, and both databases will be searched at the same time. The results you get will be inter-filed, with the most recent hits shown first. You will be able to choose between pre-configured library sets of databases, called Quick Sets. We will have one for Education, for example, that will be able to search ERIC and Wilson Education Full Text, and the library catalog at the same time. We hope the simple interface this tool provides will make it easier for users to find quick results. Users will still be able to use the “native interface” of the individual databases, but this is an additional service that will make quick searching easier. Look for this service to appear during Fall semester – maybe by the time you're reading this! You'll be able to find links to the Super Search on all pages of our website devoted to search tools in subject areas. Keep your eyes peeled for it!
The Art Department and Polk Library have cooperated to create a gallery space in the center of the campus for (mainly) student and faculty artwork. It is located in the library on 1st Floor North in the hallway that runs between the circulation desk and the computer lab, a high traffic area of the library. Gail Panske, Art Department, will be coordinating the exhibits. Generally artwork will be on display for a semester.
Congratulations to all the winners in Polk Library's Taste of Oshkosh drawing:
Thanks to everyone who visited our table and signed up for the drawing!
Short-term lockers are now available on first floor North and third floor South in Polk Library. All it takes is a quarter that is returned when you replace the key.
On Thursday, October 27, Polk Library will sponsor a lecture on “Opening the Heart: Arousing the Mind of Universal Kindness.” The event is open to the university community and the general public. It will be held in Polk 205B (Putney Room) from Noon – 1 PM. Feel free to bring your lunch. Cookies will be provided. The lecture is part of the Arts of Tibet Week (October 23 – 29, 2005) presented by the Grand Opera House and the Paine Art Center and Gardens. The week will include performances, programs and lectures given by Tibetan monks. Polk Library, Reeve Union and the Music and Psychology Departments are cooperating with the Grand and the Paine by sponsoring programming on campus.
Polk Library's Government Documents Division has received notice that the library will no longer receive federal tax forms and instructions through the Banks, Post Office, or Libraries (BPOL) program. Although there has yet to be an official announcement, it appears that the BPOL program has been converted into a new program called the Tax Forms Outlet Program, or TFOP. Some banks, post offices and libraries will still receive tax forms under the new program, although they will probably get a reduced amount. Apparently, the decision to stop distributing forms was based on the amount of forms libraries have received in the past. The BPOL program participants who have received large quantities in the past will still receive them in reduced amounts, while those that had received smaller quantities were dropped from the new TPOL program entirely. The decision to discontinue and reduce the distribution of tax forms was probably based on the fact that more people are filing their tax forms electronically. It is estimated that about one-third of taxpayers, or 67 million, now file electronically. In addition, the forms and instructions are available electronically from the IRS web site and on CDs and DVDs. Increased electronic filing and availability of the forms via the internet has reduced the demand for the print products. Critics of this move by the IRS maintain that this policy creates problems for people who do not have access to computers. Lack of availability of print versions of federal tax forms and instructions are viewed by some as discrimination against the poor and disadvantaged who either do not have computers or lack the skills to use them effectively. They also point out that tax form instruction booklets are too lengthy and cost too much to print on demand for those not having access to the print versions. The instructions for the 2004 Form 1040 were 128 pages long. At this time, Polk Library still expects to receive print tax forms and instructions for Wisconsin from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
As of July 1, 2005, Forrest R. Polk Library reports directly to Provost and Vice Chancellor Lane Earns. For the past decade, Polk Library reported through the Information Technology Division or the Enrollment and Information Services (EIS) Division. Due to the retirement of Dr. John Berens, and the subsequent restructuring of EIS, this new reporting structure for the library was established.
Murder and mayhem broke out, but once again, UW Oshkosh's students solved the mystery and justice prevailed. On Friday, September 9, Polk Library held its third annual library murder mystery to orient new students to the library and its online resources. Almost 40 students spent their Friday night scouring the catalog, seeking out eReserves, and running through the stacks to discover who killed Dr. Halle A. Clarke, a much-maligned computer science professor known for horrible grading, campaigning to close the library ("it's all on the internet now, anyway"), and regularly causing chaos by crashing the university servers. The students attending not only came away with more familiarity with the library, but also generally had a good time:
Special thanks to all the library staff who made this year's murder mystery another success!
Fall I and II Hours: September 7 - December 16, 2005
With summer just over, listed below are some cool reads that are new arrivals in the Browsing Room of Polk Library. Check them out!
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia For biology students, education majors preparing for a science classroom, or those simply curious about the animal kingdom, this richly illustrated 17-volume set provides background essays, distribution maps, photographs, and interesting facts about animals ranging from lower metazoans (including sponges) to mammals. Browsing through volume 12 of this set, for example, one can learn that platypuses are not only unusual mammals in their appearance and their egg-laying reproduction, but they are also one of the few mammal species that is poisonous – the males can inject venom in their enemies from the spurs of their hind legs (p.244). Sections on each animal order or family also include plenty of book, journal, and web references for further research. Staff Highlights
|
Read current issue of Polk Library News
Read past issues of Polk Library News
October 2005 issue, printer-friendly version (pdf)
Articles in this issue:
~From the Director: One Million and Growing!
~Congratulations to the Winners in our Taste of Oshkosh Drawing!
~Federal Tax Form Availability