Archive for November 2006
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November 20, 2006
Need Study Space at Finals Time? Try Hodges Library!
The University Libraries offer study space, extended hours during finals
Students who need a quiet nook for cramming or a room for a group study session need look no further than Hodges Library.
Hodges Library has become the go-to place for many students seeking a place to work on projects or cram for exams. Because the demand for study space in the library has become so great, Hodges Library will be open 24 hours during finals beginning Wednesday, December 6 and ending Thursday, December 14.
"The use of Hodges Library during finals time has increased dramatically the last few years," Barbara Dewey, Dean of Libraries, said. "During Spring 2006 finals we kept the first and second floors of Hodges open 24 hours, but students need more room and we want to do our best to accommodate them," said Dewey.
The extended hours in Hodges Library during finals time is an experiment, and the library will be keeping usage statistics to measure its success. During the extended hours special library services, such as reference assistance, will not be available.
Group study areas in Hodges are available on a first come, first serve basis. Rooms for group study are 135B, 210, 220 A-C, 255 A-C, 441 and 641. There are also tables available for group work in The Commons. The tables on stack floors 4-6 are reserved for group work as designated.
Quiet study areas in Hodges are reserved for independent work, and students are asked to refrain from group conversation and silence cell phones and pagers. Rooms for quiet study are 338, 440, 442, 541 and the first floor and room 258 after midnight. Tables on stack floors 4-6 are reserved for quiet study as designated.
Study carrels, located on the stack floors, are also available for quiet study. While many carrels are reserved for graduate student use, undergraduate students can also have carrels reserved for them on a space-available basis. Students can apply for carrel space at the Hodges Library Main Circulation Desk near the Melrose entrance on the second floor.
Visit http://www.lib.utk.edu/outreach/study/ for more information about quiet and group study areas in Hodges Library.
For more information about study areas and library hours, call 974-4351.
Posted by Laura Purcell at 01:23 PM in Announcements
November 17, 2006
UT Libraries E-Forum: A Library for Everyone
Strategies for libraries to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities
Presented by Judith M. Dixon, Consumer Relations Officer at the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Join the UT Libraries for the next e-Forum lecture on Wednesday, December 6, featuring Judith M. Dixon, consumer relations officer for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) at the Library of Congress. Ms. Dixon will present A Library for Everyone: strategies for libraries to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities. The lecture will begin at 1:30 in room 605 of the John C. Hodges Library and is free and open to the public.
Judith M. Dixon is a leader in advancing access to printed and electronic formats and an authority on adapting library and information services for persons with visual disabilities. As part of the NLS, she plays a major role in developing digital libraries and talking books, and also consults with a consortium of 144 libraries about their consumer-related activities.
Founded in 1931, the NLS administers a free program that loans recorded and braille books and magazines, music scores, in braille and large print, and specially designed playback equipment to residents of the United States who are unable to read or use standard print materials because of visual or physical impairment.
Dr. Dixon has published and presented extensively on the topic of library accessibility for the disabled. She has also received many honors for her work, most recently winning the Francis Joseph Campbell Award from the American Library Association for her advocacy for access to printed information. She has worked at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped since 1981 and has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Adelphi University.
For more information about this event, please contact
Pauline Bayne
Interim Assistant Dean, University Libraries
607 Hodges Library
865-974-6600
pbayne@utk.edu
or
Donna Braquet
Life Sciences Reference Librarian
152 Hodges Library
865-974-0016
dbraquet@utk.edu
Posted by Laura Purcell at 03:31 PM in E-Forum
UT Libraries Brings a World of Music to Students and Faculty
Expansion of audio streaming services at UT Libraries
Access to a world of music--from classical to classic film scores-- is now available to University of Tennessee students, faculty and staff thanks to the university libraries. Thousands of music recordings are available now that the libraries has expanded its audio streaming services.
"Want to listen to a Mozart symphony, Appalachian dulcimer music, folk songs of Woody Guthrie, Portuguese Fado, or Tuvan throat singing? These databases have you covered," Mark Puente, Music Library resident librarian, said. "A vast array of genres and styles from many countries and traditions are represented," Puente continued.
The expanded services include access to the Classical Music Library and Naxos Music Library, large databases that contain classical, jazz, and music from film and stage, among other categories of music; Smithsonian Global Sound, which provides an array of musical genres including folk songs, jazz, world music, as well as spoken recordings of children's stories, and speeches by important historical figures; and African-American Song, one of the most heavily used databases, which focuses on African-American artists and composers, featuring jazz, blues, gospel, and spoken narratives. In the past, only a limited number of patrons could use these databases simultaneously, but now unlimited users can access the databases at once.
Students and faculty of the School of Music have long enjoyed using these downloadable services, but students in every major will find the contents of these databases useful for both scholarly and personal use. Audio clips from these databases provide glimpses of the political, historical, and sociological record, as well as great music. Users have the option of downloading many of the tracks (for about 99ยข per song) and importing them into iTunes, loading them onto their MP3 players, or burning CDs. Students can use tracks when creating multi-media projects, videos, or to find musical excerpts to accompany presentations. The databases also include additional information about performers and musical selections, advanced searching and browsing features, themed collections, and the ability listen to or create personal play lists.
In the digital age, librarians are constantly seeking ways to expand the library walls and to bring resources and information directly to the university community. Online streaming audio databases bring music from across the globe that can be accessed 24 hours a day directly to the patron. The university libraries hopes that this service will help students, faculty and staff experience a variety of musical styles from all across the globe.
For more information, please contact
Chris Durman
Librarian for Public Services, Music Library
(865)974-7542
cdurman@utk.edu
or
Mark Puente
Resident Librarian, Music Library
(865)974-3474
mpuente@utk.edu
Posted by Laura Purcell at 02:33 PM in Good News
November 14, 2006
UT Libraries Dean Elected to ARL Board of Directors
Barbara Dewey to serve on the Association of Research Libraries' governing board
Barbara Dewey, Dean of Libraries at the University of Tennessee, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Research Libraries at their October membership meeting.
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations.
The Board is the governing body of the Association and represents the interest of ARL member libraries in directing the business of the Association, including establishing operating policies, budgets, and fiscal control; modifying the ARL mission and objectives; and representing ARL to the community.
"I am honored to serve on the Association of Research Libraries' Board of Directors and pleased that the University of Tennessee Libraries' achievements are being recognized at the highest professional level," Dewey said.
The University of Tennessee Libraries were ranked 27th out of 68 public research libraries in the U.S. and Canada, and 45th among all ARL-affiliated research institutions in 2005. ARL also noted that UT had the fifth largest increase in total expenditures that year, about a 55 percent increase since the 1998-99 academic year.
The University of Tennessee Libraries supports more than 20,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students enrolled in 400 academic programs in 15 schools and colleges. The university libraries offers reference and instructional services, public and cultural programs, technological and media resources, subject liaisons in a variety of disciplines and promotes information literacy.
For more information about ARL, visit their Web site at http://www.arl.org.
Posted by Laura Purcell at 08:40 AM in Good News
November 09, 2006
Writers in the Library Presents Hip-History Theater
Knoxville artist Roger Smith to perform Monday, December 4
Writers in the Library will feature Roger Smith's Hip-History theater on Monday, December 4 at 7 p.m. in the Hodges Library Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Hip History Theater is an evening that includes Smith's performance of original prose readings, a slide show of various artworks, poetry, songs, music, enlightened worldview and commentary with a unique sense of humor and ironic realities and whimsical truths revealed.
Roger Smith was born in Knoxville and raised in the Park City area of town. A renaissance man, he has worked as a musician, cartoonist, author and sculptor, and called "an artist of the cool and the macabre" by the MetroPulse's Jack Neely.
"In the strange and edgy history of Knoxville's literary, music, and art scene, Roger Smith commands his own private campaign at the head of the avant-garde," RB Morris, the UT Libraries' Jack E. Reese Writer in Residence, said. "This is a rare opportunity to catch a great show," Morris said.
The Writers in the Library series is sponsored by the University of Tennessee Libraries and the Creative Writing Program of the UT English Department. For further information, please contact Jo Anne Deeken, Head of Technical Services, UT Libraries, at 974-6905 or deeken@aztec.lib.utk.edu, or R.B. Morris, Jack E. Reese Writer in Residence, UT Libraries, at 974-3004 or rbmorris@utk.edu.
Posted by at 03:46 PM in Writers in the Library