Welcome! The UT Libraries are now offering News Channels to help keep you informed about our events and resources.

There are two ways to stary informed using our News Channels:

1. Bookmark our News Channels and visit back often
or
2. Add our News Channels to your news reader.

What is a news reader? (sometimes also called news aggregators, RSS readers, feed readers, or readers)
Readers are software or web-based applications that allow you to select and read many websites using a common interface. Instead of having to visit each site individually, you can read all of the sites that you have selected in one convenient format.

How do I get a news reader?
There are many free readers that can be found at Web Compendium.

What is a blog?
A blog, or weblog, is a regularly updated website that lists its entries in reverse chronological order and offers a way to syndicate the site though feeds.

What are feeds? (sometimes also called news feeds, xml feeds, RSS Feeds, or RSS)
Feeds are an XML versions of blog posts that can be read by Readers. Feeds are respresented by the orange xml button, a RSS button, or possibly text that says “Syndicate this Site” or “RSS Feed”.

How do I add a blog to my news reader?
With most news readers, feeds can be added by dragging and dropping the XML button, RSS button, or the “Syndicate this Site” link into your Reader.

How do I start my own blog?
The UT Libraries use software from Moveable Type, which is modestly priced for educational institutions. However, there are many free blog hosting services that you may wish to investigate, with the most popular being Blogger. Many other blog hosting services are listed at Web Compendium.

Full-time staff consider student assistants ‘invaluable’

At least one of every three times a patron is assisted at University Libraries, he or she comes in contact with the heart of library service – the student library assistants (SLAs). On behalf of UT Libraries, the Diversity Committee will host the third Student Appreciation Celebration to recognize the dedication and hard work of SLAs on Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Staff Lounge, Room 646 of John C. Hodges Library. The event is open to all library staff and student employees; refreshments will be provided.

Of the 450 faculty and staff at University Libraries, 150 are students. Students are responsible for serving library patrons on the frontline, tending to or organizing items in the library collections or maintaining and updating the libraries media and publications. Many of the full-time staff and faculty regard the student staff members as a vital part of the library – maintaining the level of high-quality service patrons expect.

“We couldn’t run our department without our SLAs,” Sheila Stephens, Media Center library specialist, said. “They keep us going and provide so much support for the services we offer – scheduling rooms, helping patrons with tapes and films. They’re invaluable to us.”

Continue reading →

Successful program seeks new residents

Building on the success of its first program, which was launched in 2003, the UT Libraries is looking for three new candidates for the two-year residency program. The new residency candidates will begin employment in the fall of 2005. The purpose of the program is to attract recent library school graduates from underrepresented groups to a challenging and rewarding career in academic librarianship.

Successful candidates will serve as residents for two years and may be eligible for permanent employment as faculty upon completion of the program. Residents will work closely with librarians to develop skills and career plans, develop collegial relationships with faculty outside the library, participate in library committees, and become involved with professional associations.

Residents will work in several areas of the library and will take part in a variety of initiatives and projects.

Continue reading →

From fiction to fact, from the Civil War to the Secret City, the 2003-2004 Library Development Review has an article for everyone.

The 2002-2003 Library Development Review received a Best in Show Award for fundraising publications from the Southeastern Library Association; the 2003-04 issue features local history, memorabilia and donor biographies.

While most people are unaware of the impact the Civil War had on Tennessee, the University Libraries have obtained several collections of artifacts, letters and photographs from the War Between the States. Many local images, such as the photographs on the front and back covers, are available online through the Library of Congress American Memory online project .

Click here for the .pdf version.

Continue reading →

Funds will help preserve history of education and arts literacy in the Smokies
In 1910, the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women worked to open the first school to serve the families in and around Gatlinburg. Thanks to a nearly quarter-million dollar grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Science (IMLS), this important story about the history of education and arts literacy in the Smokies will be preserved and accessible to all.

The project, From Pi Beta Phi to Arrowmont: Bringing Education and Economic Development to the Great Smoky Mountains, 1910-2004, will create a web site with a fully-searchable online archives of selected letters, diaries, photographs and other materials that document the history of the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Principal investigators Ken Wise and Anne Bridges, UT librarians, will work to complete the project with David Willard, director of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Glenn Bogart, principal of the Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in Gatlinburg, TN.

Continue reading →