SPRING 1998

The Library in Partnership with Project Renaissance

by Trudi Jacobson, Project Renaissance Librarian

Jason Seminara, Lucy Hein, and Project Renaissance Librarian Trudi Jacobson, view Anthony Ayewah's home page.

Project Renaissance, now in its second year, brings together 400 first-year students with teams of teaching faculty, teaching assistants, librarians, computer specialists and peer mentors. Students participate in a living-learning environment for their first two semesters, during which time they earn 12 General Education credits in technology-intensive courses, and become involved in service-learning opportunities and academic and social activities. Project Renaissance is designed to combine the advantages of a small college environment with the opportunities of a major university. When Lil Brannon, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, began to organize Project Renaissance, she felt strongly that a librarian should be a member of the planning team: “The libraries are at the center of all that we do—so I could not imagine not having a librarian help us shape a meaningful experience for first-year students.”

From the very beginning, plans were made to introduce Project Renaissance students to the wide variety of resources and services available to them through the University Libraries. These resources are available in new and old formats, the electronic tools can be accessed through a number of different interfaces, and information sources are not all created equal. Both Libraries offer information literacy instruction to students, either through the Electronic Information Class program or through course-related instruction requested by a professor. This is the first time, since the freshman composition course was eliminated over a decade ago, that all undergraduate students in a particular program have the opportunity to learn information literacy skills in a formal manner. These skills include knowing how to find information, and how to evaluate it and use it effectively; skills which are essential for the successful student in this age of burgeoning information sources.

Project Renaissance preceptors, or teaching assistants, work with the Project Renaissance Librarian to determine which skills will most help students in their course work. Librarians and library staff have been very flexible in the segments they teach. This means that not all Project Renaissance students acquire the same knowledge, however, what they learn relates directly to the work they are doing in their classes, which supports the learning process. Most students learn about the effective use of the online catalog, ADVANCE, and electronic databases that are available both in the library and in their dorms via ResNet. Many Project Renaissance students prefer to do their initial research using ResNet and learn what is available to them remotely. Through instruction sessions, they also learn that they will miss key information sources if they limit themselves solely to those remote resources. Many are not aware that some resources are currently only available if they come to the library in person. Librarians teach students to select the most appropriate resources for their projects, regardless of format or availability. Experience shows that students have a tendency to equate the information they obtain from web-based resources with the information found in scholarly books and articles. Librarians have developed innovative ways to teach students the necessity of evaluating the content and source of the materials they consult when doing research. Other classes have included an introduction to the materials in the Interactive Media Center, sessions on resources in particular disciplines, and an introduction to the materials in Special Collections and Archives. The Project Renaissance Librarian continually works with Project Renaissance faculty and preceptors to tailor information literacy sessions to course goals and student needs.

Tom Mackey, a Project Renaissance preceptor, indicated,  “Our partnership with the University Library was an essential component of the curriculum for the second year of Project Renaissance. Our students received an excellent introduction to the resources of a research library and also made important connections with the knowledgeable librarians who lead these interactive, ‘hands-on’ orientations. This year we tried to build on the success of the first year by scheduling follow-up sessions and assignments that allowed students to apply and reinforce the skills they learned in the library’s computer classrooms. Since our major themes in Project Renaissance deal with ‘Human Identity and Technology,’ I believe it is important for students to experience ‘real world’ applications of this technology that will also assist them in adjusting to the environment of a research university. We are also confident that the skills they gained in this process will be applied this semester when they write two 8–10 page research papers.”  Lil Brannon sums up the significance of the Library’s participation in Project Renaissance, “Without the library, Project Renaissance would not be the success that it is.”

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Renovation and Renewal of the University Library Underway

by Meredith Butler, Dean and Director

The IMC/Reserve wall comes tumbling down.

The University Library is celebrating its thirtieth “birthday” this year and, even at its young age, the building has experienced “growing pains” for many years. The collections have long outgrown the Library’s confines and often students and faculty look in vain for a quiet corner in which to study, away from the distraction of group conversation or the din of photocopiers and printers. This too small and too heavily used facility is in desperate need of expansion and renewal.

Expansion space is on the immediate horizon as the construction of the new library building proceeds to a July 1999 opening. Renewal of the current building is also underway. We are making progress on our three-year plan to create a more technologically enhanced, attractive and functional University Library to serve students and faculty in humanities, fine arts, social sciences, business and education, once the move of the science collections and Special Collections and Archives to the new building in 1999.

During the past winter intersession, the Reference area was completely redesigned to respond to the increasing demand for electronic and networked resources. A new service desk was installed and the electronic resources area was reconfigured to create a more functional area for users and allow for the expansion of Internet services. Adjacent to the Reference desk, a landscaped office for Computer Search Services was constructed to provide increased ease of access for this important service. All of these changes grew out of months of planning by librarians responding to new service demands and changing patterns of use.

In the basement of the Library, a wall was removed to open up the Interactive Media Center and Reserve areas and allow for the eventual expansion of these computer-intensive activities in 1999. A project to paint the entire building began on the third floor and will proceed throughout the building during the semester. New carpet will be installed in many areas once collections are moved and stacks can be reconfigured.

The most significant changes which will have the greatest impact on services to faculty and students will occur in July-August 1999 in the University Library basement. During that period, the microforms collection will be condensed and moved to the Periodicals Room, a new Current Periodicals Reading Room will be created in the space formerly occupied by Special Collections and Archives, the Interactive Media Center will be expanded, and a second electronic classroom will be developed for user education classes. On the second and third floors, the circulating collections will be reconfigured to create space for 500 additional seats for students and faculty. As you can see, the next 18 months will be a time of significant change and some considerable upheaval. We ask for your support and patience as we improve and renew this major research facility.

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Looking for a Good Read?

by Trudi Jacobson, Coordinator,User Education

Public libraries cater to those looking for a good novel to while away a cold winter night. They all have fiction sections, and often offer convenient genre breakdowns such as general fiction, mysteries, or science fiction. Browsing is easy. University libraries serve a different purpose: they support the curricular and research needs of faculty and students. But this is not to say that academic libraries don’t contain “leisure” reading, reading unconnected with one’s study or research. They do, you just need to be a bit more creative to find it.

Albany’s library collections are organized by the Library of Congress classification system and this system lacks a section for fiction, per se. British novels, for example, are integrated into the British literature section. About 1990, the Library of Congress began to assign multiple subject headings to works of fiction, drama, poetry, humor and folklore, so it is now possible to find newer books under headings such as: Married people—United States—Fiction or College Teachers—United States—Fiction. Before 1990, subject headings were only assigned to historical fiction. This is a bit more complicated than at your public library, but if you have a time period, topic or country you are interested in, try ADVANCE, the online catalog, to see what the University Libraries might have in the way of fiction.

To make the process a bit easier and to highlight books in a variety of genres and fields, the University Library has recently produced a series of bookmarks, entitled “Looking for a Good Read?” Each bookmark lists 10–12 titles that the University Library owns. There are bookmarks for Thrillers/Espionage, Historical Fiction—Europe, and Historical Fiction—American. However, the bookmarks aren’t limited to fiction. Three bookmarks are entitled “A Sense of Place.” These bookmarks list travel literature and other books grounded in a particular region or country, such as Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Librarians are currently developing additional bookmarks, including one on Mysteries and one on Contemporary Literature.

Look for these bookmarks and the wonderful books they suggest. The bookmarks are available on the literature table in the University Library lobby, and also on a table in the President’s Lounge on the second floor. Happy Reading!

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Joseph E. Persico Papers

by Dorothy Christiansen, Head, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives

The University Libraries is pleased to serve as a repository for the papers of Joseph E. Persico, a nationally known biographer and historian and renowned alumnus. He received his B.A. degree in 1952 from the New York State College for Teachers, graduating with a dual major in Political Science and English. Since donating his professional papers to the University Libraries, Mr. Persico stated “I am honored to have my papers deposited at my alma mater which did so much in shaping me for whatever I have accomplished.”

After serving with the United States Information Agency in Argentina and Brazil and as the Executive Assistant to the New York State Health Commissioner, Persico became a member of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller’s entourage as a staff speech writer during the 1966 gubernatorial campaign. He remained Rockefeller’s chief speech writer through his gubernatorial years and accompanied Rockefeller to Washington, D.C. as part of his Vice Presidential staff. He worked with Rockefeller until the former Vice President retired from public life in 1977. In the mid-seventies, Persico began pursuing his career as an author/ historian/biographer. His first major work, My Enemy, My Brother: Men and Days of Gettysburg was published in 1977. Since then he has authored the following works: Piercing the Reich: The Penetration of Nazi Germany by American Secret Agents During World War II  (Viking, 1979); The Spiderweb (Crown, 1979); The Imperial Rockefeller: A Biography of Nelson A. Rockefeller (Simon and Schuster, 1982); Edward R. Murrow: An American Original (McGraw-Hill, 1989); Casey: The Lives and Secrets of William J. Casey from OSS to CIA (Viking, 1990); and Nuremburg: Infamy on Trial (1994). He recently collaborated with Colin Powell on the General’s autobiography, My American Journey (Random House, 1995).

Prior to donating his papers to the University Libraries, Persico deposited a major portion of his files for Piercing the Reich (7 cu. ft.) with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. The Joseph E. Persico Papers (16 cu. ft.), held by the University Libraries, contain his public papers, including press releases, transcripts of press conferences, television and radio interviews, and drafts of speeches written by Persico for Nelson A. Rockefeller (1964–1976). A second series contains the notes, speech and manuscript drafts, news clippings, and memoranda which comprise Mr. Persico’s private subject files for reference in his writing of The Imperial Rockefeller (material ranging from approximately 1966–1981). The latest deposit includes manuscripts and working papers for the Murrow, Casey, Nurenburg books, declassified FBI documents used for researching Piercing the Reich, book reviews, clippings, correspondence, and Persico’s articles, interviews, and speeches. For additional information, contact Dorothy Christiansen at (518) 442–3542 or dchris@csc.albany.edu.

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New Library Services at Your Desktop

E-Journals at Albany

by Bonita Bryant, Assistant Director, Collection Development

The University Libraries offer access to six packages of electronic journals via the Libraries’ “Subscription Databases and Journals” Web page. Many other free online journals can be found on individual subject pages. The IP address for campus computers affords faculty, staff and students access to these journals’ articles.

JSTOR provides both image and searchable text of backfiles of 34 scholarly journals in eleven disciplines, most of which are social sciences, but also including mathematics. Negotiations are underway for thirty-five other journals to be added to this panoply of distinguished titles. JSTOR covers each title from volume one through 1992 (each year the coverage will advance one year); the backfiles of many of these titles have not been previously covered by any abstract/index service. The library owns most of the journals included in this collection, however, JSTOR offers another means of access, broader scope of coverage (volume one to 1992) and the wonderful ability to search the text electronically.

Johns Hopkins University’s Project Muse offers recent volumes of forty scholarly journals which are also available in paper format plus two electronic-only journals: Postmodern Culture and Theory & Event. Subject coverage in this group of journals leans toward the humanities, with some treatment of the social sciences and a few science titles. The library subscribes to some, but not nearly all, of these journals in the paper format. The Project Muse electronic subscription is now available on a trial basis and user feedback will influence whether or not the University Libraries continues the subscription after 1998.

Scientific offerings are provided by four publishers: the American Institute of Physics (9 titles), the Institute of Physics (15), SIAM (11), and Springer (49). The Springer journals include a few titles in the fields of psychology and economics. In all cases, access is only available to those titles for which the library carries subscriptions in paper format as well; and in all cases, electronic access to the e-journals from these four publishers is free of charge. For further information or to discuss your needs for electronic access, contact me at BB546@csc.albany.edu.

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University Libraries Welcome New Faculty Members

by Christine Travis, Library Personnel Officer

The University Libraries welcome six new library faculty members this academic year.

Nancy Evans, our new Head of the Reference Services Department, received her M.L.S. from the University of Tennessee and Master of Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to her arrival in Albany, she served as Head Librarian at Pennsylvania State University at Abington-Ogontz, Program Officer for the Library and Information Technology Association of the American Library Association, and in several management positions at Carnegie Mellon. Nancy has significant experience with strategic planning and managing change and planning for the future of reference services in an academic setting. She can be reached at (518) 442–3550 or NHEvans@csc.albany.edu.

Marguerite (Maggie) Horn joined the Libraries in October as Head of the Cataloging Department. She received her M.L.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and came to Albany from Northern Arizona University where she served as Head of Bibliographic Services. Her library experience includes managing cataloging serials, bibliographic services, database projects, and retrospective conversion. She is active in national library associations, sharing her knowledge of cataloging and technical services through lectures and workshops. Maggie has strong planning and management skills and a very good understanding of the role and importance of cataloging in academic libraries. She can be reached at (518) 442–3633 or MEHorn@csc.albany.edu.

The new Business/Economics Bibliographer, Mary Van Ullen, also arrived in October. She received her M.L.S. from the University of Rhode Island. Prior to her appointment at Albany, Mary worked for the Norton Company in Troy where she served as a corporate librarian. She
has experience with training groups and individuals, a sound knowledge of business and legal resources, strong computer and communication skills and is active in local business and special library associations. Mary can be reached at (518) 442–3559 or VanUllen@csc.albany.edu.

Deborah Bernnard joined the Dewey Graduate Library as part-time Reference/User Education Librarian. She is also employed part-time at Schenectady County Community College. Deborah received her M.L.S. from the University at Albany and her B.A. in Politics from Fairfield University. In addition to general reference service, Deborah will provide bibliographic instruction and teach students about computer technology. She can be reached at (518) 442–3699 or Bernnard@csc.albany.edu.

Barbara Nichols Randall joined the Libraries in December as Head, Database Maintenance, Processing and Bindery Department in the Technical Services Division. A graduate of Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy, Barbara’s experience includes managing cataloging, acquisitions, serials, processing, and automation and computer operations at the New York State Library. She also has experience as a grants coordinator at Siena College and Automation/Catalog Specialist at BOCES. Barbara has substantial supervisory experience, experience with computer system upgrades and conversions, and strong training, analytical, and planning skills. Barbara can be reached at (518) 442–3889 or BNR@csc.albany.edu.

Daniel McManus, the Libraries’ most recent new faculty member, arrived in February as an NT Networking Technician in the Library Systems Department. Daniel received his B.S. degree from the State University of New York College at Fredonia. He served as Computer Technician for Internet Support at the Reed Library, SUNY Fredonia. He is also self-employed as a Computer Consultant/Web Developer. Daniel has experience with training groups and individuals, Web design, and academic library systems support and has an active interest in teaching. He can be reached at (518) 442–3273 or McManus@csc.albany.edu.

Nancy Evans, Mary Van Ullen, Maggie Horn, Barbara Nichols Randall and Deborah Bernnard admire the new Reference Desk.

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Library Faculty Publications

University Libraries faculty members published a wide range of articles, chapters and books during the past year.

Allen, Sydney K.

“Spirituality” column, Women’s Building Newsletter (January/February 1997).

Bryant, Bonita

“Staffing and Organization for Collection Development in a New Century,” in Collection Management for the 21st Century, G.E. Gorman and Ruth H. Miller, eds. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997): 191–206.

Cohen, Laura B.

“Rules of the Game: Implementing a Home Page at a Large Academic Library.” Integrated Online Library Systems: Proceedings—1997, 13–22.

Guest Editor, “Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts,” The Reference Librarian, no. 56 (1997).

Dwyer, Catherine M.

“State Publications.” (New York State Documents Section) Government Publications Review 23, no. 5/6 (September/December 1996): 589–590.

Gossen, Eleanor A. and Sue Kaczor

“Variation in Interlibrary Loan Use by University at Albany Science Departments.” Library Resources & Technical Services 41, no. 1 (January 1997): 17–28.

Irving, Suzanne

“Extenuating Circumstances: the Framework of Factors Influencing Cost Effectiveness Within the SUNY Express Network,” in Economics of Access Versus Ownership: The Costs and Benefits of Access to Scholarly Articles Via Interlibrary Loan and Journal Subscriptions, Bruce Kingma with Suzanne Irving, eds. (New York: Haworth Press, 1996): 57–64.

Irving, Richard

Editor, Pressure Point, newsletter of the New York Library Association Intellectual Freedom Round Table (November 1996).

Book Review Editor, Criminal Law Bulletin (January 1997).

Jacobson, Trudi E. and Peter Wei He

“What are They Doing with the Internet: A Study of User Information Seeking Behaviors.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 1, no. 1 (1996): 31–51.

Kaczor, Sue A. and Trudi E. Jacobson

“Bibliographic Instruction for the Internet: Implications of an End-User Survey.” Research Strategies 14, no. 4 (Fall 1996): 214–223.

Kemp, Barbara E. and Mary Jane Brustman

“Social Policy Research: Comparison and Analysis of CD-ROM Resources.” Social Work Research 21, no. 2 (June 1997): 111–120.

McCombs, Gillian M.

and William D. Graziadei. “Wiring the Trenches: Teaching Faculty and Librarians Working Together on the Internet.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 1/1: 89–103.

“The National Electronic Library: A Guide to the Future for Library Managers,” Gary M. Pitkin, ed. College and Research Libraries 58, no. 3 (May 1997): 285–287.

Miller, Heather S.

“The Little Locksmith: A Cautionary Tale for the Electronic Age.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 23, no. 2 (March 1997): 100–107.

Via, Barbara J.

“Library Periodicals,” in Magazines for Libraries, 9th ed., Bill Katz and Linda Sternberg Katz, eds. (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1997): 826–839.

“Publishing in the Journal Literature of Library and Information Science.” College & Research Libraries 57 (July 1996): 366–376. <

Waltz, Mary Anne

“Anthropology and Ethnology: CE,” in Guide to Reference Books, 11th ed., R. Balay, ed. (Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1996).

“Geography: CL,” in Guide to Reference Books, 11th ed., R. Balay, ed. (Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1996).

LIBRARY UPDATE is a semi-annual newsletter published to inform faculty about University Libraries' collections and services. Responses from readers are very welcome. EDITOR: Dorothy Christiansen EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Mary Osielski DESIGN & PUBLISHING: Linda Reeves PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark Schmidt