Have you ever wondered what websites you frequent may have looked like when they were first created? Thanks to web-archiving technologies such as Archive-It and the Wayback Machine, this is a current reality. As the Anna Radkowski-Lee Graduate Assistant for Web Archives for the 2020-2021 academic year, I am excited to have the opportunity to spend time in the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, learning about and working with these incredible, yet complex, technologies. 

Following 24 years of service to the University Libraries, Mary Van Ullen retired on March 31, 2021. Before leaving, Mary took some time to sit down and answer a few questions for the Library Update newsletter. 

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives is proud to receive a $63,890 grant to support the project, Mailbag: A Stable Package for Email in Multiple Formats. The grant is funded through the University of Illinois program, Email Archives: Building Capacity and Community.

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives and The Alice Hastings Murphy Preservation Department are collaborating to digitize more than a thousand hours of historic audio on magnetic tape. 

Here's what our faculty and staff published and presented during the Spring 2021 semester.

Elaine Lasda was promoted to the rank of full librarian. 

The University at Albany Libraries seek a graduate student to assist in assessment and technology integration projects in development by the Libraries’ Scholarly Communication Team. The Scholarly Communication Team helps the campus community navigate shifting publishing, intellectual property, and information policy landscapes. 

Welcome to the Winter 2021 Library Update! In this issue you will read about how the Libraries delivered our services to the campus community in spite of the constraints posed by the pandemic. We were happy to offer most of our services online, including reference and research consultations, teaching our signature iLearn workshops, and Campus Conversations, which highlight important faculty research. 

After a Spring 2020 shutdown, and a summer of curbside pickup, the University Libraries reopened to the UAlbany community on Monday, August 24. The semester looked different than previous autumns on campus, but the Libraries adapted and successfully served our students, faculty, and staff.

What’s behind Lindsay's success? A tireless drive for high-quality work, a positive attitude, and a healthy, competitive spirit. 

Keep up if you can. 

The coronavirus pandemic sidelined in-person events, but the Libraries found a way to continue the Campus Conversations in Standish series. We followed up with three previous, popular speakers, as well as a new participant in the program, for video conversations shared on YouTube. 

Under the best of circumstances, running a faculty meeting presents a test of organization and patience. In the age of social distancing, however, when meetings take place remotely over Zoom, these qualities become that much more important. That’s why, on November 6, the University Libraries’ Professional Activities Committee sponsored a workshop titled, No Pets on Zoom: A Parliamentary Procedure Program.

The University Libraries are pleased to recognize two members of the faculty who received the 2019-2020 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence: Peter Recore-Migirditch (Professional Service) and Sue Kaczor (Librarianship).