Thursday, October 25, 2012

African American Librarians Proudly “Represent” at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History


African American Librarians Proudly “Represent” at the 2012 Annual Conference of the

Association for the Study of African American Life and History

by

Sibyl E. Moses, Ph.D.

(with contributions from Kathleen Bethel, Janet Sims-Wood, Aslaku Berhanu,

Deborah L. Dandridge, Emily Guss, Rebecca Hankins, and LaVonda Broadnax)

 

            For generations, African American librarians have served as a vital force in the preservation and promotion of African American history and culture.  Such was the case on September 26-30, 2012 when more that eighteen (18) African American librarians, many of whom are members of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, actively participated in the governance, academic programming, book signings, and general proceedings of the 97th Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The conference theme:  “Black Women in American Culture and History” attracted more than 1,400 attendees and featured well over 250 lectures, panel discussions, films, poetry slams, etc. covering the history of little known and well known African American women and their activities. 

            Academic and research librarians from the District of Columbia, Illinois, Texas, Maryland, South Carolina, Kansas, and Pennsylvania presented papers on topics that included African American women as health activists, scholars, library and literacy activists, artists, community activists, and club women. The following account provides one lens through which we may see a portion of the extensive scholarship undertaken by African American librarians in the field of African American history and culture.

ASALH Executive Council Members: 

Kathleen Bethel, African American Studies Librarian, Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois and Janet Sims Wood, Librarian, Prince George’s Community College, Largo, Maryland.

Recipient of an Award:

Janet Sims-Wood, received the 2012 Mary McLeod Bethune Award, in honor of her service to the Association for the Study of African American History and Culture for over a 10 year period in the areas of branches, Executive Council, fundraising, Black History Month Kit, essay contest, and the Carter G. Woodson educational programs; the award also acknowledges her service to education, African American history, and to the community.

Presenters of Papers:

Aslaku Berhanu, Librarian, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, presented a paper, “Dr. Caroline Still Anderson: A Nineteenth Century Black Physician,” on the panel entitled “Collecting and Preserving Black Women’s History and Culture: Primary Sources in the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.”

Elizabeth Jean Brumfield, BCALA Executive Board, and Librarian, Prairie View A& M University, Prairie View, Texas, presented a paper (with co-presenter Chieko Sato), “Fitting the First Ladies:  Black Female Fashion Designers in the White House,” on the panel entitled “Celebrated and Grassroots Women Leaders.”

Deborah L. Dandridge, Special Collections Librarian, University of Kansas,  presented a paper:  “Refusing Extinction: African American Responses to Health Care Needs in Jim Crow Greater Kansas City, 1900-1970,” on the panel entitled “'We're Still Here': Black People Defining Health.”

Emily Guss, Librarian, University of Illinois Library, Chicago, Illinois, presented a paper, “Vivian Harsh and Charlemae Rollins: Transformation of Chicago's Hall Branch Library into a "People's University" on the panel entitled “Grassroots Make Big Trees:  African American Women’s Local Organizing Efforts in the Twentieth Century.”

Ida Jones, Manuscript Librarian, Moorland Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Washington, D.C., presented a paper "The Sister Six: Select Women Scholars at Howard University during the Golden Age 1926-1960" on the panel entitled “Organized Black Womanhood: A Look at Historical and Contemporary Black Club Women.”

Georgette Mayo, Librarian, Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, presented paper “Georgette Seabrooke Powell: Advocating Art on Her Own Terms,” on the panel entitled “Black Female Trailblazers in the 20th Century.”


Irene E. Owens, Cultural Resource Coordinator, Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, presented a paper, “Barbara Johns Powell: A Woman of Courage and Conviction in Virginia Civil Rights History," on the panel “Pioneering Advocates For Black Children: Barbara Johns Powell and Eloise Greenfield.”

Janet Sims-Wood, presented two papers:  “Eloise Greenfield: Bringing the Gift of Reading to Children," on the panel entitled “Pioneering Advocates For Black Children: Barbara Johns Powell and Eloise Greenfield”; and, "Dr. Martha Putney: Pioneer Service in the Women's Army Corps," on the panel “Lifting as We Climb: The Role of Education and Activism in the Lives of Terrell, Putney, and Williams.”

Panel Chairs:

Rebecca Hankins, Certified Archivist, Associate Professor, and Africana Studies/Race & Ethnic Resources Librarian/Curator at the Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, Texas A and M University, College Station, Texas chaired a panel, “I Am Not My Hair:  Reclaiming Black Beauty."   The panel prepared a guide to resources on the subject, and it is available from Rebecca Hankins:  rhankins@tamu.edu

Elizabeth Jean Brumfield, chaired a panel, “Grassroots Make Big Trees:  African American Women’s Local Organizing Efforts in the Twentieth Century.”

Ida Jones, chaired a panel, “Creative Resistance: African American Women Opening Restricted Spaces and Effecting Lasting Social Change.”


Author Book Signings:

Roland Barksdale-Hall, author of Images of America Farewell.

Elizabeth Jean Brumfield, author of An Ordinary Man:  Black Power in Overalls.

Librarian-Attendees:

Glenda Alvin, ACRL/AFAS Liaison to ASALH, Assistant Director for Collection Management and Administration and Head, Acquisitions and Serials at the Brown-Daniel Library, Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee

Lavonda Broadnax, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Lucius Edwards, Head of Special Collections & Archives, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia.

Arif Abdullah Jamal, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Hillman Library, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Charlynne Spenser Pyne, Librarian (retired), Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Lainey Westbrooks, Librarian, East Cleveland, Ohio.

Founded in 1970, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is an affiliate of the American Library Association. BCALA serves as an advocate for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation's African American community; provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African American librarians.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

EasyBib: Student and Educator Resources for Election Season


Election Day is less than two weeks away, and we're sure it's a hot topic of discussion at your school. After hearing great feedback about an earlier blog post, we found some new political resources you might find useful like Politifact and FactCheck.org. Read more about them here!
Election 2012 with EasyBib
 
We also pulled data from EasyBib to see how our users are citing sources related to the election. Comparing the past two months, there's been a 66% increase in use of political sources. That's quite a jump! Students are exploring different websites to gather information relating to American politics, which are specified in the blog post, too.
We've gotten feedback this political season that our website evaluation feature has helped students assess political sources that frequently carry bias. Learn more about website evaluation with our School Edition product.
 
Best,
Emily Gover, M.S. University at Albany
Information Literacy Librarian
twitter.com/emily_easybib
Presenter at:
Columbia University’s EdLab | NYU Bobst Library | SUNYLA 2012 | TCCTA 2012 | Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy
 
FOLLOW
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Copyright © 2012
Imagine Easy Solutions, Inc.
PO Box 4668 #38315
New York, NY 10163-4668
 

Digital Commons Community Webinars: Library-Led Publishing and OA Textbooks


I'd like to invite you to the first two webinars in our 2012-2013 Digital Commons Community Webinar series. These two presentations will explore an aspect of library-led publishing that many are beginning to explore: books.  Both the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Grand Valley State University are successfully expanding their IR services by publishing full-length works through the repository.  

In the first webinar, Paul Royster (Coordinator of Scholarly Communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) will share strategies for launching library publishing services for books and monographs, including tips on developing policies, working with authors, and providing print-on-demand.

In the second, Sarah Beaubien (Scholarly Communications Outreach Coordinator) and Charles Lowe (Assistant Professor of Writing) of Grand Valley State University will share their success in bringing students targeted, high-quality texts at minimal or no cost.

Webinar: Library Publishing: Books and Faculty Monographs
Date/Time: Thursday, November 8, 11:00 am PST
Presenter: Paul Royster, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/478560615


Webinar: Serving Students and Faculty with Open-Access Textbooks
Date/Time: Monday, December 3, 11:00 am PST
Presenters: Sarah Beaubien and Charles Lowe, Grand Valley State University
Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/515782367


We hope you can join us!

Best regards,

Peter Goodwin


--
Peter Goodwin, PhD
Outreach Associate
bepress
pgoodwin@bepress.com
510-665-1200, ext. 167


Check out IR success stories on the new DC Telegraph at http://blog.digitalcommons.bepress.com

Monday, October 8, 2012

Lyrasis eGathering 2012 - Survive or Thrive: Connecting Libraries and Community


 


Register today and join us for eGathering 2012 - Survive or Thrive: Connecting Libraries and Community.

Attend this FREE Annual LYRASIS Member meeting and be part of the conversation about how librarians are connecting with their communities.

You can participate online at your desk or at one of the community viewing locations (click Register to see if there's one near you).

eGathering 2012 - Survive or Thrive: Connecting Libraries and Community
November 1
1:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET
Attend online or in-person at one of our community viewing locations
FREE for LYRASIS Members!

 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Archival Today - October 2012


 

Archival Today: News, Expert Advice, Resources and more from Gaylord. October 2012, Issue 7.
       
 
Gaylord.com
 
Home  |  What's New  |  Contact Us  |  Your Account
 
 
Archival Today: A fresh look at preserving the past.
Celebrate American Archives Month with Archival Today!
October 2012, Issue 7.
The Book Club of California Celebrates their 100th Anniversary. Read more.
Upcoming Events. Join us at the following conferences.
Frank Lloyd Wright Archives Move to the Big Apple.
Learn More.
Learn more at WSJ.com.
Did You Know? There are 1.7 billion rare and unique books, periodicals and scrapbooks in U.S. collections (16% need conservation treatment or improved care and conditions).
Resources.
Now You Can Browse the 1940 Census Online.
Find free materials and ideas for how to raise public awareness of your collection this American Archives Month.
Browse the 1940 Census Now.
Grants are available for archives in need of assistance after Hurricane Isaac.
Gaylord 2012 Archival Catalog.
Possible New Photo of Emily Dickinson Found. See for yourself.
Request Catalog.
 
 
 
 
 
 

EduDemic: How To Make A Digital Library



Posted: 06 Oct 2012 05:05 AM PDT

emptylibrary
 
When I was in elementary school in the late 80′s, we’d inevitably be dragged to the library a couple of times a year to learn about the Dewey Decimal system, how to find books of different types, and other things that would rev your engine …