On October 15th, Mike Monaco presented as part of panel, “Sheltering, Surviving and Thriving in Place: A View From Technical Services.” The presentation was a program for the Ohio Library Council’s 2021 Convention & Expo in Columbus, Ohio. The other panelists were Karen Sykeny (Massillon Public Library) and Misty Alvaro (Columbus Metropolitan Library). We spoke about how our libraries, especially in technical services, dealt with the changes to our staffing and work conditions during the pandemic, and what we learned. I was also able to attend the first two days of the conference on October 13-14 because of an ALAO Continuing Education grant I was awarded, which paid for my accommodations and registration.
Labor in Akron, 1825-1945 by John A. Tully describes the story of U. S. labor in Akron, Ohio as it has a history of intense struggle, both between Capital and Labor and between conflicting forms of labor organization. This book was published by the UA Press and is in our catalog. Dr. Tully came to Akron several summers ago to research his books on rubber, according to Jeffrey Franks. In this book, he acknowledges the assistance that he received here at The University of Akron and shares a story about Jeff’s grandfather. Thanks to Thea Ledendecker, here’s the part of the acknowledgments:
Acknowledgments
I was fortunate in researching for this book to make the acquaintance of a number of very helpful archivists and librarians in Akron and elsewhere in Ohio. Firstly, I must thank the staff at The University of Akron Archives for their help. These include the current director, Vic Fleischer, John Ball, and the former director, John Miller. Sadly, another UAA archivist, Craig Holbert, died far too young in 2017. I missed Craig’s unfailingly helpful and courteous presence when I last visited the archives. Craig was the author of two books and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the local history of his city. I must also thank Jeffrey Franks of Bierce Library at The University of Akron for his help in suggesting readings when I was first gathering material on rubber and the labor movement in the city. Jeff also kindly provided me with details of the life of his grandfather, K. H. Andonian, who came to Akron as an Armenian refugee before World War I and worked for many years at the Goodyear plant.
You can find the story about Jeff Franks’ grandfather and his early days in Akron on p. 133.
Impressive! A very well-deserved acknowledgement and nice representation for the UA!
Melanie McGurr was elected to the Board of the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System (NEORLS) as the Academic Library representative for the July 2021 to June 2024 term. Melanie previously served as the Academic Library representative when she was appointed to finish out Dean Aimee deChambeau’s term on the Board from 2020-2021. Melanie will also continue to serve on the Finance Committee as part of her Board duties.
Melanie was also appointed to the Editorial Board of the University of Akron Press. Her three-year term begins August 2021.
Archival Services and Design & Development Services of University Libraries, along with the Department of History, won a Society of Ohio Archivists (SOA) Merit Award last week at the SOA Annual Meeting and Conference for their Sesquicentennial Oral History Project. The award is given to individuals or organizations that have by excellence in deeds, actions, or initiatives improved the state of archives in Ohio over the past year. The oral histories captured the often-unheard stories and voices of African Americans, women, the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities from the university campus and with Zips living in the greater Akron community. In addition to filling gaps in the historical record in University Archives, the project also involved students in the sesquicentennial celebration and provided an important hands-on experiential learning opportunity. The 12 oral history videos and transcripts can be accessed on Archival Services’ digital collections website at https://cdm15960.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15960coll3/search/searchterm/The%20University%20of%20Akron%20Sesquicentennial%20Oral%20History%20Project/field/collec/mode/exact/conn/and/order/date/ad/asc/page/1.
Vic Fleischer, University Archivist & Head of Archival Services, presented at the Society of Ohio Archivists Conference last week, with Matt Francis, University Archivist at Ohio Northern University. The presentation was titled “Amplifying Diverse Voices: Documenting the History of Underrepresented Communities at Two Ohio Universities.” Fleischer’s portion highlighted the numerous projects accomplished by Archival Services of University Libraries during the University’s sesquicentennial year, especially those that documented the voices and stories of underrepresented or marginalized communities. This included stories in the sesquicentennial book, Hail We Akron!, Facebook posts on Black Lives Matter, the online exhibit for Black History Month on Black activism at UA, and especially the Sesquicentennial Oral History Project that focused on inclusion and diversity.
Tammy Stitz will participate in two presentations this summer.
1. STS Panel Presentation: Engaging with Virtual Instruction in the Sciences
June 16, 2021 3:00-4:00PM on Zoom
The panel will all answer questions from the moderator. Tammy will answer:
How do issues of equity and access manifest in the online teaching environment for you? What strategies, principles, or methods guide your work in making online learning more equitable and accessible?
Have you worked with a lab course online? How did you approach this session?
Could you describe an online class that went particularly well? What made it go well?
Have you had an online class that didn’t go well? What did you learn from the experience?
2. Accessibility in a Remote World
National College Testing Association 2021 Annual Virtual Conference Aug 10-13
This is a group presentation with Sara Rieder Bennett and Natalie Martin from The University of Akron and Vernée Hemphill from Central Washington University. Tammy’s role will be to discuss the WCAG 2.1 standards relevant to online testing.
Sean Kennedy, along with Kevin Garewal, co-authored (“Quantitative analysis of workplace morale in academic librarians and the impact of direct supervisors on workplace morale”) and they were unexpectedly notified that the article won the Best Article of 2021 award from the Association of College and Research Libraries – New England Chapter (ACRL-NEC).
Wendy Lampner, Director of Design & Development Services, participated in an online panel discussion with speakers from leading universities on April 28, 2021. The Internet2 NET+ I2 Online panel discussion was held to help us prepare for the Post-Pandemic Shift in Higher Ed.
As the website describes it: The pandemic has brought sweeping changes to higher education. Universities have learned to rapidly create online courses; faculty have adapted their teaching styles to support distance learning; and, students have learned how to build relationships and engagement spanning long distances. As remote teaching became ubiquitous, students’ expectations changed for what a classroom and learning experience can be. They discussed what the shift means to Higher Education.
In addition, Wendy was also nominated for Zips Who Inspire. In case you haven’t heard, Zips Who Inspire is where the UA asked for stories of Akron Zips who’ve inspired others through their work, generosity, or talents. They are recognizing them at https://www.uakron.edu/150/inspire and so many more, for their hard work and dedication. Go to the link and read up on Wendy and get inspired!
