Categories
Professional Development Science & Technology Library

Stitz Participation

Tammy Stitz is part of the OhioLINK Accessibility Project Team that will figure out how to implement accessibility practices for shared consortial content.

Tammy is also a member of the UA search committee to select an Associate Director of the Office of Accessibility. You could check out the job description at could go to https://www.uakron.edu/hr/job-openings/openings.dot and the job is listed as Associate Director, Office of Accessibility – 13033

Nice going, Tammy!

Categories
General Interest University Press

UL Book Acknowledgement

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!

Categories
Professional Development

Franks & Antunez Poster Session

Jeffrey Franks and Marilia Yesenia Antunez  presented a poster session entitled Making Connections When Citing Tables and Figures at the 2021 Kentucky Medical Library Association (KMLA) Virtual Conference on Friday, July 16. The poster described the planning and development process for the Brightspace Tutorial entitled Advanced Citations and Copyright, which will be launched this fall semester.

Poster Session Abstract

Librarians uniquely designed a self-paced tutorial that combines how to reference tables and figures in APA Style, 7th edition, provide an overview of the Creative Commons (CC) licenses, and finding open access resources, in the preparation of class papers. Students will discuss the guidelines for properly citing tables and figures including copyright attribution in APA Style using sources that are freely available and that do not require copyright permission. Examples of tables and figures that students created as well as tables and figures created by others will be discussed. To empower students to reference their works, they will describe how to find works with CC licenses, what they allow, how to properly provide attribution and how to add these licenses to their own works. The tutorial uses videos, presentation slides, and self-checks/quizzes. It is offered via the Brightspace platform to easily track student progress.

This poster presentation examines the planning of an online tutorial via the LMS system, Bright space, developed to inform and increase habit of referencing tables and figures, and encourage faculty and others to add their Creative Commons mark on their own creations. The tutorial also highlights the benefits of OERs as teaching materials.

The tutorial is divided into the following four modules or Lessons:

  • Lesson 1: Citing Sources for Tables and Figures, which reviews the differences between tables and figures, common types of figures, placement and the importance of copyright considerations and appropriate citation.
  • Lesson 2: How to Cite Tables and Figures, which outlines instructions on how to display and cite tables and figures and introduces basic guidance on how to cite them from different works (e.g., journal articles, websites), templates, and by common license types (e.g., CC, public domain).
  • Lesson 3: Sharing Your Work Using Creative Commons
  • Lesson 4: Sources for Finding Free to Use Educational Resources

This sounds very informative and like it was a lot of work.  Nice job, Jeff and Marilla!

Categories
Electronic Services General Interest Professional Development University Press

McGurr Serving on Boards

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.

Nice representation, Melanie!

Categories
Design & Development Services General Interest

Archives & DDS Win Award

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

Congratulations  to all!

Categories
General Interest

Fleischer Presents at SOA Conference

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. 

Well done, Vic!

Categories
General Interest Professional Development Science & Technology Library

Stitz Presenting

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.

Nice representation, Tammy! 

Categories
General Interest Professional Development Research & Learning Services

Kennedy’s Article Wins Award

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). 

What a nice surprise!  Congratulations, Sean!

Categories
Design & Development Services General Interest Professional Development

Lampner Leads

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!

Congratulations on your accomplishments, Wendy!

Categories
Electronic Services General Interest Professional Development

Procházka Preface Added

Musikproduktion Höflich has reissued Otakar Ostrčil’s Impromptu for orchestra, with a new preface by David Procházka.  You can read David’s introduction by following this link:  https://repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de/en/product/ostrcil-otakar-5/

Nice work, David!