University Libraries Receive LSTA Grant to Create Digital Oral Histories

The oral histories and stories of people from Muncie’s diverse citizenry will be kept alive through a digitization project, thanks to a grant through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) to the University Libraries. John Straw and Dr. Arthur W. Hafner are Co-Principal Investigators for the project.

The $25,125 in grant funding will be used to digitize oral history interviews, purchase equipment, pay for personnel costs, and other expenses associated with the creation of a digital collection of oral histories from the Archives and Special Collections Research Center.

The oral history interviews include three African-American, three Catholic, and two Jewish collections documenting the citizenry of Muncie, Indiana. The project provides for collaboration between the Ball State University Libraries, the Center for Middletown Studies, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Lawrence Catholic Church, and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

The finished product will also serve as an initial part of a Web-based teaching tool to be developed by the Center for Middletown Studies in collaboration with Archives and Special Collections within the next two years. Audio files and transcriptions will be made available in the Digital Media Repository.

In addition to the existing African-American and Jewish oral history collections currently preserved in the Archives, creation of a new collection of interviews with members of the Catholic congregations will be funded through the grant.

Trained volunteers from each of the churches will conduct the interviews. Three emeriti faculty from Ball State who attend the respective churches will coordinate the volunteers and the interviewing process. Dr. Michael William Doyle, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Public History Internship Program at Ball State, will conduct a workshop on Oral History Methods to train the volunteers. The completed interviews will be placed in Archives and Special Collections.

Oral histories are valuable teaching, learning, and research tools for students and faculty that give an added dimension to the historical record. These “personal narratives” illuminate the lives of Indiana citizens and provide unique research material on populations that were neglected in the seminal studies published by sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd in the 1920s using Muncie as “Middletown,” a representative American community. The LSTA grant provides the University Libraries the opportunity to make these resources available to be heard and read by the students and faculty of Ball State and by individuals throughout the world.

This is the second year in a row that the University Libraries has received an LSTA grant for digitization. The 2005-06 LSTA grant was used to create the Digital Repository of U.S. Civil War Resources for East Central Indiana. Those resources are now available in the Digital Media Repository at http://libx.bsu.edu
The federal Library Services and Technology Act, administered in Indiana by the Indiana State Library, exists to assist states in the extension of and improvement of library services.

Ball State University Libraries’ Music Listening Center Posts a New Web Page for ARIA International Summer Academy

Music students from all over the country will come to the Ball State University campus June 19 to July 15 for an intensive month of study and performance for advanced instrumentalists between the ages of 15 and 32.

The Aria Academy features 31 instructors/performers from major orchestras and faculty from Ball State and other universities. The event is organized by Mihai Tetel, Associate Professor of Cello at BSU.

Aria participants know that Bracken Library’s Music Listening Center is the place to visit to check out books, recordings, scores, and periodicals. View www.bsu.edu/library/collections/musiccoll/aria – a webpage that has been designed especially for Aria students and faculty.

“We plan to promote the new page to students and faculty both before their arrival for Aria and during their visit,” said University Libraries’ music librarian Keith Cochran. “We are hoping it will generate a lot of interest in our music collection and make Aria 2006 an even better experience for these dedicated musicians.”

Aria students like to visit the Music Listening Center to browse the collection. The web page facilitates finding resources by listing call number ranges for scores for specific instruments and ensembles. Keith added that searching for music in an online environment poses special challenges and that the web site will provide help in searching Cardcat, the online catalogue for scores and recordings in the University Libraries’ collection of more than 17,000 compact discs.

For information, contact Keith Cochran, Music Librarian, at KCochran@bsu.edu

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 5.

Customizing Students' Experience

Librarians and paraprofessional personnel at the Ball State University Libraries recognize that today’s library customers are accustomed to service and convenience. They want it. They expect it. They demand it.

An example of how the University Libraries seeks to customize each student’s educational experience for learning and research is in our offering expanded service hours. Longer hours allow students flexibility in designing his/her individual study program based on personal needs, such as working on-campus or off.

Peter John, a senior who is majoring in Piano Performance, takes advantage of the Music Listening Center’s expanded hours by utilizing the listening carrels. In addition to using the sound resources to study, Peter also searches the Educational Resources Center’s catalogs for visual resources. By coupling his listening research with viewing a Stravinsky ballet, for example, Peter enhances both his understanding and appreciation for informational materials.

Sherrell Robinson is a Telecommunications senior. She does not own her own computer, so being able to check out a laptop from the Educational Resources Center allows Sherrell the flexibility to study wherever she feels most comfortable in Bracken Library. Most nights, she reserves one of our many group study rooms with a friend. According to Sherrell, studying collaboratively allows the two of them to “focus and get our work done.”

Having his own laptop did not help Bryan Williamson recently to complete a project on time; however, Bracken’s resources did! Bryan is an interior design major in the College of Applied Sciences and Technology. While working, he lost the project on his computer and had to begin completely over. Having REVIT software available on Bracken’s public PC stations allowed him to work since the department lab was closed. He printed the final project on the large plotter in the Geospatial Center and Map Collection unit.

For information, contact Kathleen E. Pickens, Library Night Supervisor at KEPickens@bsu.edu

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 1.

Libraries' Turnstile Counts at an All-time High

Our turnstile counts at the end of April 2006 are very strong – 1,151,432 visits. This means that we have already surpassed our 12-month count for last fiscal year by 13,917 visits, and the months of May and June remain in the fiscal year to add to this count.

We all remember July 2004 when we finished the first year of Project Destination Libraries, an initiative we envisioned as a three-year undertaking to reinvigorate, reenergize, and build community in the University Libraries as a place for students to research and learn. We increased attendance by 117,721 visits or 14.6%. This lead us to set what seemed to be an unachievable goal: attaining ONE MILLION visits by the end of the next fiscal year 2004-05.

This goal required us to attract an additional 74,673 visits. Without any new personnel and no additional budget allocation or space, we were challenged to do more with what we had.

Our solution was to employ the Rachesky Effect of finding value around us that had been ignored or underutilized, to find ways of capturing it to bring added value to our customers, and to offer services that would make our customers become repeat customers. We repurposed space and equipment, realigned personnel and programs through organizational development, and rethought the Libraries’ programs, services, and collections. We finished our second fiscal year of the project by greatly surpassing our ONE MILLION goal by 137,515 visits or 22.9%.

The current month of May and the coming month of June remain in our fiscal year 2005-06, and we have every reason to believe we will achieve a turnstile count of over 1,250,000 by the end of June 2006. This accomplishment is significant because it means that our students and faculty are choosing to come to the University Libraries to consult with our librarians and technical personnel, to use the University Libraries’ print and digital resources for their research and learning, to make use of the excellent technology of hardware and software that we offer our community, and to study individually and collaboratively in the ample differentiated space we provide ¬in a customer-friendly environment. Daily, we are excelling at making quality convenient for our customers.

Project Destination Libraries – a focus for developing community by making the Libraries a destination for research, learning, and friends – is approaching its third anniversary with the end of the current fiscal year. Our librarians and paraprofessional personnel are engaged in developing strategies for the Libraries to provide an even larger role in the academic life of the University, to offer programs, services, and collections for the Libraries to be the most important place on campus for learning outside of the classroom. View www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,43179--,00.html for a listing of our major accomplishments for 2005-2006.

The University Libraries have a virtual side, too, that has not been mentioned in this article yet will be the focus of future Library Insider pieces. Our virtual services have greatly grown and expanded with changes to our e-collections of academic databases, e-journals, e-books, and other digital products including those in the rapidly growing Digital Media Repository.

For information, contact Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of University Libraries, at AHafner@bsu.edu or (765) 285-5277.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 2.

Teachers Use Digital Media Repository to Help Students Learn about the U. S. Civil War

The Ball State University Libraries welcomes opportunities to collaborate with faculty on using technology to enhance the classroom experience and to provide tools for knowledge building.

Recently, three teachers from Burris Laboratory School used the digital resources available in the Digital Media Repository as part of their classes on the U.S. Civil War. Burris Social Studies teacher Sandra Cantu and Assistant Professor of English Ronald Bullock brought 38 eighth-grade students to the University Libraries to learn about the resources available in Digital Repository of U.S. Civil War Resources for East Central Indiana and see actual Civil War documents in the collections of the Archives and Special Collections Research Center.

In addition, Social Studies teacher Karen Avery used the University Libraries’ digital collection of Civil War-era letters and documents in her class.

“I found the quality of information on the website unbelievable and easy to search and to project in the classroom,” said Ms. Avery. “The students were able to view primary source accounts of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination with the touch of a computer key, making U.S. History come to life in the classroom. As an educator I can’t wait to explore other key people and events displayed on the site, and share this great source with the students.”

During the students’ visit, James A. Bradley, Head of Metadata and Digital Initiatives, showed a sampling of images, videos, documents, and other materials in the Digital Media Repository. “Using the Civil War letters and images of Burris School, I showed them how to use the DMR as a research tool,” he said. “We learned how to access it, how to use it and how to search it.”

Archives & Special Collections supervisor, Jane Gastineau, shared actual letters written by soldiers from east central Indiana who served in the U.S. Army. The students were very interested in patriotic decorations and messages imprinted on envelopes and stationary. Some worked hard at trying to read the handwriting. “The students were able to compare the actual documents with the digital versions,” said Jane. “They saw letters discussing Lincoln’s assassination and describing battles and marches.”

Development of the Digital Repository of U. S. Civil War Resources for East Central Indiana is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered by the Indiana State Library. Ball State University Libraries received an LSTA grant to develop these digital resources. The project allows for collaboration between and provides access to Civil War materials in the BSU Libraries, Muncie Public Library, Delaware County Historical Society, Henry County Historical Society, and the U.S. Vice Presidential Museum at the Dan Quayle Center.

Project coordinator John Straw said that the purpose of the digital collection is to provide access to digital versions of unique U.S. Civil War materials from East Central Indiana for teaching, learning, and research by elementary, high school, college/university students and faculty, and the public. Users are able to remotely access, examine, and study letters, diaries, photographs, and other Civil War documentation that have been previously available only onsite.

Examples of the materials located at http://libx.bsu.edu/LSTA/LSTACivWar.html include:
• G.W.H. Kemper Collection (1859-1919) of letters between Kemper and his wife
Cassady-Nelson Family Collection (1759-1961) including a diary and an inspirational pamphlet written especially for soldiers entitled “A Rainy Day in Camp,” and Civil War letters of D.W. Nelson
• A summons to investigate the treatment of Northern prisoners held in Southern prison camps
• The diary and letters of Absalom Shroyer from the Delaware County Historical Society
• Several family files from the Henry County Historical Society with letters written by soldiers who were serving in the war

For more information on the collections or how you can use them for learning and teaching, contact John Straw at JStraw@bsu.edu or call (765) 285-5078.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 6.

Reference Services for the After-Five Crowd at Ball State University Libraries

A topic of discussion among librarians is whether academic libraries should belong to online social communities, such as MySpace. This is an important question because MySpace is the most successful social networking site, receiving more daily visitors than Google.

As a Night Information Services Librarian at Bracken Library, I frequently rove through the Reference Learning Center area to help students, and I notice the MySpace pages displayed on many of the computer screens.

MySpace is a free site that consists of the online profiles of young adults, rock bands, and other assorted entities. This virtual space allows its users to blog, join groups, send instant messages, promote events, share photos, and much more.

The majority of our 4,300 daily visitors are undergraduate students who are accustomed to using new technologies, like MySpace. They use MySpace and facilities such as those provided by the University Libraries, to meet friends, discover new information, and figure out “what’s cool.”

These students belong to the Millennial Generation. Technology has always been a part of their world. They expect to encounter it, and in most cases, use it for their benefit.

Creating a MySpace profile for the University Libraries provides the Libraries a unique opportunity to acknowledge that we understand our student’s information needs and that we are compatible with their technological and cultural expectations.

With administrative approval, I recently established a profile on MySpace for the Ball State University Libraries. Click on www.myspace.com/brackenlibrary to view the University Libraries’ MySpace.

This profile is designed to use the power of MySpace to raise awareness about the Libraries’ awesome services and resources. Students who visit the Libraries’ MySpace page will discover links to CardCat, Ask a Librarian, online academic databases, and much more. It may also function as a virtual suggestion box since students can post comments and send messages to the profile. Our off-campus remote users will still need to be authenticated through the EZproxy server.

Finally, and of greatest importance, the Libraries’ MySpace profile will let students know that the University Libraries is a cutting-edge institution that comfortably reaches beyond the traditional definitions of “library” to meet them in their space.

As for me, I am pleased to work in an academic library that recognizes the importance of having a presence in new media.

For information, contact Kelli Keclik, Information Services Librarian, at KKeclik@bsu.edu

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 3.

A Productive Year for Technology Training Support Services Draws to a Close

As we leave the 2005-06 academic year behind, we pause for a few moments to look back on some of its highlights since this is the time to prepare annual reports and record accomplishments. So here are some of our numbers.

Those of us in Technology Training Support Services (TTSS) thank our faculty, staff, and students for their confidence in our services.

This was an especially busy and productive year for us at TTSS. Who knew there was so much interest in learning software among the faculty and staff? This past year, we saw an increase in attendance for our classes, up 185 persons or 11% over last year. During this same period, we offered 58 fewer classes, a reduction of 13%, because of an extended illness of Pamela Stant, one of our training specialists.

In addition to our attendance numbers, we have seen an increase in the number and frequency of support calls, hits to our Website, the number of accounts generated through the ElementK online learning system, and requests for classroom guest speaking.

This wonderfully productive academic year will be followed by a summer filled with opportunities for faculty to enhance the instructional technology they employ in their classes, in addition to our regular offerings. For our colleagues who toil outside the classroom, we are in the process of creating a certification program. Watch for future editions of The Library Insider and our website www.bsu.edu/techtrain for details on this new program.

Our Technology Training Specialists and I will be taking time this summer to polish our skills and learn new technologies so we can once again entice our faculty and staff to spend some time with us. Terms such as blogging, podcasting, and document sharing will all be part of our vocabulary come fall semester.

For information, contact Yasemin Tunc at YTunc@bsu.edu or call (765) 285-5902.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 5.

Ball State University Libraries’ Internet Toolbar Available Free

Students and faculty who use the Libraries’ newly developed Internet toolbar report that it provides easier access to the University Libraries’ online resources and services.

Developed by Andy West, Microcomputer/Systems/Network Analyst in the University Libraries’ Library Information Technology unit, the Internet toolbar is freely available for installation on either Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or the Foxfire 1.5+ Internet browsers.

No matter what web site students or faculty are visiting, with the Internet Toolbar installed, the University Libraries’ powerful resources are just a click away for a desktop research library.

To access the toolbar for instructions and free download, visit www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,42835--,00.html
This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 8.

Getting Started with the University Libraries’ RSS Feeds

Since late April, the Ball State University Libraries have sponsored several RSS feeds that provide news, events, and listings of academic resource updates for library customers. View the webpage, www.bsu.edu/library/rss
Now that you have found an RSS feed to which you want to subscribe, what do you do next?
The first step is to get an RSS reader, which is sometimes called an aggregator. These applications access selected RSS feeds to regularly bring information to you, allowing you to read a variety of content through a single interface.
There are numerous Web and software-based readers available, such as Bloglines, Pluck, Yahoo, and Google. One that I recommend is Bloglines because it is free and easy-to-use. Visit www.bloglines.com/register to register for a free account.
After you have set up your Bloglines account, you add feeds as follows:
1. Right-click on the "RSS" or "XML" icon of the feed you want to subscribe to;
2. Select “Copy Shortcut” (Internet Explorer) or “Copy Link Location” (Firefox)
3. In a different browser window, with your Bloglines account open, click on the tab labeled “My Feeds”
4. Select “Add”
5. Paste the copied URL into the box labeled “Blog or Feed URL”
6. Click on “Subscribe”
That’s it! Repeat this process until you’ve added all of the feeds you wish. The next time you open your reader, you will have the headlines, abstracts, and sometimes full text, of all the news you have selected to read.
For more information regarding the University Libraries’ RSS feeds, two available online articles are the following:
Getting Started with RSS Feeds
www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,42836--,00.html
FAQ about RSS
www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,42833--,00.html Readers interested in ALA and OCLC blogs and RSS feeds, check out these sites:
ALA: www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/cfapps/xml/pr_inst.html
OCLC: www.oclc.org/rss/default.htm

For additional information or to make comments or suggestions, contact Daniel W. Hartwig at DWHartwig@bsu.edu or by phone at (765) 285-8723.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 7.

Ball State University Libraries’ Newly Named Forum Room

The popular meeting room on Bracken Library’s second floor now has a name. Formerly called “Bracken 225,” the room is now called the Bracken Library Forum Room.

The Forum Room is ideal for larger group meetings because it offers a comfortable meeting space for up to 100 people. It is popularly reserved by Ball State administrators for candidate presentations, such as those hosted recently for Provost candidates. Often, these types of events are streamed for remote viewing.

The faculty reserves the room for lectures, conferences, and public presentations; staff reserve it for assembly meetings, workshops, and similar activities.

The Forum Room offers amenities such as

• An overhead Epson projector for digital video and PowerPoint or other presentations
• A large pull-down screen
• Internet access in Bracken Library’s 100% wireless environment
• Worldwide videoconferencing capability
• A podium, microphone and sound system
• Two large monitors for participants to easily view video or television programming provided through the University’s video information system
• Chairs for seating 100 persons, or computer tables and chairs for 24 persons
• Refreshments are permitted in the room if arranged through Banquet and Catering Services.

For information on reserving the room or equipment options, contact Denise Kinney at DKinney@bsu.edu or call (765) 285-1307.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 7.

Absolutely, Totally Royalty-free Music

When colleges or universities partner with commercial entities, it can be a win-win situation. The Ball State University Copyright Center collaborated in a successful partnership with the online commercial music resource, Award Winning Music (AWM).

AWM, located in Medford, Oregon, offers commercial royalty-free music and sound effects for educational purposes including music that can be used for PowerPoint presentations, distance education courses, creative projects, multimedia projects, electronic portfolios, and in support of any other curriculum-based instructional activities. All of the downloads are MP3 files and have excellent sound quality.

AWM is a leader in providing commercial music that is heard in major motion pictures and television programming. Their clients include Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Xerox and Intel. Through the generosity of its president, Shaun Harris, Award Winning Music provides totally free music and sound effects for Ball State University and any other educational institutions.

Ball State students and faculty can access AWM royalty-free music and sound effects through the University Copyright Center by going to their site, www.royaltyfreemusic.com and, about halfway down the right column, you will see this “Music Promo Logon” where you will be asked for a username [ballstate] and password [allfree] in lowercase letters.

Currently, there are 105 sound effects and several selections of music from these genres:
Background Music and Music on Hold
Corporate Presentation
Acoustic
Documentary, Film, Television, News and General Production
Sports, Action, Corporate and Drama
Hip-Hop / Urban
New Age
Euro / Techno / DanceRock

For each selection, choices are to [Play Sample] Download: [Full Track] [60 Second Segue] [30 Second Segue]

According to Mr. Harris, there will be more content added to the site. Ball State students and faculty are encouraged to take advantage of this free music partnership, download your free music and sound effects and enhance creative endeavors.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 4.

Ball State University Libraries’ Access to ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Module Temporarily Suspended

On April 20, 2006, access to the public interface to the University Libraries’ ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Request System was suspended when the Ball State Computer Security Response Team determined that the ILLiad authentication process we were using was not secure.

Prior to the suspension of the ILLiad service, the University Libraries served as a vendor-hosted ILLiad site, configured to use the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for authentication. This means that BSU usernames and passwords – the same credentials used on campus to access some special types of personal records – were transmitted to the ILLiad web server that was located off-campus.

BSU’s Computer Security Response Team determined that this procedure may not be consistent with Federal and Indiana privacy laws nor with Ball State’s guidelines for personal data. The problem identified was not with the ILLiad/LDAP configuration as such; rather, there were non-University steps involved in the authentication process. A local implementation of ILLiad on a system located on the Ball State campus, or a remote hosted solution using an ILLiad specific username and password process, would have eliminated the security issue identified recently.

There is no known breach of access or misuse of sensitive data, and Atlas Systems has repeatedly stated that they do not log or otherwise store passwords under any circumstances. Even so, the process that was in place provided the potential for interception of sensitive user data by an unauthorized third party. As a precaution, Ball State’s users of ILLiad have been advised to change their passwords if they have any concerns.

Security experts from University Computing Services and Library Information Technology Services continue to work with Atlas Systems to implement a secure authentication process. We anticipate that the ILLiad public interface will be operational soon.

Until user authentication with ILLiad is resolved, the University Libraries continues to provide Interlibrary Loan Services using techniques and procedures that were in place before ILLiad.

For more information, contact Bradley Faust, Assistant Dean, Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8032.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 3.

Former Dean of Ball State University Libraries Michael B. Wood Retires

Dr. Wood began his career at the University Libraries in 1979 as a Periodicals Reference Librarian. From that position, he quickly advanced to Dean of University Libraries. Under his stewardship, the libraries moved to the world of automation beginning with the introduction of online bibliographic search services and the replacement of the traditional card catalog in favor of an online version, and progressed from there.
Dr. Wood expanded Ball State University’s participation in state library organizations and initiatives. As a library advocate he served in many capacities, meeting with the state legislature, writing reports for the Indiana Conference for Higher Education, serving on state task forces, and at the Governor’s request, acting as delegate to the Indiana Conference on Libraries and Information Science.
Dr. Wood was also in demand as a library consultant, especially regarding library automation, and he delivered many conference presentations on library automation and managerial issues.
Throughout, Dr. Wood was committed to the principles of higher education and maintained high standards. He instituted scholarships to support library staff pursuing graduate degrees in librarianship and was recognized for leadership in providing services to disabled library users. He was very successful in extramural fund-raising to support library programs and collections.
After serving 20 years as Dean, Dr. Wood returned to a more scholarly side of librarianship and used his many skills as Librarian in the Archives and Special Collections Research Center.
We thank Dr. Wood for his many contributions as librarian, administrator, and scholar, and we wish him the best in the future.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 1.

Reaching Students through Archives and Manuscript Resources

A continuing goal for personnel in the Ball State University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Research Center is to increase awareness and use of its unique resources among Ball State’s students. We strive to reach as many students as possible through the following ways:

• Articles and publications
• Development of digital resources
• E-Mail
• Group presentations
• Individual consultations
• Instructional sessions
• Online and in-house exhibits
• Web pages

For the academic year 2005-2006 that has just ended, monthly use statistics for the Archives showed an overall increase of nearly 12% in combined reference, research, and directional questions compared to the same period in 2004-2005. Student use of the Archives was 72% of our total use. Of the total number of student users, undergraduates accounted for 78% and graduate students made up the remaining 22%.

The number of instruction sessions for classes in the Archives Center increased by almost 23% compared to last year. A large number of the students attending the instruction sessions returned to the Archives to conduct research and use materials for papers, speeches, and other class projects.

A few examples of classes using the Archives and Special Collections Research Center this year include:
Architectural classes: Design 201; Introduction to Social and Cultural Issues in Design 253; Preservation and Documentation of Historic Buildings 426; Architecture History 495; Directed Research 573; and Research Methods 652
Educational Foundations: History of Education 641
English classes: Fundamentals of English Composition101; English Composition 104; Experimental Topics 299; Creative Nonfiction Writing 306; Poetry Writing 408; Research in English Studies 601; Seminar in Literature 650
History classes: Laboratory Course in American History 320; Public History 420; Seminar in Historical Research 613
Graphic Design 180
Honors Colloquium 390, with 16 meetings in Archives

Technology is playing a vital role in helping the Archives and Special Collections Research Center to reach out to increase access and use. Development of digital resources from the Archives in the Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu, is an exciting and innovative avenue for providing access to photographs, audio and video files, rare documents, and other primary sources for students to use anywhere, anytime.

Archives personnel are always looking for opportunities to reach students and increase their use of archives and manuscript resources for their academic success. We welcome ideas from students, faculty, and everyone. The unique resources accessible in the Archives and online can provide new dimensions for student learning, research, and academic productivity.

For information, contact John B. Straw, Director, Archives & Special Collections Research Center, at JStraw@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8032.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 4.

Ball State University Libraries’ Personnel in the Spotlight

Roberta “Bobbie” Pearson (Business Support Services Supervisor) received the 2006 Meritorious Service Award for the Information Technology Group at the 2006 Staff Recognition and Retirement Award Program on April 20. The 41st annual holding of this event was at Cardinal Hall in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. Bobbie has been with the University Libraries for 16 years.
In presenting the award, Vice President O’Neil Smitherman commented that Bobbie’s colleagues describe her as unflappable and a person who gets things done. She always has a smile to share. Bobbie has been with the University Libraries for 16 years, beginning her career as a part-time Circulation Clerk in the Educational Resources Center in 1985.
Congratulations to Bobbie for receiving the award and many thanks to her for all of the ways that her contributions help to improve life in the University Libraries.
Darlene M. Wiggins (Office Supervisor in Library Information Technology Services) was one of five persons university-wide who was nominated to receive the 2006 A. Jane Morton Award. Other University Libraries’ personnel who were recognized for service follows:
15 Years of Service
Sally A. Wills (Bibliographic Searcher)
20 Years of Service
Melanie R. Davis (Physical Processing & Scanning Supervisor)
25 Years of Service
Fern J. Burgess (Library Student Employment Assistant)
Kristi J. Pittsenbarger (Secretary to the Dean)
Charlotte M. Shawler (Circulation Assistant)
Lucinda K. Turner (Architecture Slide Curator)
30 Years of Service
Annie M. Gholar (Standing Order Assistant)
Teresa L. Story (Collections Development Assistant)
35 Years of Service
Danny L. Taylor (Periodical/Reserve Assistant)
Retirees for Fiscal Year 2005-2006
Judith A. Austin (32 years)
Jimmie R. Estell (28 years)
Teresa A. Evans (26 years)
Martha J. Gaddis (28 years)
Sylvia M. Powers (32 years)
Patricia A. Schneck (33 years)

This article was originally published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 8.