Exhibit at Ball State University Libraries: Bringing the Dream to Middletown: Muncie’s Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1975

The Archives and Special Collections Research Center will celebrate Black History Month with an exhibit of photographs, documents, and other materials that tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement in Muncie, Indiana.

The exhibit, Bringing the Dream to Middletown: Muncie’s Civil Rights Movement, 1955-1975, will focus on the leaders and events of the struggle to make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of a just society a reality in Middletown USA.

The exhibit will highlight the contributions of key individuals in Muncie’s Civil Rights Movement. Those leaders include Roy Buley, Executive Director of the Madison Street YMCA and NAACP board member; Vivian Conley, community activist and officer of the Muncie Black Coalition; the Rev. J.C. Williams, pastor of Trinity Methodist Church and Poor People’s Party 1971 mayoral candidate; and Hurley Goodall, Muncie’s first African-American school board member and state representative.

The exhibit will also chart major local events, including the desegregation of the public swimming pool in Tuhey Park, the racial tensions at Southside High School, the struggles against discrimination in employment and housing, and the integration of the Muncie fire department and local government.

For a list of resources on African Americans in Muncie and Delaware County, go to the guide African-American Research Resources in the Archives and Special Collections Research Center by clicking on “Finding Aids and Guides” on the Archives and Special Collections home page at www.bsu.edu/library/collections/archives, or visit the Archives in Bracken Library, BL-210.

For more information, contact Jane E. Gastineau, Ball State University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Supervisor, JEGastineau@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

SirsiDynix Unicorn GL3.1 Upgrade Installed for University Libraries' Integrated Information System

On December 17, 2006, personnel from Library Information Technology Services unit upgraded to the newest version of SirsiDynix Unicorn, the Libraries’ integrated library system. GL 3.1 is the latest version of the Unicorn system and provides comprehensive integrated library system functionality for the University Libraries.

The new Unicorn software version provides many changes and improvements for both library customers and staff. Many of these are “behind the scenes,” yet they will make the online pubic access catalog CardCat even easier to use.

One major improvement with the GL3.1 implementation is better performance from the new Java WorkFlows staff client. WorkFlows is the integrated staff client for all Unicorn software functions and is used by library personnel to complete circulation, cataloging, acquisitions and collection development transactions in Unicorn.

Some of the online public catalog CardCat improvements include:

- Improved display of browse lists (“Begins with…” searches) in CardCat. Previously, these lists displayed in all capital letters, but they now appear in title case, making them easier to scan and read.
- A configurable timeout setting for the retrieval of enhanced content. The enhanced content in CardCat (book jackets, table of contents, summaries, reviews) come from external sources. In the case of technical difficulties, this new timeout setting will minimize slowness experienced by the user.
- Support for 13 digit ISBN numbers. Users and staff will be able to use both the new 13 digit numbers and the older nine digit numbers without difficulty.
- Improvements to the way that government publications are sorted. This will make finding these documents much easier for both customers and staff.

For more information, contact Katie Bohnert, Library Enterprise Service and Systems Support Analyst, Library Information Technology Services, KBohnert@bsu.edu, (765) 285-8032.

University Libraries Offer Staff College Learning Opportunities During Winter Break

Every week there are new developments in one’s field: new technologies, new resources, new procedures. Staying current is a challenge for everyone. The University Libraries’ Staff College capitalizes on the comparatively quiet times of semester breaks by providing opportunities for library personnel to share their expertise with colleagues in a classroom setting to help others to build and sharpen their skills.

During the recent Winter Break, library professionals and guests from the Office of University Compliance and the Career Center presented nine workshops with 153 persons attending overall. The topics and presenters were the following:

- Wiki What? An Overview of Trends in Social Networking Technologies – Christy A. Groves
- Art and Architecture Resources – Alida M. Pask and Amy E. Trendler
- Create Your Own Podcast – Barbara R. Wills
- Database Update: New Information Resources @ Your Desktop – Stephen K. Duecker and Keith H. Cochran
- Backing Up Data and Saving Files Centrally – Alex Amira
- The Field Guide to Presentation Equipment – Alex Amira
- Legal Issues for Student Employment – Sali Falling, Larry S. Beck, and Janet G. Puckett
- Introduction to Metadata: What Is It, Why Do We Need It, and Where Is It Going? – James A. Bradley

Repeat sessions allowed staff from all areas and work shifts to attend while keeping daily operations functioning.
Cindy Turner, Visual Resources Curator, said, “When I signed up for a workshop on podcasting, I had no idea that I would be given an iPod for Christmas! Now that I have one I can really use this class to introduce this teaching mechanism and for personal use, including my daughter’s upcoming school trip!”

Chapbooks Cataloged in Ball State University Libraries' Online Public Catalog

The University Libraries’ cataloging personnel recently completed cataloging a collection of 173 chapbooks that were published in the United States and England. These small booklets of children’s literature have publishing dates ranging from 1812 through 1898, and one is a 1944 reprint of a book that was published in 1786. The collection is held in the University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Research Center.

The covers and pages of chapbooks generally are made of the same paper weight. They were typically printed on a single sheet of paper that was folded to make eight (quarto), 16 or 24 (duodecimo) pages. When published, they were inexpensive to produce and sold door-to-door, at fairs and markets by traveling chapmen, who were the itinerant peddlers hired by printers. This may be why the books are called chapbooks.

Contrasted with the large, colorfully illustrated books published for children today, most of these early booklets are small, measuring about four inches, and could fit into a pocket. They include prose and poetry detailing topics about conduct of a moral life, history although not always accurate in detail, etiquette, animals, folklore, and all manner of short texts. The illustrations are few and small, generally created by rough woodcuts and without interesting detail.

Despite their shortcomings by today’s standards, the chapbooks provided reading material for children at a time when libraries were emerging from private to community supported institutions. As early as 1827 members of the Lexington, Massachusetts town meeting voted to purchase a library for the youth of the town and to employ a librarian to manage it. The Boston Public Library opened in 1854.

Chapbooks flourished in the 16th to the 18th centuries and are making a comeback today. Over the past 20 years, their production has been revitalized due in part to the many low-cost copy centers and the interest in self-publishing especially poetry. Modern chapbooks are found in independent bookstores, literary centers, and libraries. http://ShadowPoetry.com advertises that it will publish chapbooks in 5.5 x 8.5-inch pages and encourages genres in “poetry, short stories, personal journals, quotes/sayings, cookbooks of favorite recipes, song lyrics, essays, address books, holiday gift lists and artist sketches.”

An online search for “chapbooks” finds many sites for publishers and contests. The Center for Book Arts sponsors an annual chapbook competition that its website points out attracts manuscripts from 600 to 1,000 poets each year.

Items in the Historic Chapbook Collection will be digitized and made accessible 24/7 for teaching, learning, and research through the Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu, a project of the University Libraries.

For more information, contact Cecilia Bond, University Libraries’ Head of Metadata and Copy Cataloging, CBond@bsu.edu, (765) 285-3353.

Ball State University Libraries Develop a Digital Commons for Centralized Access to Digital Resources for the Desktop

University Libraries’ vision is for students and faculty to be able to go to one Web page to access thousands of digital resources at the desktop, resources that are available through the University Libraries for teaching, learning, research, and classroom instruction. This vision is guiding development of the Libraries’ Digital Commons.

Development is progressing rapidly. Web pages to provide access to many of the elements are currently available on the University Libraries’ Web site, including:

- Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu, including access to over 67,000 images, videos, audio, journals, newspapers, and other digital objects produced at Ball State University to support the educational process
· Images and More, www.bsu.edu/library/images, including sources for Art and Architecture, General Interest, Image Collections at Ball State, State Collections, U.S. History, and World History
· Digital Video Collections,http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/archives/collections/digitalvideo, including sources for Ball State’s Video Collections, Other University’s Signature Collections, U.S. Federal Agencies, International News, National News, Web Cams, Video Blogs, Video Sharing Sites, and General Video Collections
· Articles and Databases,http://bsu.edu/libraries/electronicresources/asp, including subject and title access to thousands of articles with over 190 academic databases
· Electronic Journals, www.bsu.edu/libraries/ejournals/subject_all.asp, including subject, title, and keyword access to 10,272 online journals
· e-Books, www.bsu.edu/library/electronicresources/ebooks, including access to thousands of titles through 28 electronic book lists and collections and 14 individual e-books
· Electronic Theses and Dissertations, www.bsu.edu/library/collections/archives/thesesanddiss, including access to Ball State’s Master’s Theses, College of Architecture and Planning Undergraduate Theses, Undergraduate Senior Honors Theses, and Undergraduate Theses, and other theses and dissertations through the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and Proquest Digital Dissertations
· Virtual Reference Resources, www.bsu.edu/library/electronicresources/referenceshelf, including a re-organized Web page that will provide access to more than 200 resources in categories such as General Resources, Reference Resources, Personal Interest, Government Sources, Literature and Art, and Education and Career
· Ball State Virtual Press, www.bsu.edu/library/virtualpress, including access to Ball State publications and other resources

In addition to bringing these existing digital elements together, and increasing the number of resources available in each element, the Digital Commons will also include the following new or enhanced elements:

· World Wide Web Resources, including subject, title, and keyword access to hundreds of Web sites in categories like General and Reference, Area and Cultural Studies, Arts and Humanities, Business, History, Languages and Literature, Medicine and Healthy, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences
· Ball State Institutional Repository, including scholarly works by Ball State students and faculty
· Geographic Information System (GIS) Resources, including access to 62 resources for an Introduction to GIS, GIS Dictionaries, Indiana Resources, U.S. and World Mapping, GIS Tutorials, and U. S. and World GIS

Watch for the premiere of the Digital Commons soon. For more information, contact John B. Straw, Ball State University Libraries’ Director for Archives and Special Collections Research Center, JStraw@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

DVD Players Available for Loan at Ball State University Libraries

Ball State University Libraries now provide students with access to Audiovox Portable DVD Players that allows customers to watch DVDs almost anywhere, anytime. These units are available for four-hour loan periods with an optional one-time four hour renewal over the telephone, in person, or online through My Account (PIN required).

There are six units available. Each unit includes an 8” wide LCD monitor and plays CDs and MP3s as well. The players are easy to use and provide quick access to digital technology such as the DVDs and CDs that are part of some students’ textbooks. Students also may borrow from a growing collection of over 2,325 DVD titles that span a wide range of topics, including popular movies.

Each Audiovox Portable DVD Player is checked-out with a carrying case, pair of headphones, a remote control, and an A/V cable to connect to a television or larger screen. The players are portable since each weighs about four pounds in the carrying case.

For information, contact Jacob L. Harris, Ball State University Libraries’ Educational Resources Equipment/Video Supervisor, JLHarris2@bsu.edu, (765) 285-8760.

Videos, PSAs Highlight Libraries' Programs, Services, Collections

In 2004, Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of Ball State University Libraries, initiated the Libraries’ Web-Streamed Library News Magazine. Each semester a few students from Ball State’s nationally renown Telecommunications Department have been employed to create 30- and 45-second videos that showcase the University Libraries’ programs, services, and collections.

Currently eight of these videos are available for viewing, www.bsu.edu/library/librarynews/videos. Some are shown as part of a continuing display on large plasma screens in Bracken Library’s lobby and in the dormitory lobbies.

In partnership with the University Teleplex Service, the University Libraries produced six PSAs. These 30- to 60-second videos highlight the Libraries’ programs and services and are aired hundreds of times yearly over the University’s public television channel, WIPB. View these,www.bsu.edu/library/newsgallery.

The Ball State Virtual Press, a project of the University Libraries, is also home to a collection of streaming video that shows artistic performances in Bracken Library’s lobby. These performances are part of the Libraries’ objective to promote the humanities, particularly the performing arts. View, www.bsu.edu/library/virtualpress/musicale.

Wiki Facilitates Collaboration at Ball State University Libraries

With the deployment of a new wiki, University Libraries personnel have a new tool at their disposal for communication and collaboration.

A wiki is a website that allows its visitors to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change its content. Because of their ease of use and effectiveness for collaboration, wikis have been growing in popularity over the last decade as a tool for developing public and private knowledge bases. Wikipedia, one of the most popular public wikis, includes more than 1.5 million English-language articles written collaboratively by volunteers over the last six years.

The University Libraries' wiki uses the MediaWiki, a free and open source software package that was originally created for Wikipedia that can scale from a small intranet to a site with millions of hits every day. After creating an account and logging in, users can view or edit any page. No familiarity with website design or HTML is necessary; MediaWiki uses wikitext, a simple, easy-to-learn markup language that simplifies creating content and linking to other pages. Since anyone can edit any page, the software keeps all of the older versions in its database, allowing the users to revert to a previous version in case large mistakes are made.

The University Libraries' wiki was originally set up for Metadata and Digital Initiatives personnel and others involved with the Digital Media Repository. It facilitates collaboration on DMR projects and provides a central location to document procedures, work flows, and standards related to these projects. It has the potential to be used for much more, though. If you would like to try it, you can access the wiki at www.bsu.edu/libraries/wiki. Feel free to create an account and start using it today.

Ball State University Libraries Use New Technologies to Connect with Students, Faculty

Ball State University Libraries applies several metrics to determine quality, breadth, and appropriateness of current and proposed services offerings. Hence, when Steven Abrams, SirsiDynix’s Vice President of Innovation, presented his Webinar on November 14, 2006, 25 Technologies in 50 Minutes, we took note.

Readers can download a podcast or PDF at Abram’s Lighthouse, a blog for library professionals, www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php.

Stephen highlighted current and emerging technologies that he feels may be useful in libraries. We compared his list with technologies we are actively using or that are being tested for use in Ball State’s University Libraries.

We are currently using or testing 17 of the 25 technologies identified by Stephen Abrams:
1. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) technology is used to publish and feed information from a Web site to subscribers. The University Libraries publish 10 blogs with RSS feeds enabled. Visit www.bsu.edu/library/rss.
2. Wiki technology supports group work by allowing many to add, update, and remove information from a Web site while tracking changes. The University Libraries are testing a Wiki for internal use. Visit, www.bsu.edu/libraries/wiki.
3. Blogs provide an open access Web-based publishing platform for sharing news and information about organizations, projects and initiatives.
4. Photos are technology used by the University Libraries to publish pictures of activities in the Libraries that we characterize as Life in the University Libraries, view, www.bsu.edu/libraries/viewpage.aspx?SRC=./virtualpress/photos/index.html.
5. Photo Blogs are technology that is not currently used by the Libraries.
6. Tags are technology used in resources like flickr to relate like items together. The Libraries are not currently using this technology.
7. YouTube technology is being considered for use by the Libraries.
8. MP3 technology is a file format for audio files and is being used by the Libraries for several audio assets, including podcasts, on the University Libraries’ Web site.
9. Streaming Media is a technology on which the University Libraries rely heavily to deliver digital video and audio through the Digital Media Repository (DMR), http://libx.bsu.edu, a project of the University Libraries.
10. Google Office is technology not currently used by the Libraries.
11. Instant Messaging is used in the University Libraries’ virtual reference program with library customers and as an administrative and unit level communication tool.
12. Meebo, Trillian, and GAIM technology are used in the Libraries’ virtual reference services and intra-library communication by some personnel.
13. Visualization is technology not currently used by the Libraries.
14. Second Life is technology not currently used by the Libraries. Second Life is located at http://secondlife.com and requires users to create a membership and download and install a program.
15. Avatars are technology not currently used by the Libraries. Avatars are online characters representing someone or something.
16. Retrievr is technology not currently used by the Libraries. View http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr to use retrievr to search by sketching instead of typing.
17. Podcasting is technology used by the Libraries for posting audio files on the Libraries’ Web page.
18. MySpace is a social networking website that features several Web 2.0 technologies, including an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos, and more. The University Libraries have a MySpace presence and about 520 friends. View, www.myspace.com/brackenlibrary.
19. Facebook is a social networking website. The Libraries is not currently using this technology.
20. Skype technology is a voice over IP telephony application. This technology is not currently used by the Libraries although some staff are experimenting with it.
21. LibraryThing allows individuals to catalog an assortment or collection of books or other materials and share access to that catalog. Several librarians in the University Libraries are users of this application and are thinking about ways to use it to benefit our students and faculty.
22. Endeca technology is not currently used by the Libraries.
23. Virtual Reference services are implemented via Trillian software chat and e-mail.
24. Folksonomies and TagClouds are technologies developed for special Web applications to provide better results to searches.
25. Blinkx and Singingfish are technologies not currently used by the Libraries. Blinkx, www.blinkx.com, and Singingfish, www.singingfish.com, are sites that index online video. Blinkx claims to provide access to seven million hours of online video content.

In addition to these 25 technologies, The University Libraries are actively using the following Forward Facing Technologies:
· CONTENTdm is the foundation for the Digital Media Repository, a project of the University Libraries, http://libx.bsu.edu
· GIS media tools including ESRI software ArcGIS 9.1, GeoMedia Professional 5.1, and a large format color plotter
· ILLiad, Odyssey, and Ariel software are used for Interlibrary Loan lending and borrowing
· Mobile Technologies for small screen, smart devices, www.bsu.edu/libraries/mobile
· OCLC’s WorldCat and FirstSearch services.
· SFX context sensitive linking is implemented as Find It @ BSU at the University Libraries.
· Search engines, such as zuulu.com
· SirsiDynix Unicorn Integrated Library System implemented as our online public catalog, CardCat, and Media Finders developed to enhance public catalog searching
· Vendor Technologies, e.g., Blackwell Collection Manager, LARS Z39.50 client interface by Heckman Bindery

Ball State Libraries add ZUULA.com on Public Workstations

Ball State University Libraries has added the ZUULA.com Search Engine, now in Beta testing, www.zuula.com, to the public workstations. With this search engine, students and faculty can retrieve results from several top search engines at the same time, such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Ask, Gigablast, and Exalead.

Results from each of the search engines are returned under a separate tab. Searching with zuula.com is an easy way to find the results from several search engines since each search engine tends to return different results. Zuula.com also offers Web, Image, News, Blog, and Job searches.

Zuula.com’s search history feature is very helpful when conducting difficult searches. Inevitably, difficult searches involve a series of searches, each of which differs slightly from the other. Zuula.com’s search history function helps users avoid duplicating searches and thus duplicating their efforts.

Zuula.com provides a single advanced search interface for all of the search engines within a given search type.This saves the user from having to become familiar with the different user interfaces at different search engines.

For more information, contact Bradley D. Faust, Ball State University Libraries’ Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu, (765) 285-8032.

Developing a PowerPoint Custom Plug-in Application using CONTENTdm API

CONTENTdm version 4.0 is provided with a very powerful Application Program Interface, (API). The API provides opportunities to develop local programs that interact with the objects and metadata stored within the CONTENTdm server, and the University Libraries have done just that.

Our experience with the API has been favorable. We have thousands of copyrighted images that we protect by requiring users to login using their domain user names and passwords. We were protecting these images even before DiMeMa supported access restriction with version 3.8.

However, by protecting these images, we were not able to utilize the PowerPoint Plug-in for CONTENTdm. DiMeMa’s PowerPoint Plug-in performs well in retrieving images and metadata from the CONTENTdm server for imports to Microsoft PowerPoint for use during presentations. Ball State University’s faculties use this program for classroom teaching and instruction. However, the vanilla PowerPoint plug-in does not recognize the authentication and authorization processes used by our CONTENTdm system.

Unauthenticated users are only allowed to view thumbnail-size images. With the vanilla plug-in, authenticated users can only import thumbnail-size images, which are generally of a lower quality and do not show much detail on a large screen. For this reason, faculty do not find the thumbnail images acceptable for classroom use. A better option is to use hi-resolution images in PowerPoint presentations.

Using the API, we developed a service and application that interacts with both our CONTENTdm server and Microsoft PowerPoint. We have created a custom plug-in enhancement that supports our authentication and authorization processes to access protected images. Faculty can use the custom plug-in to import larger images from the CONTENTdm server after they are authenticated and authorized from the plug-in.

Four major components are used to make this process work efficiently:

1. CONTENTdm API. The API is required to interact with, and retrieve, objects from the CONTENTdm server.
2. XML. This acts as a Web service/intermediary so that VB/VB.net components can understand the data retrieved from the CONTENTdm server.
3. VB/VB.net/C#. This is necessary to build the plug-in for PowerPoint. Additional components within VB/VB.net also need to be added, based on the functionality desired for the plug-in.
4. Microsoft Package Deployment tool. This component is optional. It bundles all the components used within VB/VB.net into one executable file that users can double-click to install. You can use other products such as InstallShield.

The Ball State University Libraries’ PowerPoint plug-in, built using the CONTENTdm API, is an example of a program application developed by the University Libraries personnel to improve the functionality and usability of the CONTENTdm system, particularly for classroom faculty.

For more information, contact P. Budi Wibowo, Ball State University Libraries’ Head of Digital Libraries and Web Services, BWibowo@bsu.edu, (765) 285-8032.

Response time to Interlibrary Loan Services Continues to Improve

Students, faculty, and staff who place Interlibrary Loan requests at Ball State University Libraries continue to experience faster response times for delivery of their material. Since the installation of ILLiad software in September 2003, the workflow of processing interlibrary loan requests has continued to become more efficient.

“The implementation of ILLiad has really helped Interlibrary Loan Services to manage the significant increases in borrowing requests from the academic community,” enthuses Elaine S. Nelson, Interlibrary Loan Supervisor. “We are loaning more materials every year to other institutions, too.”

ILLiad software has undergone several upgrades since its implementation, each bettering the system and incorporating features that increase its efficiency and reduce overall response time for delivering requests. Most recently, the University Libraries began utilizing ILLiad’s Direct Request feature, which automatically submits the users’ requests to other libraries once certain criteria are met.

Direct Request itself is transparent as a feature to the library user; rather, it remains behind the scenes so that when a user submits his/her request, Direct Request automatically forwards it to the libraries that own the item. Our Interlibrary Loan staff does not handle the request until the item physically arrives at the University Libraries.

The University Libraries implemented Direct Request in February 2006. The impact of this technology has been substantial for Interlibrary Loan staff and library users. Because it automatically handles the routine requests, staff can devote time to resolving hard-to-find requests, a time savings that translates to faster response time for obtaining these items.

Similarly, library users’ response time has been improved further through another ILLiad component, Odyssey software. Using this technology, when the requested article is received at the University Libraries, the Odyssey software posts it automatically to a Web page that is accessible through the user’s personal ILLiad account, and the user is notified that the article has been received. The user must then authenticate with his/her ID and password to access the article for downloading or viewing for up to thirty days. Posting the article to a Web page keeps the transaction confidential and improves response time by more than one day for delivery to the user. This popular feature contributes greatly to ILLiad’s Odyssey being utilized by more and more libraries worldwide.

Over the past five years, the University Libraries have seen an average increase of 9.2% in the number of borrowing requests for materials from other libraries. ILLiad’s recent improvements from Direct Request and the Odyssey software have enabled the Interlibrary Loan Services staff to keep pace with the research needs and requests of our students and faculty. Swift delivery of resources is crucial for library users to meet their deadlines. ILLiad has helped Interlibrary loan staff meet the increasing numbers of requests and it has improved response time overall by 1.78 days.

In addition to borrowing items from other libraries for students and faculty, Interlibrary Loan Services also works closely with libraries worldwide to share Ball State Libraries’ resources for the benefit of their users. The accompanying chart shows the number of borrowing and loaning transactions University Libraries conducted last academic fiscal year, 2005-2006. These significant numbers demonstrate our commitment to obtaining and supplying resources to our users and to other libraries.

Interestingly, over the past five years, the number of items loaned to other libraries has remained relatively stable at an average of 30,925 transactions. A possible explanation may be the affordability and widespread availability in college and university libraries of full-text databases such as JSTOR and Project Muse, collections of e-journals with rich archives, and aggregator databases such as Academic Search Premier, Thomson Gale’s Literature Resource Center, and PsycINFO, among others.

At the University Libraries, for example, we provide access to 10,272 full-text e-journal titles and their archives, view www.bsu.edu/libraries/ejournals/PDF/eJournal10277FullText.pdf.

Through Interlibrary Loan Services, students and faculty
· Obtain videos, software, and music from other libraries
· Obtain materials listed as “Checked Out” in our online public catalog
· Obtain most requested materials in less than 10 days
· Access requested articles online anytime

For more information, contact Christy A. Groves, University Libraries' Head of Access Services, CGroves@bsu.edu or (765) 28503330.

Xrefer Features Ball State Libraries in Upcoming Case Study

Xrefer Inc., an electronic database vendor, anticipates publishing a case study of the Ball State University Libraries promotion and usage of xreferplus, a collection of 100 electronic reference titles. The study will be distributed at the xrefer booth at the American Libraries Association’s Mid-Winter Meeting, January 19-24, 2007 in Seattle, Washington.

According to Nancy King, Marketing and Product Analyst at xrefer, the University Libraries were chosen as the subject of the study because of our ubiquitous promotion of xreferplus on the University Libraries’ Web site, www.bsu.edu/library and the growth of our usage statistics.

“Other academic libraries will be interested in seeing how Ball State has successfully incorporated xreferplus into its digital collections. Xreferplus shows up everywhere on your site!” said King.

The University Libraries creatively promote xreferplus, along with other digital resources. Beacause of its interdisciplinary nature, this database appears in the Quick Search Tools on the Libraires' homepage and the Student Virtual Library page, www.bsu.edu/library/svl. Additionally, links to the resource are featured in various subject guides and subject-specific database lists. Librarians involved in library literacy instruction also publicize this valuble resource during class sessions.

Increased usage is the result of our promotion along with the quality of the xreferplus. Since subscribing to xreferplus in January 2006, statistics show an average of 1,031 searches per month. The number of database searches increased by 13.3% during Spring Semester 2006.

The identification of the University Libraries as the subject of xrefer's study demonstrates the Libraries' recognized leadership in delivering scholarly inforamtion to student and faculty desktops and the innovative ways in which our librarians and paraprofessional personnel continue to offer and promote excellent teaching, learning, and research resources to Ball State students and faculty.

The Ball State University Libraries’ xrefer case study will be available on the xrefer website, www.xrefer.com, following the ALA convention.

For more information, contact Matthew C. Shaw, Ball State University Libraries’ Electronic Resources Librarian, MCShaw2@bsu.edu, (765) 285-1302.

Ball State Libraries Expand SFX Link Resolving Technology

A strategic objective of the Ball State University Libraries is to strengthen, expand, and harness the libraries’ digital and print resources for research, learning, and classroom instruction. The availability of resources at the desktop are increasingly key for students engaged in immersive and independent learning. One of the main information technologies to facilitate desktop access to e-resources is SFX technology, the full-text linking utility provided by ExLibris Company. Students and faculty at Ball State recognize see this technology in action when their literature searches show the graphic, Find It @ BSU.

The University Libraries’ SFX Maintenance and Development Working Group, formed in November 2005 by Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of University Libraries, recently made substantial progress in further deployment of the SFX utility and has discussed some creative possibilities for future development of this technology to enhance knowledge discovery for students and faculty at Ball State.

The Libraries recently established Web of Science, MathSciNet, and SciFinder Scholar as SFX sources. As a result, a special graphic appears next to the citations in the search result, Find It @ BSU. When clicked, this button routes the reader to electronic full-text articles wherever the articles exist in the libraries’ digital journal collections. Additionally, nearly 6,000 individual targets, or publication titles within aggregated databases, have been activated in SFX since October 2006.

The University Libraries continue to investigate and innovatively incorporate the diverse power of SFX context sensitive linking technology in an effort to improve teaching and learning opportunities for our students and faculty. We are presently:
· Configuring SFX functionality with Windows Academic Live
· Examining the possibility of using link resolver technology in our online public access catalog, CardCat, to provide users access to online purchase options from national online booksellers, such as Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble.com
· Expanding linking to e-book content in a scholarly information environment
· Using detailed statistical reports provided by SFX to better understand usage patterns for e-journal titles, other academic source items, and to develop a more tailored and relevant electronic collection.

The Libraries expect to see continued dynamic growth in the implementation of link resolver technology as online information providers and vendors incorporate the technological infrastructure for compatibility with link resolving services like SFX. This powerful tool exponentially simplies online research and offers our students and faculty unmatched precision and potential in locating relelvant research and information.

For more information, contact Matthew C. Shaw, Ball State University Libraries’ Electronic Resources Librarian, MCShaw2@bsu.edu, (765) 285-1302.

Ball State Libraries Connect with Students using Web 2.0

Ball State University Libraries have entered a new phase encompassing important, exciting new applications in web-based technology and communication using Web 2.0. Among others, these include developing blogs and tags, creating video content, using RSS, web conferencing, and participating in social bookmarking. This new phase describes more an attitude than a technology. In other words, Web 2.0 does not actually refer to a specific technology; rather, it is the moniker for an emerging set of Internet-based collaborative communication tools and a new philosophy and approach on how to use them for teaching and learning.

Just as the term information superhighway helped people to grasp the possibilities of the Internet, Web 2.0 allows us to shift to another layer of the Internet. Examples of this shift include user-centric activities, such as blogging, Wikipedia, creating video content, and using mp3 players. The idea is that people who use the Web, the media, and who access the Internet should be active contributors on the Web rather than passively absorb its contents. These users help customize media and technology for their own use and that of their peer groups.

We agree with Michael E. Casey, author of the blog LibraryCrunch,* who writes ‘2.0 technologies have played a significant role in the ability of libraries to keep up with the changing needs of their library users.’
Technological advances have enabled libraries to create new services that before were not possible, such as virtual reference or downloadable media. In academic life, this new phase presents challenging, exciting ways for librarians and faculty to interact with students.

For example, a faculty member may use a content delivery method, such as a Blackboard or podcasts to provide students with access to curricular materials or to other digital material such as a videotape for students to review for classroom discussion. Service providers, student organizations, and faculty can post messages and receive feedback relevant to their interests through blogging. Short videos are easy to create and Web stream for training purposes, and the latest news or class information can be updated frequently and delivered directly to recipients.

The University Libraries seek to harness the power of these sharing networks to
· connect with students
· embrace the technology to augment teaching and learning in the classroom
· provide students with hands-on experience in using the technologies for learning and preparing assignments, for personal use, or for preparing them to use it in the workplace.

Through the latest transformation of the Internet, we are finding new ways to share news, raise awareness of services, connect with our constituent groups, and to support teaching and learning.

The list below illustrates how the University Libraries employ tools for electronic and audio/visual communication to better connect with students and faculty and to provide on-demand content for classroom instruction.

The Ball State University Libraries have been an early adopter of many new, interactive tools:

· Digital Media Repository, a collaboration with several academic units provides a growing online collection of media in formats such as slides, PDFs, audio and video files, digital images of artwork and historical photographs, and archival documents such as those from the East Central Indiana Civil War collection
· Creation of candid, user-friendly instructional videos by Information Services reference librarians that are used to instruct students as part of library instruction and literacy
· Creation of a Student Virtual Library homepage which puts students a click away from a myriad of resources for their projects and research
· Live chat with reference librarians which connects users with librarians for assistance at their desktop
· Technology training for faculty and staff by Technology Training Specialists in current technology such as classroom use of podcasts, blogs, electronic grade book and testing, among others
· Inclusion of the University Libraries on MySpace to raise awareness about library services to where the students can be found
· Really Simple Syndication (RSS) also called rich site summary tailors news items to targeted audiences about specific topics of interest happening in the University Libraries and academic libraries in general. A web site can allow other sites to publish some of its content by creating an RSS document and registering the document with an RSS publisher. A web publisher can post a link to the RSS feed so users can read the distributed content on his/her site
· Online news galleries which promote, improve, and foster communication with the Libraries’ constituencies about news, events, trends, developments, and other topics

The University Libraries continue to embrace these and other types of technology in an effort to better connect with students and the campus community at large.

For more information, contact Susan G. Akers, Ball State University Libraries’ Marketing Communications Manager, SAkers@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5031.

Ball State Library Instruction Sessions Strengthen Student Technical, Information Literacy

In an age where Bluetooth earpieces and cell phones are accessories as common as backpacks, it may come as surprise that a recent study by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) concluded that many undergraduates fall short of the technical competencies needed to succeed. However, the results confirmed what many instruction librarians already knew.

Among the conclusions from the study, cited in the November 28, 2006 online issue of Campus Technology, were:
· only 52% of the 6,300 test takers could accurately assess a Web site’s objectivity
· only 40% were able to narrow a Web search by entering multiple search terms
· only 44% identified a research statement that met the expectations of a given assignment.
View www.campustechnology.com/news_issue.asp?id=150&IssueDate=11282006.

Irvin Katz, a senior research scientist at ETS, said, “Those in academia have long suspected that while college-age students can use technology, they don’t necessarily know what to do with the content the technology provides. Our preliminary findings show that, in large part, those suspicions are well founded.”

Personnel in the University Libraries’ Instructional Services recognize these challenges and are committed to providing students with the tools they need to make sound research choices. In addition to learning about the best resources for their fields of interest, students gain skills in evaluating the objectivity and timeliness of websites, interpreting citation information, and conducting efficient searches.

Academic partnerships between librarians and faculty throughout campus often lead faculty to schedule more than one instruction session for their classes so that students are able to gain fluency in several areas. During fiscal year 2005-2006, library instruction programs resulted in face-to-face contact with members of the university community more than 15,300 times.

Faculty members who return every year with new students validate the success of the instruction sessions, as do their evaluation comments. One faculty member recently wrote, “I’m amazed at how much stuff there is to know and how much of it our librarians know!” Another added, “The students’ work now is reflecting the strength of the session.”

Ball State Libraries Expand Chapbook Collection

The recently cataloged Historic Chapbook Collection is now available to students, faculty, and researchers in the Archives and Special Collections Research Center. The collection offers a rich and valuable resource for the study of nineteenth-century popular culture, literacy, children’s literature and education, and the history of the book.

The collection of 173 chapbooks published in the United States and England between 1812 and 1898 includes many items contributed by Elisabeth Ball and formerly held in the Educational Resources Center, as well as 50 chapbooks purchased by Special Collections through the Martin and Helen Schwartz Fund. Their subjects range from moral instruction to the ABCs to advertisements for patent medicines and soap. Many have colored paper covers, some are hand sewn, and others contain hand-colored illustrations.

Dr. Frank Felsenstein, Reed D. Voran Honors Distinguished Professor of Humanities, will use the collection this Spring 2007 in his Honors 390 and English 650 Seminar in Literature course, “From Gutenberg to Ben Franklin: The Impact of the Hand Press,” an intensive course in book history that examines the dissemination of knowledge and focuses particularly on the cultural impact of print.

Dr. Felsenstein explained the importance of the Historic Chapbook Collection for teaching and learning: “During the 18th and 19th centuries, chapbooks were often a child's first encounter with the printed word. The popular tales they re-told are descendants of an oral tradition, and with their combination of simple woodcuts and elementary text, chapbooks acted as doors to literacy. They are also miniature icons of 18th and 19th century popular culture. It will be interesting for students to explore some of the similarities and differences in the content of these tiny books as they made their appearance in Great Britain and the emerging United States.”

To provide students and researchers with easy access to these valuable historical resources, the Historic Chapbook Collection will be digitized and made available through the Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu. A project of the University Libraries, the Digital Media Repository will make the collection available 24/7 for teaching, learning, and research by Ball State students and faculty and the academic community at large.

The Ball State community will have an opportunity to view firsthand this fascinating and important educational collection through a forthcoming exhibit in the Archives and Special Collections Research Center.

For more information, contact Jane Gastineau, Ball State University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Supervisor, JEGastineau@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

Ball State Libraries Develop Digital Commons for Centralized Access to Digital Resources for the Desktop

The University Libraries’ vision is for students and faculty to be able to go to one Web page to access thousands of digital resources at the desktop, resources that are available through the University Libraries to teaching, learning, research, and classroom instruction. This vision is guiding development of the Libraries’ Digital Commons.

Development is progressing rapidly. Web pages to provide access to many of the elements are currently available on the University Libraries’ Web site, including:

· Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu, including access to over 67,000 images, videos, audio, journals, newspapers, and other digital objects produced at Ball State University to support the educational process
· Images and More, www.bsu.edu/library/images, including sources for Art and Architecture, General Interest, Image Collections at Ball State, State Collections, U.S. History, and World History
· Digital Video Collections, www.bsu.edu/library/archives/digitalvideo, including sources for Ball State’s Video Collections, Other University’s Signature Collections, U.S. Federal Agencies, International News, National News, Web Cams, Video Blogs, Video Sharing Sites, and General Video Collections
· Articles and Databases, www.bsu.edu/electronicresources/databases.asp, including subject and title access to thousands of articles through over 190 academic databases
· Electronic Journals, www.bsu.edu/libraries/journals/subject_all.asp, including subject, title, and keyword access to 10,272 online journals.
· e-Books, www.bsu.edu/library/electronicresources/ebooks, including access to thousands of titles through 28 electronic book lists and collections and 14 individual e-books
· Electronic Theses and Dissertations, www.bsu.edu/library/collections/archives/thesesanddiss, including access to Ball State's Master's Theses, College of Architecture and Planning Undergraduate Theses, Undergraduate Senior Honors Theses, Undergraduate Theses, and other theses and dissertations through the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and Proquest Digital Dissertations
· Virtual Reference Resources, www.bsu.edu/library/electronicresources/referenceshelf, including a re-organized Web page that will provide access to more than 200 resources in categories such as General Resources, Reference Resources, Personal Interest, Government Sources, Literature and Art, and Education and Career
· Ball State Virtual Press, www.bsu.edu/library/virtualpress, including access to Ball State publications and other resources

In addition to bringing these existing digital elemetns together, and increasing the number of resources available in each element, The Digital Commons will include also include the following new or enhanced elements:

- World Wide Web Resources, including subject, title, and keyword access to hundreds of Web sites in categories like General and Reference, Area and Cultural Studies, Arts and Humanities, Business, History, Languages and Literature, Medicine and Health, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences
- Ball State Institutional Repository, including scholarly works by Ball State students and faculty
- Geographic Information System (GIS) Resources, including access to 62 resources for an Introduction to GIS, GIS Dictionaries, Indiana Resources, U.S. and World Mapping, GIS Tutorials, and U.S. and World GIS

Watch for the premiere of the Digital Commons soon.

For more information, contact John B. Straw, Ball State University Libraries’ Director for Archives and Special Collections Research Center, JStraw@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

Bookmark Cafe @ Bracken Opens January 8, 2007

Temperatures dipped to freezing on January 8, 2007 on the Ball State campus, yet it was warm and inviting inside the new Bookmark Café @ Bracken Library, located in the southeast corner.

Opening on the first day of the new semester, the café offers the campus Seattle’s Best Coffee, a popular Starbuck brand, chai tea, hot cocoa, soft drinks, milk, breakfast items, and delicious sandwiches, salads, and soups.

“The atmosphere is fun and hip,” said Nicole Kriebel, junior. “I’m so glad this facility is open to the students. Having a place to get a snack or coffee while studying at the library is a huge benefit.”

The café brings people together in yet another dynamic, interactive space within the University Libraries. As a convenience to students, their meal cards, cash, and CardinalCash plans can be used to purchase beverages, food, and other goodies.

Seating outside of the café near the main floor Circulation Desk has proven to be popular already. The area offers comfortable seating, a large wall-mounted television showing current news, and several tables with chairs.

The café is open Monday – Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.