Last fall, KU Libraries established an organizational review team—with an internally elected membership—to assess our current structure and put forth recommendations that will ensure we become a more agile, user-focused organization. Throughout the past few months, the team worked diligently, drawing from peer institutional research, focus groups and more, always with an eye on Bold Aspirations and our own strategic plan.

I received their report last month, and I was pleased with the recommendations and insight the team compiled. The resulting organizational design will be a combination of the team’s suggestions and my decisions. Ultimately, I believe this process positions the libraries to succeed as we work toward our new strategic directions.

We continue to define reporting lines and conduct internal searches for new positions, so while I cannot yet publicly announce specifics, I can assure you we are working toward a structure that echoes our commitment to integrating KU Libraries into the academic life of scholars and students. A user-focused, cross-functional team-based organization will present a number of advantages both internally and for our campus colleagues.

A more detailed announcement of the new structure will be made this summer. Until then and thereafter, we remain steadfast in our commitment as an active, aligned partner in teaching, research and learning at KU.

lorraine j. haricombe, Dean of Libraries

FROM THE DEANDean Lorraine Haricombe gathered with colleagues at the international Berlin 10 Open Access Conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa, last November. At right stand KU faculty Marc Greenberg, professor of Slavic languages and literature, and Ada Emmett, associate librarian for scholarly communications. Other pictured attendees hail from Nairobi University, Duke University, SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and Emory University. Photo courtesy of Marc Greenberg.

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Annotations

International research coalition selects KU dean of libraries as chair of steering committeeKU Dean of Libraries Lorraine Haricombe has been elected to the position of Chair of the Steering Committee for SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). Haricombe has been an active participant in scholarly communication activities, especially those related to open access. She has spearheaded open access initiatives on campus and beyond, including her leadership role in KU’s efforts to become the first public university in the U.S. to adopt a campus-wide open access policy. She also was a driving force in forming the

Coalition of Open Access Institutions (COAPI), a rapidly growing group of institutions dedicated to advancing the implementation of open access policies and practices on campus.

Created by the Association of Research Libraries, SPARC works to protect and expand access to research resources and academic publications. Haricombe previously has served as member of the Steering Committee, which provides strategic advice and guidance to the SPARC staff, since 2010. Learn more at arl.org/sparc.

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Spring 2013

In January, KU Libraries became the newest member of HathiTrust, a partnership of more than 60 major academic and research libraries collaborating in an extraordinary initiative to preserve the published record and provide access in digital form. First, as a trusted repository, HathiTrust guarantees the long-term preservation of the materials it holds, providing the expert curation and consistent access long associated

with research libraries. Second, the academic institutions within the partnership receive persistent access to its digital collections.

The HathiTrust database includes full-text searching and access, and in some cases, viewing and downloading entire volumes. The libraries also anticipates specialized features to be available that will facilitate access to those with print disabilities, and allow users to gather subsets of the digital library into “collections” that can be searched and browsed. Learn more about HathiTrust and access the digital library at HathiTrust.org.

KU Libraries joins intercollegiate digital research program

Erin Ellis, an associate librarian and head of instructional services for KU Libraries, has issued a call to action for students, faculty and staff: Start with us. Ellis coordinates the libraries’ instructional and information literacy efforts, facilitates the integration of research skills and resources into the curriculum and directs learning outcomes assessment activities. She and the five staff members in the instructional services department offer customized classes for KU courses and other groups, one-to-one assignment design consultations, instructor-led workshops on research and information literacy topics and resources for professors and learners.

The department also collaborates with faculty, instructional staff and campus

groups such as the Office of First-Year Experience, Center for Teaching Excellence, the Writing Center and the Center for Online and Distance Learning to ensure that students develop the information literacy skills, attitudes and knowledge that they need to become efficient, effective and fluent users and producers of information. This essential set of abilities not only gives students some of the critical tools necessary for success in their academic careers at KU, but also helps them prepare for a lifetime of learning.

Ellis has worked in KU Libraries since 2005. She holds a master’s degree in library science from Emporia State University and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Kansas.

Couple donates personal Japanese art libraryTed Childers, a KU graduate, and his wife Sumie, a former librarian, live in California and make frequent visits to Japan. Together, they have amassed a library of contemporary Japanese prints. In addition to the works themselves, the Childers also have collected documentation behind the prints as well as other books and journals regarding Japanese art and culture.

In recognition of KU’s strong East Asian Studies program and special interest in Japanese art history, the

Childers have chosen to donate their library and their growing collection to the University of Kansas. An exhibition of their donation, which features prints from the collection and holdings surrounding the works, recently was displayed at the Murphy Art & Architecture Library in the Spencer Museum of Art as part of a rotating digital exhibition. Books and other research material provided by the Childers also are available at the Murphy Library as part of their ongoing contributions.

Libraries website implements new search toolThe KU Libraries site has improved its user-experience by adding a new search option for articles, books, images and more, which is featured under the “Get Started” tab on lib.ku.edu. This upgrade provides users with a wider number of search options and familiar, convenient methods of narrowing their results. The new libraries search also offers personalization features that highlight relevant results based on user-provided fields of research and allows students to organize a personal eShelf of library resources.

Last summer, the libraries conducted usability surveys and invited undergraduate and graduate students to participate in a beta test. With the positive feedback and suggestions that the students provided, we continue to improve the search tool, which was officially rolled out for the fall 2012 semester.

Annotations is published twice a year by KU Libraries. Archives are available at www.lib.ku.edu/pressroom. Editor: rebecca Smith, rasmith@ku.edu contEnt: Katie coffman and taylor BealsdESign: courtney Foat

UPcoMing EVEntS:

57th Annual snyder book collecting contest Awards ceremonyTuesday, April 23 | 5:30–7:30 p.m. | Watson Library

Preserving Family HistorySaturday, May 4 | 10 a.m.–12 p.m. | Topeka Shawnee County Public Library

Leading efforts to ensure librarians are best first step for information seekers

For complete details about our spring events schedule, visit www.lib.ku.edu/events. For questions or to rSVP, contact rachel Karwas: rkarwas@ku.edu or 785-864-8961.

“Our librarians are equipped to collaborate with campus partners to ensure that courses, assignments and research projects are meaningful learning experiences—opportunities for students to become efficient and effective users and producers of information.” – Erin Ellis

Last year, KU Libraries purchased two microform scanners that have augmented the research experience through much-improved functionality. The two scanners together work with all the micro formats in the Anschutz 1 North collection: 16mm and 35mm microfilm, 3M cartridge film, microfiche, ultra fiche and micro opaque cards. Users can scan selected text and images that can then be saved and sent to a printer, emailed or uploaded to both local and remote drives.

The scanning software program provides several service functions not previously available—optical character recognition (OCR), spot editing and useful online help. OCR enables word searching similar to the libraries’ other digital resources, and spot editing allows the user to adjust the quality of the text or image. The staff at Anschutz encourage students and faculty to come discover the wealth of microform resources that, with the help of new technologies, are now more easily perused than ever before. For questions, contact Carmen Orth-Alfie at 785-864-8929 or corthalf@ku.edu.

Anschutz offers enhanced digital scanning capabilities

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 W. Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS, 66045, (785) 864-6414, 711 TTY.