Improving the Student Experience - Gelman Library · immense. In spring 2016, for instance, a...

G W L I B R A R I E S A N D A C A D E M I C I N N O V A T I O N • S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

Improving the

StudentExperience

Through Support

for Teaching

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGEFULTON, MOPERMIT# 38

The George Washington UniversityGelman Library, Office of Development2130 H Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20052

G W L I B R A R I E S A N DAC A D E M I C I N N O VAT I O N

W I N T E R 2 0 1 7

G W L I B R A R I E S A N DAC A D E M I C I N N O VAT I O N

W I N T E R 2 0 1 7

EDITORSRobin Delaloye, MA ‘06

Rebecca LeeTracy Sullivan, MA ‘02, MPA ‘15

CONTRIBUTORSPeter Cohn

Geneva HenryAlexandra Krensky

Giovanna Franchi Souza, BA ‘18Leah Richardson

Dolsy SmithAngela Spidalette, BA ‘16

Morgan Stoddard

PHOTOGRAPHYWilliam Atkins

Jessica McConnell BurtLogan Werlinger

DESIGN/ARTBill Nelson Design

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

Steven Knapp

PROVOST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRSForrest Maltzman

DEAN OF L IBRARIES AND ACADEMIC INNOVATION

Geneva Henry

VISION is published by the GW Libraries and Academic Innovation

and the Division of Development and Alumni Relations.

The George Washington University Libraries and Academic Innovation Office of

Development2130 H Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20052

[email protected]

Please send change of address notices to us online at

alumni.gwu.edu/update-your-contact-infovia email to

[email protected]

or by post to Alumni Records

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Opinions expressed in these pages are those of individuals and do not necessarily

reflect the positions of the university.

LIBRARY.GWU.EDU/VISION | 1

Providing a world-class learning experience for each of our 25,000 students is at the heart of GW Libraries and Academic Innovation. In this issue, we highlight some of the most important ways we seamlessly meet the instructional needs of our faculty, resulting in an enhanced educational experience for our students. (William Atkins/the George Washington University)

2 | VISION WINTER 2017

modern university is built on the three pillars of teaching, learning, and research. At GW, the foundation supporting those three pillars is the GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, made up of university libraries, online learning programs, academic technology, fellowship and research support, and faculty teaching initiatives. Each is equally important and our entire organization is honored to play a vital role in making GW one of the nation’s leading universities for our accomplished faculty and our talented students. In this issue, we highlight some of the most important ways GW Libraries and Academic Innovation collaborates to seamlessly meet the instructional needs of our faculty, resulting in an enhanced educational experience for our students. Librarians, technical specialists, and instructional designers work together to provide online educational materials, design innovative learning spaces, and consult on research-based instruction methods so faculty can focus on their students and research. Whether teaching online or face-to-face, faculty are given the tools they need to provide a world-class learning experience for each of our 25,000 students. If your memories of the classroom are more blackboard than smartboard, it can be hard to imagine the difference that technology has made, but today’s undergraduates are just as likely to answer a professor by clicking a mouse as by raising a hand. Online learning is opening up a world of opportunities and GW continues to be at the forefront of innovation and adoption. Our support for teaching includes collaboration with faculty and deans to develop high-quality online courses that merge high design standards with optimal online learning pedagogies. My vision of the GW Libraries and Academic Innovation is as “a nexus where exciting things happen, where change happens, where growth happens.” Our achievements toward that vision are buttressed and enabled by the philanthropic investment of our generous donors. On behalf of the entire staff, as well as GW’s students and faculty, I offer my heartfelt thanks for your support of the research, teaching, and learning needs of the GW community.

Geneva HenryDean of Libraries and Academic Innovation

Welcome from the Dean of Libraries and Academic Innovation

A

Geneva Henry, dean of GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, listens to a discussion on the newly acquired archives of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and

the Corcoran College of Art + Design. (William Atkins/the George Washington University)


aised on a steady diet of digital images, text, and other media, in a networked world buzzing with digital devices, today’s students—and increasingly, faculty—are digital natives. Students and faculty naturally engage with these modes of information throughout the teaching and learning process and contemporary classrooms must be able to support this engagement. Students post assignments to Blackboard, the university’s online course management system, and instructors assign films and other media as course texts and expect students to discuss and dissect them in class. Students in a writing course may be asked to produce a documentary film as a final project, while young engineers learn complex equations through online “notebooks” that allow them to write and execute lines of computer code. Since 2012, GW has been planning a major upgrade to all of its general-purpose classrooms. This upgrade, which began in 2014, builds on a robust technological infrastructure that includes wireless connectivity throughout campus areas and state-of-the-art learning spaces. Prior to the upgrades, most classrooms had computers in lecterns, projectors, and laptop connections, and some had DVD and/or VCR players, document cameras, and lecture-capture systems. The primary purpose of the upgrade—taking place over four summers to ensure necessary classroom space throughout the academic year—is to bring more than 60 classrooms up to the latest standards in digital connectivity and equipment. These classrooms were redesigned to make them more user-friendly, with an intuitive graphical user interface. Students and faculty returning to class this fall entered an environment where it is possible to do even more, and more seamlessly, than before. Academic Technologies designed the upgrade to foster active and experiential learning, concepts that

are driving a revolution in education across the disciplines. Now faculty can sync their Apple devices wirelessly to the classroom projection system. No longer tethered to a lectern, instructors can move about the classroom as students work in groups or complete activities, tailoring their presentations to student learning in real-time. And with web conferencing, faculty can incorporate guest lecturers from anywhere in the world. Anyone familiar with software like Skype or FaceTime can take advantage of this technology with only a little effort, but the possibilities are immense. In spring 2016, for instance, a faculty member in the School of Business (GWSB) brought six high-profile guests into

his classroom, including the VP of Asia for Major League Baseball (MLB), journalist and Boston Marathon winner Amby Burfoot (from Mexico), and the first female MLB coach. Throughout the upgrade, the audiovisual engineers in Academic Technologies strove to make the new classroom technology as easy and intuitive as possible to use, guided by the principle that no technical disruption to the class should ever occur. Thanks to their diligence,

faculty can walk into a classroom and use the technology with little or no advance training. In addition, the interfaces are now standardized across classrooms, so that moving from one to another doesn’t require learning a new system. In the words of PB Garrett, senior associate dean for academic innovation and chief academic technology officer, “technology should be like air;” vital but invisible, a medium for communication, inspiration, and vision—a medium where ideas take flight. To help support teaching and learning initiatives, please contact Tracy Sullivan, executive director of development for GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, at [email protected].

Building the Twenty-First Century Classroom

R

Lecture capture allows instructors to record and deliver lectures and course videos to students. (Jessica McConnell Burt/the George Washington University)

Redesigned classrooms have a standardized, user-friendly, and intuitive graphical user interface. (Photo by Kelly Chen Andres)

s both scholar and statesman, Winston Churchill is a fascinating figure for his courageous leadership and his steady diplomacy in uncertain times. The GW Libraries celebrated the grand opening of the National Churchill Library and Center (NCLC), the first research center dedicated to the study of Sir Winston Churchill in our nation’s capital, on October 29, 2016. The new center’s research resources and interdisciplinary programs will offer GW students, faculty, researchers, and the public the opportunity to examine the life and legacy of Churchill. The NCLC, launched through a philanthropic partnership between the International Churchill Society (formerly the Churchill Centre) and GW, is housed on the first floor of the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library. A major feature is an interactive virtual exhibit for visitors to explore Churchill’s life. Researchers further have access to a small circulating collection of works by and about Churchill, the electronic Churchill Archives database, and a set of original calendar cards used by Churchill during World War II. “We are delighted to have reached this milestone,” said Geneva Henry, dean of libraries and academic innovation. “The NCLC will introduce Winston Churchill and his place in world history to the next generation of leaders. Churchill can

serve as an important lens through which students can explore the concept of leadership and we are enthusiastic about the potential of this new program.” Michael Bishop, MA ‘94 has joined GW as the director of the NCLC, a position made possible with generous funding from Laurence Geller, CBE and the International Churchill Society. Bishop has served in several positions on Capitol Hill and in the White House. He was also the executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. While in that position, he served as a consultant on the Steven Spielberg film about the 16th president. His articles and reviews on Churchill, World War I, Lincoln, and other subjects regularly appear in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Review, and elsewhere. “Michael is a wonderful addition to the initiative,” said Laurence Geller, chairman of the board of the International Churchill Society. “Under his leadership, we look forward to building a robust program that inspires new scholarly interest in Winston Churchill. As WSC himself once said, ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’” For more information on the NCLC, please contact Michael Bishop at [email protected].

Learning from a Leader The National Churchill Library

and Center


A

Laurence Geller, Geneva Henry, Steven Knapp, National Churchill Museum Chairman Jean-Paul Montupet and Randolph Churchill officially open the National Churchill Library and Center. (William Atkins/the George Washington University)


The National Churchill Library and Center will offer GW students, faculty, researchers, and the public the opportunity to examine the life and legacy of

Churchill. (Logan Werlinger/the George Washington University)

(William Atkins/the George Washington University)

Online Learning Beyond course design and creation, online learning at GW is a collaboration between schools and multiple university entities, led by Dean of GW Libraries and Academic Innovation Geneva Henry. “There are so many elements that go into making an online class successful,” says Dean Henry, “Recruiting students, managing enrollment,providing student services, obtaining authorizations and satisfying regulations for each state are just some of our work to grow our online opportunities.” Just as in any higher education institution, each program offered online must be authorized by all 50 states. Over the summer, GW became a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which provides authorization to operate in a majority of U.S. states, easing the burden of compliance.

The modern university is moving away from the traditional divide of online and in-person courses to a continuum that ranges from fully online to hybrid to in-person courses that use online technologies. GW continues to be a leader in online learning and in the integration of all pedagogical aspects to online courses, ensuring the continued excellence of a GW education, whether delivered on campus or around the world.

Logan Werlinger/the George Washington University

*Distance or hybrid enrollment in 2015–16


98,503credit hours in distance

and hybrid courses

2,153 Distance or Hybrid Courses

33% of undergraduates

enrolled in at least one

online or hybrid course

instructors teaching at least one online or hybrid course

6,751 graduate students enrolled

in at least one online or

hybrid course

677

4,032

credit hours of

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Expanding Opportunity with

e shop online, get our news online, even meet our spouses online. It seems natural that the popularity of online education is exploding. Last year, almost 11,000 GW students took at least one course fully or partially online and demand is growing. These courses offer students flexibility, both in terms of time and location, and expanded opportunities for interaction and learning. The GW Libraries and Academic Innovation provides support for the entire lifecycle of online learning—from course creation to implementation—to create a dynamic academic experience and maintain GW’s high standard of teaching and learning. Online courses at GW aren’t novel electives, but are fully integrated into existing academic programs. The deans in each school provide strategic leadership in planning for new online courses to meet the needs of their students. Sometimes this involves creating an online version of an introductory course so that this requirement can be more easily met by students during the summer, or offering a new course that just makes sense in a digital format. In 2015, GW offered almost 100,000 credit hours fully or partially online.

With many faculty members having never taken an online course in their own studies, the thought of creating a course online can be daunting. The eDesign Shop, University Teaching and Learning Center, and Instructional Technology Lab work together to create a seamless web of support for this transition.

GW’s eDesign shop serves as a central location for creating high-quality online courses. This team of instructional designers, videographers, and multimedia specialists work with faculty to make GW’s online offerings as engaging, informative, and academically rigorous as their traditional in-person counterparts.

Staff in the eDesign Shop collaborate with faculty to identify course content, but they also work with each faculty member’s individual teaching styles and strengths to establish how to best present it online.

The University Teaching and Learning Center (UTLC) helps faculty meet the challenges of teaching in this new and unfamiliar environment. Staff at the UTLC are developing an online module for instructors to learn how to build an online community through meaningful interactions, highlighting best practices for communicating the expectations of a course in a way that fosters independent work. The Instructional Technology Lab assists faculty in understanding the many technology tools involved in online courses and then deciding how and when to use them. Professionals offer workshops, one-on-one consultations, hands-on guidance, and lab space that faculty can use to test out new and unfamiliar tools.

Students in online courses also require support to make the most of their educational experience. “The GW Libraries’ support of online classes differs in how we interact, but the research content is the same as in-person classes,” says Joscelyn Leventhal, distance education/off-campus services librarian. “Online, off-campus, and distance students have equal access to all of the services and resources available at GW Libraries, regardless of where they are located. We can all come together from anywhere.”

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Improving the Student Experience Through Support for Teaching


ow does a 21st-century university prepare its graduates for the chal-lenges of a globalized, networked world? For a world of mobile devices and fluid borders, of social media and sharing economies, for a world beset by incredibly complex and urgent problems? Solving these problems requires people who can work with data, collaborate in new ways, and approach problems with knowledge and creativity, with an openness and agility that takes pleasure in confronting the unknown. GW equips students for these challenges through its world-class faculty, who take teaching seriously both inside and outside the classroom. Faculty rely on the support of many partners, including librarians, instructional designers, and classroom-technology engineers. GW Libraries and Academic Innovation (GWLAI) brings together, in an agile and forward-thinking organization, experts in the organization and discovery of information, in pedagogy, and in the development and support of digital technology, all working together to support teaching and learning. At GWLAI, these forms of expertise mutually inform each other: so that librarians bring a

focus on critical thinking to their work in the classroom, and instructional designers grasp the potential of the latest technologies to foster learning, and those providing tech support do so with a sensitivity to the needs of students and faculty members. Somewhere at the university, a professor has just brought her class to the library for a workshop on research methods, meeting with a librarian in one of our fully equipped library classrooms. It might be a senior art and design seminar, preparing students for year-long thesis projects; or a cohort of doctoral students in education who are writing literature reviews; or a first-year undergraduate writing class, in which students will undertake the first serious research projects of their college careers. At some universities, “library sessions” are dry affairs, driven by canned lectures and PowerPoint. But GW librarians have developed a robust approach to research instruction that results, in many cases, in enduring partnerships between the librarian and the faculty member, who co-teach sessions in the library, emphasizing the relevance of the research process to the goals of the course. “We are one of the few writing programs in the country with a long-standing, close collaboration with instructional librarians,” observes Rachel Riedner, executive director of GW’s University Writing Program. “This unique collaboration distinguishes our curriculum as students gain the skills and confidence as researchers that will serve them well throughout their college career.” Beyond the classroom, librarians regularly participate in the training of graduate

H

Photo by Quinn Baron, BA ‘14William Atkins/the George Washington

University

GW faculty are testing strategies that will help them to fully engage technologically savvy students with the course material. (Jessica McConnell Burt/the George Washington University)


teaching assistants across the curriculum and work closely with staff in the University Writing Center to share best practices and develop shared methodologies for supporting research and writing. Somewhere at the university, a faculty member is reimagining a class to deepen critical thinking, striving to leverage classroom technology to make a 60-person lecture more interactive, or exploring strategies for a flipped classroom. The University Teaching and Learning Center (UTLC) works closely with faculty to research and develop practices that support active, student-centered learning and foster student engagement. Guided by an interdisciplinary body of research, the UTLC provides multiple venues in which faculty set goals for their teaching and build a portfolio of syllabi, assignments, and other tools. In addition to one-on-one consultations throughout the year, these venues include a Course Design Institute that invites GW faculty to develop courses under the guidance of nationally recognized experts. These also include the Faculty Learning Community for Junior Faculty, which promotes a network for growing and sharing expertise in teaching across the disciplines, and an annual Teaching Day to showcase the most innovative pedagogy of GW faculty for the university community. Somewhere at the university, a faculty member is learning to make better use of emerging classroom technologies. In conjunction with the UTLC, the

Instructional Technology Lab helps faculty master new tools for both traditional and online learning spaces, enabling them to take advantage of the state-of-the-art learning environment provided by staff

in Academic Technologies. With this hands-on laboratory, faculty can explore a range of available technologies before implementing them in the classroom, testing strategies to fully engage technologically savvy students with the course material. Somewhere in the university, a student is reinforcing today’s classroom discussion through independent study. Classes are more meaningful and discussion is deeper when students have a real-world appreciation for the subjects at hand. The Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research (CUFR) connects students with fellowship opportunities around the globe, bolstering what they have learned in the classroom by allowing them to

put theory into practice. By connecting students with research opportunities, CUFR helps deepen their grasp of the material and explore their interests, stoking their academic curiosity.

A common principle across all of these efforts at GWLAI is a focus on agility, which means cultivating a creative responsiveness to the evolving needs of the people and projects we support. That principle happens also to be a cornerstone of the approach to instruction that the most reflective and intentional teachers espouse. As Patricia Dinneen, director of the UTLC, notes, “Good teaching is a lot about experimentation and continually getting feedback: Are they learning? What do they think?” And supporting teachers means

helping them become more comfortable with experimentation, by making the intellectual and institutional space for them to explore new methods and approaches without fear of failure. As we pursue this goal, we in the GWLAI are learning, too—learning what our faculty and students need—and we are constantly reflecting on our own organization in an effort to meet those needs more effectively. GWLAI is truly a learning organization at the center of teaching and scholarship at the university. To help support teaching and learning initiatives, please contact Tracy Sullivan, executive director of development for GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, at [email protected].

An annual Teaching Day showcases the most innovative pedagogy of GW faculty for the university community. (William Atkins/the George Washington University)

A Scholarship of Teaching and Learning poster session allows faculty to explore strategies and develop practices that support active, student-centered learning. (William Atkins/the George Washington University)


y any measure, Kelia Franks, ESIA ‘14, is an example of the hard work, academic curiosity, and outstanding potential of GW students. Not content to just read the works of others, Kelia got involved with research early in her college career with the help of the Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research (CUFR). “CUFR was by far one of the best resources I had at GW,” says Kelia. “Having CUFR support me every step of the way as I was applying for fellowships and grants meant the world to me.” Kelia first encountered CUFR in her sophomore year through a workshop on writing personal statements. She used the skills she learned in applying to fellowships and was awarded her first through CUFR’s Shapiro Public Service Award. From that first success, Kelia continued to apply for new opportunities, receiving numerous fellowships. “I ended up getting offered almost every fellowship that I applied for because

of Paul’s help,” she says of her work with Dr. Paul Hoyt-O’Connor, director of CUFR. “I chose to do the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program in Malaysia after graduation.” While in Malaysia, she continued to work with Dr. Hoyt-O’Connor, preparing applications for the Rhodes and Marshall programs. Despite being miles away, Dr. Hoyt-O’Connor provided Kelia with “extensive advice on the application process” and feedback on “numerous, numerous drafts.” “He’s been one of the greatest and most supportive mentors I’ve ever had,” Kelia says, “because he poured his heart and soul into his work and helping me succeed.” The admiration is mutual. “She is an example of GW students at their best,” Dr. Hoyt-O’Connor replies. Kelia’s tremendous success is just one example of the importance of a dedicated resource center to assist

students in applying for research and fellowship opportunities. CUFR helps students turn classroom learning into real- life experience.

Meet Our Newest Partnerin GW Libraries and Academic Innovation

T he Center for Undergraduate Fellowships & Research (CUFR), one of the newest partners in GW Libraries and Academic Innovation under Dean Geneva Henry, provides GW under-graduates and alumni with information, guidance,

and support as they seek research opportunities and national fellowships. Under the direction of Dr. Paul Hoyt-O’Connor, CUFR works with approximately 500 students and alumni annually. The center helps to identify resources, narrow the search, and shape initial inquiries to locate faculty mentors and research funding. Due to the world-class Elliott School of International Affairs, opportunities for

international research are popular. With the support of CUFR and Hoyt-O’Connor, GW is a top producer of Fulbright scholars, with nine awarded to GW-nominated candidates in 2015-16. GW students also dominate the prestigious Boren Scholarship for

study in areas of the world critical to the future security of the United States. In 2015-16, GW put forward 13 applicants for this scholarship, producing seven winners and four alternates, receiving over 5 percent of all the awards nationwide. Undergraduate research offers students the chance to learn firsthand, in collaboration with professors, how new knowledge is generated. CUFR

connects students to these unique opportunities and helps them to succeed. To help support undergraduate research opportunities, please contact Tracy Sullivan, executive director of development for GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, at [email protected].

Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research:

Connecting students to opportunities around the world

B

GW was a“Top Producer

of U.S. Fulbright

Scholars and Students”

according to the

Chronicle of Higher

Education.

The CUFR annually

works with about

500 students and

alumni on an average

of 50 distinct

programs.

9 Fulbrights

awarded to

GW-nominated

candidates in

2015–16

Kelia Franks, ESIA ‘14


hen Elizabeth J. Somers arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1863, no school existed to educate girls above the elementary grades. Somers soon got to work, first tutoring students in her home and then organizing a prestigious seminary. A line of extraordinary women continued her efforts, shepherding the school through two world wars, four campuses, and the addition of a college. Changing attitudes about same-sex education brought the end of the seminary in 1969 and of the college as an independent entity in 1999, but the spirit of its leaders lives on in GW’s Elizabeth J. Somers Women’s Leadership Program (WLP). Based on GW’s Mount Vernon Campus, the WLP is a selective, year-long living and learning program for first-year women. The challenging academic curriculum trains tomorrow’s powerful women while honoring its past through collaboration with the GW Libraries. More than 150 years of materials documenting the deep history of the former Mount Vernon Seminary and College reside in the University Archives at Gelman Library and include the personal papers of notable women like Marjorie Merriweather Post and Eleanor Lansing Dulles. Robin Delaloye, MA ‘06, director of communications and outreach for GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, brings this fascinating history to life for each WLP class during orientation. Using photographs, publications, and student scrapbooks, she tells the story of the institution and introduces students to primary sources available for their own research. “Robin’s talk communicates the history of the Mount Vernon Campus, and it establishes a through line of the importance of

education and women’s history in that endeavor, as well as the potential for archival research,” says Mary Buckley, director of the WLP. “We value the opportunity to introduce our students to our namesake’s significant work in women’s education.” The Libraries are proud to care for the legacy of Elizabeth J. Somers and the Mount Vernon Seminary and College and to share it with new genera-tions of students. “Therich history of Mount Vernon makes the WLP all the more special,” wrote WLP student Shannon Fitzpatrick ’20, “and having the chance to hear about it created a common appreciation for the program for all of us.”

To support the Mount Vernon Archives, please

contact Tracy Sullivan, executive director of development at GW Libraries and

Academic Innovation, at [email protected].

Preserving the Legacy of the

Mount Vernon Seminary and College W

Students in the Women’s Leadership Program explore archival materials after the annual talk on the history of Mount Vernon. Photo by Robin Delaloye, MA ‘06

More than 150 years of materials documenting the deep history of the former

Mount Vernon Seminary and College reside in the University Archives. (Logan Werlinger/the George Washington University)


The Voluntary Library Gift

Enhancing Your Library Environment he GW Libraries—Gelman, Eckles, and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus Libraries—are a home away from home to many GW students. At a school with close to 10,000 undergraduate and 15,000 graduate students, regular upkeep is needed for the wear and tear that comes from daily usage. The voluntary library gift, a $50 donation each semester, allows for consistent funding of basic library needs and support for ongoing improvements. While some students are aware of the voluntary library gift, many never consider its significance.

The fund began shortly after President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg’s arrival at GW in 1988 and was explicitly created to demonstrate student commitment to improving the Libraries. In return, the GW Libraries is committed to using the voluntary library gift to support student-focused activities. Last year, for example, the voluntary library gift helped fund tangible improvements, including upholstered furniture and modifications required to open the Global Resources Center as a 24/7 study space for graduate students. The voluntary

library gift was further used to support student jobs in the Libraries, create stress relief programming for students during finals, and update specialized software so students have access to the latest versions. We appreciate everyone who supports the GW Libraries through the voluntary library gift. To provide feedback on how we might use these funds in 2017 to enhance the student experience at the GW Libraries, please contact student liaison Yesenia Yepez at [email protected].

T

By October 2015, the much-loved club chairs throughout Gelman were past the end of their lifecycle. Only about 10 years old, they had already been reupholstered twice and needed another round. Voluntary library gift funds allowed the Libraries to replace these with new chairs. (Logan Werlinger/the George Washington University)

Last year the voluntary library gift funded modifications to provide new 24/7 study space for graduate students, and supported student jobs in the Libraries, stress relief programming, and technology updates. (William Atkins and Logan Werlinger/the George Washington University)


Filling In the

“Missing Maps”of Hurricane Matthew

A

“Haiti Hit by Hurricane Matthew (photo # 697658)” UN Photo/Logan Abassi is licensed under CC BY 2.0

lthough GW is almost 1,500 miles from Haiti, when Hurricane Matthew battered the Caribbean nation, students and library staff rushed to help. More than 70 people came together just four days after the storm made a direct hit on the west coast of Haiti to assist relief efforts in a novel way. Rather than collect food or medicine, they made the distribution of those relief supplies possible by mapping the devastation. This mapping was done using OpenStreetMap (OSM), a digital platform that provides outlines of cities in remote areas using satellite photography and geospatial technology. Users examine aerial images to determine the layout of specified regions and label details to create digital maps. For example, one might observe in a photo that a small oblong figure actually represents a house or a long rectangle might clearly be a road. It only takes minutes to learn to use OSM, and volunteers can map from wherever they are in the world. “When a disaster strikes, the first thing you need is a map,” says Kean McDermott, BA ‘14, GW Libraries’ geographic information systems (GIS) specialist. “The information provided by this project tells relief agencies like the Red Cross how much food they will need to provide and where they will find the greatest need.” “Humanitarian mapping seeks to render and better the world through geographic information system projects,” says student Alex Fried, president of GW’s Humanitarian Mapping Society, a partner in this event with the American Red Cross’s Missing Maps Project and the GW Libraries. “Mapping helps aid projects run more efficiently with more accurate information.” As they worked together to create maps of the Haitian villages of Central Grande Anse and Île de la Tortue, students had an opportunity to interact with professionals from the Department of State, the National Geographic Society, and USAID, among others. Students who want to take their mapping further can use the Libraries’ powerful ArcGIS software and consult with McDermott, who regularly works with students and faculty to find and use geographically referenced data. Student researchers often use this robust tool to conduct, analyze, and visualize their data while gaining hands-on experience in this increasingly marketable skill.

Data Throughout the Research Lifecycle


or many years the GW Libraries has selected a student liaison to connect the student body with library administration and provide a necessary student voice in library planning and decision-making. Yesenia Yepez, the 2015-2017 student liaison, is a senior majoring in international affairs with a concentration in Latin America and a minor in sociocultural anthropology. She spoke with us about her role communicating with students and advocating for their needs.

What does it mean to be the student liaison for the GW Libraries?The library plays a key role for many, if not all, students at GW. From a new freshman to someone finishing up a Ph.D., I try to find ways to make students more involved with the library and also more aware of the Libraries’ many different resources. I want students to know that the Libraries are really here to help.

What do students tell you about the Libraries?People say to me, “I feel comfortable at Gelman and I can do my work here.” I love to hear that. A lot of people consider the library a second home. Because students spend so much time here, they have real insight into what we do right and what we could do better. There will be times when multiple students make the same suggestion and when I look into it, I’ll find that we already do that or that it is in the planning stages. I love when I can tell people, “It’s coming soon, don’t you worry!”

Why do you think the Libraries are important?The Libraries always have something to offer. Sometimes you need a place to study or an article for class. Sometimes you need someone to help you figure out a research topic. And sometimes you just need a computer and a place to print at 2 a.m. The library has all of those things!

To provide feedback on the student experience at the GW Libraries, please contact student liaison Yesenia Yepez at [email protected].

Making the ConnectionAn Interview with Student Liaison Yesenia Yepez

cademic research is increasingly collaborative, driven by teams made up of experts from multiple disciplines who work together to solve complex problems. The quality of this research depends on the quality of the data on which it is built. Good data must be accurate, reliable, and consistent—qualities that require both sophisticated methods and cutting-edge technology to achieve. As the hub of the research lifecycle, GW Libraries and Academic Innovation plays an integral role in the use and stewardship of research data. From open workshops to classroom instruction and one-on-one consultations, the GW Libraries provide assistance with statistical analysis, geographic information systems, and programming, among many data services. If a researcher is searching for data, the Libraries provide access to datasets, some curated especially for undergrads to cut their teeth on in stats courses others containing fine-grained financial information on the stock market or hard-to-obtain socioeconomic data on China and India.

Mandy Gooch, the data services librarian at the GW Libraries, spends her days helping the GW research community understand and manage the research data it produces. In partnership with GW’s Division of IT and Office of the Vice President of Research, Mandy serves as the first point of contact for guidance on data management plans. Researchers work with her to ensure their data will be preserved and accessible to future scholars, a requirement of many government funders. Mandy also guides researchers through the necessary steps to gain access to government datasets via data use agreements. Replicability is a fundamental tenant of the scientific process and can’t be achieved in today’s research climate without careful data stewardship and preservation. In partnership with several national organizations, the GW Libraries and Academic Innovation will host a National Digital Stewardship Resident

(NDSR) in 2016–2017. Megan Potterbusch will work with a team of GW researchers to design a process to embed data management practices into the scholarly workflow using entirely open source tools and infrastructure, which can be reproduced by future research teams. Throughout the research lifecycle, from collection to analysis, visualization, and preservation, GW Libraries and Academic Innovation is committed to wide collaboration to ensure that data, which is often complex, is available and properly managed.

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Logan Werlinger/the George Washington University


ver the past three years, GW has been home to the D.C. Africana Archives Project (DCAAP). Funded through a generous “hidden collections” grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), DCAAP is a collaboration between GW, Howard University, the District of Columbia Archives, D.C. Public Library, Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and the National Museum of American History to arrange, describe, and make more widely available records documenting the history of African American and African diaspora populations in the District of Columbia. Over the course of this project, which drew to a close in December, more than 100 local black history collections across the six partner institutions were uncovered. These collections, which span from the 1790s to the present and document the richness of black life in the city, previously had either no or very little description and so were virtually unusable for researchers. Student processing assistants under the supervision of professional staff of the GW Libraries and its partner institutions, gained substantial experience working with these archival collections and helped to make this project a success. “We are pleased that the DCAAP project was able to bring such rich historical materials to light,” said Elisabeth Kaplan, associate university librarian at GW and co-principal investigator on the project with Jennifer James, associate professor of English and director of the Africana Studies Program. “The diverse collections that our team

uncovered really demonstrate the depth and breadth of African American life in D.C. We hope that making these collections available to the public—some for the very first time—will stimulate use by scholars, family historians, and a variety of other researchers.” As a result of this project, the District of Columbia Archives has a complete online listing of their holdings, many of which explore the changing demographics of the city over two centuries. Other collections processed as part of this effort include the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.’s oral history collection on the Black Arts in D.C. Survey, which chronicles the history of fine arts in the Shaw, U Street, Howard University, and LeDroit neighborhoods; the WANN Radio Station Records at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, which chronicle the history of an Annapolis, MD-based radio station that served local African American communities; and the papers of Jeanne Spurlock, a psychiatrist who received her medical degree at Howard University and worked to analyze aspects of culture and race that influenced the treatment of mental illness. The GW Libraries described its Joel S. Bacon Letters on the Arnold Case, which hold some important truths about the role of slavery in university history.

For more information about DCAAP and the collections that have been processed, please visit our website at library.gwu.edu/DCAAP.

DCAAP uncovers

Black History Collections for research

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Portraits and pictures of weddings and events from the Scurlock Studio Records, AC618 at the National Museum of American History laid out for processing. Photo by Rebekah Keel, MA ‘16, DCAAP processing assistant

Recently uncovered documents confirm the presence of enslaved laborers at the Columbian College prior to the civil war. Photo by Christie Peterson, university archivist


reserving the history of Washington, D.C., through documents, photographs, and other archival materials is one of the major undertakings of the GW Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center. Last spring, we became the permanent home for the historical archives of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran College of Art + Design. Documenting the life and vitality of one of Washington, D.C.’s oldest cultural heritage institutions, the Corcoran Archives provide almost 150 years of insight into the history of American art museums and art education. These extraordinary archives, consisting of almost 2,000 boxes of documents, plus thousands of architectural drawings, posters, photographs, ad oversized ledgers, dating from 1869 to 2014, that have been closed to researchers for much of the past decade. The collection arrived to immediate attention. Within days of opening to the public for research, the Special Collections Research Center received a slew of requests for access and reference questions. “We are honored to be selected as the permanent archival home of the historical archives of this landmark D.C. institution,” said Elisabeth Kaplan, associate university librarian. “This is a major acquisition of a collection of national significance for anyone studying museum history, American art history, the history of art education, and social movements in American art, as well as those interested in particular artists and trends in American museums.” Research inquiries so far have included requests for information about past Corcoran exhibitions, the provenance of specific works of art, and specific questions about Corcoran history. Researchers are also interested in particular historical moments, such as the planned and later canceled 1989 Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit, which sparked a national conversation on public funding of cultural heritage institutions.

To increase access, a small sampling of materials from the collection have been digitized and are now available online. These materials include historical photographs, the earliest registers of paintings acquired, the first curator’s journals, and architectural drawings, enabling local and international researchers to make use of these important materials. To help preserve the legacy of the Corcoran and make these materials available to researchers around the globe, please contact Tracy Sullivan, executive director of development for GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, at [email protected].

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Corcoran Archives Open to a Queue of Ready Researchers

above: Provost Forrest Maltzman, Sanjit Sethi, director of the Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, and members of the Corcoran Board of Trustees and Women’s Committee view selections from the newly opened archives. (William Atkins/the George Washington University)

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