trico libraries news and notes » General News

The Tri-College Libraries are participating in a pilot program to offer online access to materials from our music collections. In addition to some classes and ensembles that are trying out this service, it is available to other users in the Tri-Co who want to give it a whirl.  The software, called Variations, allows users to listen to streaming audio files, as well as to create bookmarks, playlists, and listening drills.  Scanned scores will be a feature to come at a later date.

The Variations software can be downloaded here.  And a list of available recordings may be found in Tripod by searching for “Variations Digital Music Library.” 

Please contact librarians Michelle Oswell, Donna Fournier, or John Anderies if you have any difficulties getting set up or have any questions about the service.

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The Haverford College Libraries are currently hiring for student assistant positions for Summer 2008. We are looking for fast learners with a keen attention to detail. Positions are full-time and last for twelve weeks.

For more information and an application, go to Jobs at the Libraries.  

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"The best thing a library can be is open."^*

This week the recently renovated reference desk area of Magill Library was dedicated to Michael S. Freeman, former Librarian of the College, in honor of his passion and commitment to serving the information needs of the community.

Michael was once quoted in the library literature as saying that "the best thing a library can be is open."¹ While in this particular case "open" referred to extended hours, it aptly describes Michael's overall approach to library services. From his arrival at Haverford in 1986 until his passing in 1999, Michael advocated collaborative work among librarians, faculty and students and put in place systems, resources and staff to foster it. Open to technological innovation, he signed Haverford up as one of the first participants in the JSTOR archive. Open to the lessons of the past, he took a keen interest in library history and the history of Tri-College library cooperation in particular and authored a number of articles on the subject. (See bibliography for a full list of works.)

During the last eighteen months, the reference desk area, now called the Michael S. Freeman Information Hub, has undergone a number of changes designed to foster a more collaborative atmosphere between reference librarians and patrons. A more modular and welcoming reference desk has been installed to replace the rather fortress-like former desk. The space has been expanded by removing the bookcases that were jutting out into the room, and five more computer stations and two tables for collaborative work have been added. New armchair seating near the remaining built-in bookcases provides a comfortable spot for reading and perusing the nearby “new books” display and other exhibits.

^*Albanese, Andrew Richard (2005). "The best thing a library can be is open." Library Journal 130 (September 15, 2005), no. 15. For more remembrances by colleagues and coworkers, see Lapsansky, Emma. "Michael Stuart Freeman, 1946 - 1999." Library Newsletter (May 1999).

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It happens to the best of us:  you swear up and down that you returned that book to the Bryn Mawr library, only to find it tucked away in your office/under the bed/on your bookshelf making itself at home with your files/dustbunnies/personal library. 

 
What do you do when it happens to you 44 years later? 

 
You send it back to the Bryn Mawr College Library with a nice note, of course.*
 

I don't exactly know what the lesson learned here is, or who precisely is doing the learning - all I know is that receiving this long overdue book, and in particular the nice note accompanying it, made this librarian's day.

    *You may recognize this phrase from the wonderful New Yorker cartoon by Charles Saxon, which appears on page 34 of the January 5th, 1981 issue.  You can view this and other Bryn Mawr cartoons in The Complete New Yorker DVD Collection, available at the Canaday Library Reference Desk.

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Whitney Ale, teaching assistant for Haverford sculpture professor Marianne Weil, spent the tail end of fall semester restoring a 150-year old plaster- cast bust of the goddess Diana that once sat atop the shelves of the old Haverford Library.  As reported in a previous blog posting, busts of Diana and Aristotle were recently identified and discovered on campus.

Ale, a senior anthropology major from Bryn Mawr, has put in over 20 hours of work cleaning and repairing the sculpture and predicts just as many hours before she finishes.  The first step in Ale’s restoration process is to sand the entire bust by hand with a fine grit sandpaper.  This step removes small nicks and gives the bust an even and clean appearance.

“When I first saw Diana she looked tortured,” reports Ale.  “She had been colored on with marker, given eyeballs with pen.  It looks as though at one point her head had fallen off and was glued back on.”

Following the initial sanding, Ale will soak the bust in water to open its pores in preparation for the final steps, patching large cracks with new plaster and giving the work a final sanding to make the repairs flush with the rest of the piece.

Having worked extensively in bronze, wax, steel and clay, this is the first time Ale has worked with plaster and she is really enjoying it: “I feel that I am forming a real connection with the piece.  It is very exciting at this point to see her becoming beautiful again.”

Once completed, Diana will make a triumphant return to Magill Library where she will be offered pride of place in Haverford Special Collections.

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Need to get out of your tiny library cubicle and see something exotic and stimulating for a change? Want a rest for your weary computer screen strained eyes? Stop by Special Collections any day this week to see rare and unique materials from the collection.

Each day we'll be bringing out one or more of Haverford's major treasures from the Collection, including:

12/17/07 – The Pemberton Bible, Northern France, ca. 1225-50 & the Haverford Hebrew Bible, Spain, 1266

12/18/07 – Nicolaus Copernicus, De revolutionibus orbium caelestium, 1543

12/19/07 – Maxfield Parrish, Chemistry Notebook, 1890

12/20/07 – Germantown Quaker Protest Against Slavery, 1688

12/21/07 – Eadweard Muybridge, Photographic Plates from Animal Locomotion, 1887

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Last week we posted about the re-discovery and ensuing restoration of two 150-year-old Greek plaster-cast busts that had once graced the shelves of the Haverford College Library.  Through careful examination of photographs from the College Archives library staff have identified a total of eleven busts that were once on display in the library from at least 1865 to 1895 and perhaps beyond.  As we would be pleased to see the identification and return of more of these wayward characters, we provide below—in the form of an old FBI wanted poster—a line-up of this motley gang of Ancient Greeks, Quakers, and a few unknowns.  If you’ve seen any of these fugitives lurking around campus please don’t hesitate to be in touch with Special Collections staff!

1. Apollo Wanted for employing biological weapons in the Trojan War. Also for defiling numerous nymphs. 2. Aristotle Wanted for not holding the Gods in honor. And for inspiring Friedrich Nietzsche centuries later. 3. Athena Wanted for aiding Hermes in the beheading of the Gorgon Medussa. May be armed with a thunderbolt and aegis. 4. Cicero Wanted for teaching Greek Philosophy to the Romans. And for Betraying the Regime of Mark Antony. 5. Diana Wanted for transforming Acteon into a stag and for turning his own hunting dogs on him. 6. Fothergill Wanted for urging revolution and liberal polices in the American Colonies. 7. Socrates Wanted for corrupting the minds of Athens’ youth, a crime punishable by death by hemlock. 8. Unknown Do you recognize this man? If you can identify him please contact Haverford Special Collections! 9. Whittier Wanted for doing little else besides dreaming and writing poetry for good causes. 10. Unknown Minor Accomplices

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When the organizers of “A Few Well Selected Books,” the current exhibition in Magill Library, chose an 1865 photograph of the library to use in the promotion of the exhibit, they had no idea it would lead to the rediscovery of two very old plaster-cast Greek busts.  This iconic photograph of the library in Alumni Hall features (from left to right) professors Thomas Chase and Paul Swift, superintendent William Wetherald, seniors James A. Chase and Allen C. Thomas, assistant professor and librarian Clement L. Smith, sophomore Samuel Collins, and president Samuel J. Gummere.  Peering down from high atop the wooden bookcases are several Ancient Greek busts, including (from left to right) Socrates, Aristotle, Diana, and Cicero.

After our exhibit announcements went out, we were informed by Haverford professor Darin Hayton that the bust of Diana could be found in the faculty lounge of Hall Building.  Scuffed up, embellished with magic marker, and appearing to have suffered a neck fracture, Diana has clearly been through some rough patches over the past century and a half!

A few weeks after the discovery of Diana, as librarians Christa Williford and David Conners were preparing to record an exhibit narrative with Classics professors Deborah Roberts and Bret Mulligan, Roberts revealed that she and husband professor emeritus Aryeh Kosman had another of the busts—that of Aristotle—in their home on College Avenue.  Kosman reports having rescued Aristotle from a trash pile in the 1970s.

Archival photographs from 1865 to 1895 reveal an array of Ancient Greek mythological and philosophical characters to have been part of the collection, as well as a couple of Quaker luminaries and some mystery busts yet to be identified.  Librarians have long wondered what had become of these venerable figures as they are not part of the extensive online inventory of college-owned art maintained by College Archivist Diana Franzusoff Peterson.

Both busts have been returned to Special Collections and now they will be undergoing restoration and repair courtesy of Haverford sculpture professor Marianne Weil and her teaching assistant Whitney Ale BMC '08.  Over the course of the next few weeks, we will provide updates on their progress and will also report on more of the missing busts which have been identified in photographs from the College Archives.

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Podcasts to accompany Magill Library's current exhibition, "A Few Well Selected Books: Building Collections, Curricula & Community at Haverford College," are available through iTunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=267176778).

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Swarthmore alum and new Digital Collections Librarian at Haverford College, David Conners, has recently had an article published in Library Journal.  Co-written with Laena McCarthy, Image Cataloger and Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute Libraries, the article "Can The Jobs Be Found," reconsiders the common presumption that entry-level jobs for recent library school graduates are hard to find.  Congratulations, David!

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Union Music Library was home (briefly) to a little chipmunk named Alvin who accidentally found his way in this morning.  He visited through the afternoon, when he tired of the constant diet of classical music (he was hungry for something a little more substantial, like nuts) and was helped out of the library by student assistant Sakda Chantanavanich.

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Underhill Library will be closing for renovations from May 26th until September 2nd. If there are materials that you anticipate needing, you'll want to check them out before closing time on Friday May 25th.  Also, if you should discover that you need something during the summer please do not hesitate to ask for it.  Materials from Bryn Mawr and Haverford can be sent to McCabe Library for pick up and we can take advantage of our Interlibrary Loan Services.  For more information contact Donna Fournier, Performing Arts Librarian or call 610-328-8231.  Come see the new look in the Fall!

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Check out the Electronic Literature Collection - Volume 1 which was written up in the DigaLit column of this Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer. Both funky & creative, it's an interesting example of what is now being called 'digital literature.'

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Want to make an impression on campus?  Want to meet and assist other students, faculty and staff in a public service setting?  The much sought-after positions in Canaday Circulation are now at your fingertips.  Applications are available in the lobby or here for immediate submission.  Current job openings include desk assistant, shelver, and e-reserves assistant.

Don't wait, submit today for best consideration.  Questions should be directed to any circulation supervisor: Sarah, Nicole, or Melissa.

Good Luck! 

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reBound is a collaboration between the Bryn Mawr College Special Collections Department and The Philadelphia Center for the Book. The Center, formed in 2004, promotes the book as a vital  contemporary art form and as a catalyst for inspiration, education and creative expression. Its diverse membership includes book artists, collectors, teachers, writers, librarians, book dealers, and art professors. The works being exhibited are newly-created pieces that respond to the exhibition, Bound and Determined: Identifying American Bookbindings, on display in Canaday Library’s Rare Book Room through May 2007.

Exhibition opening and reception - free and open to the public
Friday, March 30, 2007
6:00 - 7:30 pm
 

« Continue reading "reBound: Contemporary Artists' Responses to 18th and 19th Century Ticketed American Bindings" »

• A thru AP 2 R19 are along the elevator wall on Floor B
• AP 2 R2 thru AS 162 B6 v. 257 are along the center aisle on Floor A
• AS 162 B6 v. 258 thru B 3279 are after BL on Floor A
• B 3280 thru D 299 H5 v.44 are after PB 1 M6 v. 91 on Floor 2
• D 299 H5 v.45 thru DG 403 M85 v.11 are after PD on Floor 2
• DG 403 M85 v.12 thru DS are behind To-Be-Shelved on Floor 2
• DT thru E 169.12 are behind PQ 2623 Floor 2       

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Seminar on American Bookbinding History
Friday, March 9, 2007
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Music Room, Goodhart Hall
Bryn Mawr College

« Continue reading "Binding History Workshop - Friday, March 9" »

« Continue reading "The Perfect Life for Women - lecture by Bert Roest" »

Haverford College Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies Hank Glassman is featured in an interview on Academic Commons, on the topic of using digital images in the classroom.  The interview was conducted in December 2006 by David Green in conjunction with the report "Using Digital Images in Teaching and Learning," which was commissioned by Wesleyan University in collaboration with the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE).

Hank Glassman teaches Buddhism, Religion and Gender, East Asian Religions, Japanese Literature, Language, and History at Haverford College. Images have become increasingly important in his teaching on Japanese language, history, and culture and in his research on Japanese religions in the medieval period. He constantly struggles with how best to display images in his classes and how to help students engage them as texts.

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Are you researching a topic that is international in scope? Do you need information on peace and security, world hunger, human rights, economic development, the environment, or atomic energy?

If so, don't forget to call upon the resources of the United Nations! And don’t hesitate to ask a Reference Librarian for guidance in locating UN documents and publications.

Begin with the AccessUN database to identify documents, treaties, publications, and articles in UN periodicals. Many of these items are available on microfiche at Bryn Mawr. Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore also have many print UN publications. Check Tripod for locations and call numbers. And many UN documents are also available in PDF format from the United Nations Official Document System (ODS).

Remember the UN is there 4 U!

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You are if your name is Wall Street Journal!

January 2007 saw the launch of a redesigned Journal printed on smaller 12 inch paper instead of the  previous 15 inch size.  Reaction to the new size and design has been mixed.  What's your opinion?   Visit Canaday's new Popular Periodicals area and take a look at the new Journal.

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Can't get enough of the L Word?  The Library can help!

Check out our DVD's of the first three seasons!

Use our databases to read up on cast members!  Find articles on

Pam Grier (Kit)
Jennifer Beals (Bette)
Leisha Hailey (Alice)
Laurel Holloman (Tina)
Katherine Moennig (Shane)

and more!  We can help make your life a living "L"!

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Be sure to visit Canaday's new Popular Periodicals area!  We've moved our most popular periodicals and newspapers to a casual reading area at the far end of Floor One.

Curl up with Consumer Reports!  Relax with Rolling Stone!  Take a study break with Sports Illustrated!  Stay in Vogue!  Keep with it with the Wall Street Journal!  And be sure to give us your comments and suggestions.

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Thanks so much to everyone who's tossed their spare change into the Canaday Patrons' Penny Jar, located just inside the main entrance of Canaday Library! 

This year, $40.00 in donations went to purchase goats for families in Malawi via The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance.

Last year, $40.00 in donations went to Philadelphia's Bread & Roses Community Fund.

Over the years, the penny jar has collected over $1100.00 in $35-40 increments.  This money  has been donated to local, national, and international organizations including Manna, Trinity Center for Urban Life Winter Shelter, South-Indian Women's Self-Help Association, a Costa Rican children's sports center, and many others.

Thanks for your continued thoughtfulness and support of this Bryn Mawr mini-tradition! 

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Fifty-three liberal arts college presidents have signed a letter of support for the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 (S.2695).  The legislation would require federal agencies with external research expenditures of over $100 million annually to make manuscripts of peer-reviewed journal articles stemming from that research publicly available online.

Read the full press release and letter here. (pdf)

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The construction on Canaday Library's front steps is proceeding nicely!  The front steps are almost done, and the steps down to the lower patio are being created right now. 

We're still using the Lusty Cup door as the only entrance and exit to the library, so please resist the temptation to walk through the bulldozers and up the front steps!  

In related news, the first floor of the library is undergoing a facelift as well.  Shelves and tables are being moved, new computers are coming in, and we'll be debuting a new combined Circulation and Reference Desk in a few short weeks.  Come in and see us!

And don't forget to track our progress on flickr!