August 2010 Archives

AUGUST 2, 2010

Yale Arts Library Presents Exhibition of Works by Renowned Book Artist Richard Minsky

New Haven, Conn.— Yale University’s Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library, 180 York Street, will host the exhibition “Material Meets Metaphor: A Half Century of Book Art by Richard Minsky” from August 2 through November 29.

The exhibition covers 50 years of Minsky’s work — from a 1960 sample book, used when he started his first letterpress printing business at age 13, to “Self-Portrait 2010,” a book that documents the evolution of a canvas, from pencil sketch through many layers of oil paint.

Yale University Library acquired the Richard Minsky Archive in 2004. It includes maquettes, molds for castings, and correspondence, as well as holographic manuscripts and early versions of select works. It documents Minsky's exploration of printing technologies from the mimeograph and spirit duplicator to his early use of inkjet printing on handmade paper.

“Minsky’s work as an artist and as founder of The Center for Book Arts in New York changed the way people see and make books,” said Jae Jennifer Rossman, the Haas Family Arts Library’s Assistant Director for Special Collections.

Many of Minsky's editioned works (non-commissioned work made in multiple copies) will be on view in the exhibition, along with unique works that have become iconic in the field of book art. These include his 1975 binding of “The Birds of North America” and “The Crisis of Democracy,” bound in sheepskin, gold and barbed wire.

More information about Minsky and his work is available online at www.minsky.com. His new book, “The Art of American Book Covers, 1875–1930,” was published this year by George Braziller, Inc.

The Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library opened in August 2008 in the renovated Paul Rudolph Hall and the new Loria Center for the History of Art. The library brings together the collections, staff, and resources from the former Art + Architecture and Drama libraries and the Arts of the Book Collection, as well as staff and services for the Visual Resources Collection. It serves as the library for the Schools of Art, Architecture, and Drama, as well as the Department of the History of Art and the Yale University Art Gallery. The library is open to the public Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. during the summer. In September the library will be open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Fridays. For more information, visithttp://www.library.yale.edu/arts/.

For information on the exhibition or the Richard Minsky Archive, contact Jae Rossman at (203) 432-4439 or jae.rossman@yale.edu. High quality images of the artist and items in the exhibition are also available.

Posted by Yale University Library on August 2, 2010 12:17 PM

AUGUST 18, 2010

Scrolls to Cell Phones and Beyond – new exhibit

Scrolls to Cell Phones and Beyond: Publishing Technology and the Experience of the Written Text in Japan

DATES: September 6th, 2010 – December 10th, 2010
LOCATION: Sterling Memorial Library Corridor Exhibit Space (1st floor)

In many cultures throughout the centuries, publishing technology was used to produce texts. As publishing technologies and the medium of texts changed, production and distribution of texts also changed, impacting readership and the ways readers interacted with those texts. These technologies sometimes overlapped chronologically and were not mutually exclusive. For example, although Japanese woodblock scrolls are one of the earliest recorded uses of woodblock printing technology in the world, the practice of hand-copying manuscripts continued to be highly valued and printing technology did not become widespread until the Edo period. Like other countries, it is evident that Japanese readership throughout history has been influenced greatly by not only the manual copying of manuscripts on scrolls as a unique practice, but also the invention of typeset and woodblock printing techniques which promoted the standardization of texts. Physical features of books, such as formats, sizes, covers, and typography, contributed to the unique character of each literary artifact, suggesting the variety in readership. While industrial printing technologies increased readership, as well as promoted serialized stories in the field of literature, they also contributed to the uniqueness and character of reading objects. In recent years, new methods of textual creation, facilitated by the development of multimedia platforms for both creation and reception, such as the cellular phone, have brought an interactive dimension to readership.
This exhibit showcases the evolution of Japanese publishing technology and the experience of the written text. It is organized in conjunction with the annual conference for the Association of Japanese Literary Studies (AJLS) at Yale University, October 15-17, 2010, the theme of which is “technology”. Exhibited here are items ranging from valuable rare books to multimedia phenomena, all collected by the East Asia Library and other libraries at Yale University.

For more information about the East Asia Library at Yale, please go to:http://www.library.yale.edu/eastasian/ or contact the Curator of the exhibit at:east.asia.library@yale.edu or at (203) 432-1790.

Posted by Yale University Library on August 18, 2010 3:52 PM |

AUGUST 23, 2010

Borrow Direct Changes for Fall 2010

We've made updates to our popular Borrow Direct service, which brings you books from the collections of Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Starting today, you'll notice a new search/request interface that should make it easier to find the books you'd like to request. The other key change is that once your Borrow Direct books are checked out, they're treated just like Yale's books - they'll show up in your Orbis account, you'll need a receipt to exit Sterling or Bass libraries and you can RENEW the books once in Orbis to keep them an additional 6 weeks. Of course, like Yale's books, you'll be subject to fines and replacement charges for overdue or lost books.

Complete information, including login for the new service are on the Borrow Direct service page.

Posted by Yale University Library on August 23, 2010 9:15 AM 

AUGUST 24, 2010

New Database: Digital Newspapers through PressDisplay

The library is pleased to offer Proquest PressDisplay , a digital collection of nearly 1,000 fulltext newspapers from around the world. PressDisplay features the original color and formatting of print, with the convenience of fulltext search and immediate same day access to international newspapers.

PressDisplay newspapers are available on the web (use VPN when not on the Yale network). For enhanced access the Sterling Memorial Library has four reading terminals dedicated to PressDisplay, all on oversized monitors, in the Franke Periodical Reading Room.

Check PressDisplay for your favorite newspapers or download the full title list.

Posted by Yale University Library on August 24, 2010 9:00 AM 

AUGUST 27, 2010

Access the Homeland Security Digital Library

We are pleased to announce that Yale has access to the Homeland Security Digital Library at https://www.hsdl.org/, a collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management. Documents are collected from a wide variety of sources, including federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies; professional organizations; think tanks; academic institutions; and international governing bodies.

Yale’s access to this database is by virtue of our participation in the Federal Depository Library Program at: http://www.fdlp.gov/, and is restricted to Yale IP addresses.

If you have any further questions, please contact Julie Linden, Librarian for Political Science, International Affairs and Government Information, at: Julie.linden@yale.edu

Posted by Yale University Library on August 27, 2010 2:18 PM 

AUGUST 30, 2010

Changes in Sterling Memorial Library: Newspapers

Patrons of Sterling Memorial Library will notice a change in newspaper services for the upcoming academic year. Over the summer the library reduced print newspaper subscriptions from 138 to 51 core titles. Because of the smaller space requirements of the reduced collection, newspapers in SML are now displayed with current print journals in the Franke Periodical Reading Room on the first floor.

The library will offer access to more newspapers through PressDisplay’s nearly 1000 digital international newspapers. These newspapers are available on the web (use VPN when not on the Yale network) or stop by the Franke Periodical Reading Room in SML to usePressDisplay on one of four dedicated terminals with large screen monitors.

Note that the library's major holdings of older newspapers on microform and in digital format remain unchanged.

Posted by Yale University Library on August 30, 2010 8:30 AM 

AUGUST 31, 2010

Scrolls to Cell Phones and Beyond – new exhibit

Scrolls to Cell Phones and Beyond: Publishing Technology and the Experience of the Written Text in Japan

DATES: September 6th, 2010 – December 10th, 2010
LOCATION: Sterling Memorial Library Corridor Exhibit Space (1st floor)

In many cultures throughout the centuries, publishing technology was used to produce texts. As publishing technologies and the medium of texts changed, production and distribution of texts also changed, impacting readership and the ways readers interacted with those texts. These technologies sometimes overlapped chronologically and were not mutually exclusive. For example, although Japanese woodblock scrolls are one of the earliest recorded uses of woodblock printing technology in the world, the practice of hand-copying manuscripts continued to be highly valued and printing technology did not become widespread until the Edo period. Like other countries, it is evident that Japanese readership throughout history has been influenced greatly by not only the manual copying of manuscripts on scrolls as a unique practice, but also the invention of typeset and woodblock printing techniques which promoted the standardization of texts. Physical features of books, such as formats, sizes, covers, and typography, contributed to the unique character of each literary artifact, suggesting the variety in readership. While industrial printing technologies increased readership, as well as promoted serialized stories in the field of literature, they also contributed to the uniqueness and character of reading objects. In recent years, new methods of textual creation, facilitated by the development of multimedia platforms for both creation and reception, such as the cellular phone, have brought an interactive dimension to readership.
This exhibit showcases the evolution of Japanese publishing technology and the experience of the written text. It is organized in conjunction with the annual conference for the Association of Japanese Literary Studies (AJLS) at Yale University, October 15-17, 2010, the theme of which is “technology”. Exhibited here are items ranging from valuable rare books to multimedia phenomena, all collected by the East Asia Library and other libraries at Yale University.

For more information about the East Asia Library at Yale, please go to:http://www.library.yale.edu/eastasian/ or contact the Curator of the exhibit at:east.asia.library@yale.edu or at (203) 432-1790.

Posted by Yale University Library on August 31, 2010 11:40 AM