Yale University Library News

March 2009 Archives

March 1, 2009

The Art of the Ketubah: A Study in Jewish Diversity

Celebrating the art and design of the Jewish marriage contract.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 1, 2009 3:14 PM

March 2, 2009

March 5: Kenny Crews on International Fair Use

Kenny Crews
Director of the Copyright Advisory Office, Columbia University
Thursday, March 5, 3:00 p.m.
Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall, 128 Wall Street
Free and open to the public

Kenny Crews will speak about his 2008 landmark study for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in which he compares fair use and other copyright limitations/exceptions across some 150 countries. Professor Crews gave a fascinating sneak preview of the findings of this study at the IFLA Congess last August in Quebec. He will also provide recent updates related to this work. If you think WIPO is just another of the many indistinguishable acronyms in today's information and rights-world, this talk will be important in describing the organization's critical influence in global copyright arena -- and why librarians and academics want to be informed about it.

Kenny Crews has a distinguished career in copyright and fair use issues. Until his appointment at Columbia in January 2009, he was a professor at the Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis and the IU School of Library and Information Science. Crews has been a faculty member of the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center since its founding in 2003. He previously practiced business and entertainment law in Los Angeles and has taught and published widely on copyright, constitutional law, political history, and library science. His work has won wide acclaim, and he has been active in projects and initiatives on copyright law in the United States and around the world. You can read more about his work at: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/news/libraries/2007/2007-07-03.crews.html.

Co-hosted by the Yale University Library and the Yale Law School's Information Society Project.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 2, 2009 11:25 AM

March 5, 2009

2009 Van Sinderen Book Collecting Prize Winners

Winners of the Adrian Van Sinderen Book Collecting Prizes in the 2009 competition have been announced.

The late Adrian Van Sinderen, class of 1910, established these prizes in 1957 in order to encourage undergraduates to collect books, build their own libraries, and read for pleasure and education.

For her collections on Kara Walker and typography and graphic design, Jessica Svendsen of Morse College won the Senior prize. A Senior second prize was awarded to Rebecca Dinerstein of Berkeley College for her collection titled “Irish Poetry: Rare, Local, and Autographed.” Jongwook “Wookie” Kim of Ezra Stiles College won a Senior Honorable Mention for his collection of books on tea and coffee.

George Bogden of Silliman College won the Sophomore prize for his collection titled “Visions of Statehood: The Poetry of Modern Kurdistan.” A Sophomore Honorable Mention prize was awarded to Elizabeth Palazzolo of Saybrook College for her collection on classical history, civilization, and literature.

Judges for this year's competition were Stephen Parks (Chairman), Sylvia Van Sinderen Abbate, Joseph Agostini, Elisabeth Fairman, Spencer Gray ’09, Rebecca Martz, William Reese, and E.C. Schroeder.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 5, 2009 9:19 AM

New Netcast: Robert A.M. Stern on the Beinecke Library

Robert A.M. Stern, J.M. Hoppin Professor and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, discusses the architecture and history of the Beinecke Library, which opened in 1963, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Construction photographs of the Beineke Library are available in the Beinecke's Digital Collections.

The netcast is available here or on Yale University on iTunes U.

Posted by Rebekah Irwin on March 5, 2009 9:49 AM

New Netcast: Jane Wodening and Stan Brakhage Scrapbooks, 1958-1967

Richard Deming, lecturer in the Department of English at Yale University, describes a collection of scrapbooks that document the work and family life of Jane Wodening and her husband, the avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage.

To view pages of the Jane Wodening and Stan Brakhage scrapbooks, visit the Beinecke Library's Digital Collections.

The netcast is available here or on Yale University on iTunes U.

Posted by Rebekah Irwin on March 5, 2009 10:02 AM

New Netcast: The East Asia Library at Yale

Tang Li, Public Services Librarian in the East Asia Library, guides listeners on a Mandarin-language tour of Yale's East Asia Library and describes the Library's history, resources, and services.

You can access the recording here or on Yale University on iTunes U.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 5, 2009 11:11 AM

March 13, 2009

The Library on YouTube

Yale University recently launched its own channel on YouTube and two Library videos are now available through the site.

The Librarians' Parade is a engaging black-and-white silent film from July 1930 showing Yale's librarians ceremonially moving the 1742 Collection from the old library (Dwight Chapel and Linsley-Chittenden Hall) to the recently completed Sterling Memorial Library. Additional footage reveals fascinating glimpses of Sterling as it appeared when it first opened.

Reading History and Writing Fiction, a lecture by David McCullough and Penelope Lively, was recorded in May 2008 and is also available as a netcast via iTunes U.

We look forward to adding more Library content soon.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 13, 2009 1:59 PM

March 16, 2009

Eli Express for Law Library Materials

The Law Library is happy to announce that Library readers may now request to have Law Library books delivered to Eli Express libraries.

Requests for delivery should be made through Morris, the Law Library's online catalog.

Visit the Eli Express web site for more information.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 16, 2009 9:47 AM

Treasures: Beautiful and Surprising Finds from the Digitization Project at Yale

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A new exhibit on view near the Sterling Memorial Library's Starr Main Reference Room displays some of the beautiful, charming, and surprising finds from the Library's digitization project. In September 2007, Yale University Library began a large-scale project to digitize 100,000 books from its collections. This was Yale's first mass digitization initiative and was initially sponsored by Microsoft Corporation. The books selected had to meet a specific set of criteria: they had to be in English, printed before 1923 (and thus in the public domain), in good condition, and from specific subject areas, such as Art, Art History, History and Religion. The books were sent to Kirtas Technologies in Wallingford, Connecticut for digitization.

When selecting books, digitization project staff inspected each item to make sure it could withstand scanning. During this inspection process, each book was opened and carefully examined, and sometimes surprises awaited. Staff soon realized that readers stashed all sorts of little treasures in books, from cross-stitch samples to photographs to dried flowers. Leftover paging slips and circulation notices provide information about Yale University Library history. Staff even found a four-leaf clover. (Unfortunately it was too fragile to display.)

Besides items left in books, digitization project staff found many treasures on the pages of the books themselves. Beautiful cover art, illustrations, amusing dedications, and reproductions can be found in many of the books, and they will soon be accessible online and available to any researcher with an Internet connection.

Even though Microsoft withdrew its support from the project in May 2008, the large-scale digitization project will have digitized 35,000 books by June 2009. Currently, staff are selecting books held at the Seeley G. Mudd Library (now closed to readers) and have expanded selection criteria to include other languages and collections, such as the Divinity Collections at Mudd. The Latin American collection at Mudd is particularly rich with treasures and fascinating foldout maps, historically important works, and interesting but inaccessible books are being digitized and will be linked to Yale's online catalog.

The exhibit is free and open to the public and is on view Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m., and Sunday 12 noon-5:45 p.m. Sterling Memorial Library is located at 120 High Street, New Haven.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 16, 2009 1:33 PM

March 18, 2009

Collections and Convergence: Libraries, Archives, and Museums Supporting Scholarship in the Digital World

Clifford Lynch, Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) will be speaking in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library lecture hall (128 Wall Street) from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 23 on "Collections and Convergence: Libraries, Archives, and Museums Supporting Scholarship in the Digital World."

Dr. Lynch is a leading figure in the world of digital libraries and collections. He is a wonderfully lucid and visionary presenter on topics connected with digital scholarship. For more information, and a link to Clifford Lynch's presentations and publications, please see: http://www.cni.org/staff/clifford_index.html.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 18, 2009 2:50 PM

March 23, 2009

Seniors: Apply for the Applebaum Award

The Harvey M. Applebaum '59 Award will be conferred on a Yale College senior for an outstanding essay based on research done in the collections of the Yale University Library's Government Documents & Information Center.

The prize is an award of $500. Nominations will be accepted from faculty advisors. Students may also nominate themselves.

Each academic department or program's senior essay deadline will serve as the Applebaum Award submission deadline for essays from that department or program.

See the Applebaum Award web site for application instructions and additional information.

What sorts of research materials qualify an essay for this award? Any documents, records, statistics, or other information that are in the scope of the Center's collections: U.S. federal government; United Nations; Food & Agriculture Organization; Canadian federal government; European Union (note: this does not include government documents or information from individual member countries of the European Union).

Examples of eligible material include but are not limited to: digitized Congressional hearings on LexisNexis, Foreign Relations of the United States (online or in print), census data, State Department records on microfilm in Sterling Memorial Library.

The prize was established by the daughters of Harvey M. Applebaum, class of 1959, in honor of his 70th birthday. Mr. Applebaum is a senior counsel, specializing in international trade and antitrust law, with the Washington firm of Covington & Burling LLP and a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a past Chairman of the Association of Yale Alumni and the Yale Alumni Magazine board. He is also a sitting member of the Alumni Magazine board.

The Government Documents & Information Center is a depository library for materials from the United States and Canadian federal governments, the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the European Union. Its rich collections support research in a wide range of subjects, including international relations, public policy, economics, trade, agriculture, environmental studies, public health, and much more.

Questions may be directed to Julie Linden, Librarian for Political Science, International Affairs, and Government Information, at julie.linden@yale.edu or (203) 432-3310.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 23, 2009 8:52 AM

March 24, 2009

The Finger: A Handbook

The Finger: A Handbook
Angus Trumble
Thursday, March 26, 4:00 p.m.
Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall, 128 Wall Street
Free & open to the public

In this illustrated lecture Angus Trumble provides a sort of tour d’horizon of the digit, not only in art but in general. His project also seeks to permit the finger to gesture with some precision toward some curious aspects of us. This, at least, has been his rule of thumb.

Angus Trumble is Senior Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art. He is the author of a number of books, including A Brief History of the Smile. He is currently finishing off The Finger: A Handbook, which will be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 24, 2009 10:19 AM>

March 25, 2009

Manuscripts and Archives Senior Essay Prizes

Manuscripts and Archives offers two student prizes each year. One is awarded for an outstanding senior essay on Yale. The second is awarded for an outstanding senior essay based on research done in Manuscripts and Archives. Each student will receive a $500 cash prize, which will be presented at commencement. As in years past, prizes in 2008-09 are funded through a generous gift from Donald F. Melhorn, Jr., Yale class of 1957. Mr. Melhorn is Counsel at Marshall & Melhorn, LLC in Toledo, Ohio, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toledo College of Law.

Essays from any department are eligible for consideration and students are invited nominate themselves for these prizes. Entry forms are available in Manuscripts and Archives or by contacting Diane E. Kaplan, Head of Public Services, Manuscripts and Archives. The entry form indicates a student's intention to submit an essay for consideration. These should be returned by March 30. Students must deliver a copy of their completed essay to Manuscripts and Archives no later than two days after the actual departmental submission date.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 25, 2009 10:19 AM

March 26, 2009

Yale Librarians Honored for Contributions to the Profession

Two Yale librarians have recently been honored by their peers by election to office in an international professional organization and inclusion in a list of innovative librarians.

Ann Okerson, Associate University Librarian for Collections and International Programs, has been elected Chair of Division II (Library Collections) of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. Division II focuses on specific types of information and materials such as rare books, serials, newspapers, and government publications, as well as services such as reference and interlibrary loan. IFLA'S five division chairs also serve as members of the Governing Board, the elected body responsible for the Association’s managerial and professional direction. Founded in 1927, IFLA is the global voice of the library and information profession. Okerson came to Yale in 1996 following a career in academic library management, the commercial sector, and as Senior Program Officer at the Association of Research Libraries.

Joe Murphy, Science Librarian and Coordinator of Instruction & Technology at the Kline Science Library has been named one of Library Journal’s 2009 Movers and Shakers. Movers and Shakers is an annual Library Journal feature that identifies “librarians, vendors, and others who are shaping the future of libraries.” A self-identifying “Millennial and digital native who lives in online social networks,” Murphy was identified as a trend spotter who has developed and promoted Web 2.0 services and technologies in Yale’s Science Libraries, including an iPhone-based text messaging reference service. This is the first time that a Yale librarian has been included in the Movers and Shakers feature. Murphy has been at the University since 2007 and completed his master’s degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 26, 2009 9:15 AM

The Passover Haggadah: Modern Art in Dialogue with an Ancient Text

On online exhibit that examines the art of the Passover Haggadah .

Posted by Yale University Library on March 26, 2009 3:17 PM

March 27, 2009

Panel on Digital Humanities

The University's Collaborative Learning Center is hosting a panel on digital humanities moderated by Joe Gordon, Dean of Undergraduate Education in Yale College. While not new, digital humanities are an emerging practice involving the use of information technology-based resources and methods in the scholarly activities of the humanist. The panel will explore the implications of digital humanities at Yale.

Tuesday, April 7
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Sterling Memorial Library lecture hall

Panel participants are Pericles Lewis, Professor of English and Comparative Literature; Matthew Jacobson, Chair and Professor of American Studies; George Miles, Curator, Western Americana Collection; and Edward Kairiss, Director of ITS Educational Technologies.

The event is free and open to the public.

Posted by Yale University Library on March 27, 2009 4:29 PM

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