Community Updates

image © Xavier de JuaréguiberryDear Friend of the Library,

On April 15, the Boston Marathon and the Commonwealth’s celebration of Patriots’ Day were suddenly and sadly overtaken by tragic events. In the days that followed, the people of Boston and beyond have responded with enormous courage, support, and resilience. These individuals make us proud to have “Boston” in our name and are an inspiration as our community begins to recover and heal.

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors: Robert Darnton, the Carl H. Pforzheimer university professor and university librarian at Harvard and former DPLA Steering Committee member; Jamie Hollier, president of Anneal and partner in Commerce Kitchen; Amy Ryan, president of the Boston Public Library and former DPLA Steering Committee member; and Siva Vaidhyanathan, the Robertson professor in media studies and chair of the Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia.

Tom Leonard, university librarian at University of California (UC), Berkeley, submitted a winning entry to the New Yorker’s weekly cartoon caption contest. The cartoon, by artist Joe Dator, shows a cat and a mouse sitting outside a mouse hole. The mouse is pointing a gun at the cat, who has his front left paw raised and his mouth slightly open. Leonard’s caption reads, “Six rounds. Nine lives. You do the math.” Leonard wins a signed copy of the cartoon with the caption. For more on this story, see the UC Berkeley news release, "One librarian. Eight words. One big win in New Yorker cartoon caption contest."

Joel Silver
image © Indiana UniversityRuth Lilly Dean of University Libraries at Indiana University Brenda L. Johnson has announced the appointment of Joel Silver as the director of the Lilly Library, effective April 1, 2013. For the past ten years, Silver has served as the library's associate director and most recently as interim director. The Lilly Library contains more than 400,000 rare books, more than 150,000 pieces of sheet music, and more than 7.5 million manuscripts.

The University of Oklahoma (OU) Libraries have tapped Carl Grant to serve as their new associate dean for knowledge services and chief technology officer. Grant is currently an independent consultant and an executive advisor to the dean at Virginia Tech University Libraries. Today he posted on his blog about his new appointment at OU, his experience working with Tyler Walters at Virginia Tech, and the barriers he has encountered when trying to move from "the 'business' side of the library profession" back to "the library side."

"Reading the Emancipation Proclamation," engraving by J. W. Watte after drawing by H. W. Herrick (1864)To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Cornell University Library is publicly displaying its original copy, which holds some little-known history. President Abraham Lincoln signed the library’s copy of the historic document, which was set to be entered into the official record—but the President noticed a mistake made by the clerk transcribing the document. A new copy was prepared and signed later in the day, but the original version with the clerical error had already been leaked and circulated in several newspapers.

Frank Grisham, Connie Vinita Dowell, and John Lynch (Steve Green / Vanderbilt)

Vanderbilt’s Television News Archive received the Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement from the MidSouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences during its awards ceremony January 26, 2013. TV News Archive, the world’s most extensive archive of national television news, received the Regional Emmy’s highest honor during the televised ceremony in Nashville. Dean of Libraries Connie Vinita Dowell accepted the award with TV News Archive Director John Lynch and Frank Grisham, former director of joint university libraries.

For more details and for video of the ceremony, see the Vanderbilt University news release.

Hunt Library at NCSU, image © NCSU

The James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University (NCSU) opened its doors on Wednesday, January 2. The Hunt Library, aspiring to be "the best learning and collaborative space in the country," features two learning commons, 100 group study rooms, dedicated areas for faculty and graduate students, and state-of-the art technology. For more information, visit the Hunt Library website.

Columbia's Low Library, image © Wally Gobetz

Columbia University Libraries (CUL) has announced the recipients of the inaugural Digital Centers Internship Program, jointly funded by the libraries and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Six Columbia graduate students have been awarded internships aimed at facilitating the collaboration between grad students, librarians, and technologists. These positions are rooted in research support activities in the humanities, science, and social science digital centers.