Towers - University of Idaho Newsletter - Vol. 19, Issue 1 (2016)

Towers Newsletter of the Library Associates of the University of Idaho Library Winter 2016

Inside this issue: Funding for Furniture.....................................1 Naming Opportunities..................................2 New Technology Lab.....................................2 Online Textbooks........................................... 3 Briefly............................................................... 3 Dean’s Corner................................................. 4

Furnishing a Future: Funding Needed for Seating, Technology in New Student Space In 2015, thanks to public and private support, the University of Idaho Library began a $1.3 million transformation of its first floor. The remodel is nearing completion. Now, we need your help to fill it.

“Furnishing the new first-floor space requires an additional $1 million,” said Jim Zuba, director of development. “As we move into the final stages of the modernization, donor support is of the upmost importance to complete the project.”

Donor support will make it possible to replace the first floor’s old, outdated and broken furniture of 1958 with modern, comfortable seating. It will also help fund the purchase of superior technology for the new Making, Innovation and Learning Laboratory, or The MILL (see story on p. 2).

875 Perimeter Dr., 2350 Moscow, ID 83844-2350 Phone: (208) 885-6534 Email: librdean@uidaho.edu

Volume 19, Issue 1

“We’re getting furniture that will help facilitate a variety of student uses,” said Ben Hunter, associate dean of library services and head of technical services.

“For example, some of the furniture will be easy to move and reconfigure to allow for collaborative learning in various sizes of groups, while other pieces of furniture will be more geared to extended individual study sessions.”

The renovation will not only make the library a better place for current students to study and learn, but it will also play an important role in the recruitment of new students and faculty.

According to the National Association of College and University Business Officers

The renovated first floor is expected to open to students this spring.

1

continued on page two

Fund It, Name It

“Furnishing a Future,” continued from page one

Support the library modernization while leaving a lasting legacy; name a part of the new space after yourself, a loved one or organization. Naming opportunities are available at various funding levels and include:

(NACUBO), 54 percent of students across the country considered the library as part of their decision-making when selecting a university. The library ranked more important in their decision than classrooms, resident halls and student recreation facilities.

Nearly one-third of the students surveyed said they rejected colleges that lacked a quality library facility.

•

Dean’s Chair

•

Special Collections Chair

• Classroom

Additionally, according to another NACUBO study, a high-quality modern library design increases overall use of library facilities in general. The researchers noted that successful academic libraries today are typically larger, offer more seating variety, current technology and collaborative learning spaces.

To learn how you can help, contact Jim Zuba at (208) 885-4142 or jzuba@uidaho.edu.

•

Multi-Media Classroom

•

Map Room

•

Special Collections Room

•

Student Commons

• Café •

Student Team Rooms

•

Student Work Stations

To learn more, contact Jim Zuba, (208) 885-4142 or jzuba@uidaho.edu.

The MILL: A Technology-Rich Space to Learn, Make, Create The University of Idaho Library is entering a new era with the addition of The Making, Innovation and Learning Laboratory, or The MILL, opening this spring.

The MILL will enhance the learning experience for students across majors, and more important, it will help prepare them for their future careers.

The MILL, which will be located in the southeast corner of the library’s newly renovated first floor, is designed as a collaborative learning space where students, faculty and staff can gather, explore, learn and create new knowledge using state-of-the-art technology.

“The MILL is a unique opportunity to provide hands-on learning that will help students develop the digital skills needed to compete in today’s global job market,” Henrich said.

“The MILL will provide the equipment, space and expertise to support a wide range of student and faculty needs,” said Kristin Henrich, who is overseeing the project. “It will promote information and digital literacy and facilitate collaboration across disciplines.”

The new space will house a wide selection of new resources. Students across majors will have access — free of charge — to 3D scanners and printers, computers capable of advanced graphics and video and audio processing, and computers to learn and experiment with coding and data analysis.

They may also be able to check out video and audio recording equipment and other tools to create digital productions such as podcasts and YouTube videos for class projects.

2

Open Access: Online Texts Help Reduce Student Costs “Open textbooks present an evolution in learning materials,” said Gaines, who is leading the open textbook initiative at the UI. “They provide a solution to the problem of high textbook prices, but also allow textbooks to be more flexible to suit the needs of faculty and students. The open license means that open textbooks can be legally adapted by instructors, making it possible to add material, change terminology, or remove unnecessary chapters so the textbook perfectly fits a class.”

The average full-time University of Idaho student spends $1,232 each year on textbooks. It’s one of the largest out-of-pocket expenses that college students face each year, and a cost that many students across the nation are deciding is out of their budgets.

“Textbook affordability is a major concern,” said Annie Gaines, scholarly communications librarian at UI Library. “In a 2013 national survey, 65 percent of students reported that they had decided not to purchase a textbook due to cost, even though nearly all of those students were concerned that doing so would hurt their grades.”

Through experts like Gaines, the UI Library provides support for faculty interested in making the switch to open textbooks. The Associated Students of the University of Idaho (ASUI) is also working to build knowledge of these resources.

As college textbook prices continue to rise (an increase of 82 percent between 2003 and 2013), the University of Idaho Library is working to provide students an alternative: open textbooks.

With the open-textbook approach, students can access free text online, download and self-print, and/or purchase a low-cost print copy at the bookstore (from around $20 to $50 depending on the number of pages).

“Working with President Staben, Provost Wiencek, the UI Library, the Bookstore and many faculty members across our campus, we want to build an initiative to convert some of our most basic courses to free textbooks,” said ASUI President Max Cowan in a recent column he wrote on the subject for the Argonaut..

Briefly . . .

Attebury Serves as NGIN President Rami Attebury, government documents librarian, is the current president of the Northwest Government Information Network (NGIN), a network of Washington and Idaho who share an interest in government documents.

She recently presented a poster session on NGIN members’ cataloging practices at the national Depository Library Council Meeting and Federal Depository Library Conference in Washington, D.C. Rami Attebury

Hackett an ALA Emerging Leader Annah Hackett, resident reference and instruction librarian at the UI Library, has been selected as an American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leader.

With sponsorship from the Idaho Library Association (ILA), Hackett will join 50 professionals from across the nation as part of ALA’s 2016 Class of Emerging Annah Hackett Leaders. She is the fifth UI librarian who has been selected in the past six years for the program, which provides professional training, peer networking and leadership opportunities within ILA and ALA.

Vandal Poem of the Day The UI Library has launched a new public poetry project called Vandal Poem of the Day. A poem is posted daily to the project website (poetry.lib.uidaho.edu) from the nationally renowned independent press Copper Canyon. People can access the poems by using their mobile devices to scan QR codes that are placed around campus, Moscow and northern Idaho. The project aims to bring relevant contemporary poetry to the university and the broader Idaho community.

UI Librarians Receive Best Paper Award The Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) honored UI Librarians Jeremy Kenyon and Nancy Sprague with the 2015 Best Paper Award for their article, “Trends in the Use of Supplementary Materials in Environmental Science Journals,” published in Issues Jeremy Kenyon accepts in Science and Technology Best Paper Award Librarianship, Vol. 75. Kenyon accepted the award in November at the GSIS annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. The Best Paper Award is given annually for an outstanding contribution to the field of geoscience information published during the previous year.

Area Youth Explore Special Collections Erin Stoddart, head of special collections and archives, visited first and second graders at Palouse Prairie School in November to talk with the students about the archivist profession and the library’s special collections as a resource to learn about Moscow’s history. Stoddart also presented to young campers at the Palouse Pioneer Day Camp last summer.

3

It’s a new year, and it’s going to be an exciting one here at the University of Idaho Library as we near the completion of our first-floor renovation. And nowhere is this excitement more evident than within the students.

As I’ve been going around and talking with the students about this remodel project, it’s clear that they are delighted. They are excited to have a modern, comfortable space to gather, study and explore — 24 hours a day, five days a week.

They are excited to experience The MILL, a technology-rich lab space that will allow them to collaborate and create like they never have before. And, of course, they are excited for the

new café, where they will have access to a variety of tasty choices.

The students truly see this as their library and as a great place to learn and engage with technology and each other. And that excites me. Because this first-floor renovation represents much more than an update from the old to the new; it represents a new era in library education.

The first-floor remodel is just the beginning of the library’s transformation from a place that was originally built 50 years ago to store books, into a state-of-the art space that bridges technology and learning and prepares University of Idaho students for success in a 21st century economy and society.

Thank you all for your continued support and for being part of this very exciting time here at the University of Idaho Library.

Ways to Give For information on giving options and ensuring your gift is used exactly the you want it to be, contact Jim Zuba at (208)8854142 (work), (509)432-6422 (cell), or jzuba@uidaho.edu • Cash Gifts • Planned Giving • In-kind Gifts (Materials and Personal Collections) • Tax Benefits Appreciated Assets • Memorial or Honorary Gifts Please visit: www.lib.uidaho.edu/ giving/ways.html

875 Perimeter Dr., 2350 Moscow, ID 83844-2350 Phone: (208) 885-6534 Email: librdean@uidaho.edu

Dean’s Corner: Excitement Surrounds Renovation

4