Library LINK: Spring 2015 by University of Maryland Libraries

LIBRARY

LINK

FACULTY UPDATE FROM THE

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND LIBRARIES SPRING 2015

High cost of textbooks sparks action

G U I D E TO

Open Educational Resources

Campus partnership pushes free digital options Charmaine Wilson-Jones, vice president of academic af-

fairs for the Student Government Association, wants faculty to understand the financial burden students bear regarding textbooks, which cost her and her classmates about $1,130 per year, as estimated by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

48% of Maryland students say that textbook prices affect which/ how many classes they choose to take. (Student Government Association and MaryPIRG survey)

“It’s my job to ensure students have what they need to be successful,” she says. “I’m not doing that unless I’m championing textbook affordability.” Wilson-Jones also wants faculty to know that by considering open-source options when they select textbooks for their courses, they can help ease that student burden. Open-source options can also improve quality, equity and student learning. Advancing a cause that’s been a priority of the Student Government Association for several years, Wilson-Jones is building on conversations of her predecessors and continuing a partnership forged with the University Libraries and the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center. Last year the group first worked together to survey students about the issue and began to raise awareness among faculty of the open-resources available to them. The result: a library guide to helpful resources such as online textbooks, software to support open learning, and help with intellectual property licenses. A new faculty-directed website (oer.umd.edu), launched in late February, takes it to the next level, says Gary White, associate dean for Public Services. The website grew from conversations between WilsonJones, White, and Ben Bederson, executive director of the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center and associate provost. “Lowering the cost of textbooks is especially important at an institution like UMD where tuition is already so low that textbooks represent a relatively high proportion of student spending,” Bederson says. “When textbooks are expensive, not all students buy them, and it is often the students who need them most that can’t access them.”

View an online guide that highlights free, quality instructional resources. Find hundreds of open-source textbooks by subject. We’ve curated and compiled (as only librarians can) many go-to sources for course materials, content modules and more: lib.guides.umd.edu/oer

RESERVES

Place materials on reserve to allow students free access to course content. Learn more about how reserves can be integrated into ELMS and get further details on our new Top 50 Textbook Reserves program: lib.umd.edu/access/reserves

UBORROW

Obtain books currently unavailable or not owned by the UMD Libraries. A service of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), UBorrow enables you to search for and request print books and other items directly from 15 university libraries and the Center for Research Libraries, with combined collections of more than 110 million volumes. www.lib.umd.edu/access/uborrow

INTERLIBRARY LOAN

Obtain books, articles, and other materials not held in the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) system. http://www.lib.umd.edu/access/ill

Severn Library will address space crunch Changing needs require new models

Plans are ramping up to prepare and fill a university-owned facility on the edge of campus that will house unique, rare and important research collections. The facility, known as the Severn Library, marks a turning point in addressing the space needs of the University Libraries. Administrators say the facility will help on two fronts: first, by providing flexibility to rethink library spaces at a time when students want fewer books and more digital offerings; and second, by ending the need to rent space to accommodate the expansive collections of a top-tier research library. “Like many of our peers, we’re squeezed for space and know that having additional room to redistribute materials offers great possibility,” says Dean of Libraries Patricia Steele. “I am grateful to Provost Rankin for championing this project and recognizing its value for the campus and the Libraries.” Collections will be housed in 36-foot-tall, high-density shelving and organized by size and type rather than by callnumber classification. Staff will retrieve materials on upper

shelves using an elevated work platform or hydraladder (“cherry picker”). l About half of the space will be devoted to special collections and archives. l The other half will be assigned to materials currently housed in McKeldin Library and the branch libraries. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity within the space will create an environment more suitable to books than people. Such conditions can extend the life of a book by 300 years, according to book preservationists. The Severn Building, home to the new library, is a former printing facility of the Washington Post. The university purchased the building to accommodate the space and storage needs of several university units, including the University Libraries, which will occupy about 21,000 square feet of the building. The State Legislature approved funding in 2013. Preparation of the building is expected to be completed this year so transfer of materials can begin in 2016.

Closely monitored environmental conditions will extend the life of books shelved in the Severn Library, which will appear similar to this facility at the University of Illinois. Photo courtesy of Kurt Bielema.

McKeldin Library to offer traditional reading room A large room on the fourth floor of McKeldin Library will be

transformed to a traditional-style reading room offering big tables with room to spread out, task lighting, and plenty of electrical outlets to accommodate laptops. As a counterpoint to the Terrapin Learning Commons designed for group work and interactivity, this fourth-floor space will appeal to students and faculty seeking a more quiet, contemplative environment. The renovation, expected to begin this summer, marks the first visible sign of a larger transformation currently underway: creation of a Research Commons to support higher-level research in a central location. By offering assistance in areas ranging from publishing, statistical consulting, and data management, the Research Commons as a service-oriented gateway is already yielding results. Workshops sponsored jointly with the Graduate School Writing Center, for example, are immensely popular among students. A nexus of campus partners further centralizes services and expertise in one location. The fourth floor of McKeldin Library is home to the Future of Information Alliance and the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center.

Talk to us to: l Design courses and brainstorm strategies for blended learning or flipped classrooms l Receive funds to publish in open access journals l Collect and analyze statistics l Examine data and reach conclusions using GIS and other visualization tools l Evaluate publishing options l Untangle issues related to your rights as author www.lib.umd.edu/rc

The Reference Collection is moving from Floor 1 to Floor 4 for quicker access from the Research Commons

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

MARYLAND DAY

Saturday, April 25 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

SPEAKING OF BOOKS Dr. Sunil Mithas DANCING ELEPHANTS AND LEAPING JAGUARS: How to Excel, Innovate, and Transform Your Organization the Tata Way

Join the University Libraries in this campus-wide celebration of all that the university has to offer. See the original Testudo or create handcrafts and origami in the Prange Collection in Hornbake Library. Launch an airplane from the portico of McKeldin Library, which offers a stunning view of McKeldin Mall. Learn more about GIS services through hands-on activities.

LABOR HISTORY EDIT-A-THON

Friday, May 1, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Hornbake Library Join a community interested in promoting labor history by editing the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Part celebration and part workshop, Edit-a-Thons are organized around a single topic to build awareness and community. We’ll draw content from labor-related collections at the University of Maryland, including the recently acquired AFL-CIO Archives. Info: jeidson@umd.edu

Thursday, April 16 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

UBorrow Usage by College, School, Office

100%

The University of Maryland Libraries enable the intellectual inquiry and learning required to meet the education, research and community outreach mission of the University. Architecture Library Art Library Engineering & Physical Sciences Library Hornbake Library McKeldin Library Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library Priddy Library at Shady Grove White Memorial Chemistry Library

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Patricia A. Steele Dean of Libraries 6131 McKeldin Library College Park, Maryland 20742-7011 pasteele@umd.edu www.lib.umd.edu LIBRARY LINK is produced by the University Libraries. Writer/Editor: Eric Bartheld Designer: Rebecca Wilson Printed with soy-based inks on recycled paper in a union shop run by 100% wind power.

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UBorrow, the interlibrary 60% lending program of Big Ten 50% institutions, is the best way 40% to request a print book from 30% another university. It offers 20% speedy delivery and access to 10% more than 110 million collective 0% volumes in the libraries of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. Adoption by campus units has been swift and widespread, with greatest use among researchers in Information Studies, Public Policy, and Arts and Humanities. www.lib.umd.edu/access/uborrow

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The transition to a new model—following a semester of input and information-gathering—will involve distilling the collection to its core over the next several years. To respond to budget cuts, we have already reduced hours and are offering fewer direct services in the space. A librarian continues to provide research assistance on site.

OUR MISSION

93%

90%

Art Library

John and Stella Graves MakerSpace Terrapin Learning Commons, Second Floor Unleash creativity in the MakerSpace, spotlighted in this campuswide series sponsored by the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. UMD is dedicated to the power of fearless ideas.

Fall 2014 UBorrow Usage College, School, or Office Fallby 2014

Faculty and students engaged in a thoughtful process to reconceive the space and offer recommendations. The library will transform to a “professional model” (like a typical law library) that offers broader access for primary users and restricted hours for the public. Services will be further defined by the on-site librarian, and implementation of the new model will begin in the summer.

Every Friday, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.

UBorrow’s Widespread Appeal

70%

Architecture Library

INNOVATION FRIDAYS

McKeldin Library, Special Events Room Russian-American journalist Gessen is known for her opposition to Putin and as Russia’s leading LGBT rights activist, but in her latest book, she profiles the Boston Marathon bombers. Co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities; the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; and the University Libraries. ter.ps/gessen

More Space Updates

Monday, April 20, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

WorldCat UMD, the shared catalog of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide, has unveiled a streamlined interface that makes it easier to view on tablets and mobile devices. We’ve begun the transition to this new product, which will be the default search on our website in fall 2015. View a beta version now and send us your comments: ter.ps/wcdiscovery

McKeldin Library, Special Events Room Learn about the role of diversity in academic research libraries from the president of the American Library Association.

WorldCat’s New Look

Monday, May 11, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

IN BRIEF

FUTURE OF THE RESEARCH LIBRARY Courtney Young, ALA President

BOOK TALK: Masha Gessen THE BROTHERS: The Road to an American Tragedy

run newspaper that has documented the university’s history for decades, are tucked away and underused. Bound in oversized volumes—or worse, viewable on microfilm!—the Diamondback is currently available only to serious researchers who must visit campus to access it. By digitizing issues from 1910 to the present and making them available online, we’ll be opening up this h idden resource to alumni, citizens and others — anywhere, anytime. A fundraising push begins in mid April, thanks to Launch UMD, the university’s crowdfunding platform. For more details, see www.launch.umd.edu

Past issues of the Diamondback, the student-

McKeldin Library Special Events Room This book documents the growth of global Indian powerhouse Tata, considered one of the most admired companies in the world. Dr. Mithas is in the Decision, Operations and Information Technologies Department in the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Help digitize the Diamondback