Exhibit Program: “The Genre and Its Place in the History of American Music”

by

October 10, 2011

12:34 pm

Comments Off on Exhibit Program: “The Genre and Its Place in the History of American Music”

Events, Exhibits, News

, , ,

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Courtesy of Photofest.
The partnership of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart lasted for 24 years and produced “The Lady is a Tramp,” “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” “Where or When,” and “My Heart Stood Still,” among other jazz and cabaret standards. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Courtesy of Photofest.

Ricky Ritzel, internationally renowned raconteur and cabaret artist, will tell tales of “The Genre and its Place in the History of American Music” from his perch at the keyboard.  His focus will be on the songwriters featured in the library’s current exhibit, “A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, 1910-1965.”

Tuesday, October 11, 6-7:30 P.M.

Heritage Room– 5th floor of the library

The event is free and open to the public.


Visit Current Exhibits at the Library to find out more.

To RSVP and for further information, contact Michael Knies at 570-941-6341 or kniesm2@scranton.edu

 

 

 

 

 

“A Fine Romance” is visiting 55 sites throughout the U.S. in 2011-2012.  It was curated by David Lehman and developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture, and ideas, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office.  The national tour of the exhibit has been made possible by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, an anonymous donor, and Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life.  A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs  is also a book by David Lehman, published by Nextbook/Schocken.

Changing Channels: The Next Generation of Television

by

October 7, 2011

11:24 am

Comments Off on Changing Channels: The Next Generation of Television

Events, News, Resources & Technology

, , ,

It’s just about time to kick off another year of Technology on Your Own Terms, a series of workshops presented by the Weinberg Memorial Library and the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence.

On Tuesday, October 18 from 12pm-1pm, Jason Oakey from the Office of Instructional Technology will present on Changing Channels: The Next Generation of Television. In this workshop, we’ll look at new options in home entertainment and media, from HDTV and BluRay to streaming video. We’ll talk about what consumers should look for when purchasing new television screens and introduce new streaming services like Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Apple TV.

All faculty and staff members are welcome, but seats are limited, so if you’d like to come please register at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration (under Technology On Your Own Terms).  We’ll meet in WML305, and a light lunch will be provided. See you there!

Princeton, Open Access, and the Evolution of Scholarly Communication

by

September 29, 2011

7:33 pm

2 Comments on Princeton, Open Access, and the Evolution of Scholarly Communication

News

, , , , , ,

Yesterday, the faculty of Princeton University unanimously voted to adopt a new policy for scholarly publications (PDF). In support of open access, the policy prohibits faculty members from signing away exclusive rights to publishing companies. Instead, the policy assigns to the University a nonexclusive right to copy and provide access to faculty publications. The policy only covers journal and conference articles (not unpublished works, books, or other scholarly works), and faculty members can request that this policy be waived for articles, on a case-by-case basis.  With this vote, Princeton joins a growing coalition of higher education institutions that have enacted open access policies.

What does this mean for the Weinberg Memorial Library?  This increasing support for and interest in open access has a lot of important implications for academic libraries.  Princeton’s new policy (and the media attention it’s getting) may be a harbinger of major change in the world of scholarly communication.  As Karin Trainer, university librarian at Princeton, noted to the Chronicle:

“Both the library and members of the faculty, principally in the sciences, have been thinking for some time that we would like to take a concrete step toward making the publications of our extraordinary faculty freely available to a much larger audience and not restricted to those who can afford to pay journal subscription fees.”

We, too, have high hopes that movement towards open access will make scholarly works more accessible and more affordable for our University community. So tomorrow at our Library Advisory Committee meeting, we’ll be starting a conversation about open access with our faculty members to hear their questions, concerns, and suggestions.

Princeton’s report also points out another significant implication for libraries:

“Although it makes sense to adopt such a policy even if the University does not establish an open-access repository of its own, we believe that the University and its faculty will benefit most from this policy if it does establish such a repository… An open-access policy without a ready means for faculty to post their scholarly articles and an equally ready means of retrieval would be of very limited value.”

In some fields, well-integrated open access repositories already exist – like arXiv.org for physics, math, and computer science. But in other disciplines, especially the humanities, these types of repositories are unusual.  So universities all over the country have started to create their own institutional repositories to host the scholarly works of their faculty and students, and academic librarians with expertise in information organization and preservation have stepped up to create, manage, and maintain them.  Here at the Weinberg, we’ve been thinking about an institutional repository over the past few years – but when we asked our faculty about it, we didn’t hear much demand for that kind of service. Now, after Princeton’s announcement, it seems like a good time to ask again.

To join in our campus conversation about open access, post a comment here or talk with a UofS librarian. We hope to hear feedback from our students, faculty, and community.

Open Access resources:

Free Tickets to Pages & Places!

by

September 23, 2011

12:31 pm

Comments Off on Free Tickets to Pages & Places!

News

, , , , ,

Scranton’s annual Pages and Places Book Festival is coming up next Saturday, October 1st. It’s a wonderful day of interesting events, held all over downtown Scranton.

To encourage our students to attend the festival, this year the Weinberg Memorial Library is giving away 60 free all-access passes (which ordinarily cost $75!). If you’re a University of Scranton student, just ask for a ticket at our 1st floor circulation desk. You can also pick up a second ticket for a student friend. The passes will be given out first come, first served, so make sure you stop by the Library soon to get yours!

Many thanks to the University’s Office of Community Relations for sponsoring the tickets and for helping our students explore their adopted city.

New PBS Site for Educators

by

September 21, 2011

1:16 pm

Comments Off on New PBS Site for Educators

News, Resources & Technology

, , ,

PBS has launched PBS LearningMedia™ an exciting website for educators.  After agreeing to the terms of use, educators may register to use a collection of digital resources on subjects such as science, social studies and language arts free of charge.  There are videos clips, images and audio recordings available for classroom use.  The content can be filtered by grade level, subject, and media type.  Sources for the video clips include the PBS programs American Experience , NOVA and POV.   Many images are from the National Archives.

A link to the site has been added to the Library’s Streaming Media web page.

The Swing Set, a New York-Based Trio, is Set to Perform Thursday Evening

by

September 20, 2011

10:07 am

Comments Off on The Swing Set, a New York-Based Trio, is Set to Perform Thursday Evening

Events, Exhibits, News

, , ,

Benny Goodman and his Band. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Benny Goodman’s band popularized many tunes from the “American Songbook,” including Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies,” and “I Got Rhythm” by George and Ira Gershwin. Goodman integrated the big band era when he invited black musicians to join his group starting in 1936. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

The Swing Set, a New York-based trio, will perform selected favorites by songwriters featured in the library’s current exhibit, “A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, 1910-1965.”

Thursday, September 22, 6-7:30 P.M.

Heritage Room– 5th floor of the library

The event is free and open to the public.


Visit Current Exhibits at the Library to find out more.

To RSVP and for further information, contact Michael Knies at 570-941-6341 or kniesm2@scranton.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

“A Fine Romance” is visiting 55 sites throughout the U.S. in 2011-2012.  It was curated by David Lehman and developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture, and ideas, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office.  The national tour of the exhibit has been made possible by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, an anonymous donor, and Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life.  A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs  is also a book by David Lehman, published by Nextbook/Schocken.

Changes in Media Resources

by

September 16, 2011

2:18 pm

Comments Off on Changes in Media Resources

Resources & Technology, Systems

, , ,

Changes are happening rapidly in the Media Resources Department.  While the  DVD is currently the favorite media format, media streaming is becoming increasingly popular for academic use.

Streaming media are compressed audio and video files that allow the viewer to listen to or watch media in real time.   Some popular sites that feature streaming  media are  Hulu, YouTube and Google Videos.

 
In the spring of 2011 the Library initiated a Streaming Media Page as an offshoot of the Media Resources/Edlab web page. The site currently contains Licensed Streaming Media from Films on Demand about a variety of subjects including Biology, Health and Medicine and Education.  Students, faculty and staff have access to this material.  Links to outside websites hosting lectures, documentaries and archival newsreels are available on the web page too.

Streaming Media has many benefits.  It can be accessed from classrooms, dorms, or homes and multiple users can access it at the same time.  If you’re off campus, log in to my.scranton and use the Library tab so that you’ll be authenticated as a University of Scranton user.

View the  Licensed Streaming Media Tutorial  found under Programs and Services on the Library  Home Page for more information or use this link to connect to the page http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/wml/media/streaming.shtml.

 

Presidential Inaugurations through the Years

by

September 15, 2011

3:30 pm

1 Comment on Presidential Inaugurations through the Years

Events, News

, , ,

Walking around campus, you can see preparations are in full swing for tomorrow’s inauguration of the twenty-fifth president of the University of Scranton, Reverend Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., J.D., Ph.D.  As part of the festivities welcoming Fr. Quinn to the university community, we’d like to share a few images from some of the past presidential inaugurations.

Recently appointed as the eleventh university president, Bro. Eliseus Leonard, F.S.C. (1940-42), shakes hands with his predecessor, Bro. Denis Edward F.S.C. (1931-40).

At his inauguration ceremony, Rev. J. Eugene Gallery, S.J. (1947-53), fourteenth university president, receives a copy of the university’s original charter from Rev. Edward G. Jacklin, vice president of the university and dean of students.  Seated at the far left is Orphans’ Court Judge, James F. Brady.

Diamond anniversary convocation and inauguration of the sixteenth university president, Rev. Edward J. Sponga, S.J. (1963-56). He stands with Rev. William G. Kelly, S.J. (right).

The seventeenth university president, Rev. Aloysius C. Galvin, S.J. (1965-70) along with family members present at his inauguration. From left to right, John T. Galvin (brother), Sister Helen Mercedes, SND (sister), Fr. Galvin, and Mrs. Herbert O’Connor, Jr. (sister).

Inauguration of Rev. William J. Byron, S.J. (right), twenty-first university president (1975-82).  He shakes hands with Rev. Edwin A. Quain, S.J., who served as acting president in 1975.

Rev. J.A. Panuska, S.J. (1982-98) (right), twenty-second university president, receives the University Mace, a symbol of educational authority and institutional identity, from Fr. Byron.

“A Fine Romance” Exhibit on Display

by

September 9, 2011

2:44 pm

Comments Off on “A Fine Romance” Exhibit on Display

Events, Exhibits, News

, ,

The library invites you to view the traveling exhibit “A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs” on display in the Heritage Room until October 21st.  “A Fine Romance” tells the story of the many Jewish composers, such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and George Gershwin, who helped create the great American songbook from 1910-1965.

The best composers of this period combined a genius for melody, a talent for finding the perfect words, and an ability to connect with a wide audience. A large number of them were Jewish—from families that had immigrated to America in the 1800s or had fled persecution in Europe. “A Fine Romance” tells their story.

The exhibit was developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture, and ideas, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The national tour of the exhibit has been made possible by grants from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, and an anonymous donor, with additional support from Tablet Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life.

Poster for Swing Time. Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures Inc./Photofest ©RKO Radio Pictures Inc. Photographer: John Miehle

Two programs/receptions will be free and open to the public:

Thursday, September 22, 6 to 7:30 pm

The Swing Set, a New York-based trio, will perform selected favorites by songwriters in the exhibit

Heritage Room —Weinberg Memorial Library

Tuesday, October 11, 6 to 7:30 pm

Ricky Ritzel, internationally renowned raconteur and cabaret artist will tell tales of the songwriters from his perch at the keyboard

Heritage Room —Weinberg Memorial Library

To RSVP or for further information, please contact Michael Knies at 570-941-6341 or visit http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/wml/spcollections/exhibits.shtml for details.