Budget Reduction Letter

I have posted a letter to all faculty and staff in our SharePoint site which explains the budget reduction that we have planned for FY09 which begins on July 1, 2008. You will find it under Office of the Dean, Budget Documents.

Stacey Greenwell Hired as Head, Information Commons

Stacey Greenwell, who has been the Interim Head of the Information Commons since its opening in January 2007, has been hired into the position on a regular basis, effective May 1. From 2001 through 2006, she held the position of Desktop Support Librarian in the Libraries' Information Technology Division. Since joining the Libraries, Stacey has provided excellent service to the University community and library staff and faculty. Her position in the Hub has provided her with the opportunity to combine her expertise in technology with her dedication to public service. The Hub is thriving, thanks in great part to her enthusiasm, skill and organizational abilities. The Libraries are very fortunate to have Stacey Greenwell as its Head of the Information Commons.

Head, Science Library

As we continue to work our way through a variety of decisions which need to be made for the coming year, we have decided to pursue a two-year interim appointment from within the Libraries for the Head, Science Library position. You will shortly see a call for interest.

Doug Boyd to Serve as Co-Editor

Doug Boyd, Director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History has been named Co-General Editor of Kentucky Remembered, an oral history series published by the University Press of Kentucky. In the field of oral history, Kentucky is a national leader. Over the past several decades, tens of thousands of its citizens have been interviewed. Kentucky Remembered brings into print the most important of those collections, with each volume focusing on a particular subject.

Brian Helm's Resignation

Brian Helm, Server Administrator/Programmer I in the Information Technology Division has resigned to take a position outside of the University. Brian joined the Libraries on July 1, 2006; his last day will be April 30. We thank Brian for his excellent work in IT and wish him the very best for the future.

Young Library Profile on UK Website

The profile feature on the Young Library has now been posted on the UK PR web site at http://www.uky.edu/uksb07/subpages/events.html. There will also be an excellent article on the library in the next issue of the Kentucky Alumni Magazine.

ASERL Supports SCOAP3

The Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (of which UK is a member) has passed a resolution supporting SCOAP3. SCOAP3 is a consortium supporting the open access of publishing in particle physics. SCOAP3 is an initiative by the high energy physicists themselves (HEP) to change the way scholarly information is made available. Here’s a brief excerpt from their web site at http://scoap3.org/

To address this situation for HEP and, as an experiment, Science at large, a new model for OA publishing has emerged: SCOAP3 (Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics). In this model, HEP funding agencies and libraries, which today purchase journal subscriptions to implicitly support the peer-review service, federate to explicitly cover its cost, while publishers make the electronic versions of their journals free to read. Authors are not directly charged to publish their articles OA.

You can see the ASERL resolution on the ASERL web site at http://www.aserl.org/documents/2008_Spring_Mtg/SCOAP3_Resolution.pdf

ALA to Unveil New Website

From American Libraries Direct

ALA to unveil new website at Annual Conference

After an exhaustive analysis of member concerns, ALA will unveil a user-centered redesign of its website that promises to be better organized and easier to navigate. Users will get to see the revamped site during Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. The information architecture of the site has been completely revised based on user input from focus groups, one-on-one interviews, expert review, hands-on usability tests, online surveys, and guided walk-throughs....

FixYa

From American Libraries Direct

FixYa

Social networking meets technical support with FixYa, a social networking site dedicated to helping people with their computer and gadget problems. Recent solutions and problems, as well as a plug for the top experts, can be found on the homepage. You can search for both products and solutions, or browse by manufacturer to find the help you need. The site also lets you register and store all of your product warranty and support information in one place....Librarian in Black, Apr. 14

LC and the History Channel Join Forces

From American Libraries Direct

LC and History join forces

The Library of Congress and History (formerly The History Channel) have joined forces to create a multimedia partnership to showcase the library’s collections to the vast audience of the History brands, including the History channel, history.com, and other television properties. The partnership will also bring historical content to more than 200,000 teachers across the country who use the channel’s branded educational materials....Library of Congress, Apr. 14

Cornell and Duke to Enhance Project Euclid

From American Libraries Direct

Cornell and Duke to enhance Project Euclid

Cornell University Library and Duke University Press have established a joint venture to expand and enhance the services of Project Euclid, an online information community for mathematics and statistics resources from independent publishers. Starting in July, Duke will work to broaden and deepen Project Euclid’s subscriber base, and Cornell will continue to support the IT infrastructure and assume responsibility for archiving and preservation activities....Cornell University Library, Apr. 14