This Week in LIS - 2 October 2009

Submitted by bartch02 on October 2, 2009 - 4:37pm
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Headline of the Week: Celebrating 40 Years of Preus Library

This week, Luther celebrates the 40th anniversary of the construction of Preus Library, highlighted by a public reception Saturday, October 3rd from 3:00-5:00p in Hovde Lounge. All are welcome. Preus Library has served Luther extremely well for the past 40 years, and we look forward to 40++ more years of bringing the Luther community together to share, use, and produce scholarship and information. The following excerpts trace the history of libraries at Luther and is taken from the 40th Anniversary section of the Library and Information Services website. It was written by Professor Jane Kemp.

In the earliest years of Luther College, the “library” was a collection of books, journals and newspapers assigned space in the second floor tower room of Main building. It was moved in 1884 to larger space on the first floor in the northeast corner. When Main (“first” Main) burned in 1889, the library was moved to the Chicken Coop, a small building next to Main, for safekeeping. When the “second” Main was completed in 1890, the library was housed in the south wing on the first floor.

Koren Library, opened as the first space dedicated specifically as a library in 1921, provided shelf space for more than 100,000 volumes. However, since it was designed to serve a maximum of 300 students and the enrollment of Luther continued to increase, overcrowding became a significant problem. Although a fourth tier of shelving was added in 1946, the library collection continued to outgrow the space.

The idea for a new library was first proposed by the Board of Regents in a resolution passed June 1, 1963, making the new library the next construction project for Luther College. After the Board of Regents agreed to build a new library, a faculty committee, chaired by Head Librarian, Oivind Hovde, was appointed to begin planning. Donald Gray, of the Olson, Gray, Thompson, and Lynnes Decorah architectural firm, was designated as the architect and by 1965 a complete drawing of the building had been completed. Hovde and Gray worked extensively on the subsequent plans and requirements for the structure. For research purposes both men attended sessions of the American Library Association on the subject of new construction opportunities while also traveling to college libraries located throughout the Midwest. They requested input from Luther College students in the planning of the library interior, conducting extensive interviews with students that eventually influenced the library design.

In the spring of 1966 an article in College Chips appeared signed by thirteen students asking for donations from their fellow students. Students of Luther College began donating funds to meet a proposed goal of $100,000. By August of 1967, the student body had pledged almost $111,600 and added another $25,000 in the following fall semester becoming the largest financial support by students for any building project in Luther College’s history. The library also received an outright grant of $533,673 from the federal government as well as a federal loan of $1,120,000 from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Grants were also accepted from the Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance Company and The Kresge Foundation. Ultimately the building, with furnishings and equipment, cost $2.2 million dollars.

Preus library, dedicated on May 11, 1969, is named after the Preus family, which has been closely associated with the college since its founding. The family includes two past Luther College presidents, father (C. K. Preus) and son (O. J. H. Preus). At the dedication ceremony eight Distinguished Service Awards were awarded to alumni. Four of those honored were from the Preus family: Herman A., seminary professor; Wilhelm C., attorney; Paul G., college president; and Nelson F., churchman. Also recognized were four alumni librarians: Kenneth Fagerhaugh (Carnegie-Mellon University), Donald O. Rod (University of Northern Iowa), Gerhard Naeseth (University of Wisconsin), and Head Librarian Oivind Hovde. Memorial bronze plaques throughout the building recognize Preus family members, head librarians and executive directors while also honoring donors.

Ref: Luther College Archives; College Chips, March 25, 1966; May 9, 1969; September 26, 1969; Preus Library: The Physical Structure. Tri-fold pamphlet, 1969; Preus Library. Dedication booklet, 1969; Preus Library. Brochure, 2001.

The 40th Anniversary website contains much more information including profiles of head librarians, a photo gallery, information on former staff, and a newly-compiled directory of alumni working in the library and information-related fields. Special thanks to Jane Kemp, Elizabeth Kaschins, Andi Beckendorf, and Rebecca Sullivan for their good work planning the celebration and to the many others in LIS who have lent a hand in preparing websites, planning, events, and joining the celebration.

LIS Blog Highlights from the Week

The following articles are sampled from those available on the LIS Blog:

Notes from LIS Council

LIS Council discussed the following topics this past week:

  • Follow-up on emergency response after last week’s power outage
  • GoPrint
  • Update on service points work moving forward
  • Updates on 40th anniversary celebrations
  • ATLRC faculty handbook changes at divisions this week
  • Scottie Cochrane visit for LIST program review

NITLE Opportunities

As a member of NITLE (National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education), Luther has the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of developmental and training programs intended for faculty, librarians, and information technologists. Events listed at the link below are currently open for registration by Luther participants. LIS Staff who are interested in participating in an event should speak with Christopher Barth. Faculty who are interested in participating should speak with Lori Stanley. Participation is contingent upon available funding and program acceptance.

A full list of events (sortable by registration deadline) is available at http://www.nitle.org/www/events.

Upcoming LIS Training, Instruction, and Professional Development Opportunities

Click on the event below for specific information and for a link to register. More information on training and development events is available.

CourseFormatDateStart TimeEnd TimeLocation
Art 121: Foundations in Art and DesignLibrary InstructionOct 52:45 pm3:45 pmRare Book Room – Preus Library
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 611:00 am3:30 pm
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 711:00 am3:30 pm
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 811:00 am3:30 pm
Norse DocsSkills TrainingOct 82:45 pm3:45 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
Teaching and Research Resources of ICPSR (repeat)Faculty DevelopmentOct 84:00 pm5:00 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
New Faculty Teaching Group: Academic Support and AdvisingFaculty DevelopmentOct 122:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Music 131: Honors Music TheoryLibrary InstructionOct 169:30 am10:15 am
Norse Mail Tips & TricksSkills TrainingOct 2211:00 am12:00 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
New Faculty Teaching Group: Research and Technology ResourcesFaculty DevelopmentOct 262:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Teaching Writing: Helping Students ReviseFaculty DevelopmentOct 264:00 pm5:30 pmOlin 101
Current Trends in Student CommunicationFaculty DevelopmentOct 284:00 pm5:00 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
Norse FormsSkills TrainingNov 52:45 pm3:45 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
New Faculty Teaching GroupFaculty DevelopmentNov 92:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
New Faculty Teaching GroupFaculty DevelopmentNov 232:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Teaching Writing: Using Rubrics to Evaluate PapersFaculty DevelopmentNov 304:00 pm5:30 pmOlin 101
German 201: Intermediate German ILibrary InstructionDec 212:15 pm12:15 pmRare Book Room – Preus Library
New Faculty Teaching GroupFaculty DevelopmentDec 72:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen

Internet Resource of the Week: Custom New York Times RSS Feeds

The New York Times has built a custom RSS feed generator that allows individuals to create custom RSS feeds of specific search topics. The product is a prototype, and not linked to or promoted off of www.nytimes.com but does provide a great way to pull out very specific content from the Times. You can provide any number of terms (which become cumulative). The site will give you real-time search results of the articles that match your selection as well as an indicator of “strength” noting how many articles would have appeared in this feed over the past 30 days.

So if larger, more generic feeds aren’t your cup of tea, now you can hyper-specialize a feed covering only the exact flavors you prefer.

On the web at http://prototype.nytimes.com/customFeeds/

Quote(s) of the Week:

  • “The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything or nothing.” – Nancy Astor
  • “Librarians call it the 20th-century black hole. The overwhelming force is not gravity but copyright law, sucking our collective culture into a vortex from which it can never escape … Once upon a time, three things held true. Copyrights were relatively short. You had to renew them (most people did not.) You didn’t get one unless you asked. Now none of those hold true. Copyright can last for more than 100 years. The result is that the world’s libraries are full of books that are still under copyright, commercially unavailable and, in many cases, “orphan works” with no known copyright holder. Copyright has exhausted its function, yet the works remain trapped in the cultural black hole.” – James Boyle
  • “It’s not about calling attention to the technology. It’s about making the technology invisible. That’s design.” – Dan Lyons (Fake Steve Jobs)
  • “Fact of the matter is students don’t know how to use the catalog, library instruction is limited and frankly usually offered by people who are terrified of Google and Web 2.0. You don’t need to revamp the library catalog and interface, you need to revamp the librarians and how they are taught.” – comment at chronicle.com discussing library catalogs

Image of the Week: Da Vinci Surfs Da Web

Video of the Week: Google Earth Will Track Cars and People In Real Time, Eventually Destroy Privacy

Links of the Week

infoneer.pngThe links and media above are selected from material posted to Infoneer.net, which gathers links and comment on the worlds of libraries, technology, higher education, culture, intellectual property, copyright, information, ethics, design, professional identity, leadership, and the future. Subscribe to Infoneer.net RSS

This Week in LIS is published most Fridays by Christopher Barth, Executive Director of Library and Information Services at Luther College for the Luther College community as well as those interested in information services and higher education.

Content is made available under Creative Commons license. Creative Commons License

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