Month: April 2008

2008-04-25

The Library Online Catalog and some functions at the Library’s circulation desks, such as checking out books and media, recently have experienced intermittent slowdowns.  These slowdowns are due to an upgrade of the system that supports both the Online Catalog and the Library’s circulation functions.  This process unfortunately is taking longer than expected.  Thanks to all Library users for your patience during this transition period.

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2008-04-11

The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library of the University of Illinois Library is pleased to announce the launch of the digitized version of the Daily Illini for the years 1916 to 1936 . The project was made possible by support from a variety of sources within the Library, including the Stewart S. Howe Foundation Endowment (Student Life and Culture Archives), the Clifford Family Endowment (History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library), the Office of the Associate University Librarian for Collections, and a seed-grant program administered by the Library Executive Committee.

Perhaps more than any other original source document, historical newspapers provide a window onto the past. No other primary source conveys as readily and vividly the sensibility of an era and the feel of a place. Student newspapers offer a wealth of information about college life, youth culture, and the history of the host campus, but their value as source material goes far beyond the history of the university and the lives of the people who studied and taught there. They offer rich documentation of the history of larger social movements and cultural trends, from the development of the professions and the role of politics and religion in higher education to the changing meanings of race, ethnicity, gender, generation, and class in American society.

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2008-04-03

ALA News Release
March 31, 2008

Contact:
Delin R. Guerra
312-280-3201
dguerra@ala.org

John Ames Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award Winner Announced

Barbara J. Ford is this year’s recipient of the American Library Association (ALA) International Relations Committee’s John Ames/Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award. OCLC/Forest Press donated the cash award of $1,000, which is given to an individual for significant contribution to international librarianship.

Ford, the director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and a professor at the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, received this award for her librarianship efforts, extensive publications and significant contributions to the American Library Association (ALA) and International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). Her publication record speaks for itself. She has presented and published on international aspects of librarianship and, through her editorial positions, has encouraged the dissemination of information on librarianship to a global audience.

“Barbara J. Ford is truly an outstanding and influential international librarian. She is thoroughly committed to connecting librarians around the world through her work at the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois, through her long involvement with IFLA, including serving on the governing board from 2005-2007, and through her leadership in ALA’s and ACRL’s (Association of College and Research Libraries) international committees and activities, including serving as ALA President from 1997-98. Ms. Ford also spent four years in the Peace Corps in Panama and Nicaragua and continually presents and publishes about her international activities,” said Robin L. Kear, Chair of the IRC-John Ames Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award Committee.

Ms. Ford will be recognized during the International Relations Round Table Chair’s Program on Monday, June 30, at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

News release originally published at http://ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/march2008/humphry.cfm .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).