Month: February 2010

2010-02-25

Beth S. Woodard, staff development and training coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, is the winner of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction Section (IS) Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award.  The award honors Miriam Dudley, whose efforts in the field of information literacy led to the formation of IS.  The honor recognizes a librarian who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of instruction in a college or research library environment.

Woodard will receive a plaque and her award, jointly sponsored by the ACRL Instruction Section and the LOEX Clearinghouse for Library Instruction, at the 2010 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in June.

To read the ALA news release, visit www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/february2010/dudley_acrl.cfm .

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

2010-02-23

Cindy Ingold, women and gender resources librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Women’s Studies Section (WSS) Career Achievement Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).  The award honors significant long-standing contributions to women’s studies in the field of librarianship over the course of a career.

Ingold will receive a $1,000 prize and plaque at the 2010 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on June 28.

To read the ALA news release, visit www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/february2010/wss_acrl.cfm .

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

2010-02-16

The printed works of Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. are currently on display at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Main Library through March 3, 2010.  The Speaking Unconventionally exhibit features books, posters, and assorted formats by the letterpress artist from the collection of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library , along with a large selection of current posters.

Internationally known for his charged posters and artist books, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. uses print media to bring complicated issues such as race and gender into the forefront of the public consciousness.  Kennedy used to live a middle class life, with a family and a job as a computer programmer at an international telecommunications company.  He walked away from it all to become an artist in the lost crafts of printing and book art.  Kennedy began with fine press books with his first venture, “The Idiot Press, the Private Press of Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.”  He now prints out of Gordo, Alabama, under the imprint “Kennedy Prints!” and focuses on posters, community broadsides, and other ephemera.  Kennedy also lectures and teaches all over the United States.

In addition to the book and poster exhibit, located on the ground floor of the Main Library in the North-South corridor, Kennedy will be an artist-in-residence on the Illinois campus from February 28 through March 3.  During his visit, he will give a lecture and produce an artist book edition with Soybean Press .

An off-the-wall sale of posters in the exhibit will take place in the Main Library at 1 p.m. on March 1.

Posters will also be on display at IndiGo Gallery in Champaign, Illinois, between March 1 and 3.  A large selection of posters will go on sale at a closing reception here on March 3.

For more information, visit go.illinois.edu/APKJ .

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

2010-02-15

The south entrance of the Main Library has re-opened.  A canopy has been put in place at this entrance for the safety of our patrons and staff and will remain until structural issues are resolved.  Again, we apologize for any inconvenience the closure caused.

The entrance was temporarily closed due to fallen masonry on Sunday, February 14.

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

2010-02-14

Smoke detectors in a mechanical room within the Main Library went into alarm at 1:21 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, 2010.  A contractor removing an old steel boiler was unaware of a hot metal fragment on top of the wood base plate of their temporary enclosure.  A small fire was put out before fire departments arrived.  The majority of smoke was contained and exhausted.  Staff and patrons were back in the building within an hour.  No one was hurt and there is no water or smoke damage to the building and/or collections.

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

2010-02-12

To foster the love of books and introduce students to the pleasures of book collecting, The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign sponsors an annual book collecting contest. The competition, co-sponsored by the University Library and The No. 44 Society , includes separate judging and prizes for undergraduate (The Harris Fletcher Book Collecting Award) and graduate student collections (T.W. Baldwin Prize for Book Collecting).

The prize for undergraduate collectors is named for Harris Francis Fletcher (1892-1971), professor of English (1926-62), who collected books and manuscripts that form the John Milton collection at the University of Illinois. It is considered the most comprehensive Milton collection in the country. The graduate prize honors T.W. Baldwin, who put together a remarkable collection of imprints from the age of Shakespeare, with strengths in Elizabethan drama, pedagogy, religion, and social history.

First prize for each category is $1,000. Winners are asked to talk about their collections at the May meeting of The No. 44 Society. Winners will be invited to lend selected books from their collections for a special exhibition in the Marshall Gallery of the University Library during the month of May.

Book collectors are encouraged to enter. The deadline for submissions is April 2, 2010. For more information and entry rules, please visit www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/CollectingContest.htm .

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

2010-02-10

The Undergraduate Library, one of many departmental libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is participating in “A Snapshot of a Day in the Life of Your Library” to show how important academic, public, school, and special libraries and library systems are to the state of Illinois.  Today, along with other libraries across the state, it is compiling stories, statistics, and photographs chronicling a typical library day.  The day will present indisputable proof that libraries consistently provide invaluable services to the community.

“Snapshot: One Day in the Life of Illinois Libraries” is a project of the Illinois Library Association.  For more information, please visit http://www.ila.org/snapshot/ .

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

2010-02-02

Paula T. Kaufman, the Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson dean of libraries and university librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been named the 2010 winner of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. Named in honor of one of the pioneers of library automation, the Atkinson Award recognizes an academic librarian who has made significant contributions in the area of library automation or management and has made notable improvements in library services or research.

Kaufman will receive a cash award and citation during the joint ACRL / Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) Awards Program, at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, June 26, at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington D.C.

Read the full news release on the American Library Association Web site at www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/february2010/atkinsonaward_acrl.cfm .

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