Month: November 2014

2014-11-17

The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been awarded a $521,014 three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which will help make leadership training accessible to librarians around the world.

With the funding, the Center will work toward strengthening library training providers’ ability to deliver high-quality leadership training to public librarians in order to help them position their libraries to meet critical community needs and to offer access to information and knowledge.

“There is a need for easy-to-use, high-quality, and affordable library leadership training materials in many areas of the world. With the help of this grant, we hope to develop these materials in a multimedia format, and make them widely available and accessible,” said the Center’s Associate Director Susan Schnuer. “What an exciting opportunity.”

During the development of the training materials, the Center will pilot-test them with three different library training providers in three distinct geographical locations: Myanmar, Namibia, and Armenia. The library training providers in these countries will then train 100 public and community librarians in their respective countries. An evaluation report will capture the development process and the impact of the training materials.

The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs seeks to strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians worldwide for the promotion of international education, understanding, and peace. More than 1,200 librarians from 90 countries have participated in its professional development programs. For more information, visit www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/ .

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

2014-11-10

The Scholarly Commons of the University Library and the Graduate College are partnering to host The Image of Research, a competition celebrating the diversity and breadth of graduate student research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Graduate and professional students at Illinois are invited to submit entries consisting of an image and brief text that articulates how the image relates to the research. Entries will be judged by a multidisciplinary panel for connection between image, text, and research; originality; and visual impact. The entry deadline is Thursday, January 15, 2015.

Finalists will compete for First, Second, and Third Prize; the top prize is $500. In addition, there will be a People’s Choice Award and Honorable Mentions. All awards will be presented at a reception on April 8, 2015, in conjunction with Graduate Student Appreciation Week at Illinois. The reception, as well as an exhibition of the semifinalist and finalists, will take place at the Illini Union (1401 W. Green Street, Urbana).

The Image of Research is supported by a generous gift to the Scholarly Commons from the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. For more information about the competition, including requirements, deadlines, judging criteria, and a forthcoming online exhibition of all entries, please visit go.illinois.edu/imageofresearch .

###

SCHOLARLY COMMONS
The Scholarly Commons is a technology enriched space for faculty, researchers, and graduate students to pursue research and receive expert copyright, data, digital humanities, digitization, scholarly communications, and usability consultation services. Scholarly Commons services are supported by experts in the Scholarly Commons, subject specialists at the University Library, and partners throughout campus. For more information, visit www.library.illinois.edu/sc .

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library holds more than thirteen million volumes, more than 120,000 serial titles, and more than nine million manuscripts, maps, slides, audio tapes, microforms, videotapes, laser discs, and other non-print material. The University Library is ranked highly nationally and globally, and its collections and services are used heavily by students, faculty, and scholars. More than one million items are circulated annually, and many more are used on site and virtually from anywhere in the world. For more information, visit www.library.illinois.edu .

GRADUATE COLLEGE
The Graduate College provides campus-wide leadership for the advancement of graduate education; promotes excellence, integrity, and equity in all graduate programs; and serves the scholarly and professional needs of prospective and current graduate students from recruitment and admission through graduation. The College works with graduate faculty and staff to establish academic policies and programs designed to assure quality and support student progress, and provides a number of services and resources for graduate students and postdocs on at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For more information about Graduate College resources and initiatives, please visit the web at www.grad.illinois.edu .

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

2014-11-03

2014 Library Research Showcase
November 12, 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Marshall Gallery and the south side of the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library

Library faculty and academic professionals will present their research, which impacts a wide variety of library services as well as the global library and information science profession and other scholarly fields. The campus community and friends of the Library are welcome to join in for all or part of the event.

Visit www.library.illinois.edu/committee/rpc/showcase/ for a schedule and more information about specific presentations.

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