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SPRING/SUMMER 2014
progressions
NYU LIBRARIES NEWSLETTER
Writing About Video with Video:
DLTS Makes it Possible
p. 5
Coming Soon: A Trove of
Persian-language Lithographs
p. 3
W E LCO M E ,
Exhibition! Giuseppe Verdi:
Words, Notes, Legacy
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LIBRARIES
Bern Dibner
Library
ON TH E COVER: T H E DI B N E R B U I L DI NG
COLLECTIONS UP DATE
Library Expands Support of
Science, Tech, Engineering
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Dissent, the quarterly magazine of political and
social criticism, has given its archive to Tamiment
Library. Founded in 1954 by a group of professors
and critics that included the author Irving Howe,
Dissent identified with the founders’ democratic
socialism, but published articles critiquing
the political ideologies of the left and right.
Contributors included Hannah Arendt, Norman
Mailer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Ellen Willis, Richard
Wright, George Packer, and many others. Howe
served as Dissent’s first editor until his death in 1993.
Its current editor is historian Michael Kazin. The
Dissent finding aid is searchable on the Tamiment
Library website.
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▲Dean Carol A. Mandel with author E.L. Doctorow
A Trove of Persian
Lithographs
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On January 1, 2014, with the merger of
NYU and Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn,
the NYU Division of Libraries welcomed its
newest library: the Bern Dibner Library at
the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering.
With the merger come new opportunities
for the Libraries. “We are very excited to
have the opportunity to develop a new
generation of interdisciplinary library
support for the sciences, engineering, urban
systems, and a range of related fields,” says
Dean of Libraries Carol A. Mandel. “As
these fields are extended to NYU’s portal
campuses, as programs expand at NYU’s
Brooklyn location, and as the Poly School of
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Engineering continues to grow and thrive, we
are well positioned to ensure first rate library
service in science and engineering.” To that
end, the Libraries has named Kara Whatley
as Head, Science and Engineering, effective
July 1, 2014. Whatley will oversee library
collections, services, and programs for faculty
and students in the fields of natural science,
engineering, technology, and, in coordination
with the Health Sciences Library, allied health.
Head of the Coles Science Center in Bobst
Library since 2006, Whatley joined NYU in
2004 as life sciences librarian.
▲ 1. Administrative Assistant Venecia Clark
2. IT Specialist Aleksandr Rogozin
3 & 4. Students during finals week
5. Student Supervisor Joshua Jarrell, Poly ’15, and Operations Manager Luci Isdith
6. Kara Whatley, center front, with (l to r) Web Manager Ingrid Redman, User Services
Librarian Yu Zhang, Archivist and User Services Librarian Lindsay Anderberg, Assistant
Director Ana Torres, and Instructional and User Services Librarian Gavin Paul
7. Staff member Judy Lee, Poly ’17, demonstrates the proper way to relax in the chillin’ chair,
a student favorite. (Photos: Elena Olivo)
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▲Poly’s first home, 99 Livingston Street in Booklyn, was
p ro g re ssi o ns
Photo: Elena Olivo
The Dissent Archive
designed by F.A. Peterson, architect of Cooper Union’s
Foundation Building.
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A collection of 19th and early 20th century
lithographs, some of which are available in
no other library in the US, are being made
accessible in Bobst Library in a cataloging
project supported by a gift from the Violet
Jabara Charitable Trust. The lithograph shown
is of the fifth part of the famous Persian
Mesnevi by the celebrated 13th-century Sufi
master, poet, jurist, and theologian Jalal al-Din
al-Rumi (1207-1273).
Borrowing Just Got Better (and Faster)
“Once people start using it, they’re
hooked,” says Kristina Rose, head
of Access Services, describing E-Z
Borrow, an expedited interlibrary
loan service new to NYU. “Students
love it because it’s so fast they can
use it for course readings they might otherwise have to buy. Faculty love it
because they can keep materials for up to 12 weeks, nearly an entire semester.
And it draws from so many college and university libraries that users can
often get new, in-demand items that have flown off the shelves in New York.”
Participating libraries range from the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova
University, and Rutgers University to dozens of smaller, specialized institutions
throughout Pennsylvania and in New Jersey and West Virginia. E-Z Borrow is
easy to use—no form required, and one click in the E-Z Borrow catalog submits
the request. “Users can get not only scholarly material, but popular as well,”
Rose continues. “I got Lean In when it was still on the best seller list.”
E.L. Doctorow Fêted
in Fales Library
A January 28 reception given by Fales
Library and Random House celebrated
E.L. Doctorow’s newest novel, Andrew’s
Brain. Dean of Libraries Carol A. Mandel introduced the author: “You cannot
talk about the American novel without
standing in awe of the work of E. L. Doctorow. He is always expanding its boundaries, but deeply knowledgeable of its
roots.” Doctorow’s papers are held in the
Fales Library literary archives. Mandel
added, “The documentation of Edgar’s
genius is, thanks to his generosity, a
crown jewel in the story of the American
novel that Fales Library tells.” Guests
who braved a freezing night to celebrate
the award winning author and NYU professor included friends, academic and
publishing colleagues, fellow authors,
students, and fans, who lined up to have
their books signed.
V
T
K
N
PU
Preserving Video Collections:
Addressing a Growing Need, Just in Time
How easily could a library replace a videotape of,
say, an obscure art film from a distributor no longer
in business? What are the applicable copyright
restrictions on reformatting? The Libraries and
the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation
(MIAP) program in Tisch School of the Arts recently
completed a three-year project to find out, in
partnership with the libraries of Loyola University
New Orleans and the University of California,
Berkeley. The project, “Video at Risk,” funded by The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, explored the video
marketplace to determine scarcity, and analyzed
preservation issues faced by video collections today.
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▲ 1. Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys
2. Emily Armstrong (l) and Pat Ivers
3 & 4. inside the re-created Video Lounge;
5. Pat Ivers in the ladies’ room at CBGB’s,
ca. 1980.
Photo credits:
1 & 5. Emily Armstrong 2. Kevin Gannon
3 & 4. Elena Olivo
All photos are from the Fales Library
Downtown Collection.
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Fales Library Re-creates a Classic Downtown Space
Nostalgic for thrift shop furniture, cabinet tv’s and Sputnik-era bars? Then
you might have fond memories of the punk-era Video Lounge at Danceteria,
created in 1980 by video artists Emily Armstrong and Pat Ivers and recreated this spring in the gallery in Fales Library. The installation celebrates the
GoNightclubbing Archive, video of 82 bands at 115 performances shot by
Armstrong and Ivers along with interviews, photographs, posters, flyers and
much more, now archived in the Downtown Collection. “Our original Video
Lounge placed viewers in the familiar coziness of a living room setting, then
challenged them with unfamiliar, non-commercial content,” said Ivers. “We
showed a mix of music performances we had shot, a real departure from the
popular sounds of disco which dominated the club scene at the time.”
Verdi on View in Bobst Library This Summer
Giuseppe Verdi:
Words, Notes, Legacy
ON DISPLAY
APRIL 4 – AUGUST 29, 2014
THE MAMDOUHA S. BOBST GALLERY
The exhibit continues upstairs in the Avery Fisher Center, 2nd Floor
ELMER HOLMES BOBST LIBRARY
70 WASHINTON SQ SOUTH | NEW YORK, NY
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p ro g re ssi o ns
LIBRARIES
A new exhibition, “Giuseppe Verdi: Words, Notes, Legacy,” is on view in two locations
in Bobst Library: the Mamdouha S. Bobst Gallery on the main floor, and the Avery
Fisher Center (AFC) on the second floor. The exhibition is free and open to the public
now through August 29.
Co-curated by Robin Preiss, collection development assistant, and Francesco Izzo of
the American Institute for Verdi Studies, the exhibition includes scores, librettos, correspondence, and memorabilia from the archives of the AFC, the Institute, and Fales
Library. The selections focus on Verdi’s international success; his relationships with
publishers, singers, and political authorities; his creative process; and his reception.
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Writing About Video With Video:
DLTS Makes it Possible
Still shot of Marilyn Monroe from
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, remix by Laura Mulvey
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Two publications developed by the project are now
available free of charge to the archival community.
The first is a set of copyright guidelines that clarify
exemptions for copying audio visual works under Section108(c) of the United
States Copyright Act. The second, Digitizing Video for Long-term Preservation: An
RFP Guide and Template, can help institutions work with preservation vendors. It
outlines benchmarks, articulates technical specifications, and guides both sides
through the reformatting process. Both publications are available here:
library.nyu.edu/preservation/currentpreservationprojects.html
Photo: Alice Prouhansky
EXHIBI T I O N S
Tamiment Symposium
Explores Howard
Zinn’s Life and Work
Howard Zinn: A Lifetime of Teaching,
Writing, and Activism, a symposium
at NYU on April 24 co-sponsored by
the Frederic Ewen Academic Freedom
Center at Tamiment Library and The
Nation, presented new scholarship
based in part on Zinn’s papers, which
were given to Tamiment by the Zinn
family. Among the panelists was Alice
Walker (above), winner of the Pulitzer
Prize and the National Book Award.
Born in 1944 to a sharecropping and
dairy farming family in Georgia, Walker was a student of Zinn at Spelman
College. “Howie taught us to try to see
things clearly, and then try to change
them,” Walker said. The conference
was funded in part by a grant from the
Kurz Family Foundation.
▼ Below l to r: Professor Marilyn Young of the
History Department, Walker, author Irene
Gendzier, and historian Martin Duberman
When MediaCommons, a digital scholarly network whose platform was designed
by NYU’s Digital Library Technical Services (DLTS), and Cinema Journal decided
to develop the first peer-reviewed academic periodical dedicated to videographic film and moving image studies, they turned again to DLTS. The result
is [in]Transition, which enables practitioners of digital video forms to produce
scholarship in those very forms, and promotes open peer review of the work.
Carol Kassel, manager of digital library publication and access, headed the DLTS
project team. See [in]Transition at mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/intransition/
NEWS
New Faces
KATHERINE BOSS Librarian for Journalism and Media, Culture, & Communication
Formerly: Reference and Instruction Librarian, Long Island University, Brooklyn Education: MA, Media Studies, The New
School; MLIS, Palmer School of Library & Information Science, Long Island University; BS, Journalism, Grand Valley
So That’s How We Do That!
In a Learning Organization, Learning from One Another
State University, Allendale, MI
As a former journalist, I am especially interested in how traditional news gathering and reporting
methods are being disrupted by social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Crowdsourced journalism has transformative potential, and one big theoretical focus of media studies has
been how these new modes and platforms of communication influence our behavior. As I work with
faculty and students to support their research, I will be helping them stay current of trends with new
information tools and techniques.
ZACH COBLE Digital Scholarship Specialist
Formerly: Systems and Emerging Technologies Librarian, Gettysburg College, PA Education: MLIS, University of Missouri; BA,
History, Hendrix College, Conway, AR
As part of a new library unit, Digital Scholarship Services, I help students and faculty ask new research
questions by incorporating digital tools into their work. Digital humanities, in particular, is a rapidly
expanding research field and we are responding to an increasing demand for support. For example, I’m
currently working with a faculty member at NYU Poly who wants to digitize volumes of the City Record
from the 19th century, then use that data to track the money that went into and out of Tammany Hall.
DONALD MENNERICH Digital Archivist
Formerly: Digital Archivist, New York Public Library Education: MS, Information Systems, Pace University; MS, Library and
Information Science, Simmons College, Boston; BM, Music Performance, New England Conservatory
Born-digital records have proven to be a challenge to the traditional practice of manuscript collecting. As libraries acquire more and more digital collections, it is critical for them to have the skills,
infrastructure, and vision to properly manage them. It is an emerging field; the Wild West, you might
say. So I am very excited to help lead the NYU Libraries effort to develop the strategies and the tools
necessary to collect, preserve and provide access to born-digital records.
DANIEL PERKINS Global Services Librarian
Formerly: Adjunct Science Librarian, NYU Education: MLS, Queens College, New York City; BS, Biology, SUNY Oswego
I coordinate the expansion, delivery and promotion of library services that support research, teaching
and learning at NYU’s eleven global academic centers. Based in New York, I might start my day sharing
a link to streaming classical music via a video chat with a music student in Prague and end it by helping
a faculty member in Sydney find e-resources for her biology class. Working with library colleagues
and global academic staff, I ensure that students and faculty have access to the library materials and
services they need, wherever they choose to study.
DAVID RATZAN Head, Library of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
Formerly: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Greek and Roman Classics, Temple University, Philadelphia; Curator of
Papyri, Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library Education: PhD and MPhil, Classical Studies, Columbia University;
MA, Classics, Clare College, Cambridge University; BA, Greek Literature, Yale University
Photos: Elena Olivo
One of my key goals in the near term is to define and communicate a strong identity for our maturing
collection, one which not only builds on our core strengths and supports our particular brand of
interdisciplinary and comparative studies, but also fills a definite and useful niche in the resource
ecology of the Libraries and the greater metropolitan area. That identity will reaffirm ISAW’s original and
expansive view of what an ancient studies library can and should be in the 21st century.
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prog re ssi o ns
You might know the colleague by name; you might
even know his or her title. But in the ever-evolving
library enterprise of serving a major research institution,
it is unlikely you are familiar with the details of every
department’s creative work. NYU Libraries employs
nearly 400 full-time faculty and staff from Manhattan
to Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, but mostly based in Bobst
Library or a few blocks east at Cooper Square. And for
a midafternoon hour and a half during spring break on
March 19, most of the New York staff could be found
in the Kimmel Center at a meeting convened to open
windows onto one another’s projects.
Attendees chose to sit at one of 19 tables, each
featuring a presenter on a different topic. Twenty
minutes later, the crowd rose, switched tables, and
sat down for a second session. Choices included
Preserving Non-traditional Materials (like textiles and
artworks), Presenting Digital Collections (what are we
doing to streamline image, book, and A/V publishing?),
New Opportunities in Digital Video (a huge menu of
streaming video is now available on the library’s
website), Web Archiving (collecting important but
impermanent born digital content, such as web
pages by African American bloggers reacting to the
reelection of President Obama), and Bobst Library
Renovation (what does it take to design truly usercentered spaces?).
Attendee feedback indicates that the view from those
open windows was appreciated. “Exciting how many
projects dovetail with others: renovation & streaming
& digital collections, for example.” “The talks I heard
are informing my career plans.” “Great to know that
new digital tools are coming to help simplify my work
process while increasing its impact.” “I can be a better
resource for our users now.”
▲ L: Library staff gathers to learn from one another
R: Conservation Librarian Laura McCann and Preservation
Archivist Fletcher Durant describe a current project with Dean
Carol A. Mandel looking on at right.
Photos: Andrew Rarig
s p ri ng /s ummer 201 4
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LIBRARIES
70 Washington Square South
Office of the Dean, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10012
E XH IB I T I O N S
THE SCRAP
THE TROUBLE
THE REVOLUTION
ERNIE O’MALLEY AND THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
APRIL 21–AUGUST 21, 2014
TAMIMENT LIBRARY AT NYU
library.nyu.edu/tamiment
p
progressions
is published twice a year by NYU Libraries
and is available online at
library.nyu.edu/progressions
THE TAMIMENT LIBRARY AND
ROBERT F. WAGNER LABOR ARCHIVES
LIBRARIES
An exhibition in Tamiment Library through August 21 uses the lens of the Irish
campaign for independence to explore how the story of a revolution is told and how
it changes over time. Drawn mainly from the Ernie O’Malley Papers, with additional
material from the Archives of Irish America, the exhibits examine the evolution of
the historical narrative and how individuals and societies choose to remember their
own histories. The show’s title comes from O’Malley’s memoir of the 1919-1921 War of
Independence, On Another Man’s Wound.
“And so ended for us what we called the scrap; the people
later on, the trouble; and others, fond of labels, the Revolution.”
Editor: Sally Cummings
Editorial Assistant: Ann Harding
Design: Andrew Rarig
Correspondence:
Sally Cummings
70 Washington Square South, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10012
Email:
sally.cummings@nyu.edu
Visit the NYU LIbraries website at
library.nyu.edu
Cover photo: Ingrid Redman
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