The Library
The Heart of the University
Knowledge
is the Currency
of the 21st
Century
Spring 2011
Number 49
In This Issue:
Message from the Dean
The Knowledge Commons
Greetings,
3 Plans Create a Complete Learning
Environment
4 Knowledge Commons Naming Opportunities
at a Glance
Library News
6 Graduate Research Assistants Work on
Hemingway Project
6 Now Available in the Alumni Library
7 Center Preserves Legacy of Jewish
Experience
8 Scholarships and Internships
9 Waring TV Show Goes Digital
9 Kay Mills’s Legacy
10 Documentary to Feature Lynd Ward
Collection
10 Ward Graphic Novel Prize Announced
11 Mont Alto Digitization Project
11 Mellon Grant Supports Art History
Publications
12 New Skeleton Comes to Life Sciences
12 African American Women Writers’ Collection
13 Message from Amy Yancey
14–16 News Briefs
As a busy spring semester ends, we at the Libraries give
the best of wishes to our graduating seniors as they
move on in the world and begin to truly utilize their
Penn State education. The Libraries are proud to be
contributors to their development, especially in the
area of information literacy—the ability to locate
and evaluate resources. As we say goodbye, we offer our
Alumni Library at alumni.libraries.psu.edu to help them to
stay connected.
This past year we logged nearly 3 million visits to our
University Park libraries and more than 3.4 million across the
Commonwealth Campus Libraries. That’s 6.4 million people
entering our Libraries in a year, and we offer them the best
of resources. According to the latest Association of Research
Libraries (ARL) investment rankings, Penn State is now 7th out
of 114 largest research libraries in North America. The top ten
are Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Toronto, Michigan, UC Berkeley,
Penn State, UCLA, Princeton, and Texas.
When fall semester begins students and others will be greeted
with a much-anticipated new system designed to streamline the
search process. LionSearch, which you can try now with a beta
version on the Libraries homepage, offers a Google-like database
search engine that consolidates most of Penn State databases and
The CAT, the online catalog, for students to access newspapers,
magazines, books, scholarly journals, and more in a single
search.
As you know, the Libraries are an integral part of a Penn State
education. Your support is vital to our efforts, as demonstrated
by the new Knowledge Commons in Pattee Library that will offer
resources and services undergraduates need to be competitive
in the emerging global economy. (See page 4 for naming
opportunities that will support this cutting-edge project.)
We are Penn State, and I thank you for that.
Cover:
Title page illustration by Else Wenz-Viëtor, from Sophie
Reinheimer (1874–1935). Vom Himmel der Tiere
(“From the Heaven of Animals”). Oldenburg: Gerhard
Stalling, 1930. See page 16.
Knowledge is the currency of the 21st century—
preparing students for the future requires new routes to
intellectual discover. See page 3.
This page and next page, top right:
The latest renderings from WTW Architects, showing
proposals for the final phase of the Knowledge
Commons.
2
Barbara I. Dewey
Dean of University
Libraries and Scholarly
Communications
photo courtesy of University
of Tennessee Video and Photography Center
Plans Create a Complete
Learning Environment
For several years, the goal of the University Libraries
has been to create a cohesive, student-centered space
for undergraduates at University Park—a knowledge
commons—integrating information technology
services, multimedia facilities, library resources, and
instructional support in one location.
Also referred to as an “information commons” in some
universities, this model has become a feature of many
modern research libraries around the world, and is designed
to streamline services, maximize student access and
convenience to services and personnel who can assist them,
and provide a complete learning environment.
Today, due to the commitment and support of library
donors, many of the individual components that together
form the Libraries’ Knowledge Commons have been funded,
including six group study rooms, an instruction room, a
quick access service area, and several collaborative spaces.
Funding is also in place for a new central lobby area. In
addition, thanks to the generosity of Peter and Ann Tombros
and John and Jeanette McWhirter, construction can now
move forward. At their meeting in March, Penn State
trustees approved the project’s final design and authorized
the awarding of contracts for the renovation of Pattee
Library, as designed by WTW Architects of Pittsburgh.
Approximately 36,450 square feet of library space—most
of the first floor of Pattee Library—will be repurposed for
this project. “The Tombros and McWhirter Knowledge
Commons will leverage the University’s rich collections,
services and expertise for increased student success,” said
Dean Barbara Dewey. “Technology-rich and studentcentered, the Commons is designed to meet the needs of
today’s Penn State students, who create work in digital and
multimedia formats,” she added.
A recent gift to the Knowledge Commons was from Nike,
Inc., which donated $400,000 to commemorate coach Joe
Paterno’s 400th win last fall. The gift also honored Joe and
Sue Paterno for their strong and enduring commitment to
the Libraries.
“We are delighted that Nike, Inc. has acknowledged this
milestone in Joe’s career by supporting an institution so
important to us,” said Sue on hearing news of the gift. Nike
Inc.’s contribution will fund an area in the Knowledge
Commons in Pattee Library.
Naming opportunities still exist for many different
components including post-production rooms that will
provide technology to edit and view multimedia projects in
small groups, group study rooms for four to six students to
work on course projects, or a specialized group study room
located within Adaptive Technology Services, which will
be equipped with assistive technologies for students with
special needs. (Please refer to the map on the following pages
for a list of naming opportunities.)
One major area of construction that will change completely
the flow and appearance of the Knowledge Commons is the
Central Atrium. This final phase of the overall project will
involve what is currently the courtyard adjacent to the new
Reading Room. When completed, it will connect central and
west Pattee on the ground floor for the first time, and open
key spaces on the first floor of the Knowledge Commons.
A core component of this phase of construction is the new
Research Commons, which will be located on the floor
above the Central Atrium, offering a panoply of scholarly
services to support researchers. While the Knowledge
Commons is designed to cater to the undergraduate, this
location will focus on the needs of graduate students and
faculty.
It was only a few years ago that the Libraries’ administration
first touted the concept of a knowledge commons. Soon,
thanks to the support of our donors, the Libraries will
have created a vibrant new space for Penn State students,
providing an efficient model of service that blends digital
and multimedia technologies with traditional library
services and resources. For this is how today’s academic
library operates—not as a stand-alone repository of
information, but as a dynamic hub, integrating cutting-edge
technology, knowledge services, and specialized resources.
3
KNOWLEDGE COMMONS
The Know l e d g e C o m m o ns
The
NAMED BY PETER G. AND ANN TOMBROS, JOHN R. AND JEANETTE McWHIRTER
1
2
4
3
Naming Opp
Your named space will touch
3
5
7
6
18
18
9
5
18
8
13
19
20
18
AT&T MOBILITY GROUP
INSTRUCTION ROOM
10
12
11
13
14
13
15
SALLY L. SCHAADT
GROUP STUDY
DOROTHY TAYLOR
HENDERSON GROUP STUDY
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17
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THOMAS E. KERR
GROUP STUDY
22
MABEL C. AND JOHN P.
CRISPELL GROUP STUDY
JEFFREY AND TARA
SHANAHAN GROUP STUDY
1
The DEDICATED POST-PRODUCTION SUITE provides five to six dedicated
multimedia editing workstations.
2
The CONSULTANT OFFICE provides space for IT assistants.
3
and 6 The AUDIO RECORDING ROOMS offer the latest in multimedia production technology.
4
The STUDY ALCOVE AND SOUND BOOTHS provide quiet study area close to services.
5
The POST-PRODUCTION ROOMS provide technology to edit and view multimedia projects in small groups.
7
and 8 The PRESENTATION PRACTICE ROOMS provide equipment and space to practice oral
communication skills.
9
The MULTIMEDIA CLASSROOM provides a classroom in the round for instruction featuring multimedia.
10
The MEDIATECH HELP DESK provides a service point for media equipment consulting and circulation.
11
The KNOWLEDGE COMMONS MANAGER gives a central location for the manager to observe usage and
provide services for students.
12
The KNOWLEDGE COMMONS HELP CENTER provides professional reference and technical assistance.
13
The GROUP STUDY gives private spaces for four to six students to work on course projects.
14
The GENERAL WORKSTATIONS provide 48 computer-equipped workspaces with ample space.
15
The QUICK ACCESS SERVICE AREA provides stand-up search stations for rapid accesss to Libraries resources.
16
and 17 The STUDY LOUNGE gives comfortable study space, away from noise and close to resources.
4
21
24
Note: areas 1–8 also
serve as collaborative
and group study spaces.
ortunities at a Glance
The Knowledge Commons
the lives of current and future Penn State students.
JUDITH R. AND ALLEN J.
WELTMANN LOBBY
BARBARA HACKMAN
FRANKLIN ATRIUM
26
SIDEWATER GATEWAY
SERVICES
23
RICHARD AND SALLY
KALIN GROUP STUDY
26
24
26
26
LAWRENCE G. AND ELLEN
FOSTER AUDITORIUM
25
Note: design schemata as envisioned April 2011;
subject to change as naming opportunities evolve.
18
The STUDY ROOMS located within Adaptive Technology Services and equipped with assistive
technologies for students with special needs.
19
The OPEN LAB AREA is equipped with assistive technologies.
20
The GROUP STUDY ROOM gives private group study space for students with special needs.
21
The CENTRAL ATRIUM AND RESEARCH COMMONS is a light-filled room interconnecting all three
levels of west Pattee Library.
22
The READING ROOM gives a place to relax and unwind—with a leisure reading collection.
23
The CENTRAL PATTEE ENTRANCE LOBBY serves as the gateway to the academic enterprise and
scholarly excellence, where more than two million visitors pass through annually.
24
and 25 The GROUP STUDY gives space for student groups to collaborate on course projects.
26
The ATRIUM SEATING gives a comfortable and welcoming area where students can see and be seen by
others involved in research, study, or relaxing.
5
Librar y N ew s
Graduate Research Assistants
Work on Hemingway Project
Julius Lobo and Geffrey Davis share a small office in the
Pattee Library stacks where they have been working on
The Hemingway Letters Project under the direction of
Professor Sandra Spanier, Department of English, College
of the Liberal Arts and general editor of the project.
The project, to be published by Cambridge University
Press, will result in the publication of a comprehensive
scholarly edition of the author’s more than 6,000 letters,
approximately eighty-five percent of them never before
published. Hemingway’s outgoing letters will be published
in chronological order in more than a dozen volumes, with
the final volume to include “Additional Letters” that come
to light in the course of the project.
Spanier noted, “We are most grateful for the wonderful
support provided to the Hemingway Letters Project by the
Penn State Libraries. This includes vital Digital Libraries
Technologies support for the database system that serves as
the project’s “central nervous system,” as well as support for
graduate research assistantships each year. These graduate
assistantships not only benefit the work of the Letters
Project, but also give our students experience in conducting
original scholarly research using the rich resources in the
Libraries’ print and digital collections.”
Davis and Lobo (above, l. to r.) spend their time researching
and developing the annotations for the letters in
collaboration with the volume editors and doing historical
and archival research on Hemingway’s life—examining
his time in France, Spain, and Austria; his correspondence
with people; and the larger social and cultural contexts
surrounding the writing and transmission of the letters.
Lobo, who last September defended his Ph.D. on his
research into American documentary poetry between the
Depression and World War II, will graduate in May. He
said, “Working on the Hemingway project has been an
invaluable experience. Not only has it given me a more
in-depth knowledge of the 1920s American expatriate scene
and the major authors, literary organs, and political shifts
that mark it, but it has also developed my archival and
research skills as well.”
Davis is finishing up his second year of the Ph.D. program
at Penn State and is currently studying for comprehensive
exams. His personal research is on 20th century American
literature, with an emphasis in modern and New American
poetry, intersections between lyric and prose, and theories
of the avant-garde. He is looking forward to continued
work on the Hemingway project and said, “In addition to
increasing my familiarity with the literary, cultural, and
political scenes of the early 20th century, working on the
project has been invaluable in sharpening my archival skills
that have manifested in my own scholarship.”
Both research assistants are anticipating the first volume of
The Letters of Ernest Hemingway, slated for publication this
fall. Spanning the years 1907 through 1922, it chronicles
Hemingway’s youth in Oak Park, Illinois and Michigan;
his experiences in World War I; his marriage to Hadley
and their arrival in Paris; and the first flowering of his
friendships with Sylvia Beach, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein,
Bill Bird, and Lincoln Steffens. The early letters provide an
immediate running record of experiences and relationships
that fueled his fiction, most particularly the Nick Adams
stories and A Farewell to Arms. They afford insight into his
artistic aims and express his candid assessments of his own
work and that of his contemporaries.
For more information, contact Sandra Spanier, general editor
for the Hemingway Letters Project, at hemletters@psu.edu.
Now Available in the Alumni Library
Spring is here and the Alumni Library online offers a wealth of information
and tips for gardening enthusiasts from its Agricultural Resource Center
(alumni.libraries.psu.edu/agriculture.html). As Amy Paster notes in the
introduction, “The resource will give you the tools to help do everything
from planning and planting a garden to raising llamas.” Included on
this page are links to Penn State’s Consumer Horticulture Center, the
Agriculture Network Information Center, the National Agricultural Library,
and many other online resources, all of which can be accessed by the
public. The ProQuest Online Research Library is a members-only search
tool (go to alumni.libraries.psu.edu/members.html to join), which
allows users to browse more than 3,700 publications gardening-related
6
information. Publications include magazines (many popular titles are
available), newspapers, trade journals, and academic journals.
Another perennial favorite of the Alumni Library Resource
Center is the Family History and Genealogy resource page
(alumni.libraries.psu.edu/genealogy.html). Of particular interest are
the local resources made available through digitization projects at Penn
State. These include the Centre Daily Times Obituaries Index (1937-1980),
Pennsylvania German Broadsides and Fraktur Collection, the Pennsylvania
Civil War Era Newspapers collection, and the Historical Digital Collegian
Archive, that dates back to 1887. All these sites are available to the public.
Center Preserves Legacy of Jewish
Experience and Includes Local Histories
The Penn State Harrisburg Library offers a Holocaust and Genocide
collection that consists of documentary and scholarly works
by leading historians in the field, as well as personal accounts.
Works include general histories, reference sources, juvenile books,
curriculum materials, and conference proceedings in a variety of
formats: books, DVDs, compact discs, and microforms.
The collection includes works on ghettos, concentration camps, resistance,
liberation, survivors, children of survivors, diaries, memoirs, non-Jewish victims,
Righteous Gentiles, theology, post-war trials, and reparations. In addition, the
collection also contains photographic studies, art, music, fiction, poetry, and
drama. Genocide titles focus on Armenia, Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda.
The collection is used heavily by students from a wide range of disciplines,
including Holocaust studies, Jewish studies, American studies, humanities,
education, psychology, religion, ethics, public affairs, and women’s studies as well
as faculty, staff, and members of the local community, including middle and high
school students.
Selected titles include:
Capital Campaign donations, given by a group of donors led by Abe Cramer and
his family and other supporters of the library, began the collection and established
a permanent endowment. This allowed Penn State Harrisburg to expand its
Holocaust studies curriculum, which now includes study tours to Poland and
Germany and a Holocaust Studies Institute for schoolteachers in the region.
Auschwitz, 1940-1945: Central Issues in the
History of the Camp. A five-volume set published
by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Library.
In addition, a Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies
(www.harrisburg.psu.edu/chjs), funded by a gift from Nancy Cramer Aronson
and her husband Irwin W. Aronson, Esq., is open to the public and provides
exhibitions, special events, concerts, and lectures.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Items in the collection are cataloged in The CAT and most can be borrowed
and delivered to a Penn State library or requested through Interlibrary Loan at a
community library.
For more information, call 717-948-6073.
Beyond Recall: A Record of Jewish Musical Life in
Nazi Berlin, 1933-1938. Composed of 11 sound
discs and accompanying book.
Luboml: The Memorial Book of a Vanished Shtetl.
Descriptions of daily life, community institutions,
and testimony of the Holocaust.
The Trial of the Major War Criminals before the
International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg. The
official record of the trial of major civilian and
military leaders of Nazi Germany accused of war
crimes.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945.
A comprehensive reference work on all camps in
the Nazi system.
Yad Vashem Archives of the Destruction: A
Photographic Record of the Holocaust. A pictorial
record of over 15,000 photos taken in Europe
during the Nazi Era.
Materials from the collection reside in the library’s
Schwab Family Holocaust Reading Room, made possible
by a generous donation from Holocaust survivor Linda
Schwab and her late husband, Morris Schwab, with
additional support from Drs. Madlyn and Michael Hanes
and Gayle and Harry Yaverbaum. The room provides
areas for research, meetings, and exhibits, and visitors
can learn about local connections to the Holocaust
through a DVD collection with interviews of local
Holocaust survivors, liberators, and witnesses.
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Librar y N ew s
Scholarships and Internships Make a Real Difference
Scholarships help senior through final semester
Perhaps no other form of giving has as direct an effect on the
lives of our students as scholarships. Last fall, history senior
Alexis Davis (now graduated) was the recipient of three
library awards—the Ava Faltz-Miller Memorial Scholarship,
the Martha Conner Memorial Scholarship and the Adma
Hammam Shibley Memorial Scholarship in Library Science,
enabling her to complete her final semester at minimal cost.
“Although my parents and other family members help with
the cost of schooling as much as possible, it is still very
tough, considering the expensive and rising costs of higher
education. In order to pay for my education, I take out
loans, which end up being extremely expensive. Due to the
scholarships I received through the Penn State Libraries, my
upfront cost for the fall semester was eighty-five dollars!” said
Davis.
Davis is now pursuing a graduate degree in library science at
the University of Pittsburgh. Reflecting on what it meant to
be awarded the scholarships, she said, “The pride I felt having
been chosen actually motivated me more to want to succeed
in getting into graduate school to pursue my educational
dream. I am honored and thankful for this great help.”
Internships give students learning experiences; are
indispensible to library projects
Andrew Baily, Bednar intern for the
Pennsylvania Center for the Book, writes,
“This internship has been an opportunity
for me grow as a person and as a student. I
began under the direction of another film
student, struggling to find my place. The
2010 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award ceremony
gave me the opportunity to show what I was
capable of in terms of filming experience
and editing. The Pennsylvania Center
for the Book Youtube page is a perfect
compliment to the center’s website as a central hub to find all
the Lee Bennett Hopkins videos.
The internship has given me a leg up on other film students
because I have real experience working with an employer to
define a common goal for a video project. I can confidently
say that I have achieved and surpassed my personal goals for
this internship. I am very lucky to have had the opportunity
to work for the Center for the Book, and I feel I have been
important to their promotions.”
Alexa Santoro, Bednar intern for the News and Microforms
Library and the Digitization and Preservation Department,
8
has been working on a number
of newspaper archive projects,
including work on investigating
errors and corrections needed in
the Historical Digital Collegian
Archive as well as the Centre
County Historical Newspaper file
and database, received from the
Bellefonte Historical Library and
Museum.
Veronica Bautista and Ellie
Kreisher, interns for the News and
Microforms Library, have worked this year on a marketing
and public relations campaign creating the Did You Know
Video with an ad
series to interest
students in rich news
resources.
Two other interns,
Kate Faller and
Matt Oshinsky, have
worked with the
Libraries Marketing
Steering Committee
on a variety of
projects, including
benchmarking
promotional Web sites and information commons activities
of Big Ten libraries, creation of pilot videos to promote
library services, and a compilation of student perceptions of
the Libraries to better understand how to help them access
resources.
Debora Cheney, Foster Communications Librarian and
head of the News and Microforms Library, is pleased to have
interns doing research behind the scenes as well as some very
visible promotions to Penn State students. Summing it up,
Cheney observes, “I probably learn as much as the Bednar and
Foster interns when I work with them. They bring new skills
and a fresh perspective to their work that benefit each of us as
well as our projects and libraries.”
Librar y News
Fred Waring Television Show Goes
Digital, Widening Access
The Fred Waring Show was a television staple sixty years ago, airing
on CBS from 1949 to 1955 and featuring an exciting mix of music and
celebrities. The show occupied the prominent 9 p.m. time slot on Sundays,
after the Ed Sullivan Show, and introduced American families to a new
form of entertainment—live telecasts featuring big stars like Garry
Moore, Rudy Vallee, Victor Borge, Celeste Holm, Raymond Massey, Boris
Karloff, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Beatrice Kay, and Anna Russell.
Until recently, the only complete
collection of these programs
was on 200 kinescopes (16
mm films), in Fred Waring’s
America, a unique archive
within the Special Collections
Library. As valuable as this
collection was for students of
music, television studies, and
20th century popular culture,
the obsolete format of the films
severely restricted access to
researchers.
While selected programs had
been converted to digital format
over the years, it was only last
summer that the Libraries
completed a mammoth $35,000 project to digitize the
entire collection. The painstaking process, which involved
cleaning and identifying the film reels, dubbing them
to DVDs, and making “use” copies of the masters, was
undertaken by Media Preserve,
an audio-visual preservation
laboratory in Pennsylvania. The
digital copies are now stored in
the University Archives, and can
be used as instructional material
for choral directors, students,
and performers. In addition, the
digitized copies can also be used
in PBS programs and for public
presentations, greatly widening
access to the material. Funding for
preservation projects such as this
one continues to be a critical need
for Fred Waring’s America.
To get a taste of Fred Waring’s
pioneering show, go to
https://itunes.psu.edu/ to view a selected number of programs
online. First, log in as a Penn State user or a guest (wait for
iTunes to launch), then, select icon with “Penn State Podcast
Shows,” and select “Fred Waring Collection.”
Mills’s Legacy to Future Generations
Kay Mills, ’63 Penn State, ’77 Stanford Journalism Fellow, widely respected journalist, and award-winning author of books on
women’s issues and the civil rights movement, died January 13, 2011, in Santa Monica after a heart attack. She was 69.
Mills worked for several major news organizations in her career, blazing a trail as one of the first women (and often the only
one) on the Los Angeles Times editorial board, as well as chronicling courageous women in history. Mills was the author of
five books, including A Place in the News: From the Women’s Pages to the Front Page, her anecdotal history of women in
American journalism (1988), and This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer (1993).
She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts and a master’s degree from
Northwestern University in African history. At Stanford, she focused her studies on the historical trends and media coverage
of social movements, including the civil rights movement and the women’s movement.
During her years at the Times, Kay became one of the early members of the Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS),
a national nonprofit organization created to support the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in
journalism.
Dean Barbara Dewey said, “All journalism students at Penn State and elsewhere are indebted to Kay Mills for her
commitment to the profession that she cared so much about, and worked tirelessly to right the inequities toward women
and minorities. Because of Mills and her efforts, we read a far more balanced account of the news through the lens of these
formerly unrepresented groups. Mill’s estate gift to the Libraries will help us continue her outstanding legacy for women and
others in journalism.”
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Librar y N ew s
Documentary
to Feature Lynd
Ward Collection
Robin Ward Savage with Michael Maglaras and Terri Templeton of 217 Films
Inaugural Lynd
Ward Prize Winners
Announced
The Libraries have created the
national Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic
Novel of the Year to honor Ward’s
seminal influence in the development
of the graphic novel. Sponsored by
Penn State University Libraries and
administered by the Pennsylvania
Center for the Book, an affiliate of
the Center for the Book at the
Library of Congress, the prize will
be presented annually to the best
graphic novel, fiction or non-fiction,
published in the previous calendar
year in the United States by a living
American citizen or resident.
The 2011 winner, just announced,
is Duncan the Wonder Dog
(above), by Adam Hines, published
by AdHouse Books, and described
as a breath-taking art book, a
beautifully-rendered comic, and
a story of the ethics of human
relationships with animals. An
honor book prize also went to
Drew Weing for Set to Sea (right),
a small wonder of visual narrative
published by Fantagraphics.
For information on the award, see
www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/
activities/ward/.
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In celebration of the art and life of
American printmaker and illustrator
Lynd Ward (1905-1985), 217 Films has given
a gift to Penn State University Libraries
to digitize selected Ward woodcuts and
wood engravings. 217 Films will showcase
many of these works in a new film titled
O Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lynd
Ward. The documentary, projected for
release in December 2011, will feature
an interview with the artist’s daughter
Robin Ward Savage, who donated the
collection to Penn State.
Ward was among the foremost graphic
book artists of 20th-century America,
illustrating more than 200 books. Titles like
Song Without Words: A Book of Engravings
on Wood (1930), are precursors to the
modern graphic novel and are acknowledged
masterpieces of that genre. Between 1929
and 1937 Ward published his six groundbreaking wordless novels—Gods’ Man,
Madman’s Drum, Wild Pilgrimage, Prelude
to a Million Years, Song without Words, and
Vertigo—which were recently re-issued by
The Library of America in a two-volume
boxed set titled Lynd Ward: Six Novels in
Woodcuts. These books will be the focus of
O Brother Man, which will also highlight
Ward’s commitment to social justice and the
plight of the working man during the Great
Depression.
Dean Barbara Dewey observes, “While
alerting a wider audience to this artist
extraordinaire, the documentary will
also point to Penn State Libraries’ strong
holdings in fine printing, printmaking
techniques, children’s books, graphic novels,
and original art work for illustrated books.”
Librar y News
Digitization Projects Make
Specialized Historical
Resources More Accessible
Rare materials in the University Libraries
collections have been made more accessible
to researchers and the public due to ongoing
digitization efforts funded through the Libraries’
digital operations budget. These efforts have opened
up collections of interest from Penn State campuses
and subject libraries—including data, maps, film,
audio, and other materials—that would otherwise
have been hard to find. By funding targeted
digitization projects, the Libraries are able to widen
access to specialized collections while at the same
time preserve fragile original documents.
This year, one of the projects selected for funding through
this budget was the digitization of selected volumes of
Penn State Mont Alto’s Oak Leaf Yearbook. This campus
was established in 1903 as the Pennsylvania State Forest
Academy, and was one of three forestry schools in the
country. In 1929, it merged with Penn State’s Forestry
Department. To this day, the popular Mont Alto forestry
program continues to attract new students. The Libraries
are currently digitizing four volumes of the Oak Leaf
Yearbook—1914, 1920, 1923, and 1927, and once completed,
Photo from the Oak Leaf Yearbook captioned “Members of the
First Class in front of Wiestling Hall”
the collection will appear on the Libraries’ digital
collection website: www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/digital.html.
This site features a wealth of historical material, with
many collections being open to all users, without the need
for a Penn State affiliation. The scope of the digitized
collections website is broad, with strengths in many
areas. For example, primary resources from the Civil War
include Pennsylvania newspapers from that era, personal
diaries of Emilie Davis (a young African American
woman who lived in Philadelphia during the Civil War
who documented her daily life), regimental histories and
a list of deserters. Some of the digitized materials are
keyword searchable, allowing users to search for names
and locations. New material is added to this site regularly,
as the Libraries continue to move forward with the
digitization of specialized collections.
Mellon Grant Supports Art History Publications
Penn State University Press, in collaboration with the University of Washington Press (primary grant
recipient), the Duke University Press, and the University of Pennsylvania Press, has been awarded
a collaborative publishing grant of $1.257 million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to publish
first books by scholars in the field of art history. The Art History Publication Initiative (AHPI) will assist
in the publication of 40 books over five years through an innovative collaboration that addresses the
special challenges facing art historical scholarship in the digital age.
“Penn State Press is an internationally recognized publisher of elegant and scholarly books in art and
architectural history and photography. The generous support from the Mellon Foundation and the
opportunity to collaborate with presses at the other institutions will help the Penn State Press meet
the special challenges posed by publishing art history in a digital age. It will ensure the continuance
of Penn State’s support of truly exemplary art history scholarship and publications and will add to the
corpus of landmark works in this field,” notes Penn State President Graham Spanier.
Dean Barbara Dewey adds, “Penn State Press’s innovative alignment with the Libraries provides a
perfect opportunity for involvement in collaborations with our peer institutions in digital scholarly
publications creating resources for future generations from the work of our outstanding faculty.”
For more information, please contact Heather Smith, publicity manager for the Penn State Press, at
hms7@psu.edu.
11
Librar y N ew s
Unrestricted Gift Enables Libraries to
Add New Skeleton to Collection
Thanks to the Ennis-Hotchkiss Fund, an unrestricted gift, the Libraries have the flexibility to respond
to critical needs across subject areas. Last year, part of this fund was used to purchase a new skeleton
for the Anatomical Models collection, a heavily used resource of the Life Sciences Library.
The collection began in 2003 in response to student
needs for access to human skeleton models to study for
an anatomy course. It continues to be in high demand,
and over the years, it has been used by students in other
fields, including art, anthropology, and journalism. The
primary users, however, are from large anatomy classes
like Biology 129 (Mammalian Anatomy). “Prior to exams,
students often stand in line to gain access to the models for
two-hour loan periods. They are often standing at the Life
Sciences Reference Desk before we get our coats off in the
morning,” said Librarian Nancy Henry.
The collection includes human skeletons, skulls, knee, leg/
foot, ear, eye, lung, and kidney models. These medical
grade fully disarticulated skeletal models are individually
cast from an adult male skeleton, duplicating the
weight, color and opacity of human bone. The
first models were selected and purchased after
consulting with an anatomy instructor familiar
with the quality of various models.
“These are not inexpensive items, often requiring
an investment of more than $1500 for one
skeleton with a suitcase-like container to house
the model,” said Henry.
Life Sciences Library Head Amy Paster noted that the value
of the collection went beyond what would be possible from
a software program or online resource. “The tactile learning
process is often cited by students as extremely helpful in their
understanding of the human skeletal system. In addition,
Special Collections Receives Book Collection of African-American
The Special Collections Library recently received
the Barbara Ann McCarthy Collection of AfricanAmerican Women Writers, more than 2500 books by and
about African-American women. The collection was
donated to Rare Books and Manuscripts by Barbara
McCarthy and her husband, Robert B. Greer III, M.D.
“This collection complements and enhances our already
strong holdings in our Black History and Literature
Collection and in the Charles L. Blockson Collection of
African-Americana and the African Diaspora,” says Sandra
Stelts, curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. “It is a
fitting expansion of our longtime commitment to building
collections of African-American literature and history.”
Barbara McCarthy is a graduate of the University of
Pittsburgh, where she majored in political science and Russian.
She spent most of her working life at Penn State’s College of
Medicine in Hershey, where she specialized in grants and
contracts until her retirement in 1992. She began collecting
books by and about African-American women in the mid1980s, having been inspired by a friend who introduced her
to the writings of so many gifted women. McCarthy realized
at that time how little she knew about these writers, and she
12
became determined to read
and learn as much as she could
about them. “I never realized
when I started collecting how
many incredible stories were
out there waiting for me to
discover,” she says. She spent
the next 25 years acquiring
books and upgrading her
collection whenever possible
with first editions, many of
them signed by their authors.
Her collection includes fiction,
non-fiction, poetry, biography,
literary criticism, plays,
anthologies, reference
materials, periodicals, and
all titles in the series called
The Schomburg Library of Nineteenth-Century Black Women
Writers, published by Oxford University Press USA. There is an
especially interesting sub-collection of paperback romance novels
by (and targeted for) African-Americans, as well as collections
of cookbooks and children’s books. The collection is waiting
cataloging and is not yet available for use.
Librar y News
Message from the Director of
Development
Since arriving at Penn State in December, I have
enjoyed meeting with our passionate alumni and
donors and learning about Penn State traditions
and the many ways in which the Libraries serve our
campuses.
The Libraries Development Board and I have also been busy talking to
donors about the difference philanthropy makes for our students, and
the impacts are quite visible. The Tombros and McWhirter Knowledge
Commons represents a transformational change designed to best meet the
needs of our technologically sophisticated students. The project has been
one hundred percent funded through private gifts. These conversations
will be increasingly important to us in the coming months as we work to
maintain a margin of excellence for Penn State students in the face of state
funding cuts.
because there are so few models, students often
study in groups, promoting socialization and peer
learning opportunities that might not happen
otherwise in very large anatomy classes,” said
Paster.
Women Writers
Robert Greer is a graduate of Haverford College
and Harvard Medical School. In 1971 he arrived in
Hershey to start the division of orthopedic surgery
within the Department of Surgery and retired
as emeritus professor and chief in 1992. During
his tenure at Penn State, Greer also served as the
associate dean for Medical Education. He served
as a member and president of the American Board
of Orthopedic Surgery and on the board of the
American Board of Medical Specialties.
From the Barbara
Ann McCarthy
collection: A
Daughter’s
Geography, by
Ntozake Shange
(left); a Jet
magazine from
1967 (right)
We have received several major gifts recently, including three that support
the Knowledge Commons: Nike’s gift in honor of Coach Joe Paterno’s
400th win, and gifts from Joseph DiGiacomo and Cindy Joyce.
We also received major additions to Special Collections, including
additional items for the Jacques Amusement Park collection, the Meredith
collection of Thomas Nast materials, and additions to the Huntingdon
Anabaptist archives and Lynd Ward collection. Additionally, we received
recent gifts to digitize parts of the Lynd Ward collection in advance of a
new documentary—217 Films’ production O Brother Man: The Art and
Life of Lynd Ward, which features an interview with Ward’s daughter
Robin Ward Savage. (See page 10 for story.)
Finally, I am excited to announce the addition of two new staff members.
Brooke Welsh accepted the position of associate director of development.
She began March 21. Welsh holds a dual B.A. in psychology and music
and has a masters of music degree (piano) from Temple University. Prior
to coming to Penn State, Welsh was the executive director of the Altoona
Symphony.
Marcus Fowler accepted the position of assistant director of development
and started April 1. Fowler holds a B.A. in political science from the
College of Wooster. Prior to accepting the position at Penn State, Fowler
was the associate director of stewardship at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Welsh and Fowler will be visiting Penn Staters and Libraries donors and
will largely focus on building collection and program support for the
subject libraries. Of course, the Knowledge Commons remains a high
priority for us, and we will continue working to raise money to support
the technology and programming needs to meet the ever-evolving needs
of our students across the Commonwealth.
My best to each of you,
Amy Yancey, director of the Libraries Office of Development
13
News B r i e f s
News in Brief: Librarians Receive Recognition
❧ Kalin Receives Award for
Administrative Excellence
Penn State’s Commission for Women
for her commitment to mentoring.
Sally Kalin, associate dean for
University Park Libraries, has been
honored with the 2011 Award for
Administrative Excellence. The award,
established in 1970, is given to a faculty
or staff member whose performance
methods and achievements exemplify
the highest standards of administrative
excellence.
Kalin recently announced plans to
retire in summer 2011.
Kalin, a member of the University
Libraries faculty for 32 years, is
recognized for
her leadership in
the development
of technological
resources as the key
to the advancement
of the Libraries and
for instituting “a
culture of service”
benefiting faculty,
students, and staff.
One nominator
describes her as a
“key player in all
aspects of library service, including
front-line reference services, facilities
improvements, and the move into the
digital age.”
Kalin is a proponent of marketing
initiatives to enhance the visibility
of the Libraries and promote its
contributions to research, teaching,
learning, and service at Penn State.
She has spearheaded the design and
development of the new Knowledge
Commons in central and west Pattee,
which will provide an information
and technology-rich environment for
undergraduate students.
She is cited for development of the
University Libraries’ mentoring
program, in which a mentormentee pair concept is used to help
facilitate the professional growth
and development of faculty. She was
the 2005 recipient of the Rosemary
Schraer Mentoring Award from
14
❧ Young Named “Mover and
Shaker”
Courtney Young,
head librarian at
J. Clarence Kelly
Library, Penn
State Greater
Allegheny,
was recently
named a “Mover
and Shaker”
for 2011 by
Library Journal,
a prominent
publication of the
library science
profession. Young, who is also associate
professor of women’s studies, received
recognition in the Change Agent
category. She is one of 50 librarians
in the country to be recognized by
Library Journal this year. In its article
on Young, Library Journal quoted Sara
Whildin, head librarian Penn State
Brandywine, who described Young
as “a master at making connections.”
Whildin added, “She exemplifies
the skills our library leaders need
to connect library services to their
communities.”
❧ Zabel Wins ALA’s Mudge Award
Diane Zabel, the Louis and Virginia
Benzak Business librarian at Penn
State University Libraries, has been
selected the
2011 winner of the
American
Library
Association
(ALA)
Isadore
Gilbert
Mudge Award. The award recognizes
distinguished contributions to reference librarianship. In choosing Zabel
for this year’s honor, the selection committee cited her professional leadership
both as a past president of Reference
and User Services Association (RUSA)
and current editor of Reference & User
Services Quarterly (RUSQ), her
extensive publication credentials
in hospitality management and
tourism and her key role in revitalizing reference librarianship.
They also noted her local and
national impact on the profession through her mentoring
and as a teacher to thousands of
business school students. A colleague describes Zabel as “the
complete package of devotion to
the cause; deep thinking about
the practice and future of reference; and sheer productivity.”
❧ New Head of Special
Collections Selected
Timothy D. Pyatt will begin his
appointment as the Dorothy Foehr
Huck Chair and head of the Special
Collections Library on June 1. Pyatt
comes to Penn State from Duke
University where since 2002, he was the
University Archivist in Perkins Library
and from 2006 to 2010, he also served
as associate director of the Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections
Library. He holds a B.A. in history
from Duke University and a master’s
of library science from North Carolina
Central University.
❧ New Search Function Unlocks
Libraries’ Resources
The Libraries have launched a test
of a powerful new search function
that allows you to find all library
resources—books, articles, newspapers, databases and more—from a
single search box. Called LionSearch,
the new service mimics Google-like
News Brief s
❧ Exhibits
searches—but with reliable results to
nearly instantaneously, return a list of
relevant physical and digital materials
from the Libraries’ collections. Access
it from the Libraries’ home page at
www.libraries.psu.edu and let us know
what you think of this beta mode that
is set for full release this fall.
❧ Libraries Receive Additions to
Amusement Park Collection
The Libraries recently received a rare
collection of materials on American
amusement parks that provides a
fascinating
look at family
leisure time and
recreation in
the last century.
The Charles and
Betty Jacques
Amusement
Park Collection
includes
photographs,
postcards,
advertising
materials (some
dating back to the late 1800s), slides,
documents and ephemera from
amusement parks in many parts of the
country. Charles Jacques, who is the
author of six books in this field, began
documenting America’s amusement
parks in 1975. Some of the parks
documented in the collection existed
only for a season or two, while others,
like Hersheypark and Coney Island, are
still going strong today. This collection
will be valuable to scholars in many
fields including social history, business
and labor history, and sports and
recreation.
Diversity Studies Room, second floor Pattee Library
Library hours at 814-865-3063 /
www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/hours.html
”Establishing an Identity: the Cinema and Literature of Asian
America in the University Libraries’ Collections,” an exhibit, is
on display through May 15, in the Diversity Studies Room’s new
location, second floor Pattee Library, to the right of the Arts and
Humanities Library service desk. This exhibit celebrates Asian
Americans through images and the richness and substance
of their cinema and literature. All the books and movies in the exhibit are available in the Penn
State University libraries, searchable through The CAT, the online catalog. For more information,
contact 814-863-4240.
The Eberly Family Special Collections Library
104 Paterno Library, Curtin Road
Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the semester
Call 814-865-1793 for other times.
“Life’s Silvered Strand: George ‘Daddy’ Groff’s China,” from
the Penn State University Archives, is on display through
June 8. George Weidman Groff (1884-1954), affectionately
known as “Daddy” Groff by thousands of his students, was
an agricultural faculty member concentrating on horticulture
and botany during his years at Penn State and Lingnan
Universities. A pioneer in identifying medicinal plants,
Groff was honored in 1953 as one of the first five named
“Distinguished Alumni” of Penn State.
Hintz Alumni Center, University Park Campus
Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or call 800-548-5466
“From High Heels to High Hopes: Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics at Penn State,” a Penn State
University Archives exhibit, is on display through June 7. Women at Penn State participated
in sporting events as early as the 1900’s in their physical education classes, but it was the
passage of Title IX of The Federal Aid to Education Amendments in 1972 that changed women’s
sports forever with increased opportunities. For exhibit information, call Paul Dzyak at 814-8652123 or Paul Karwacki at 814-863-9870.
Libraries Development Board
Honorary Chairs
Stephen J. Falke
Michael S. Kirschner
Joseph V. Paterno
Suzanne P. Paterno
Co-Chairs
Carol H. Klaus
Robert C. Klaus
Joseph DiGiacomo
Ronald L. Filippelli
Eric V. Gearhart
Dorothy Foehr Huck
Cynthia M. King
Kerry W. Kissinger
John J. Krog
Douglas C. McBrearty
Jeanette D. McWhirter
George M. Middlemas
Bonnie S. Prystowsky
Sally L. Schaadt
Jeffrey M. Shanahan
Sandra W. Spanier
Scott H. Steinhauer
Raymond A. Tiley
Ann C. Tombros
Robin Ward Savage
Allen J. Weltmann
Barbara I. Dewey,
ex officio
Amy Yancey, ex officio
University Libraries Staff
Questions or comments: 814-865-2258
Amy Yancey, director of development
Brooke Welsh, associate director of development
Marcus Fowler, assistant director of development
Shirley Davis, assistant to the dean for external relations
Karen McCulley, development assistant
Roberta Stern, administrative support coordinator
The Library: the Heart of the University is published semiannually by the Office of Public Relations and
Marketing for the Office of Development, Penn State University Libraries, Barbara I. Dewey, dean.
Copyright ©2011 The Pennsylvania State University. All rights reserved. Direct questions and comments to
Catherine Grigor, editor and manager of Public Relations and Marketing. Phone: 814-863-4240;
e-mail: cqg3@psu.edu
This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is committed to affirmative action,
equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. Produced by Public Relations and Marketing, University
Libraries. U.Ed. LIB 11-152.
15
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Newsletter Story Leads to Gift
Readers of this newsletter may recall a feature in the previous issue about a gift to
Special Collections of some 300 editions of Der Struwwelpeter, the popular 19thcentury German children’s classic by Heinrich Hoffmann. The article caught the eye of
alumnus Otto Pfefferkorn (Chemical Engineering ’51), who was born in Germany and
moved with his parents to the United States at the tender age of 15 months.
As a result of reading about our Allison-Shelley Collection, which documents the
spread of German culture throughout the English-speaking world, Mr. Pfefferkorn has
generously made a gift of books from his German-speaking childhood to Rare Books
and Manuscripts. The gift includes a 1928 Frankfurt edition of Der Struwwelpeter
and other illustrated German children’s books, including two scarce titles by Wilhelm
Busch (1823–1908), the influential German caricaturist who achieved success with
the first of his picture stories, Max und Moritz (published in 1865). Busch’s books
are regarded as among the primary precursors of the modern comic strip. In English
translation, Max and Moritz inspired the American strip The Katzenjammer Kids and
is a fine example of the influence of German culture on America.
Mr. Pfefferkorn is also working with our Libraries specialists in German language and
literature (Dawn Childress) and chemistry (Nan Butkovich) to donate other books.
Because of severe space constraints, our acceptance of gifts must be selective, but when
the right donor meets a willing librarian, the results are mutually satisfying. We are
grateful to Otto Pfefferkorn for his careful reading of The Library.
Wilhelm Busch (1823–1908) Schnaken &
Schnurren (Munich: Braun und Schneider, no date)