About LTLS Members

Library to Hold Drawing for December 11 Symphony Tickets

The Danville Public Library is holding a drawing for a pair of free tickets to the Danville Symphony Orchestra’s December 11 concert, "At Home For Christmas".  The winning entry will be drawn at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8.  The winner will be notified by telephone.  Tickets are provided compliments of the Danville Symphony Orchestra.  Entry forms are available near the Checkout Desk on the first floor of the library.
 
The concert will feature Margaret Carlson, presenting her variation on traditional Christmas melodies with the Danville Symphony Orchestra.  She will be accompanied by her pianist Scott Stephenson.
 
The afternoon concert will begin at 3:30 p.m. at Danville High School and is sponsored by the Julius W. Hegeler II Foundation.
 
For information about ticket availability, visit the Danville Symphony office at the Village Mall, next to the cinemas, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or call 443-5300.  For more information about the concert, visit the Danville Symphony Orchestra’s website at https://www.danvillesymphony.org.

Library A Week

History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library

2010 no. 47

Library Profile

Library Name: History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library         Location: 246 Library, University of Illinois Type: Academic Mission: To support the academic mission of the University of Illinois by providing premier collections and services to our users.  To meet the library and information needs of students, faculty and staff at the University of Illinois and the general public. Website: https://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/ LTLS Directory Page: https://www.lincolntrail.info/zin.html Member Since: 1973   An interview with Mary Stuart.

What is unique about your library?

Many people were surprised at the consolidation of the History and Newspaper libraries in 2005, but it made perfect sense to historians.  No one uses newspaper resources like historians. We have back issues of newspapers in print and on microfilm. In addition, the History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library maintains the Library’s general microforms collection.  Altogether we have about 220,000 reels of microfilm and about 125,000 are newspapers. In addition, the University of Illinois Library has one of the world’s largest collections of weekly agricultural newspapers. Some of these go back to the early 19th century. These newspapers were never indexed, and the sole point of access was the date of the issues . For this reason they were excellent candidates for digitization, and so far we’ve completed digitization of more than 380,000 pages for our “Farm, Field and Fireside” repository.  This material is now keyword searchable, as well as browsable (https://www.library.illinois.edu/dnc/).

What are the primary goals and objectives of your library?

Our main goal is to provide services and resources to anyone on campus who is doing research in history, philosophy, religion, African American studies, Native American studies, or Jewish studies. We are open to the public and will help anyone in Illinois or anywhere in the world who has interest in our subject areas. We try to stay focused on providing excellent service to our patrons.

What cooperative efforts are you currently doing?

We work with the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities through the United States Newspaper Program (ending in 2010) and the National Digital Newspaper Program. We have received several newspaper digitization grants from other sources as well. We also work closely with the Department of History here at UIUC. We want to make sure that the library instruction we provide meets the needs of our history students. We have produced some videos on using the Library to do historical research, we meet with many history classes each semester, both undergraduate and graduate-level, to help the students with their research.

Tell us a story about your library.

For several years, we had a team of people who traveled throughout the state to inventory and catalog our state’s newspaper heritage. This work was funded by NEH under the United States Newspaper Program. In some cases we borrowed the original newspapers in order to microfilm them. We quickly learned how deeply people in local Illinois communities care about their cultural heritage. They are thrilled that we have been able to preserve these rapidly deteriorating newspapers for future generations. We also learned that there are many local newspapers that didn’t survive, and tragically this part of our state’s cultural heritage is lost forever. So it has been very gratifying to be able to rescue some of this unique material from the “slow fires” of deterioration.

If money were no object, what services would you add?

The first thing I would do is to restore our hours of operation and staffing. With more staff (and money) we could move faster with our newspaper digitization projects. I would also invest in building the collections, both print and digital. I would definitely purchase more commercially-produced online historical newspapers, such as the Times of India, the Baltimore Afro-American, the Detroit Free Press, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We receive many requests from students and other researchers for these historical newspapers.

What is popular in your library?

The specialized expertise that we provide to help our patrons find the resources they need and learn how to use them.

How does your library use online tools to connect to your user?

We have a website and use AIM reference to chat with our patrons from the website. There are also a great many online databases and other resources for our patrons to access, and numerous online guides (“Libguides”) and videos that link from our web site to help people use these resources.

Request a visit to your library If you would like to set up a special date for us to visit your library contact LTLS Consultant Michelle Ralston Library of the Week is published by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, 1704 W. Interstate Dr., Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-0047  -   ltls@lincolntrail.info Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes

Contemporary “Pop” Artist Adam Parker Smith Talks About His Art at the Tarble Arts Center

Adam Parker Smith is an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.  His work includes sculpture, mixed media, photography, film and installation; sound, lights, and movement; humor, irony, pop culture, and an occasional literary reference.
 
Smith will be at Eastern Illinois University’s Tarble Arts Center to complete an art installation titled Thriller and to present a lecture about his art.
 
The artist’s talk is Thursday, December 2, at 7pm, at the Tarble Arts Center.  Admission is free and the public is invited.  The program may also include a preview of the Thriller installation.  Thriller is scheduled to open December 4 and will remain on exhibition through February 20 in the Tarble’s eGallery.
 

Tune into Amateur Radio - from Hobby to Emergency Communication

John Van Sandt of Marshall, will present a fascinating program about amateur radio at Marshall Public Library on December 2nd at 6:30 PM.  Van Sandt will tell about the basics of amateur radio and how to get licensed.  Learn how “ham radio” is different from CB radio, and all the different aspects that make it so much fun and enjoyable for everyone from youngsters to people in their 90’s.  Special emphasis will be on Amateur Radio Emergency Services and why the FCC has allocated so many frequencies to ham radio.  You will understand why ham radio is the only fool-proof communications when a disaster strikes and all phones are worthless, Internet is down and even commercial FM/AM stations are off the air. Find out how you can be a part of this exciting hobby and service.

Having been interested in ham radio since the late 1950s, Van Sandt says amateur radio has been an excellent hobby to develop personal and technical skills.  He works with Skywarn, a cooperative effort between the National Weather Service and communities, by taking emergency calls for drunk drivers, accidents and other distress calls or relays. He was appointed emergency coordinator for Clark County, Illinois, in 2003. Professionally, Van Sandt worked at TRW in Marshall for 27 years in Quality Engineering before retiring in 2005.  Since then he has taught physics and has worked at various engineering jobs in the area.

Registration open for "Crafts in a Jar"

The Children’s Department of the Danville Public Library invites children to make gifts for the holidays during “Crafts in a Jar” from 10:30 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 4.  Materials will be provided, and there is no charge to attend. There is a limit of 25 children.  Pre-registration is required by signing up in the Children’s Department or calling them at 217-477-5225.

           

Library A Week

English Library

2010 no. 46

Library Profile

Library Name: English Library Location: 321 Main Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Type: Academic Mission: The University Library is central to the intellectual life of the University. By providing and stewarding collections and content that comprise a current and retrospective record of human knowledge and by offering a wide array of services, it enhances the University’s activities in creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and addressing critical societal needs. The Library advances the University’s goals by ensuring unfettered access to information and by providing a network of expertise that ensures value, quality, and authenticity of information resources. The English Library serves the Departments of English and the Unit for Cinema Studies. Its patrons include undergraduate majors, graduate students, and faculty members, as well as national and international scholars attracted by the strength of the collections. The English Library welcomes local residents involved in literature and the performing arts. Website: https://www.library.illinois.edu/egx/ LTLS Directory Page: https://www.lincolntrail.info/zin.html Member Since: 1973 An interview with Harriett Green, English and Digital Humanities Librarian, and Marek Sroka, Acting Head of the English Library.

What is unique about your library?

We have a carefully cultivated collection and are a bibliographic research center for literatures in English, literary criticism and theory, cinema studies, and early theatre. One of our strongest areas is Shakespeare. We provide expert, specialized reference and research services in these research areas not only to those affiliated with UIUC, but any researcher or student working in the field.

What are the primary goals and objectives of your library?

To provide expert and informed research assistance to UIUC undergraduates, graduate students, staff and faculty conducting research in literary studies and the performing arts. We also welcome patrons from the community. We also strive to keep our resources useful and current, making collection development very important. We try to stay on top of new resources in a variety of formats.

What cooperative efforts are you currently doing?

We often collaborate with other UIUC librarians and library units to provide research assistance to patrons and we also work together to buy resources. We recently collaboratively purchased the Black Drama, Second Edition database with the subject librarians in theatre, comparative literature, and African-American studies. We also collect materials with an eye to I-Share Libraries, and occasionally will make collection decisions based on what is available throughout the I-Share system. Perhaps our ultimate collaborative effort will occur when we merge with the Modern Languages and Linguistics Library to create the new Literatures and Languages Library in the spring.

Tell us a story about your library.

We have a statue of Henry W. Longfellow, by artist Lorado Taft. Lorado Taft was commissioned by the Class of 1907 to sculpt this bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow as a gift to the University of Illinois. The bust was originally designed early in Taft's career. He may have done work on the bust while studying in Paris or possibly while a student at UIUC.

If money were no object, what services would you add?

We would focus a lot on collection development by adding more books as well as online databases and resources. We would love to revamp the website and add online instruction resources. There would be a lot of journals we could reinstate and we could start digitization projects. It would also be great to add more staff.

What is popular in your library?

Our Shakespeare collection is probably the most popular collection. We also have a very quiet library and a lot of people come here to study and use the Periodicals Room. Our online resources are also very heavily used.

How does your library use online tools to connect to your user?

We staff an electronic chat service during the day, we’ve created a number of web research guides, and purchased a number of online archives and databases. We hope to launch a series of instruction video tutorials on literary research.

Request a visit to your library If you would like to set up a special date for us to visit your library contact LTLS Consultant Michelle Ralston Library of the Week is published by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, 1704 W. Interstate Dr., Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-0047  -   ltls@lincolntrail.info Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes

Tune into Amateur Radio - from Hobby to Emergency Communication

John Van Sandt of Marshall, will present a fascinating program about amateur radio at Marshall Public Library on December 2nd at 6:30 PM.  Van Sandt will tell about the basics of amateur radio and how to get licensed.  Learn how “ham radio” is different from CB radio, and all the different aspects that make it so much fun and enjoyable for everyone from youngsters to people in their 90’s.  Special emphasis will be on Amateur Radio Emergency Services and why the FCC has allocated so many frequencies to ham radio.  You will understand why ham radio is the only fool-proof communications when a disaster strikes and all phones are worthless, Internet is down and even commercial FM/AM stations are off the air. Find out how you can be a part of this exciting hobby and service.

Having been interested in ham radio since the late 1950s, Van Sandt says amateur radio has been an excellent hobby to develop personal and technical skills.  He works with Skywarn, a cooperative effort between the National Weather Service and communities, by taking emergency calls for drunk drivers, accidents and other distress calls or relays. He was appointed emergency coordinator for Clark County, Illinois, in 2003. Professionally, Van Sandt worked at TRW in Marshall for 27 years in Quality Engineering before retiring in 2005.  Since then he has taught physics and has worked at various engineering jobs in the area.

For more information or to register for this free program, please call the library at 217/826-2535 or visit us at www.marshallillibrary.com.  The library is located at 612 Archer Avenue in Marshall, Illinois, and is handicapped accessible.  Kindly allow 48 hours notice if special arrangements are needed.

Library A Week

Classics Library

2010 no. 45

Library Profile

Library Name: Classics Library        Location: 419a Library, University of Illinois Type: Academic Mission: To support the academic mission of the College of Applied Health Sciences by providing appropriate library services and collections.  To serve the library and information needs of students, faculty and staff at the University of Illinois, and of the general public. Website: https://www.library.illinois.edu/clx/ LTLS Directory Page: https://www.lincolntrail.info/zin.html Member Since: 1973 An interview with Bruce Swann.

What is unique about your library?

Although ‘unique’ may be too singular a word, the Classics Library is certainly special for its blend of the old and the new; the ability on site to use general web resources, as well as specialized databases, with the support of print material from the last 100 years or more at your fingertips. The range of material, which covers the Mediterranean world from antiquity into the Middle Ages, appeals to patrons from a number of academic disciplines and from the public at large.

What are the primary goals and objectives of your library?

To work to meet the mission and goals of the University Library in supporting the work of students, faculty, and the people of the state. In general, this means fulfilling the needs of patrons, and sometimes even discovering what those needs really are. Specifically, this can range from explaining to someone why there are no photographs of Julius Caesar, to ordering a new book, to ordering a reproduction of a Latin manuscript in Paris or Rome.

What cooperative efforts are you currently doing?

The Classics Library recently worked with the Digital Content Creation unit in the library to produce images and metadata for a set of facsimiles of leaves from medieval manuscripts. The end product is to appear in ARTstor, ‘a nonprofit digital image library for education and scholarship.’

Tell us a story about your library.

A portrait hangs on the wall in the library, a portrait of Prof. Oldfather, an energetic head of the Classics Department. There is a resemblance to Teddy Roosevelt with his round glasses, mustache, and hair parted high on the forehead. He died in 1945. Several years ago an elderly lady in a wheel chair was brought into the library. Her son explained that they were visiting the campus, and that his mother had wanted to see the Classics Library again. She looked up, and, with a faint gasp, recognized the portrait-oh, that was him; she had been in his class once. It was a special moment as she looked around, seeing some books which she had seen before, and some which Oldfather himself had used. For her, briefly, all the years between dropped away.

If money were no object, what services would you add?

With more money there are of course additional databases and books which would be welcome, but perhaps the best ‘service’ to be added would be a little more physical space, both for the additional collections, and for patrons at work.

What is popular in your library?

The plaster busts atop some of the bookcases are often noted; and books about Alexander the Great, Aristotle, and Sappho seem to go out to a wide range of people.

How does your library use online tools to connect to your user?

In one sense, I think our users use the online databases to connect to the library. Searches for journal articles may produce the articles online, but textual and image searches often lead to the need for printed editions, or the need to ask more questions.

Request a visit to your library If you would like to set up a special date for us to visit your library contact LTLS Consultant Michelle Ralston Library of the Week is published by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, 1704 W. Interstate Dr., Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-0047  -   ltls@lincolntrail.info Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes

Danville Library Celebrates Family Reading Night with Pre-Parae Story Time

The Children's Department of the Danville Public Library will celebrate Family Reading Night on Thursday, November 18 with stories, a short movie, and hot chocolate while people are waiting for the "Night of Lights" Holiday Parade to begin.  The free program will be held from 5:30 to 6 p.m. and will be of special interest to families who will be staking out their places around the library to view the Parade which will begin at 6:30 p.m.
          
Weather-permitting, the stories will be told on the library lawn facing Vermilion Street.  Families should dress warmly and bring flashlights.  The program will then move inside the library for a short movie and hot chocolate.  If the weather is not conducive to outside storytelling, the entire program will be held inside the library.
          
The library is located at 319 N. Vermilion Street.  It is open Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 8

Library Foundation to Hold Fall Used Book Sale

The Danville Library Foundation and Friends will hold its Fall Used Book Sale on Saturday, November 20, at the Danville Public Library. The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the first floor meeting room of the library, located at 319 N. Vermilion Street. The sale includes thousands of books for children and adults, magazines, collectible books, and audiovisual materials.    

All inventory must go in order to make room for future donations. Any libraries or groups interested in taking the remaining inventory should contact Cathy Reardon, Executive Director, Danville Library Foundation, at 477-5220, ext. 114.

Volunteers interested in helping with the set-up on Friday, November 19, or the sale on November 20, may sign up at the library’s Checkout Desk or call the library at 477-5220.  Volunteers will receive one free book for every hour worked.

All proceeds from the sale are used to broaden and enhance library services and to promote educational and cultural opportunities for families in our community.