Noteworthy

Cook Library at the Benefits Festival

November 15, 2007

Cook Library joined the TU Benefits Festival to present some of the library services available to all staff and faculty at TU. A book cart loaded with samples from our Leisure Reading Collection, our CD collection, our juvenile collection, and more, was available for browsing. We even checked out some the items to borrowers while they visited. We also gave away several copies of Fahrenheit 451, our Big Read title for this year. Karen Fulton and Felicity Knox prepared the display and greeted several visitors. We hope to see some of them as regulars in the library!


Photo by Paul Peeling

Chalk the Walk at Cook Library

November 14, 2007

As part of International Education Week, the Study Abroad Office held an event to chalk world flags in the courtyard in front of Cook Library. Over 30 countries were represented in the graphics.


 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Paul Peeling

This photo of the event appeared in the November 29 edition of eTU. Laura Stemler, of Cook Library's Circulation Department, appears at right.


Photo by Desiree Stover

Spirit Day 2007

October 12, 2007

TU kicks off its Homecoming Weekend with Spirit Day. To join in this year, the Cook Library staff rounded up its collection of tigers and spirit gear and assembled this display at the front of the Learning Commons on the library's main floor.

Photo of Cook Library staff with stuffed tigers and TU gear.
Photo by Paul Peeling

The Big Read Gets Fired Up

September 26, 2007

TU is partnering locally with Baltimore County and area organizations to present The Big Read, a major initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. On Wednesday afternoon, Towson High School students and TU faculty, staff and students posed in front of Stephens Hall to kick off a month-long campaign to read and dicuss Ray Bradbury's classic dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451.


Photo by Kanji Takeno, Towson University

Cook Library Jazzes It Up

February 07, 2007

This semester, the Albert S. Cook Library and the Music Department of Towson University have partnered up to bring Looking At: Jazz, America's Art Form to the Towson community. One of only fifty sites in the country to receive the ALA/NEH grant, Towson is hosting a six program film screening/lecture series that will explore genres, history, and performers in jazz music culture. Each program is introduced by Cook Library Liaison to Art, Music, and Theatre, Lisa Woznicki and panel discussions are led by resident Jazz Scholar, Dave Ballou. Additional panelists appearing for the series include Bill Shoemaker, music critic from Down Beat magazine, Dr. Lena Ampadu, Professor in the African American Studies Department, and jazz vocalist, Jay Clayton of Peabody Conservatory. Each program is advertised in the local media, as well as the library's website, http://cooklibrary.towson.edu. More about the Looking At: Jazz series and related program material can be found on the national website: http://www.nvr.org/lookingatjazz/.

To kick off the program, on Wednesday, February 7, 2007, a three piece student jazz combo performed a 30 minute set in the newly refurbished lobby of the Albert S. Cook Library. The library discovered that not only was the site conducive for a small ensemble to perform, but also that the acoustics of the lobby space were great! Comments were very positive, and the students seemed to genuinely enjoy performing in this new venue. As a result of this venture, the Music Department and the library have teamed up to present a monthly jazz concert series titled "Mid-day Jazz in the Library," with the first scheduled for Wednesday, March 8, 2007.

L. Woznicki


In the lobby of the Albert S. Cook Library, students Troy Atkins - sax, Andrew Webb - bass, and Savino Palumbo - keyboards, performed as the kick off event for the Looking At: Jazz, America's Art Form film/lecture series.
Photo by Kay Kazinski

Sarah Crest Receives Award

January 30, 2007

Sarah Crest, Reference Librarian at Cook Library, just received notification that she has been chosen to receive the 2007 James Partridge Outstanding African American Information Professional Award. The Award is given annually by the University of Maryland College of Library and Information Science and the Citizens for Maryland Libraries in honor and memory of James Partridge who epitomized the qualities of excellence in service. Nominees for the Award must be librarians who have demonstrated sustained, high quality contributions to and dedicated service in support of the mission of libraries to provide access to information to any citizen who wishes to read and to learn. The Partridge Award is the College's way of acknowledging and celebrating the contributions of committed African Americans in the Information Professions.

Sarah Crest has a M.A. in Information Studies from the University of Maryland and has worked in User Instruction at Towson Unversity's Albert S. Cook Library from 1988 to the present. For her professional leadership and many accomplishments she was promoted to Librarian IV at Towson University in 2006.

Y. Lev

TU Cares and the Cook Library

January 18, 2007

In August 2006, Cook Library was asked to assist "TU Cares", an academic support program that assists transfer students in their transition to Towson University. The collaboration was a great success! The collaboration was repeated this January for the spring semester transfer students and the partnership will become a regular feature of the start of each semester.

Students transferring to Towson University receive comprehensive advising and course scheduling assistance from faculty advisors. The process requires space and computer support to advise approximately 1,000 students prior to the start of each semester. Cook Library's new learning commons was identified as a perfect venue for the event. The computers used are located on one side of the learning commons, with small group work areas adjacent. Over the course of five days, a large bank of computer stations is reserved for the advising and scheduling processes. Working with faculty advisors and registrar office staff, the transfer students develop their academic plans and semester schedules online. With a click they print their documents and are ready to begin the semester.

In addition to smooth logistics and the convenience of "one stop shopping," the students visit the library (and Starbucks™) for what we hope is the first of many trips to Cook. As a gesture of appreciation for the library's contributions, the TU Cares office gives each transfer student an insulated coffee mug, engraved with the Towson University logo, Albert S. Cook Library URL and reference department's IM chat address! Supporting students, marketing the library, and providing for caffeine…it's a winner!

D. Nolan

Recent Presentations by Towson University Librarians

January 2007

January Conference, Towson University, Jan 10, 2007

General Education: Connecting Curriculum, Co-Curriculum, General Education, and the Majors through Planning, Analysis, Process, and Implementation

Deborah Nolan, University Librarian at Towson University, facilitated a break-out session, "Learning Environments" at the Towson University Faculty January Conference. Towson faculty who attended the session expressed concerns about characteristics of incoming students, such as being unprepared in basic academic skills; discussed learning environments and their relevance to General Education; and made suggestions for General Education at TU, including facilities, technology, temporal environment such as class schedules, and different learning styles. The session attendees emphasized the importance of learning environments being comfortable, clean maintained, and attractive, with a "living room environment. Deborah led the often lively discussion, which included representatives from teaching faculty, librarians, and residence life.

M. Gilbert

Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Jan. 2007

While many faculty and staff juggle work assignments and scheduling requests to present lectures and workshops at conferences during the winter months, this January, Lisa Woznicki found herself approaching this task with a lighter heart than in past years. Looking out the window as her plane touched down the evening before the conference, it was not hard to see why; she was treated to a spectacular rainbow and palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze just beyond the runway. She had warned many of her colleagues that she would be hard at work at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, but no one seemed to believe her. Looking at the lush vegetation surrounding her on her first trip to this beautiful state, she finally understood why they were dubious in accepting her explanations for wanting to go to this conference.

While the location of this conference in Honolulu is certainly attractive, the conference itself was a very worthwhile event and pulled attendees from other exotic countries such as Belarus, China, and Singapore. Presentations and lecture/recitals ran a wide spectrum from performing arts to English literature, and the conference was packed with interesting reports of research and scholarship in cross-disciplinary fields. Together with two TU colleagues, Dance Professor Vincent Thomas and Susan Rotkovitz of the Theatre Department and Arts Integration Institute, Lisa presented a workshop titled "Securing the Stage: The Integration of Research and Creativity in Performing Arts." They not only pondered the manner in which scholarship influences a finished production in performing arts, but topped off their research with evidence of successful synthesis of their ideas as evidenced by student performances and a hands-on workshop. Attendees were enthusiastic in their participation in activities that had them turn oral reminiscences about their grandmothers into a movement exploration that resulted in a choreographed dance. While she feels that the workshop would have been welcome in any setting, it was particularly gratifying to be able to present findings in such a beautiful and memorable locale. Aloha!

L. Woznicki

Society for Scholarly Publishing Seminar, Nov. 15, 2006

Yvonne Lev was one of two USMAI librarians who were invited to speak at the "Library Cancellation Decisions-A View from Inside the Library" seminar organized by the Society for Scholarly Publishing seminar and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in Washington DC on November 15, 2006. She talked about journal cancellations from the perspective of a smaller academic library while Susanna Van Sant from UMCP covered decision making in a large research university library. A medical librarian from George Washington University Health Sciences Library and a government librarian from NOAA added other perspectives to the overview on library journal cancellations presented by Karla Hahn from ARL.

Y.Lev

Virginia Assessment Group Conference, Nov. 13-15, 2006

Mary Ranadive, Acting Head of Reference, and Mary Gilbert, Head of Technical Services, presented the results of Towson University's LibQual+ survey at the Virginia Assessment Group Conference in Staunton, Virginia. This session described why Towson University, as a member of a large consortia, decided to use LibQual to measure the library's effectiveness after, instead of before, a renovation; the mechanics of conducting the survey; and the results of this process. The session was interactive, with a PowerPoint presentation at the beginning, followed by group discussion. The presentation was designed to elicit discussion about users' perceptions of the library; marketing new resources, and program planning, using both Towson's and attendee's experiences.

M. Gilbert

Cook Library Celebrates Renovation

December 6, 2006

Over 100 students, faculty, and staff gathered in the newly-refurbished lobby of the Albert S. Cook Library for a celebration marking the completion of the current phase of the Library’s renovation program. Special guests included library retirees, library benefactors, and the family of A. Samuel Cook, son of the Library’s namesake.

University Librarian, Deborah A. Nolan welcomed the crowd and introduced Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, James F. Brennan, who thanked the people who helped in the renovation process. Dr. Brennan described the improvements to the library as in support the goals of Towson University’s 2010 plan. He linked Cook Library to the educational and economic goals of the University’s mission, noting that "As Maryland’s metropolitan university, we’re seeking to provide an educated workforce for the people of Maryland; a workforce that will become the citizen leaders of our global marketplace."

Nolan followed up by outlining a vision for continued progress: "We see more bright, spacious areas and comfortable seats. We see quiet zones for quiet study, reading and thinking. We see small group rooms where students can work, study, and problem-solve cooperatively. We envision production labs for new media."

The renovation project included new carpeting, paint, lights, and furniture for the entire public area of the Library’s main floor. The Information Commons now contains over 140 computers and 8 group work cubicles equipped with computers offering wide-screen monitors and multiple keyboards and mice to facilitate group projects. New desks were designed and built for the reference and circulation areas. New lounge chairs and sofas were distributed throughout for students to study, converse, and relax. The lobby was resurfaced and redesigned for improved appearance, comfort, and traffic flow. The outer lobby now includes a Starbucks café and students are welcome to bring their drinks and small food items into the Library. Also celebrated at this event was the completion of the renovated Student Computing Center, located on another floor of the building.

Tours were offered to the visitors interested in seeing the highlights of the changes during the last two years. In a related ceremony, Sam Cook unveiled a plaque installed beneath the portrait of his father. The plaque honored the contributions and influence of the man who served as Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, 1904 – 1920 and as the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, 1920 – 1942.

P. Peeling


Portrait of Albert S. Cook with Deborah A. Nolan, University Librarian,
and A. Samuel Cook, Esq., son of Albert S.Cook.

Ornithology Collection Donated to Towson University

November 28, 2006

In October 2006, the Albert S. Cook Library of Towson University received a gift of about 300 books on birding from Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Pinckard, avid birders who collect books on birding from around the world. Until recently, they took an annual birding trip to explore different parts of the world and to add new species to their life bird lists. They particularly enjoyed birding in the Neotropics and during their travels there, they met Alexander Skutch, a native of Baltimore and a "great field naturalist," at his home in southwestern Costa Rica.

Now that the Pinckards are traveling less, they wanted to share their collection with students in hopes of inspiring them to become naturalists and conservationists. They donated this collection in honor of Alexander Skutch whose lifework centered on the study of avian sociobiology in the Neotropics. Dr. Skutch, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in 1928, wrote some 200 scientific papers and 20 books on birds. The donors continue to send books written by Alexander Skutch to be added to the library's holdings and on November 28, Mr. Pinckard presented the Cook Library with a pastel drawing of Alexander Skutch that he commissioned from the Delaware artist, C. N. Wisniewski.

Y. Lev

Towson University Recipient of Jazz Collection of the late Doug Meriwether

November 27, 2006

In November 2006, the Albert S. Cook Library of Towson University accepted the donation of a jazz collection belonging to the late Doug Meriwether, a Baltimore resident and biographer of drummer Buddy Rich. The collection consists of 3000 jazz CD's, 50 vinyl recordings, and 600 books, plus assorted DVD/VHS tapes. All aspects of jazz performance, personalities, and history are represented, and the collection is a legacy of a lifetime of devoted jazz study. The CD donation will enable the Albert S. Cook library to increase its jazz music holdings by what would have represented a sizeable amount of funding and collection development work spanning a number of years.

The addition of these materials to the library collection could not have come at a more fortuitous time. Towson University has been selected as a site for ALA sponsored discussion series Looking At: Jazz, America's Art Form and will host six film/discussion series at its campus in spring, 2007. The inclusion of these wonderful books and CD's will allow for further study of the personalities and jazz periods discussed in the lecture/film series.

L. Woznicki

Partnering for PR

November 27, 2006

A partnership was sparked at Towson University's orientation for new faculty in August 2006 when new University Librarian, Deborah Nolan met Tiffany Derville, new faculty member of Mass Communications and Communications Studies. Introductions led to conversations and discovery of shared interests, in particular enthusiasm about marketing and public relations. Nolan and Derville identified parallel marketing needs, on the flip sides of a coin. Derville's upper level Mass Communications class must develop marketing plans for a real client and needed to identify a client. Nolan, planning to develop a marketing strategy for the Albert S. Cook Library, offered the library as the client, and a deal was struck.

The Mass Communications class was divided into two marketing teams. Both teams met with the library's Marketing Committee to gather information about the client such as its services and resources, customer characteristics, user opinions, current marketing strategies, and the library's vision for the future. The students, all seniors, combined their knowledge of mass communications and public relations with research findings on academic libraries and the Albert S. Cook Library to create comprehensive marketing campaign proposals. The proposals included components such as situation analysis; description of problems and opportunities; goals, objectives, strategies, rationales and tactics; timeline; budget; and evaluation plan.

As the end-of-semester course activity, the two teams will present their campaign proposals to their client, the library's Marketing Committee. We are eager to hear the pitches and suspect that both will be winners!

D. Nolan

 

Noteworthy / Albert S. Cook Library
http://cooklibrary.towson.edu/noteworthy/noteworthy.cfm
Last revised: November 16, 2007

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