The current system for communicating research is rooted in a print-based system, even though we are in the digital age. This conventional model does not take advantage of the extraordinary new possibilities for how researchers can create, share, and access scholarship.

Here at the UConn Library, one of the tenets of our Purposeful Path Forward is to engage in the driving of UConn’s ‘Scholarly Engine’, or the processes of research and knowledge creation. One of the core activities in our approach is educating our community on the importance of Open Access. Open Access (OA), as defined by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), refers to the “free, immediate, online availability of research articles, coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.”

Why Open? Open changes the way we discover knowledge. It can turn ideas into reality,  break down barriers to learning, and lay the groundwork for breakthrough research.

This month we are embracing the challenge provided by the 2017 International Open Access Week by answering the question, “Open in order to…” through a series of programs and initiatives.

OpenCommons@UConn
The UConn Library is proud to announce the re-launch of the University’s institutional repository, OpenCommons@UConn, a showcase of the scholarship and creative works of the UConn community. The renaming of this services emphasizes the Library’s role in providing the tools to enable independent learning, research, and scholarship. By making the University’s diverse and unique resources openly accessible worldwide, we hope to inspire groundbreaking research and advance learning, teaching, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Open in order to…provide access to UConn’s scholarship

Open Educational Resources @ UConn Exhibit: published teaching and learning materials under an open license
October 18-31, 2017
HBL, Plaza Level
Open Access and Open Educational Resources (OER) are related but distinct, with the commonality of providing high quality learning materials at no cost. In an academic setting, the lines of Open Access publishing for research materials and Open Educational Resources for teaching and learning overlap in significant ways. UConn’s OER Initiative began only 2 years ago and to date has saved our undergraduates over $500,000 in textbook costs. View some OER textbooks and learn more about the faculty who are working towards making UConn more affordable.
Open in order to…save students money

Is this open access journal any good?
Thursday, October 19, 9:30-11:00am
Homer Babbidge Library, Collaborative Learning Classroom
Faculty often struggle to identify good quality open access journals in which to publish or to serve as an editor or reviewer. Many new open access journals exist now – some are good quality, some are exploitative, and some are in-between. This workshop will include a brief discussion of faculty concerns about identifying journals. The majority of the session will be devoted to identifying and demonstrating indicator web-based tools which can help faculty to appraise a journal’s quality.  Please register at http://cetl.uconn.edu/seminars
Open in order to…find quality teaching materials

Paywall: A Conversation about the Business of Scholarship with Filmmaker Jason Schmitt
Wednesday, October 25, 2:30-4:00pm
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Help us celebrate Open Access Week by joining award-winning filmmaker Jason Schmitt as we screen and discuss footage from his in-progress documentary Paywall: The Business of Scholarship. Schmitt will be accompanied in the discussion by a panel of UConn faculty who will share their views on making the results of academic research freely accessible online. Panelists include:

• Johann Peter Gogarten is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in UConn’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. He is a Fulbright scholarship recipient and his pioneering research in the field of molecular evolution has appeared in numerous scholarly publications.
• Arnab Roy is a Ph.D. candidate in UConn’s Department of Literatures, Cultures and Languages and he is also a co-editor of the Open Access publication, The Quiet Corner Interdisciplinary Journal. He is currently writing his dissertation, titled Ethical and Empathic Universals in the Study of Indian Literary Traditions.
• Jason Schmitt, the filmmaker.

Co-sponsored by UConn Humanities Institute

Open in order to…talk about the business of scholarship
Flyer in pdf
Release in pdf

Open Data In Action
Thursday, October 26, 11:00am-2:00pm
Hartford Public Library Atrium
Open Data In Action brings together a wide range of researchers to showcase how their work has benefited from openly and freely accessible data. Presenters from the public, private, and academic sectors will discuss how open data, ranging from historical documents to statistical analyses, is being used to create projects, change policies, or conduct research and highlight the importance open data has on shaping the world around us.

Opening Remarks:
Tyler Kleykamp, Chief Data Officer, State of Connecticut

Presenters:

• Steve Batt, UConn Hartford/CT State Data Center, Tableau Public and CT Census Data
• Jason Cory Brunson, UConn Health Center, Modeling Incidence and Severity of Disease using Administrative Healthcare Data
• Stephen Busemeyer, The Hartford Courant,Journalism and the Freedom of Information
• Brett Flodine, GIS Project Leader, City of Hartford Open Data
• Rachel Leventhal-Weiner, CT Data Collaborative, CT Data Academy
• Anna Lindemann/Graham Stinnett, UConn/DM&D, & Archives, Teaching Motion Graphics with Human Rights Archives
• Thomas Long, UConn Nursing, Dolan Collection Nursing History Blog
• Tina Panik, Avon Public Library, World War II Newsletters from the CTDA
• Jennifer Snow, UConn Library, Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives: Government Documents as Open Data
• Rebecca Sterns, Korey Stringer Institute, Athlete Sudden Death Registry
• Andrew Wolf, UConn Digital Media & Design, Omeka Everywhere

Co-sponsored by the Hartford Public Library
Open in order to…share data 
Flyer in pdf

Introduction to Data Visualization using Tableau Public
Monday, October 30, 3:00-4:15pm
Homer Babbidge Library, Level 2 Electronic Classroom
Tableau Public is a free version of Tableau business intelligence / visual analytics software, which allows anyone to explore and present any quantitative information in compelling, interactive visualizations. In this hands-on session you will work with different prepared datasets to create online interactive bar graphs, scatterplots, thematic maps and much more, which can be linked to or embedded in blogs or on web sites. Please register at http://workshops.lib.uconn.edu/
Open in order to…visualize research

Digital Scholarship: Partnering for the Future
Joan K. Lippincott, Associate Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information
Tuesday, November 7, 2:30-4:00
Homer Babbidge Library, Humanities Institute Conference Room
Researchers in many disciplines are finding that they can ask new kinds of research questions as a result of the rapid growth in the availability of digital content and tools. In addition, the outputs of their research can include many more types of products such as data visualizations, geo-referenced representations, text augmented with images and audio, exhibits on the web, and virtual reality environments. Developing these projects takes a team of people who have a variety of skill sets. These individuals may come from academic departments, the library, the information technology unit, and other specialties. Graduate and undergraduate students are also often part of teams working on digital scholarship projects. In this presentation, Lippincott will provide an update on developments in digital scholarship and will describe existing programs and projects, discuss the importance of physical space, and encourage the development of a campus digital scholarship community.  Co-sponsored by UConn Humanities Institute
Open in order to…develop digital scholarship

Printable Brochure (pdf format) for all of our events

Martha Bedard, Vice Provost for the UConn Library, will be retiring on July 20, 2017. Vice Provost Bedard has led the library since October, 2013 and during her tenure she has been instrumental in moving the UConn Library forward in several key areas.

One Library Initiative. The One Library Initiative has created a coordinated library system which now includes the Health Sciences Library in Farmington, and the transition has significantly increased the collaboration for decision making and judicious expenditure of, and access to, all library resources.

Master Plan. The flagship facility in the UConn Library system, the Homer Babbidge Library, has not seen significant physical changes since the early 1990s until this summer. A strong proponent for creating an active and creative place for the UConn community, Martha has been able to work with the University to secure $5 million in funding each year over the next four years to transform the Library into a thriving central academic resource for years to come.

Open Educational Resources. Having been involved with the Open Access movement for over a decade, Martha brought her passion for how the library can serve as a facilitator of open and affordable resources and elevated the conversation both at UConn and on the state-wide stage. Her work has sparked a movement on campus that has already saved an estimated 4,500 students over $450,000– and growing each year affecting thousands more.

Collaborations across campus. Increasing collaborations that are mutually beneficial has been a tenet in Bedard’s strategies. Working more closely with the Humanities Institute, the Entrepreneurial and Innovation Center, and the creation of the Mellon Foundation funded Greenhouse Studios project with Digital Media and Design and the School of Fine Arts are just a few of the successes. She was also the driving force in ensuring the continuation of the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair for its 25^th anniversary, and has been eager to connect with students on campus, working with students in the Undergraduate Student Government, Provost’s Library Advisory Committee, and the student friends of the library organization, the Homies.

Throughout her time at UConn, Martha continued to engage in the profession of librarianship as she has done over her 50 years in libraries. She has provided mentoring support in leadership through the Association of Research Libraries’ Leadership Program, for which she was selected as a Fellow for in the first cohort. She has also just completed her appointment as the President of the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) where she was actively engaged in regional wide collaboration including joining the Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust [EAST] program for shared retention of print materials across the BLC Network and beyond.

Prior to coming to UConn, Martha was the Dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico, a position she held for over six years. She has also held high level positions at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. At TAMU, she served in various leadership roles beginning in 2000, including Associate Dean for Information and Collection Services. Her previous positions at TAMU also included Associate Dean and Director of the Medical Sciences Library, Associate Dean for Advanced Studies, and Associate Dean for Digital Initiatives.

She served as the Associate Director for Library Services, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Sciences Library, and held medical library directorships at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh NC, the Medical Center of Central Massachusetts in Worcester MA., and Lowell General Hospital.

In retirement, Martha is looking forward to spending time travelling from Coast to Coast to visit family here in her native Massachusetts, in California where her son lives, and in New Mexico where her and her husband Denis still reside.

There will be a celebration of Martha’s career on Tuesday, August 8th at 3:00pm at the Homer Babbidge Library. All are welcome, and RSVPs can be sent to Kim Giard.

UConn has named Holly Jeffcoat as interim vice provost for libraries while a search for a successor to Martha is conducted. Holly has served as assistant vice provost for libraries since 2016 and was associate university librarian for finance, planning, and assessment from 2014 to 2016.

This summer the UConn Library’s Research Guides are being upgraded to a fresh new look and improved functionality. Besides becoming easier to read, they will be organized more efficiently, include improved navigation for less clicking to get to the content you need, easily searchable by topic, subject and course, and will now follow accessibility standards. We will also have an opportunity to incorporate interactive surveys and polls to enhance learning.

The new site will be located at http://guides.lib.uconn.edu as of Thursday June 1. During the migration from midnight on May 31 through 10:00am, Thursday, June 1, all guides will be unavailable.

We will be redirecting from the old site for a short time but we recommend that you update any links you have pointing to the current site (http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu.)

If you have any questions, please contact your subject specialist librarian.

Paws-to-Relax, our therapy dog stress relief program is back again for finals. Join us on Level 1 of Homer Babbidge while you study and make sure you tag the #uconnlibrary in your photos!

Monday, May 1

1-2pm – Rosie Lee (Corgi Mix) and Devon
2-3pm – Sophia (Mini Golden Doodle) and Layla
3-4pm – Fenway (Labradoodle) and Jean
4-5pm – Benny (Shih Tzu) and Jeanne

Tuesday, May 2

1-2pm – Meka (Keeshond) and Diane
2-3pm – Dream (Rottweiler) and Lauren
3-4pm – Boo (Golden Retriever) and Octavia
4-5pm – Mia (Shetland Sheepdog) and Terri

Wednesday, May 3

1-2pm – Suzie (German Shepherd) and Gery
2-3pm – Dolly (Golden Retriever) and Julie
3-4pm – Bo (Lab Mix) and Christine
4-5pm – Chase (Golden Retriever) and Michelle

Thursday, May 4

1-2pm – Sebbi (Cocker Spaniel) and Karen
2-3pm – Vinny (English Mastiff) and Michelle
3-4pm – Hunter (Shetland Sheepdog) and Rebecca
4-5pm – Rosie Lee (Corgi Mix) and Devon

Friday, May 5

1-2pm – Spumoni (Great Dane) and Tracey)
2-3pm – Tegan (Welch Springer Spaniel) and Claudia
3-4pm – Bo (Lab Mix) and Christine
4-5pm – Dream (Rottweiler) and Lauren

Times and dogs are subject to change.

We are excited to kick off Open Education Week with the announcement of the Provost’s Awards for Open Educational Resources. Award support totaling $98,000 will be provided to fourteen faculty.

The awards recognize UConn faculty and instructors who have committed to the creation, adaptation, adoption, and review of Open Educational Resources in their courses for a minimum of two years.

The awardees are:

Emma Bojinova, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, ARE Principles of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Approximately 225 students annually will use an online textbook published through OpenStax.

Ellen Carillo, Department of English, English 1010: Seminar in Academic Writing. Approximately 1,000 students annually will use an open access book she has written.

Joseph DePasquale, Department of Chemistry, Chem 1227Q and Chem 1228Q. Approximately 650 students annually will have access to ancillary materials created by Dr. DePasquale and published through OpenStax.

Challa Kumar, Department of Chemistry, Chem: 3563/3564. Approximately 200 students annually will use an online textbook and ancillary materials written by Dr. Kumar and published through OpenStax.

Ed Neth, Department of Chemistry, General Chemistry. Approximately 2,000 student annually have begun using the Atoms First Chemistry book written by Dr. Neth and published through OpenStax.

Amit Savkar & Andrew Jaramillo, Department of Mathematics, Pre-calculus. Approximately 600 students annually will use an online textbook and ancillary materials written by Dr. Savkar and Dr. Jaramillo and published through OpenStax.

Ambar Sengupta & Alexander Teplyaev, Department of Mathematics, Math 3160: Probability. Approximately 500 students will have access to a new online probability textbook spearheaded by Dr. Teplyaev in collaboration with the Mathematics Department.

Alexia Smith, Department of Anthropology, Anthropology 1500: Great Discoveries in Archaeology. Approximately 250 students annually will use a combination of open access resources.

Katherine Whitaker, Cara Battersby & Jonathan Trump, Astronomy Department, Phys 1025: Intro to Astronomy. Approximately 100 students annually will use an online textbook published through OpenStax.

And finally, the School of Nursing, led by Carol Polifroni, will aggregate multiple videos used for simulation lab work through a site license saving over $30,000 annually.

Recipients will participate in sharing their experiences in a variety of ways, including conferences and symposia hosted by UConn to discuss how they developed these materials, and provide opportunities to distribute them to those teaching in public and private institutions across the state.  Vice Provosts Martha Bedard and Sally Reis, in a statement about the variety of awards, expressed their appreciation to all faculty who are using open education materials and considering ways to reduce textbook costs for our students. For all faculty interested in ways to reduce textbook costs and in incentives to redesign courses using OER materials, additional information can be found at http://open.uconn.edu/

Greenhouse Studios, a new research unit at the University of Connecticut, is beginning implementation of a collaboration-first approach for the creation and communication of scholarship thanks to a $789,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This award is the first of its kind at UConn and part of the Mellon Foundation’s Scholarly Communications program, a multi-pronged effort to accelerate the evolution of scholarly practice and academic publishing to meet the opportunities and challenges of the digital age. Greenhouse Studios is a joint effort of the University Library, School of Fine Arts, and the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute, with each contributing resources and personnel to advance scholarly communications research. “Greenhouse Studios represents the kind of bold commitment to interdisciplinary research that our academic plan identified as central to solving the problems of the 21^st century and to cementing UConn’s place as a driver of innovation and excellence within the State of Connecticut and around the world,” says Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jeremy Teitelbaum.

Greenhouse Studios’ goal is to implement its design-based, inquiry-driven, collaboration-first workflow as a model for other universities. This endeavor was inspired by the example of creative industries, ranging from Hollywood to Madison Avenue to Wall Street, where design thinking approaches have been applied to solve problems of complexity and scale similar to those faced by scholarly communications.  “The workflows developed to create books, journal articles, and other printed materials involve a series of hand-offs from one expert to another in a chain-like fashion,” says Tom Scheinfeldt, Director of Greenhouse Studios. “Our approach transforms that chain of divided activities into a circle of continuous collaboration that starts with an initial inquiry and carries on through to a finished scholarly work.” By teaming together faculty, developers, librarians, designers, publishers, and other specialists, Greenhouse Studios brings to bear, at every stage of project development, the diverse expertise required to create, publish, and provide sustained access to scholarly communications expressed in digital and multimedia formats.

The first of Greenhouse Studios’ collaborative undertakings are now underway. The first step in the process was to find common interests behind a broad prompt, The Limits of Text. The Limits of Text aims to explore how the linear nature of print can limit the way we look at and communicate research and to engage in ways to change this. The prompt has culminated with three unique projects to explore, all of which will produce results through a diverse range of textual, aural, visual, material, and performative paths.

Finotype and Global Cuban Cultures. When asked what fino means Cubans both on and off the island offer varied, even contradictory, responses, from ideas about refinement and purity to feelings of sexual repression. This inquiry explores how a seemingly small aesthetic category—fino—is expressed through the stuff of everyday life but carries different meanings based on race, class, and gender. The team is exploring a tapestry of films, photographs, documents, and oral histories as part of its work.

Ellen Emmet Rand. A savvy career woman at a time when women in business were rare, Ellen Emmet Rand was one of the most prolific portrait painters in the United States during the early 20th century. Her subjects included President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Charles Lewis Beach, president of the Connecticut Agricultural College (now UConn). The Greenhouse Studios team takes inspiration from exhibitions, symposia, and new scholarly work happening around Rand at UConn beginning this spring.

Charles V Coronation. The coronation mass of Charles V in 1530 legitimized his rule as a political leader through a series of medieval and early modern rituals and performances. The Greenhouse Studios team will examine the performances within the context of the past through a wide variety of mediums, such as sound recordings, art, and architecture, to help us more fully understand the rich and powerful messages of these events.

As these projects begin on their two-year journey this spring, a second cohort of researchers will begin to organize around the next prompt to begin in the fall. They will be working to identify the subject, lay the groundwork around the prompt, and strategize how the individual projects fit into the larger picture.

Currently located on the third floor of Homer Babbidge Library, Greenhouse Studios will be moving to new quarters that will utilize the physical environment to enable more collaboration and creativity. These changes are a piece of the Master Plan currently being undertaken in the Homer Babbidge Library and will transform the first floor into a collaborative space with cutting-edge equipment and visualization tools that will surround Greenhouse Studios’ future home.

For more information on Greenhouse Studios / Scholarly Communications Design at UConn, visit www.greenhousestudios.uconn.edu.

Yup! Paws to Relax is back during finals week with some of your favorite drooly friends and some new ones too.

This year we welcome the following friends to help you relax:

Monday

1 p.m.: Rosie Lee the Corgi Mix and and her human Devon Conover
2 p.m.: Hunter the Shetland Sheepdog and his human Rebecca Caldwell
3 p.m.: Beyyn the Shih Tzu and his human Jeanne Ladd
4 p.m.: Sophia the Mini Golden Doodle and her human Layla Berger

Tuesday

1 p.m.: Wrigly the Newfoundland and his human Laurel Rabschutz
2 p.m.: Kammi and Chumani the Keeshounds and their humans Kathry and Pat Patterson
3 p.m.: Vinny the English Mastiff and his human Michelle Finnegan
4 p.m.: Cooper the German Shephard and his human Nancy Benway

Wednesday

1 p.m.: Barney the Golden Retriever and his human Betsy Tubridy
2 p.m.: Bo the Lab Mix and his human Christine Anderson
3 p.m.: Mela the Keeshound and her human Diane Baricak
4 p.m.: Bugs the Great Dane and his human Tracy Powell

Thursday

1 p.m.: Sebbi the American Cocker Spaniel and his human Karen Tuccitto
2 p.m.: Penn the Labradoodle and human Susan Stewart
3 p.m.: Mia the Shetland Sheepdog and her human Terrie Carpenter
4 p.m.: Chase the Golden Retriever and his human Michelle Volz

Friday

1 p.m.: Dolly the Golden Retriever and her human Julie Bowering
2 p.m.: Dream the Rottweiler and his human Laruen Jorgensen
3 p.m.: Andy the Golden Retriever and his human Sandy Lok
4 p.m.: Chase the Golden Retriever and his human Brian Volz

Please note that some of the times and dogs may change.

Mr. Lemon Hart, Old and New Theme – Ronald Searle

Ronald Searle has been called one of the greatest satirical cartoonists of the 20th century. Best known in England for his wildly popular St. Trinian’s cartoons featuring a fictional English girls’ school, and his work here in the States for publications such as The New York Times, Life and The New Yorker, there is no doubt you have already seen and admired his work.

An impressive collection of Searle’s work is being cared for by Robert Forbes and more than 80 pieces are on display as part of “The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Searle, a selection from the collection of Robert and Lydia Forbes” currently at the UConn Library.

An author of children’s poems, Forbes began the process of producing his first book by searching for the best possible illustrator out there, and for him the answer was Ronald Searle. “So I just asked” quipped Forbes. “I have learned in life that if you don’t try, you will never know what could have been.” From there a remarkable collaboration was born.

Belle of St. Trinian’s. Ronald Searle

The Forbes collection goes far beyond the whimsy of his children’s books to capture the full range of work shaped by, in many ways, a life that saw the worst of humankind as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II. His pieces consistently show his interest in the human condition, illustrating how others see us and how we see others, all delivered with a sharp humor.

The Conservative Lobster, Beastly Feasts. Ronald Searle

This exhibition spans Searle’s career including the St. Trinian’s series, early success as a magazine and book illustrator, work for movies and businesses such as Lemon Hart & Sons, and a few of his famous drawings of cats. Additionally, children of all ages will be delighted in the softer, whimsical imagination of Searle through pieces from his collaborations with Mr. Forbes. At the time of Searle’s death in 2011, they were working on a forth book of poetry in the series, Captain Puss, and a selection of these unpublished pieces can also be found in the exhibit.

The exhibit is open to the public and on display through Feb. 10, 2017. The public is invited to a special reception and gallery talk with Robert Forbes and illustrators Cora Lynn Deibler and Alison Paul on Monday, Nov. 28, 6:30 p.m. in the Homer Babbidge Library, 369 Fairfield Way, Storrs, CT. More information can be found at http://lib.uconn.edu/about/exhibits 

Please join us for a celebration of Open Access Week with a program that will bring together many pieces of Open Access and how you can make it work for you.

The Intersections Between Open Access, Open Educational Resources & Author Rights

Wednesday, October 26, 2016
12-3:30pm
Homer Babbidge Library, Class of ’47 Conference Room or online at https://goo.gl/vuNKmJ 

12-1:15pm
Empowering Authors through Publication Agreements
Maximize control, impact and discoverability of your scholarly output.
Michael Rodriguez, Electronic Resources Librarian

Open Access Flavors
What are the diff erent types of open access and why do they matter?
Carolyn Mills, Biology, Agriculture & Natural Resources Librarian

OA? OER? What’s the Difference?
Two diff erent movements with a lot in common. How do they support each other?
Kathy Labadorf, Reference, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Librarian

1:30-3:15pm
ORCID ID’s
This digital identifi er distinguishes you from every other researcher. Learn about the ID and how to use it.
Carolyn Mills, Biology, Agriculture & Natural Resources Librarian

Entering the Creative Commons
What are open licenses and how do they add value to scholarly and creative work?
Michael Rodriguez, Electronic Resources Librarian

Managing Your Scholarly ID Online
Make your scholarly author identity visible and available for citation.
Carolyn Mills, Biology, Agriculture & Natural Resources Librarian

UConn’s Research Data Repository
Learn how UConn can help make your data publicly available.
Jennifer Eustis, Digital Repository Content Administrator & Research Data Management

Light refreshments will be served.

Open Access Week is a global event promoting open access as a new norm in scholarship and research. For more information go to www.openaccessweek.org. For more information on the resources available at UConn go to www.open.uconn.edu.