The pandemic has reshaped the work environment in unprecedented ways, forcing organizations to adapt to a new way of working. The UConn Library is no different. Since March of 2020 we have shifted access to collections, increased online outreach, created new programming, and found new ways of working with each other and our communities. We have also seen an incredible shift in staffing. We have been fortunate enough to welcome several new staff members, said good luck to others moving to other institutions, wished many a happy retirement, and said goodbye to a dear colleague. In the second of this three part series, we will look at the shifts in staffing and service to our areas of work and hope you will join us celebrating the people, past and present, of the UConn Library. If you missed the first post, it was regarding our Library Administration area.

Collections & Discovery

Connecting you to the world of resources is at the heart of what our Collections & Discovery area does. The units within the area focus on digital imaging, conservation, collections acquisitions and discovery, and building our archives and special collections. 

In September 2020 we were fortunate enough to hire Roxanne Peck to lead the area as Associate University Librarian for Collections & Discovery. Roxanne has over 25 years of experience in academic libraries and came to us from the University of California San Diego where she was the program director for the Content Acquisition and Resource Sharing (CARS) Department. Roxanne’s talents served the Library well for the year and a half she worked for the Library, including helping us lead the forward progress on the Future of Journals Project and the significant challenge of finding and implementing a more sustainable model for providing access to resources. Roxanne will be leaving in July to become the Assistant Director of the Hoover Institution Library and Archives.

Other staff changes in the area include the retirement of Fred Rick in July 2020. Fred began at the UConn Library in 1985 after coming to UConn as a graduate student in Political Science. In the 34 years Fred worked for the Library, he worked at the same desk (lovingly dubbed Old Sturbridge Village by Fred himself), ensuring our physical materials were properly cared for, labeled, and bound. So if you ever found a book on the shelves, you can thank Rick. 

The maintenance of our physical collections did not stay static long. This past January 2022, we were fortunate to add Ellen Pikora to our team. Ellen has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh, and was both a library assistant at the Cromwell Belden Library and the Manchester Public Library when she was hired. 

The building of our collections, both physical and digital, is an important piece of this area’s goals, and at the heart of Michael Rodriguez’s work. Michal began his career at the UConn Library as Electronic Resources Librarian in February 2016. Michael led transformative initiatives at UConn and was equally active in local, regional, and national levels. The Library promoted Michael in 2019 to a newly created position, Collections Strategist. In that role he led efforts to make our scholarly resources more responsive to changing budgets and user needs, elevate the impact and diversity of our collections, and deepen our partnership with regional and national initiatives. Michael was also recently highlighted in UConn Today for his work on writing scores of Wikipedia articles, bringing long overdue attention to women, African Americans, and other historical figures in UConn and Connecticut history. Michael left the UConn Library in May 2022 to become Content and Scholarly Communication Strategist at LYRASIS.

And a conversation about our collections is never complete without talking about our nationally recognized Archives & Special Collections. Our archives team documents the human experience through manuscripts, letters, photographs, maps, and so much more to help students, scholars, and the public learn from the past and understand the present. The archives team has been led by Rebecca Parmer since 2018 and in those four years she became an indispensable member of the UConn Library community through her leadership, vision and accomplishments. She was a strong advocate for ASC’s instructional program, guiding efforts to develop and implement modular educational frameworks that brought excitement and enthusiasm for integrating primary source collections into the classroom. She was also deeply involved with Library initiatives including being a member of the UConn Library’s Strategic Framework Steering Committee and then as a member and co-chair of the inaugural Implementation Team. She also co-chaired the IDEA in Collections Working Group, along with Michael Rodriguez and Rhonda Kauffman, to develop definitions, guiding principles, and recommended pathways for building inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) into all aspects of library collections management and development. Rebecca left the Library in May 2022 to join the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library as the director of their research library. 

The pandemic has reshaped the work environment in unprecedented ways, forcing organizations to adapt to a new way of working. The UConn Library is no different. Since March of 2020 we have shifted access to collections, increased online outreach, created new programming, and found new ways of working with each other and our communities. We have also seen an incredible shift in staffing. We have been fortunate enough to welcome several new staff members, said good luck to others moving to other institutions, wished many a happy retirement, and said goodbye to a dear colleague. In the first of this three part series, we will look at the shifts in staffing and service to our areas of work and hope you will join us celebrating the people, past and present, of the UConn Library. 

Library Administration / Office of the Dean 

At the core of all UConn Library daily work and strategic initiatives, the Library Administration area provides critical support in financial management, digital infrastructure, communications, assessment, maintenance, and security across our facilities. 

The security of our facilities is an important function of Library Administration. Primarily responsible for the 500,000 square feet across seven floors of the Homer Babbidge Library, our buildings and grounds crew have a lot of physical ground to cover. They also have a lot of time to cover. Open more than 4,800 hours a year, including 24/7 hours during finals, they are responsible to keep the average of 1.3 million visitors safe. 

Since 2020, there have been several shifts in staffing among our facilities and security crew. In July 2020, Mike Slowik retired after working at UConn for 21 years, starting in UITS as a computer operator up until May of 2000, when he left UConn to start his own business as a custom cabinet maker and carpenter. We drew Mike back to the University in 2012 as a buildings and grounds officer where he remained through his career. You can now find him on the beach in South Carolina spoiling himself and his grandkids. 

In July 2021, Joseph Clark, who had been part of the buildings and grounds crew for three years, said goodbye to Connecticut and hello to new adventures in Michigan. We also wished Bill Haalck a happy retirement most recently in April 2022. Bill worked as security for HBL for 22 years, beginning when we used to staff the exit desk. Yes, there was a time when we checked your bags leaving the building. Students probably saw Bill the most, having the afternoon/evening shifts when the “real” studying begins. Bill is looking forward to upping his cycling game in retirement. 

With all these retirements we don’t want you to worry – we are in great hands! We have been able to hire two stellar buildings and grounds crew members over the last two years. In November 2021 we hired Ivelisse Acevedo and Tracy Bidwell. Ivelisse drew the late shift until 2am so you late-nighters will recognize her. Ivelisse has degrees in Communications and Multimedia and Technology, as well as training for CPR, First Aid, conflict resolution, and holds a black belt in Taekwondo. Tracy also started on the night shift, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education as well as Master’s Degrees in Pastoral Care and Intercultural Studies/Teaching English as a Foreign Language. We are currently hiring for another staff member to join the night crew so we can keep the doors open for all those late night hours this fall semester. 

In March of 2021, the steady hands that comprised over 70 years of combined service between Ed Chang and Hilda Drabek in our financial services unit came to an end. Hilda worked at the Library in many different capacities for more than 36 years, starting in what was known as the technical services unit at a time without computers but with typewriters, and worked throughout her career on implementing critical resources including the first automated integrated library system. Ed started his UConn career in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources where he worked for 11 years before joining the Library. In his 24 years at the Library, it seemed everyone in any financial position at UConn knew Ed. Both Hilda and Ed led us through many changes, including the complete overhaul of UConn’s financial system to Kuali. Their retirements left the intrepid team of Ryan Marsalisi and newly hired Nadeen Atiq to carry on. Nadeen Atiq was hired in July 2020 where she had previously worked as an assistant in the Southern Connecticut State University Biology Department. They expertly navigated our financial needs and were soon joined by our new Head of Financial Services Ashley Sandy in June 2021. A proud alumnus of UConn, Ashley earned both her BS and MBA, with a concentration in Finance and Management, from the UConn School of Business. Prior to joining the Library, she worked for the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE) in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR).

Also providing a necessary base for all that we do is our digital infrastructure support team. As the pandemic began, Jason Anderson started his first day online. Literally, day one was the first day we went home for the pandemic. Jason’s role as Web Services Coordinator was expertly timed as our online services have increased dramatically over the last two years. Shortly after, Jason was joined by Sarah Goldstein, in March 2021. Sarah came to UConn from Mount Holyoke College Library to lead our Digital Infrastructure Services unit. In the short time she was with us, she worked to build the necessary base for our digital services, as well as access to our collections. Sarah left the Library in February of 2022 to become the LYRASIS Partner Success Leader on their Palace Project.

In addition to providing a solid base to keep the Library running, the area is also actively involved in our strategic goals, engaging in partnerships and initiatives around UConn’s community of learners and external partners. One of those initiatives is the Digital Preservation Repository Program (DPRP), which serves the digital preservation needs of the University and the people of the State of Connecticut through Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) and the State Records Preservation Service. Mike Kemezis served as our repository manager for four years, and was instrumental in developing the CTDA membership programs and content standards along with many other parts of the program. He has become internationally recognized in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) and digital repository communities, especially relating to copyright, and in diversity, and inclusion. In January 2022 Mike left the UConn Library to join Connecticut Humanities as the Programs and Project Manager. We are in the process of hiring for this position so keep an eye out for an announcement soon.

There was also a change in the Office of the Dean. Kristen Jones, Executive Assistant to Dean Langley, started working at the UConn Library in January 2013 and left the position this past February to join Brown University as Executive Assistant to the Provost. In March, we hired Angela Frati who came to the Library from the UConn College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, where she worked in the Department of Animal Science as an Educational Program Assistant. Her extensive experience in all aspects of business administration and operations support is a great fit for the busy Dean’s office.  

Thanks to the staff that keep the Library running smoothly! There are more changes to share, so keep an eye out next week for the second of our three part Comings and Goings series – the teams that make up our Collections & Discovery area.

Current and former UConn Library staff gathered on Friday, June 17th to celebrate the life of our colleague Barbara Mitchell by dedicating a memorial garden in her honor.

Barbara was a valued and respected member of the UConn Library staff for over 42 years, and passed away on April 19, 2022, a few months before her retirement. It’s impossible to work somewhere for that long and not be a part of the fabric of the institution. On what would have been her 69th birthday, we welcomed former colleagues, her family, and friends to share in our sadness and celebrate the life she lived. We heard stories about her kindness, fierce loyalty, work ethic, and her love of mentoring students and helping the public.

The garden, located at the east entrance of the Homer Babbidge Library, is focused around a special variety of lily called the Barbara Mitchell lily, a beautiful flower and a beautiful tribute. Introduced in 1984, the blooms are characterized as excellent performing flowers that are rich in pink with ruffled edges. They are known to survive harsh conditions that other plants cannot, which makes them a favorite among gardeners. Barbara was amused that this flower existed, and we think she would enjoy being described in a similar fashion – hearty, a few ruffled edges, well-known for her work ethic, and a favorite among colleagues.

Barbara was born in Putnam, CT to the late Lloyd, Sr. and Grace Mitchell. She was a graduate of Woodstock Academy (1971) and UConn’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (1977). She started her career at the Library in September 1979 and led our Access Services at the time of her passing. In the over 42 years of service she touched the lives of so many of us, becoming a valued colleague and mentor to students. We will miss the perfectly placed sense of humor she brought to her work, conversations about the Huskies and New York Giants, music trivia, and her love of Halloween. 

We welcome you to take a moment when you are on campus to swing by often as it continues to grow into a beautiful space.

Come chase the stress away with a shake, wag, and maybe a little drool….

Paws to Relax therapy dogs will be here during finals week – May 2-6 from 12-5pm each day. They are all on Level 1 in Homer Babbidge. Times and dogs are subject to change so check back if you have a favorite to visit.

Monday, May 2
12-1 Dugan – Australian Shepherd
1-2 Gracie – Pug
2-3 Brody – Shetland Sheepdog
3-4 Benny – Shih-Tzu
4-5 Andy – Golden Retriever

Tuesday, May 3
12-1 Bo – Lab Mix & Millie – Spaniel Mix
1-2 Wrigley – Newfoundland
2-3 Shadow – Cocker Spaniel
3-4 Willow – Foxhound
4-5 Fireball – Golden Retriever

Wednesday, May 4
12-1 Summit – English Lab
1-2 Tegan – Welch Springer Spaniel
2-3 Finley – Yellow Lab
3-4 Seneca – Yellow Lab
4-5 Cassie – Golden Retriever

Thursday, May 5
1-2 Mica – Retriever Mix
2-3 Tori – Golden Retriever
3-4 Hunter – Shetland Sheepdog
4-5 Cora – Bernese Mountain Dog

Friday, May 6
1-2 Sawyer – Akita
2-3 Grant – Golden Retriever
3-4 Luke – German Shepherd
4-5 Luke – German Shepherd

The UConn Library applauds a newly introduced Connecticut General Assembly bill “to require publishers of electronic books to license such books to public libraries on reasonable terms.” The bill also covers school and academic libraries, allowing the UConn Library to acquire ebooks needed to meet the research and learning needs of our faculty, students, and staff.

Demand has soared for library ebooks in recent years. Ebooks are a lifeline to students and scholars who are learning remotely, have a print disability, lack the ability to visit libraries in person, or appreciate the convenience of having the world of information just a click away. Regrettably, many publishers make it difficult for libraries to provide equitable access to ebooks.

• Libraries pay up to six times what individual readers pay for an ebook. Already on tight budgets, libraries rely on taxpayer and tuition dollars to pay these exorbitant prices.
• Publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries if they think the titles will be widely read or assigned to classes. As a result, faculty and students cannot access ebooks they need.
• Publishers restrict what libraries can do with ebooks they purchase. For example, many publishers prohibit libraries from sharing ebooks through interlibrary loan.

In response, Connecticut has introduced a fair trade and consumer protection bill (S. B. 131) requiring publishers to sell ebooks to libraries on reasonable terms. The bill requires “purchase or licensing specifications that consider a publisher’s business model as well as a library’s need for the efficient use of funds in providing library services.” Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have introduced or passed similar laws.

In March 2022, S. B. 131 passed the Connecticut State Senate’s Planning and Development Committee with unanimous bipartisan support (a 26-0 vote). A full Senate vote is expected before the legislation moves on to the House and then to the governor’s desk.

The UConn Library hails this bipartisan legislation to achieve equitable and affordable library ebook access for the faculty, students, and people of Connecticut. We encourage library supporters to contact their state senators and ask them to vote yes on S. B. 131.

Post written by Michael Rodriguez, Collections Strategist

To meet the growing demand for streaming video in higher education, the UConn Library is participating in a nationwide research study on faculty use of video resources in teaching.

Coordinated by Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research and consulting service, the study covers 24 colleges and universities. Participants include several of the nation’s top universities, including Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Michigan. Study personnel will interview up to 360 faculty members (10-15 per institution) who teach using videos. Our own UConn-based study will span the disciplines from STEM to gender and cultural studies.

By participating in this study, the Library will gain valuable insights into these and other issues:

• How our faculty find and select video content to meet learning goals.
• How streaming video has influenced pedagogy and shifted expectations.
• How our faculty’s activities and perspectives reflect or diverge from national trends.
• How the Library can better position its services to meet these evolving needs.

The Library already provides access to tens of thousands of streaming videos. To explore the Library’s current video offerings, please visit our Databases A-Z or search our catalog. 

For questions about the study, please contact michael.a.rodriguez@uconn.edu.

Post written by Michael Rodriguez, Collections Strategist

All UConn Library locations will reopen with the start of in-person classes on Monday, January 31.

For the remainder of this week, we will continue to offer pick up of requested materials and book returns only (helpful how-to’s).   

When we reopen, we will be fully enforcing masking rules in all of our spaces. If you do not have a mask and have been asked more than once, you will be asked to leave. So please, please, wear your masks for everyone’s safety. We want to stay open as much as you want us to!

On January 1, 2022, copyright expired for all works published in the United States in 1926. These works entered the public domain. Anyone is now free to share, use, and build on them in the US without permission or payment. Public Domain Day celebrates this trove of books, serials, music, and art that become public property on January 1.

Each January 1st, a new year’s worth of publications will enter the public domain. In 2023, copyright will expire for works published in 1927, and so on. Non-US works may enter the public domain later; this varies by creation date and country of origin. 

Some 1926 works were already in the public domain before January 1. This is because the copyright was not registered or renewed in time, under US laws of the era. Works published after January 1, 1964 had their copyright automatically renewed by statute. However, to protect works published between 1923 and 1964, creators had to include a copyright statement at the time of publication and renew copyright after 28 years.

Unfortunately, searching for the status of these works can be tricky. While copyright records from 1978 to today can be searched online, registrations and renewals for all works prior to 1978 can only be searched onsite in the US Copyright Office’s copyright card catalog. To help the public navigate the status of books published between 1923 and 1963, Stanford University Libraries developed a database of copyright renewals – but note that this only includes renewals for books, and not other copyrighted material like art, sound recordings, film, and so on.

Some Notable Books Entering the Public Domain

In 1926, Ernest Hemingway published The Sun Also Rises, fictional detective Hercule Poirot solved one of his trickiest mysteries in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Winnie-the-Pooh entered the imagination of millions of children.

• A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
• Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
• Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
• William Faulkner, Soldiers’ Pay 
• T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
• Willa Cather, My Mortal Enemy
• Franz Kafka, The Castle
• Yasunari Kawabata, The Dancing Girl of Izu 
• Carl Sandburg, The Prairie Years

Other Works Entering the Public Domain

• All pre-1923 sound recordings
• Many black-and-white films (including Faust, pictured, directed by F. W. Murnau)
• Poems by Vita Sackville-West, Dorothy Parker, Langston Hughes, and others
• Lyrics and music to “The Birth of the Blues,” “Are You Lonesome To-night?” and other songs by George and Ira Gershwin and other Tin Pan Alley composers

Connecticut-Themed Works Entering the Public Domain

HathiTrust has created a digital collection with 54,863 resources—books, journal issues, research reports, and other items—that entered the public domain on New Year’s Day. Here are Connecticut-themed 1926 works that HathiTrust now makes free for all.

• A Compendium of the Indian Wars in New England
• The Connecticut Wits
• The Country Newspaper: A Study of Socialization and Newspaper Content
• A History of Connecticut Agriculture
• Probate Law and Practice of Connecticut

These resources provide unique historical perspectives on Connecticut’s print media, legal practices, armed conflicts, agricultural history, and literary culture.

Some Works from UConn Archives & Special Collections Entering the Public Domain

Search the UConn library catalog for works from 1926 or earlier. Below are just a few of the books in our special collections that were published in 1926.

• Douglas McMurtie, Alphabets: A Manual of Letter Design
• Johnny Gruelle, The Paper Dragon: A Raggedy Ann Adventure 
• D.H. Lawrence, Glad Ghosts and The Plumed Serpent
• George Moore, Peronnik the Fool
• A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
• Kate Richard O’Hare, Kuzbasing in Dixie
• Guillermo M. Bañados, Obras
• Elsie Spicer Eells, The Brazilian Fairy Book
• A.E. Coppard, The Field of Mustard
• Hugh Lofting, Doctor Doolittle’s Caravan
• Wallace Wadsworth, Paul Bunyan and His Great Blue Ox
• Wilson Dakin, Geography of Connecticut
• Stefan Zweig, The Invisible Collection

Learn More about the Public Domain

James Boyle, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind (Yale University Press, 2008). Download book for free from the author’s website.

What Will Enter the Public Domain in 2022? A Festive Countdown

Public Domain Books 2022: 10 to Look Out For

Post written by Rebecca Parmer, Head of Archives & Special Collections & Michael Rodriguez, Collections Strategist

With the move online for the start semester, UConn Library locations will be closed as study and gathering space starting this Thursday, January 6th through Sunday, January 30th. We will still provide some onsite services in addition to our online services as noted below. For the most updated information, please see our COVID update page. 

Materials

We will be providing access to physical materials from our collection through our request service. Requested items can be picked up at Homer Babbidge Library any time Monday – Thursday between 10am and 2pm. Other library locations are available by appointment only. 

Interlibrary Services, including requests for print ILLiad materials, are still available.

Archives & Special Collections will provide virtual research support. The John P. McDonald Reading Room will remain closed.

Laptops and other gadgets are not available for loan.

Microfilm readers are not available for use. 

Spaces / Services

Study space, group studies, research carrels, and meeting/event spaces will not be available. 

Bookworms Cafe is closed, but the space will be available 24/7 with limited seating for printing, scanning, and public computers. 

The Technology Support Center – Quick Support will be open Monday – Thursday, 10am-2pm by appointment only. 

Hours

There are no public hours for any of our library locations. Please see Health Sciences Library and Law Library for information on their hours and services.

If you have any questions, you can contact us through Ask A Librarian chat (with a great FAQ),  email us at homer@uconn.edu or follow along on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We are here to answer your questions and support your work!

“Imagine a near-perfect environment for the preservation of rare books and research collections. A place that welcomes the public with exhibitions, conferences, and lectures. A facility that encourages education, exploration, and scholarship. A place where knowledge is paramount and the past intertwines with the future.”  

These are the words used in the campaign to build the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, recently renamed the Dodd Center for Human Rights in a ceremony presided over by President Joe Biden. To better understand how we got here, we need to go back to the mid-1980s and two conversations that would ultimately converge. Within the History Department, emeritus faculty Thomas G. Paterson and Richard Brown, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History, had initiated conversations with then-Senator Christopher J. Dodd around building an archive of Connecticut leaders. At the same time, the UConn Library had a vision – to build a facility to properly house UConn’s archives and special collections, an initiative led by former Library directors John P. McDonald and Norman D. Stevens, Rand Jimerson, and Head of Special Collections Richard H. Schimmelpfeng. The converging of these conversations, and the appeal to the Dodd family’s life-long interest in serving the people of Connecticut, was the perfect storm that was given a seal of approval from UConn President John Casteen.  

Groundbreaking on the state-of-the-art facility began in 1993 under the leadership of then UConn President Harry Hartley. Purpose-built for the management of archival and special collections, the building provided a technologically advanced, secure, climate-controlled environment for storing collections, and a stunning place for research and engagement, the John P. McDonald Reading Room. In addition, the goal was to create a space where people could gather around this wealth of scholarship, to continue to learn and grow from each other’s perspectives. As a result, part of the 55,000 square foot space housed two important and connected UConn programs – the Center for Judaic Studies & Contemporary Jewish Life, and the Center for Oral History. It also provided a physical location for scholars, students, and the public to connect via exhibitions, events, and programs via the Doris & Simon Konover Auditorium, a public lounge, gallery, and conference rooms.  

These “layers,” as they were initially called when describing the physical building, would also be used to define a new form of collaborative scholarship. Together, Archives & Special Collections, the Center for Oral History, and the Center for Judaic Studies & Contemporary Jewish Life worked towards collaborative programming, research, and learning initiatives, as well as toward their unique goals, building programs and collections to benefit the University and beyond. This began with the celebration known as The Dodd Human Rights Year, with programming across campus culminating in the dedication of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center by President Bill Clinton on October 15, 1995.  

“I am confident my father would be proud to know his works – as well as the original manuscripts and works of other great politicians, writers, educators, environmentalists, and artists – will be housed in a state-of-the-art facility at the University of Connecticut devoted to their scholarly exploration and physical preservation.”  – Senator Christopher J. Dodd

By 2003, the Human Rights Institute was established in the Dodd Center to coordinate human rights academics across the University. Management of the Dodd Center and its programming initiatives remained under the care of the UConn Library and Archives & Special Collections until 2011, when archives and special collections and the Center’s programming were restructured. Today, the Dodd Center for Human Rights houses three independent programs – the UConn Library’s Archives & Special Collections, the Human Rights Institute and its outreach initiative, Dodd Impact, and the Center for Judaic Studies & Contemporary Jewish Life – and continues to provide a technologically-advanced environment for the care and management of critical research collections and a collaborative space for building connection and engagement with the campus community and the broader public.  

Each of these programs carries on the legacy of the Center’s founding, inspiring engagement with the past and carrying its lessons into the future, and creating new opportunities for connection, learning, and understanding. Archives & Special Collections is proud to build on this history, developing rich collections that connect past, present, and future, and supporting the scholarly and creative achievements of our global community of scholars through innovative services and meaningful programming. Learn more about our work at https://lib.uconn.edu/location/asc/