In honor of Preservation Week, our Special Collections Conservator, Natalie Granados is sharing some of the work she does to ensure that all of our collections are getting the care and maintenance they deserve.

Handling Books and Papers

Written by Natalie Granados (@natartlie). Special Collections Conservator – UConn Library.

Improper handling and incorrect storage can have negative effects on the lifespan of your books and papers. In addition, damage is often cumulative and can go unnoticed till it’s too late. Good handling practices will reduce common damages as well as the need for a conservator. The downloadable guide (Collection Handling: Quick Tips) that accompanies this post provides tips to help you care for collections and ensure their survival for future generation’s use. Below you’ll also find general information on the books and flat materials and how they are affected by improper handling. Like the cultural superhero that you are though, you know that handling everything with care even if it doesn’t look fragile is the way to go.

Books
Keep in mind that books are subject to structural stress. Few bindings can open completely flat. For this reason, they should always be supported (with book cradles, for example) when open. When opening new or newly bound books, try not to open them from the center, as this can break the structure. Start from the front and then back, and open them gradually, section by section till you reach the middle. This slowly eases them open and flexes the new structure gently.

Flat Material
Paper is highly susceptible to physical damage such as creasing or tearing. In addition, if graphite, charcoal, pastel and/or watercolor pieces are abraded, the damage is permanent. Consider storing and moving this type of material in an enclosure or over heavy-weight paper or board.

Speaking of Enclosures
Besides protecting from temperature and relative humidity variations, light, pollutants and insects, enclosures (boxes, portfolios, sleeves and envelopes) can protect valuable and fragile material from accidents and incorrect transportation. Since objects are most vulnerable to damage when they are being moved, planned movements and proper housing will lower the chances of accidents. Make sure you have a clear route and a place to set your items ahead of time. The photos are an enclosure made to ship some materials from our Alternative Press Collection on loan.

Clean Hands and The Use of Gloves
Sometimes clean hands aren’t quite as clean as we may think. You’ll notice “Please wash your hands” signs in cultural institutions providing access to collections, but what is often not mentioned are lotions, creams, and alcohol-based hand sanitizing gels. These leave behind oils that attract dirt and dust and can stain material. Make sure to wash any residue from lotions or gels off your hands to avoid causing damage to collections.

Bear with me here while we dispel the “white glove” myth. Cotton gloves are not our buddies all the time and have fallen out of favor in the conservation community. These types of gloves are cumbersome and ill-fitting, making proper handling difficult. In addition, cotton gloves have small hairs that can catch on edges and expand tears. Finally, cotton as an absorbent material, can pick up dirt and dust and deposit it on your collections. Exceptions are made when handling photographic material, as the oil on your fingers can damage the emulsion. For everything else, handling material with clean, lotion-free hands is preferable.

Stay tuned for her next post – Temperature: What Is Damaging Your Collections?

Conversations around Open Educational Resources (OER) and, more specifically, open textbooks and how they provide high quality learning while reducing student costs, are turning into action as UConn is set to publish two new open textbooks in Physical Chemistry and Mathematics.

Professor Dr. Challa Vijaya Kumar, professor of Chemistry recently completed the manuscript for his open textbook titled Modern Molecular Thermodynamics to be published in OpenCommons, UConn’s online repository for scholarship and creative works. The textbook is one of the world’s first OER textbooks in physical chemistry with original content by a sole author. “Education is a birthright,” says Dr. Kumar. “We should do everything possible to remove the economic barriers to make this affordable to everyone on the planet. Period.”

Mathematics faculty teaching Probability (Math 3160), an upper level course in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, have been working with open source materials for three semesters. Over the past semester alone, it has saved students an estimated $30,000 and evaluations of the class have been positive. One student wrote, “The book was easy to understand and explained things clearly and I felt confident that I could find anything that I was looking for in the text, which is not common for most books.” Led by Alexander Teplyaev, the textbook is scheduled to be published in OpenCommons in 2020.

Publishing a textbook under CC BY licensing allows future educators and learners to reuse, revise, remix, redistribute, and retain the material as needed for updating, customizing, or specialization.  Both are also written for upper division courses, where textbook costs can soar due to the specialized nature of the content.

Behind the scenes, the UConn Library has provided support for the publishing. In January, 2018 the UConn became a founding member of the Open Textbook Network Publishing Cooperative, a program designed to publish new, openly licensed textbooks. Three UConn librarians along with staff from eight other higher education institutions received training on aspects of open digital publishing from editing to textbook design and accessibility. When published, the books will be available in many formats through UConn’s online repository.

“The commitment by members of UConn’s faculty to do what they can to improve student learning and simultaneously reduce their costs is truly wonderful,” noted Anne Langley, Dean of the UConn Library. “We are excited to keep the forward momentum going.” More information about Open Educational Resources at UConn can be found at www.open.uconn.edu.

The UConn Library is a special place to many people but we can’t think of anyone that has dedicated more of their life to the Library and the institution of librarianship, than Norman Stevens. Our former director passed away Saturday and since that time we have been reflective on his life and legacy. Anyone who knew Norman will not be surprised to know his obituary, which is below, was well organized and full of details that sum up the many positions he held, accolades, and accomplishments. What he left out, in our humble opinion, is the true sense of loss we feel as an institution for a man that would do anything for the UConn Library, and the loss we feel personally in our hearts as we share this.

Our condolences to Nora, David, Sara, Elizabeth and all his family and friends. We are a better library, and a better people, for knowing Norman.

Norman Stevens, 1987. Courtesy of Archives & Special Collections.

Norman D. Stevens, 86, son of the late David and Ruth Stevens, completed his life on December 15, 2018. He is survived by his wife Nora, son David (wife Sandra), daughters Sara, and Elizabeth (husband Thomas Breen); grandchildren Chelsea (husband Patrick Leishman), Nathan Breen (wife Oana), and Zoe Breen; and great-grandchild Luca Breen.

Norman was born and raised in Nashua, NH and began his library career in 1949. He worked at the Library of Congress while attending American Univ. part-time. He received his B.A. in Government from the Univ. of NH in 1954 and spent a year at Victoria Univ. College in New Zealand as a Fulbright Scholar. He received an M.A. in Library Service from Rutgers Univ. in 1957 and received their first Ph.D. in Library Service in 1961. In 1989 he received the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Norman worked at Rutgers University Library from 1955-1957 and was Acting Director of Howard Univ. Libraries in Washington, D. C. from 1961-1963. He was a member of the administrative staff of the Rutgers Univ. Libraries from 1963-1968. He started at the Univ. of CT in 1968, where he held various administrative positions before being appointed as Director of University Libraries. He was honored as Director of University Libraries, Emeritus in 1994 upon retirement. He served as Acting Director of the newly created Thomas J. Dodd Research Center until 1995.

Norman was an early advocate of computer technology in libraries for data management, shared cataloging and research applications. He served on the Board of the New England Library Information Network and was president of the board from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. He was a member and chair of the Board of the Connecticut Library Information Network during its formative years and oversaw the UConn Libraries participation in OCLC: Online Computer Library Center.

He participated in planning and implementing UConn’s Homer Babbidge Library from 1975-1978, the largest new university research library building in the nation at that time. He oversaw the renovation of that building in the 1990s. He directed the planning and construction of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center and the Music Library. He was involved in the early planning to improve library facilities at the university’s regional campuses.

CT Children’s Book Fair, 2013. UConn Library photo.

Norman, as administrator, was active in establishing and developing the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection (NCLC) in the Dodd Research Center, now among the nation’s major collections of books, original art and manuscripts from distinguished children’s authors and illustrators. He was an active member of the American Book Collectors of Children’s Literature and served as president. As a member of the University Libraries Exhibits Committee, Norman organized dozens of exhibits in both the Babbidge Library and the Dodd Center, continuing to volunteer into his retirement.

Norman was an informative and entertaining contributor to the professional library literature for 60+ years. He authored seven books, hundreds of articles and reviews, and an assortment of library ephemera. In the mid-1950s he and a colleague established the prestigious Molesworth Institute, a fictional organization devoted exclusively to the promotion of library humor. As Molesworth Director, he wrote many satirical articles on aspects of librarianship, and the Institute’s Library Humor Archives are housed with his personal papers in the University Archives at the Dodd Research Center. Dr. Stevens is now Director, in Perpetuity, of The Molesworth Institute at The University of the Great Beyond.

Norman and Nora Stevens, 2006. UConn Library photo.

Norman assembled a collection of thousands of postcards, commemoratives, souvenirs and artifacts relating to the history of librarians, library collections and library architecture, which are housed in the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal, and wrote A Guide to Collecting Librariana, the first book on the subject. His voluminous collection of children’s literature about books, reading, librarians and libraries is part of the NCLC. Norman collected crafts, inspired in part by the activities of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Since the 1970s he supported awards and donated objects to the league’s permanent collection. Norman’s hand-carved 9” wooden spoon collection and related documentation will become part of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.

Initiated in 2005, the spoon collection illustrates Norman’s special ability to discover and support the work of creative people. It required him to identify and contact hundreds of talented artisans from around the globe, enlisting them in the creation of a unique and beautiful collection, forging lasting friendships along the way. Norman’s endlessly inventive mind and his kind and generous personality will be remembered by everyone who had the good fortune to know him.

In lieu of flowers, please share a reminiscence on Norman’s page at www.potterfuneralhome.com. A celebration of Norman’s life will be planned for the Spring.

With sadness, we relay the news that former staff member Terry Plum has passed away after battling brain cancer. Our condolences to his family and friends.

Stephen (Terry) Plum

Terry Plum, the UConn Libraries Network Services Librarian from 1990-2000, passed away peacefully on December 10th after battling brain cancer for two years. During his 10-year tenure with the UConn Libraries, Terry led the Libraries in presenting a wide array of networked electronic resources to support the UConn community through various information networking solutions, including a Novell CD-ROM LAN, modems, gopher, and web topologies.

Terry was recruited to UConn from Middlebury College, where he served as a Reference and Bibliographic Instruction Librarian. Prior to that, he worked as a Reference/Instruction Librarian at Plattsburgh State University. Terry earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Middlebury College, a Master’s Degree in Librarianship at the University of Washington, and an MA in Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

After leaving UConn in 2000, he joined the faculty at the Simmons College School of Library and Information Science in Boston. During his 14 years at Simmons SLIS, Terry taught graduate courses such as Digital Technologies, Technology for Information Professionals, Reference Services, Digital Information Services and Providers, and Information Technology Management. He led the development of the online education program at Simmons SLIS, helping to create successful online master’s programs in archival management and information science and online certificate programs in digital stewardships, school library teacher programs, and cultural heritage informatics. He also helped develop online learning environments such as the Simmons SLIS Digital Curriculum Lab.

Other accomplishments at Simmons included directing the development and growth of the SLIS satellite program at Mount Holyoke College and serving as technical leader on several grants, including education for digital preservation and cultural heritage informatics. He contributed to 15 international grants and library projects in locations like Kosovo, Vietnam, Thailand, Georgia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Liberia and coordinated the development of summer courses in Rome, Paris, and Seoul for SLIS students.

Terry authored or co-authored more than 25 articles and book chapters on various aspects of library education and the use of networked electronic resources and presented internationally after competitive selection at professional conferences, workshops, and meetings.

At the time of his retirement from Simmons in 2014, he was the Assistant Dean of Simmons SLIS and was responsible for academic initiatives for the school including directing the satellite campus at Mount Holyoke, coordinating technology, online education, international projects, and teaching.

Terry was also an active library consultant, advising on public library building projects and assisting with library cost analysis studies at more than 50 research libraries. Related to this work, he co-developed MINES for Libraries© (Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services), a methodology for surveying the demographic characteristics of electronic services users and their purpose of use.

He strongly believed in public service, serving on the Board of Directors and as President of the Holyoke Public Library and led the 14.5 million dollar public library renovation project in Holyoke, Massachusetts, his primary residence for the last 18 years of his life.

He is survived by his wife, Sydney Landon Plum (an English professor at UConn), his son Trevor, his daughter Hilary, and his two grandchildren, Berit and Valen.

Terry Plum, 30 December 1947 – 10 December 2018

Kind, wise, sweet, witty — outstanding husband and father
Remember him by being good to each other,
taking a long walk, and reading a book
you borrowed from the library!

Paws-to-Relax returns this semester in Homer Babbidge! All dogs will be on Level 1 in Homer Babbidge so stop by and take a study break and relieve some stress.

And THANK YOU to all the dogs and their handlers for taking time out of their days to come and visit, and to Carolyn Mills for organizing it all for us!

Monday, December 10
1:00-2:00 – Jeanne Ladd & Benny (Shih-Tzu)
2:00-3:00 – Octayvia Rickard & Boo (Golden Retriever)
3:00-4:00 – Betsy Tubridy & Barney (Golden Retriever)
4:00-5:00 – Judith Pepin & Bella (Pug)

Tuesday, December 11
1:00-2:00 –  Steve Kornfeld & Summit (English Lab)
2:00-3:00 – Peter Lok & Andy (Golden Retriever)
3:00-4:00 – Niki Dispario & River (Collie)
4:00-5:00 – Mary Beth Curtis & Witness (Golden Doodle)

Wednesday, December 12
1:00-2:00 – Lauren Jorgensen & Dream (Rottweiler)
2:00-3:00 – Cheryl Morgan & Cassie (Golden Retriever)
3:00-4:00 – Claudia Eberly & Tegan (Welch Springer Spaniel)
4:00-5:00 – Diane Baricak & Meka (Keeshond)
5:00-6:00 – Ed Ruchin & Sawyer (Akita)

Thursday, December 13
1:00-2:00 – Rebecca Caldwell & Hunter (Shetland Sheepdog)
2:00-3:00 – Sandy Lok & Nutmeg (Golden Retriever)
3:00-4:00 – Betsy Tubridy & Finn (Labradoodle)
4:00-5:00 – Terri Carpenter & Mia (Shetland Sheepdog)

Friday, December 14
1:00-2:00 – Laura Labato & Penny (Chihuahua Mix)
2:00-3:00pm – Laurel Rabshultz & Wrigley (Newfoundland)
3:00-4:00pm – Robin Mozeika & Boo (Golden Retriever)
4:00-5:00pm – Karen Tuccitto & Shadow (Cocker Spaniel)

**We make every effort to keep the schedule, but you know, dogs can have crazy schedules and you never know when they need to be somewhere else…

Carmel T. O’Neill, “Carm” Library Director at UConn Stamford for over 20 years, passed way on November 13, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Mrs. O’Neill (as she was called by the students) began her career at UConn in the spring of 1975 when the first library for the UConn Stamford branch was newly built at the Scofieldtown Road location.

She retired in 1995 before the campus moved to its current downtown location in 1998. Carm built the UConn Stamford library into one that eventually consisted of 58,000 volumes, 950 journals, 50,000 microforms, 9,500 annual reports, and 1,300 LPs. She was instrumental in getting the library named after her beloved colleague and friend, Dr. Jeremy Richard, who donated much of his book and record collection to the library.

After she retired, Carm was an active volunteer for 20 years at the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown, CT, where she was one of the coordinators of the annual book sale.

We spoke with Norman D. Stevens, Director of University Libraries, Emeritus and he wrote, “one of my responsibilities from the time I joined the library staff was the oversight of the regional campus libraries. While I was not involved in her hiring, I found Carm to be an excellent choice who required a minimum amount of assistance or oversight. My regular twice a year visits were well worth the travel time. While we discussed the few library issues that needed attention, the highlight of those visits was the wonderful luncheons I was offered, and the opportunity to meet with the entire, small, library staff. I maintained contact with Carm for a number of years after her retirement and continued to enjoy hearing about her and her former staff members.”

A gathering of family and friends will take place to remember and celebrate Mrs. O’Neill’s life on Tuesday, December 4, at 11 am, in The Villa, 4 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook. Obituary

Open Access Week 2018
“Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge”

Open Access Week, a global event now entering its tenth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.

Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. We participate in Open Access Week as part of the global community working to take take action to keep this momentum moving forward.

So what’s happening?

Evaluating Journal Quality for Authors
Presenter: Carolyn Mills, UConn Library
Wednesday, October 24
1:30-3:30pm, Babbidge Library Collaborative Learning Classroom (Level 2)

Wondering how to find a quality journal in which to publish? This workshop will give you the tools to recognize what makes a journal a credible, quality place to publish and what tells you to stay away. Includes both Open Access and traditional journals.
Register

Open Science for Open Knowledge: A Roundtable
Thursday, October 25
4:00-5:00pm, Babbidge Library Visualization Studio (Level 1)

Open science is paramount to further innovation, discovery, and equitable access. But what is open science? According to B. Fecher and S. Friesike, open science, “is one of the buzzwords of the scientific community.” Nevertheless, it can imply many things like open access to research, citizen science, open software and infrastructure to support
research sharing and collaboration.

Open Science Discussion Panel Members:
Todd Campbell, Ph.D., Professor, Neag School of Education, UConn
Justin Cotney, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health
Svetlana Gelpí-Domínguez, Ph.D. ‘20, Gascón Group, Department of Chemistry, UConn
Bryan Weber, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Residence, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, UConn
Register

Paywall: The Business of Scholarship Film Viewing
Wednesday, October 31
12:00-4:00pm continuous viewing
Babbidge Library Visualization Studio (Level 1)
UConn Health Sciences Library

Paywall: The Business of Scholarship is a documentary which focuses on the need for open access to research and science, questions the rationale behind the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, examines the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier and looks at how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable tech companies like Apple, Facebook and Google.

Exhibits
Homer Babbidge Library Plaza

• A look at the UConn faculty numbers – who is motivated to publish in Open Access Journals?
• Why Deposit your data in Open Commons?
• Open Commons @ UConn – where in the Country are people downloading our resources?
• What is Gold OA vs. Green OA?

Student Activism
We are also pleased to support UConnPIRG’s work to spread the word about the value of Open Access for students. They will be tabling in Homer Babbidge on Wednesday from 1-3 with flyers, buttons, and other materials. Stop by and support UConnPIRG!