March 28, 2007

NOTES FROM RAMSEY LIBRARY; 2007-6

RENOVATION UNDERWAY!

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS CLOSED MARCH 26-30

Ramsey Library Special Collections is transitioning to new shelving which will better accommodate our archival boxes and will expand and refine our available space to better accommodate the new collections we have received over the last half-decade. Unfortunately, for what is a large project we were unable to schedule our vendor during spring break or after classes. We very much regret any inconvenience you or your students may experience and will make every effort to accommodate students and faculty seeking reference assistance. We expect to have our collections back on the new shelves by March 30, but will still have limited time to serve walk-in patrons. It is expected that we will be in full operation by the week of April 9. For an appointment or further information, please call 251-6645.

Please note and remind your students that well over three-quarters of our finding aides are available online at http://toto.lib.unca.edu and http://www.wncheritage.org. Many of the online collections contain full-text and images and access may be satisfied by the electronic surrogate.

Thank you for your patience with this process during a busy semester. We invite all to come see us when the move is completed and re-familiarize yourself with the depth of primary source material that is available for research by students, faculty, and the general public.


MORE ON TEXTBOOKS IN THE UNC SYSTEM

The last issue of NOTES FROM RAMSEY contained a link to an article in the CHRONICLE stating that “U. of North Carolina may adopt system wide rules limiting faculty options (with respect to textbooks) . . . .” The 30 March issue of the CHRONICLE REPORTS that “The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has voted to require all campuses in the system to adopt a multipronged approach to lowering the cost of textbooks for students. Among the steps that the campuses must take is establishing guarantees that students in introductory courses can either rent their hardcover books or sell them back after using them. The new system policy also requires campus chancellors to push faculty members to select course reading lists early enough that students will have time to shop around. Campus bookstore managers will be required to meet at least quarterly to find ways to offer students additional savings.”

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i30/30a02502.htm


AND, MORE ON WIKIPEDIA

In the spirit of some sort of journalism, NOTES FROM RAMSEY is busily following up on earlier reportings (not a word, spell-check tells me). In the CHRONICLE REVIEW of March 23, Cathy N. Davidson is interim director of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute and a professor of interdisciplinary studies and English at Duke, suggests that “The dust-up at Middlebury over Wikipedia was not what it seemed (see the 3/6/07 NOTES FROM RAMSEY). But (that) it tells us a lot about how we should approach the digital future.” (P.S.: Professor Davidson notes that the “Middlebury debate” is already in Wikipedia!)


http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i29/29b02001.htm

March 25, 2007

Women's History in Asheville: photographs

March 16, 2007

NOTES FROM RAMSEY LIBRARY; 2007-5

TEXTBOOKS IN THE UNC SYSTEM

In an article titled “Who Controls Textbook Choices?” in the March 16 edition of INSIDE HIGHER ED (http://insidehighered.com/) reports that the “U. of North Carolina may adopt system wide rules limiting faculty options (with respect to textbooks)...” and that it “...is considering adopting a plan that would require all its campuses to create a guaranteed rental or buyback program for large, lower-division courses.” Read more at http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/03/16/unc.

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INFORMATION LITERACY

An article in the 9 March CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION describes the academe’s growing emphasis on the importance of information literacy and reflects much of UNCA’s current philosophy and practice. You will find an important discussion of current developments in assessing to what extent institutions successfully equip their students for a life of continuing and independent discovery enabled by information literacy – a topic UNCA will need to confront.

“Information Navigation 101”

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i27/27a03801.htm

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OUR CHANGING INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

Two essays in THE CHRONICLE REVIEW of 9 March grapple with issues of our current information age. In “The Intellectual in the Infosphere,” Peter J. M. Nicholson. president and chief executive officer of the Council of Canadian Academies, asks if “In the rapidly growing infosphere, has the wisdom of crowds left no room for the sagacity of experts?” In the following article, Edward Tenner argues that “Books, newspapers, and other printed media have enduring advantages, even in the digital age . . .” – especially because they’re more difficult to produce.

“The Intellectual in the Infosphere”

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i27/27b00601.htm


“The Prestigious Inconvenience of Print”

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i27/27b00701.htm

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March 07, 2007

NOTES FROM RAMSEY LIBRARY; 2007-4

AS STUDENTS BEGIN THOSE PAPERS . . .

In the "long ago past," before the Web at any rate, instructors combated student use of encyclopedia articles and other non-scholarly resources in papers. A common admonition was that student authors could only use materials from "refereed journals." Today's internet-enabled student often poses an even greater challenge. You might want to check out a recent report in the Chronicle of Higher Education that notes that "THIS SPRING, STUDENTS IN HISTORY COURSES at Middlebury College will find a new disclaimer on syllabi warning them that, while Wikipedia is fine for some background research, it is not to be used as a primary source."

SEE http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/02/2007020101t.htm
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HISTORICAL STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES ONLINE

When you're students are looking for just the right source for that historical data to verify what they've found on Wikipedia, send them to Ramsey Library's Historical Statistics of the United States, Millennial Edition (Cambridge University Press). There they'll find the hard data on population, work and welfare, economic data, government and international relations from colonial times to the present.

http://bullpup.lib.unca.edu/scripts/redirect.pl?db=hsus.cambridge.org

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STUDENT RETENTION

First among UNC system priorities approved by the Board of Governors in May 2006 is "Student Success: Access, Retention, Graduation, and Affordability." An ad in Presidency, a publication of the American Council on Education, describes the contents of a relatively new book by stating that "In spite of all of the programs and services to help retain students, only 50 percent of those who enter higher education actually earn a bachelor's degree, according to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Enrollment management and the retention of students remain top priorities of federal and state government, colleges, universities, and parents of students who are attending college and of students themselves. This book offers a formula for student success intended to assist colleges and universities in retaining and graduating students." College Student Retention: Formula for Student Success Edited by Alan Seidman is available in Ramsey Library under the call number LC148.2 .C65 2005. You may also be interested in:

Retaining African Americans in higher education: challenging paradigms for retaining students, faculty, and administrators / edited by Lee Jones Publisher Sterling, Va.: Stylus Pub., 2001, ASU/LC148.2 .R48 2001

Changing student attendance patterns: challenges for policy and practice / Jacqueline E. king, Eugene L. Anderson, Melanie E. Corrigan, editors. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2003, UNCA/LB2331.72 .N48 no.121 2003

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RESEARCH RESTRICTIONS

On March 2, the electronic Chronicle of Higher Education reported that "PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS came under scrutiny in the U.S. House of Representatives as a panel of archivists, historians, and lawyers told a subcommittee about threats to access, and lawmakers introduced two bipartisan bills that would reform key aspects of how presidential documents are preserved and controlled." For more, see

http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/03/2007030201n.htm

March 01, 2007

Spring Break hours

Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 CLOSED
Monday, March 5 - Friday, March 9 8 am - 6 pm
Saturday, March 10 CLOSED
Sunday, March 11 Regular hours resume

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