The Art of Ornithology : A Century of Bird Illustration

June 25 - September 7, 2012
Millar Library, 1st Floor Elevator Lobby 

The PSU Library presents a collection of avian art, including the iconic work of John James Audubon, colorful tableaus of rarely-sighted tropical birds, and the first publication of high-speed photographs of hummingbirds in flight. The artists are naturalists, explorers, soldiers, scholars, and hobbyists, all sharing an enthusiasm for birds and a passion for portraying them in lifelike detail.

This collection was generously donated by David B. Dengler, PSU Alumnus 1977.

The University Library is delighted to congratulate Kerry Wu, winner of the 2012 Butler Award for Library Faculty Service. Professor Wu joined the Library in 2005 as the Reference and Instruction Librarian for Business and Economics.

“Kerry is an extremely talented and dedicated librarian who gets rave reviews from faculty and students in her liaison area at the School of Business Administration,” stated Interim University Librarian Lynn Chmelir. “A faculty member recently told me he thinks she must be `the best business librarian in the country’!”

Her library faculty colleagues who nominated her said, “[Kerry] has built a laudable reputation through her spirit of collaboration, her unflagging support of students, and her creation of learning objects and research tools for faculty and students that also that also demonstrably assist her colleagues in carrying out their reference and instruction responsibilities.”

Professor Emeritus Kenneth W. Butler and his wife Elsie W. Butler established a fund to recognize outstanding performance by a member of the Portland State University Library faculty each year. The award recognizes excellence of library service to students, faculty, and other patrons of the University Library. Professor Butler retired from the faculty of the Portland State University in 1987, after 33 years of dedicated service. During that time he helped guide the growth and development of the Library in a variety of roles, including two periods during which he was Acting Director. While both Professor Emeritus Butler and his wife have passed away, their daughters continue to support the award in their honor.

Thanks to funding from the ASPSU Student Fee Committee, the Library will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from Monday, June 4th through Wednesday, June 13th. For dead week and finals week we'll open at 7:30 am Monday the 4th and not close until 11 pm Thursday the 14th. This is a pilot for the Library and ASPSU in order to gauge interest for future quarters.

Library services will be available all through the night: study rooms, laptops, practice presentation rooms, both computer labs and the Sandbox.

Note that from 11 pm until 7:30 am each day only people with PSU ID cards will be allowed into the building.

Following a national search, Portland State University has appointed Marilyn Moody, dean of the library at Boise State University, as PSU's new University Librarian.

Moody, who has more than three decades of experience in academic library administration, will lead the PSU Library as it continues to adjust to technological advances and support PSU’s academic programs.

Learn more...

Congratulations to Jill Emery, Collection Development Librarian, who has been awarded the Marcia Tuttle International Award from the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG)! The award provides funding for an individual working in any area of the serials information chain to foster international communication and education through activities involving some aspect of serials such as, but not limited to: research, collaborative projects, job exchanges, and presentation of papers at conferences.

Emery won the award for her proposal for Techniques in Electronic Resource Management (TERMS).

Back in 2008, Emery (then at the University of Texas) and Graham Stone from the University of Huddersfield started a discussion about e-resource management. They began by swapping ideas between the US and UK about what e-resource management meant to them and how they could put it into practical advice. After much debate, they settled on the electronic resources lifecycle upon which to base their ideas and TERMS was born.

Emery and Stone then set about trying to expand on the concept by detailing their experience of best practice. They decided the most immediate approach for their project was to present their ideas for open peer review via various social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. To date, they have 133 followers on Twitter, 152 Facebook group members, and 17 followers on Tumblr.

TERMS will be submitted for publication in ALA's Library Technology Reports to be published in the Spring 2013. Emery and Stone are currently working with JISC Collections in the UK to find a way to present a wiki version for future use.

Friday, May 11, 12:00-1:00pm
Room 170

You've read the theories and articles, and you know it must be true, but sometimes finding concrete data to back it up can be difficult. This hour-long workshop will cover where and how to find data sets for social sciences research. All grad students are welcome to attend this workshop led by Emily Ford.

Feeling a bit rusty after a few years out of school? Or ready to take the next step in your research but not quite sure how to best conduct library research? This confidence-building workshop will improve your skills in choosing search keywords, searching the library catalog, choosing and searching library databases, and using Google Scholar to find out who has cited important articles. You'll also learn how to know when it's time to call a librarian.

Led by Joan Petit
Friday, May 4, 12:00-1:30pm
Millar Library, Room 170

A book scanning station is now available for demonstration. It is now located on the 1st floor in the public copier area. (Previously, it was on the 2nd floor.)

The book-edge scanner will be available until May 11, 2012, for use by staff, faculty, students, and visiting researchers. The book scanning station offers a unique book-edge design that allows users to scan pages right up to the bound margin near the spine, without damaging books. With a few simple touches, the user can scan and save full color scans of books or bound serials. Material that was previously difficult to scan or copy can be easily scanned into digital format with searchable text. The practice of scanning books into digital format also promotes less use of ink and paper used by copiers and printers.

The station is located just behind the main reference desk next to the technology support desk. Students at the help desk will be on hand to assist users during most daytime hours.

Features of the station include:

• Touch-screen operation
• Scan to email (works with pdx.edu email addresses) and scan to USB
• Auto-crop, auto-rotation, on-screen editing, and page reordering
• Output formats to searchable PDF, Quick PDF, JPEG, PNG, Rich Text (RTF), and Audio (MP3)
• Large format 11.7” x 17” (A3) scan-to-edge design for scanning bound books and journals
• Full color scans up to 600 dpi

Your feedback is appreciated. Please leave your comments with the lab attendant or use a form that will be available near the station.

Check computer and laptop availability quickly using "Find a Computer" on our mobile website!

April 2 to June 20, 2012
Millar Library, 1st Floor Elevator Lobby

The Spring 2012 exhibit, "The Gift of the Word: An Exhibition of Recent Acquisitions to PSU Library Special Collections," celebrates the legacy of Gordon Hunter. His love of books and his passion for history inspired him to make a gift to the Library's Special Collections through the Oregon Commuity Foundation that each year helps the Library acquire new rare and significant books and manuscripts to support the teaching and research at Portland State University. This exhibit, researched, curated and designed by PSU students and faculty, represents the active engagement and learning at the heart of Portland State.

Learn more about the exhibit including a color catalog, related events, and additional resources here.

In addition, students are invited to create their own quasicrystal pattern to celebrate the combination of art and science in the spring exhibit. The winner of the contest will win $100 to the PSU Bookstore!