News
Reposted from UW Press Blog 10/21/2019 From October 21st to 27th, the University of Washington Press will be highlighting its open-access publications and partnerships as part of International Open Access Week. UW Press and Libraries Collaborate on Open-Access Books Thanks to a new partnership between UW Press and Libraries and a grant from the Kenneth S. and Faye G. Allen Library Endowment Transformation Fund, many books in the press’s long-standing and award-winning series Studies on Ethnic Groups in China (SEGC)…
At UW we’ve been thinking about OA Week’s theme of “Open for Whom?” in the context of our efforts to increase the accessibility of our resources and services. We’re pleased that the latest version release of the Manifold digital book publishing platform included substantial accessibility improvements, largely due to a partnership between Cast Iron Coding, the web development firm building Manifold, and UW’s Accessible Technology Services (ATS) Office. We spoke with Ava Cole, a Student Accessibility Assistant in ATS, about…
At UW Libraries, every week is #OpenAccessWeek Each October, institutions and individuals around the world celebrate Open Access (OA) Week by highlighting the many benefits of sharing information openly, without legal restrictions or fees. OA is especially important to the academic community where sharing knowledge in an open, timely and accessible way is key to advancing research for the public good. OA policies are spreading on campuses globally, and in May 2018, the UW Faculty Senate adopted an OA Policy….
Reposted from UW Tacoma Libraries Blog by Justin Wadland 10/14/2019 The Library is pleased to announce that Joan Hua joined its staff this autumn as the Oral History Project Manager. In the next 12 months, she will be working to develop a new collection of digital oral histories for the UW Tacoma Oral History: Founding Stories project. The collection aims to capture the memories and perspectives of individuals who played significant roles in the shaping of the campus community and…
In the Foster Business Library, we were excited to recently welcome the first students into our newly developed Business Research Commons. Modeled (very modestly) on the UW Research Commons, the new space allows us to offer topical events and programs, separate from classroom visits, for all business researchers — whether or not they are business majors. Our first session was an introduction to citation management tools, with about a dozen highly engaged business Ph.D. students in attendance. While we business…
Where developing the Strategic Plan was something of an exercise in visioning of an ideal state, implementation has proven to be more of a reality check. Where I had assumed the transition between development and implementation would be a simple baton pass, I have instead come to better understand the oft-repeated business trope: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Six months into our new planning cycle, I observe that UW Libraries sustains a culture of waiting: top-level administrators waiting to hear…
This is a collaborative post by Lizabeth (Betsy) A. Wilson, Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of University Libraries; Denise Pan, Associate Dean for Collections & Content; Chelle Batchelor, Interim Associate Dean, Research and Learning Services; Director of Access Services; Tania P. Bardyn, Associate Dean & Director, Health Sciences Library; Corey Murata, Director, Collection Analysis & Strategy; Gordon J. Aamot, Director, Scholarly Communication & Publishing; and Elizabeth Bedford, Scholarly Publishing Outreach Librarian. Like many of you, we have been following the negotiations…
With cataloging work essential to strengthening our users’ ability to find information, catalogers have begun exploring new ways of working to meet the challenges of evolving university needs. With seemingly one small naming tweak to a standing committee, we have established a new venue for staff development that will directly inform our ability to improve user access and discovery of our collections. The new Cataloging Policy and Practice Committee (CPPC) was convened last fall to holistically address Libraries cataloging practice. Formerly…
To enhance our support for faculty and student research, teaching, and learning, UW Libraries Research & Learning Services embarked in 2018 on a significant restructuring of staff reporting relationships. Directly aligned with the Libraries strategic goal of transforming working practices to enable collaboration and efficiency, the portfolio now functions across 5 departments: Responsible for circulation services, library accounts, interlibrary loan and document delivery, Access Services now also directly involves branch libraries staff to share in the staffing and operations at…
Less than a year after our first meeting, the Staff Learning Opportunities for Technical Services (SLOTS) working group is proud of what we have accomplished to date. Comprised of staff members representing divisions of the Libraries Collections & Content portfolio who are collectively responsible for the development, discovery, and management of the Libraries resources, SLOTS was issued a somewhat vague charge with an open-ended timeline to organize learning and sharing events that would advance two key Libraries strategic goals: developing sustainable models…