Author Archives: Kellam Ayres

Open Access Week: What is It?

Open Access Week is an international event that raises awareness of the many benefits of making research free and open for others to use. This year’s theme is “Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge,” which asks libraries and researchers around the world to consider how they will create and support platforms for sharing knowledge that are “inclusive, equitable, and truly serve the needs of a diverse global community. Asking ourselves and our partners ‘open for whom?’ will help ensure that considerations of equity become and remain central… .”

At Middlebury, we are considering “open for whom?” through two goals for the upcoming year: expanding our efforts to support campus-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; as well as identifying our role in building and sustaining the infrastructure required for digital scholarship.

Other open access efforts at Middlebury include:

  • Digital Collections at Middlebury, our open-source repository that houses digitized works from our archives, along with student theses, scientific datasets, and faculty open access articles.
  • The Open Access policy, adopted by faculty in 2016, grants the college a license to republish scholarly essays by faculty in our online repository.
  • Lever Press, a consortial open access publisher focusing on “digital-first” online scholarly monographs. 
  • An examination of digital scholarship infrastructure, supported by a Mellon grant and led by Dean of the Library Mike Roy (along with a multi-school team of library professionals), with the goal of envisioning a more modern and sustainable system that would enhance scholarly communication at colleges, universities, and research libraries. 

Finally, are you wondering where to find open access research? Here are a few places to look:

The Bread Loaf Preservation Project: Photo exhibit in the Davison Library

In June 2015, Middlebury College and the Vermont Land Trust, with the support of Louis Bacon ’79, signed a conservation easement forever protecting Middlebury’s 2,100 acre Bread Loaf campus. A photo exhibit in the Davison Library for the summer celebrates this initiative. Photographs by Brett Simison and stories from people involved in the conservation project illustrate not only the campus’s natural beauty, but also its literary lineage, ecological diversity, and imaginative space. This exhibit helps explain why Bread Loaf is a landmark place, and celebrates its perpetual protection. We invite you to come see these photos, read the stories, and think about why Bread Loaf is important to you.

Sponsored by Middlebury College’s Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest

Library & ITS Summer Picnic on Thurs 8/28 from 3:30-5:30pm

We hope that everyone in Library and ITS (and their families/partners) can join us for a Summer Picnic on Thursday 8/28 from 3:30-5:30pm at the Hadley Barn on campus. The Hadley Barn is located just past the Kirk Alumni Center on Golf Course Rd.

We’ll provide the grills — please indicate on the sign-up sheet what you would like to bring or help with. Dogs and buns? Salad or brownies? Assorted mayonnaise-based side dishes? We could also use drinks and paper products, and help with set-up and clean-up. Please sign up for whatever suits you best.

Please be in touch with Kellam or Terry with questions. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon and celebrating the end of a great summer!

 

Keep those Spring Term reserve requests coming!

With Spring Term around the corner, Library Reserves is processing print, media, and electronic materials for course work. We encourage you to submit your requests as soon as possible! We’re happy to generate a list of previously used reserve materials from past semesters, and we can also easily restore old EReserve pages — please let us know if these options will be helpful.
Email Library Reserves with requests and questions: libres@middlebury.edu. This is the best way to ensure a timely response to all Reserve needs. For more information on submitting reserve requests, please visit the Reserves Information for Faculty wiki page. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch!

Spring Term Course Reserves

With Spring Term around the corner, Library Reserves is processing print, media, and electronic materials for course work. We encourage you to submit your requests as soon as possible! We’re happy to generate a list of previously used reserve materials from past semesters, and we can also easily restore old EReserve pages — please let us know if these options will be helpful.
Email Library Reserves with requests and questions: libres@middlebury.edu. This is the best way to ensure a timely response to all Reserve needs. For more information on submitting reserve requests, please visit the Reserves Information for Faculty wiki page. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch!

Nominate LIS staff for recognition

LIS continues to recognize the accomplishments of its staff. Each month we recognize one LIS staff member of the month, an LIS “crew” of the month, and one LIS student employee of the month. We welcome recommendations and nominations from all areas of the College. Whether you’ve received exceptional support for a specific project or you want to highlight consistent and reliable service, please take a moment and submit a nomination. Log in and share some details about why the staff member or group deserves recognition: go/nominate. Many thanks!

LIS Holiday Party on Tues 12/17 from 4:00-6:00pm

Please join us for the annual LIS Holiday Party on Tues 12/17 from 4:00-6:00pm at American Flatbread in the Marbleworks. Light refreshments will be provided with a cash bar. Families and partners are welcome to attend. An Outlook invitation will be sent to everyone shortly.

Please note that both libraries will close at 3:30pm that day. We hope to see you soon to celebrate the holidays and the end of a great semester!

-The R&R Crew

LIS Employee Awards for November

The LIS Recognition & Recreation Crew is pleased to announce the LIS employee awards for November:

Employee of the Month – Howie McCausland

Crew of the Month — Helpdesk Call Center: Joe Durante, Linda Knutson, Marty New, and Gary Weiss

Student Employee of the Month – Anis Mebarki (Helpdesk)

Congratulations to all! And a reminder about our FABULOUS prize packages: Employee of the Month winners receive a generous Amazon gift card; Crew and Student of the Month winners receive a coffee card good for 11 free cups of coffee.

The R&R Crew needs award nominations! Nominate LIS staff, student employees, and crews at go/nominate! Please be sure to include details about why the nominee deserves recognition.