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February 2008In this issue:Metadata Services Settles Down with a New Focus  Metadata Services Settles Down with a New FocusElaine L. Westbrooks Metadata Services, to say the least, has been a unit of constant change over the past several years. Since 2006, there have been no less than eight personnel changes and, organizationally speaking, the unit has moved from DCAPS to LTS. The personnel changes, for the most part, have been routine including a retirement, transfers, promotions, new positions, and an exciting position that we hope to fill over the next few months. With such changes, it is only natural for a department to evolve and revisit its mission, purpose, goals, and values in relation to the larger unit LTS, as well as CUL in general. When Metadata Services was originally set up, a large amount of the work was devoted to clients outside of CU and CUL. In my short tenure as department head, I want to raise the presence of Metadata Services and learn how we can better support the work being done throughout the libraries. We communicated these desires to other library units by meeting with dozens of CUL staff such as branch library directors, curators, and department heads in Ithaca and Geneva. In my absence, Glen Wiley, our newest Metadata Librarian, conducted informational meetings at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and in Qatar via video-conferencing to express ways Metadata Services could serve other units within CUL. In these meetings it became clear that most do not know what Metadata Services does nor do they understand what type of work should or could be done in Metadata Services. In short, Metadata Services manages projects, provides expert advice, and works with our partners to organize digital objects for public and academic consumption and enjoyment. In particular, we are very good at two tasks: first, taking (meta)data in one form and converting it into another form; and second, taking unorganized (meta)data and adding structure, organization, and uniformity to it, according to an established standard. When one is knowledgeable about XML, schemas, document type definitions, and a variety of metadata standards (e.g., EAD, TEI, FGDC, VRA Core), then the work can be processed automatically and efficiently. Greg Nehler and Nancy Solla, both metadata assistants, are very much skilled in this area. In addition, our student programmer, Johnathon Schultz, is a whiz and has been integral in automating metadata creation. I also learned from many staff that we needed to redefine our Web site to expand our audience. Thanks to our former student, Julie Bai, and continuous staff input, our Web site is set up for not just librarians, but also students, faculty, and staff at Cornell and elsewhere. It is now simple, clean, and full of information not available anywhere else on the Internet.
Now that we have a new vision, new Web site, and new staff, what’s next? We are very excited about the possibilities that come along with the non-traditional position that is currently advertised. The Research Data Specialist Position, which was formerly the metadata librarian line vacated by Nancy Holcomb, is rare because there are only three other academic libraries who have positions of this nature. Furthermore, it is unprecedented because of its location in LTS. This position represents an effort by Metadata Services to be proactive, innovative, and flexible enough to redefine positions and think about what skills are going to be important in the next five to ten years. In addition to this exciting position, I must add that we are looking forward to increasingly being an effective support unit that welcomes collaboration with all CUL staff. Having a clear vision, hard working staff, and expertise, makes Metadata Services poised for the change around the corner and also poised to tackle a variety of projects that are brought to our attention. Should you have a project that may require metadata expertise, do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the unit. We will be happy to discuss the possibilities with you. University and Library Celebrate Ezra’s 200th
Elaine Engst Cornell University celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of its founder Ezra Cornell with a major library exhibition and a series of events throughout 2007 (http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Ezra/index.html), beginning with a “birthday party,” complete with balloons and cake in the Library Café on January 11, Ezra’s actual birthday. The exhibition, “I Would Found an Institution….” opened on March 8, with a reception featuring another birthday cake, cut by President David Skorton and the founder’s great-great-great grandson, Trustee Ezra Cornell ’71. Additional events during the year included, “Ezra Cornell and Any Person,” a talk by Carol Kammen, Tompkins County Historian and Senior Lecturer in the History Department in March (http://libecast.library.cornell.edu/items/kammen.html); “Ezra’s Unreasonable Vision,” a talk by President Emeritus Frank H. T. Rhodes, as part of the Reunion festivities (http://libecast.library.cornell.edu/items/rhodes.html); and Ezra’s philosophy informed the discussions at the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees and the University Council in October, which culminated in another cake and a presentation from Ezra’s letters by student actors. During the year, the Cornell Chronicle also published “The Ezra Files,” short articles on various aspects of Ezra Cornell’s life (http://www.news.cornell.edu/features/EzraFiles/EzraFiles.html). The Library Store offered t-shirts, notepads, tote bags, and mugs featuring an up-to-date Ezra image (http://communications.library.cornell.edu/com/store), which are also available at the Campus Store. It was fitting that the university honor its founder’s bicentennial with such fanfare. Ezra Cornell was a remarkable individual. The son of a farmer and potter, he was a self-educated and self-made man. From his early years, he was interested in scientific and technical innovation. He devised a special plow for laying telegraph cable underground and later designed glass insulators for stringing cable overhead. While he struggled economically for most of his life, in 1855, the consolidation into Western Union of the small local telegraph companies in which he had invested gave his interests 150,000 shares of stock and netted him a fortune. He immediately tried to determine how he might do the most good with his new-found wealth.
Cornell had long been interested in education, for his own children and more broadly (and education always included libraries). He organized a farmers’ club and an agricultural reading room in Ithaca; he served as president of the Tompkins County Fair, and of the New York State Agricultural Society. In 1863, he built and endowed a public library for Ithaca. He entered politics, and in the New York State Senate, he met Andrew Dickson White when the bill for the incorporation of the library was referred to White’s Committee on Literature. The timing was fortuitous. In 1862 the United States Congress had passed the Morrill Land Grant College Act to provide public lands to fund higher education. While the Morrill Act provided a mandate and support for the teaching of agriculture and mechanical arts, Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White considered it essential that these studies be integrated with a broad liberal education. When the Legislature met in 1865, White introduced a bill in the Senate, “to establish the [sic] Cornell University and to appropriate to it the income of the sale of public lands granted to this State.” After much political maneuvering, the bill was signed by Governor Reuben E. Fenton on April 27. The first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on April 28, when Cornell endowed the university through an outright gift of $500,000, to which would be added the sum realized by his purchase of the Morrill land scrip from the state. The founding of Cornell University brought together all of the themes that were important in Ezra Cornell's life: his deep and abiding concern for education, his interest in agriculture, his philanthropic impulse, and his political sense. From its inception, the Cornell curriculum was unique in its diversity, embodying the unconventional thinking of its founders. The early course offerings for Cornell students ranged from modern history and political science to applied mechanics and horticulture to Greek and Latin. Cornell’s interest in practical education reflected his own interests in technological and scientific innovation, and he was closely involved in all aspects of the new university, superintending the construction of buildings and purchasing or funding the purchase of equipment, books, and collections. The breadth of instruction envisioned at Cornell related closely to its nonsectarian tradition, with no denominational affiliation. Both Cornell and White opposed any sectarian domination since they believed that religious orthodoxy frequently limited the scope of instruction in universities. The Charter of Cornell University specifically stated that, “persons of every religious denomination or of no religious denomination, shall be equally eligible to all offices and appointments.” Ezra Cornell’s support of education also always meant educational opportunities for all, and the inclusion of both male and female students was basic to the University from the first. International students were welcomed at the university, and Cornell University was notable for its support of racial and ethnic diversity. Both Cornell and White believed that quality education was essential to building a democratic society, and they expected the new university to play a leading role in the effort.
Ezra Cornell’s personal characteristics, frankness, industry, perseverance, and patience combined with a practical intelligence to make him a radical and original thinker. The new university which Cornell and White founded would reflect these ideals, combining liberal and practical education with equal opportunities for all regardless of sex, color, nationality, religion, or politics.  Terri Whitaker Hero in Our Midst: Library Employee's EMT Training Saves a Student's LifeSusan Kendrick What started out as a normal Friday morning quickly turned into a struggle for life for one Cornell student. Fortunately for this student, assistance was as close as the library circulation desk. The Johnson School EMBA program is based in Palisades, NY and includes a week of intense study on the Ithaca campus twice a year. At the tail end of this winter's campus session, the EMBA students were enjoying their morning coffee break in Sage atrium when suddenly one of them collapsed. A classmate immediately ran to the Management Library asking for help from the circulation staff on duty, Robin Shoemaker and Terri Whitaker. Terri, a twelve-year veteran EMT of the Trumansburg Fire Department, sprang into action. She asked Robin to phone for help while she assessed the situation. Terri ran to the atrium and the unconscious student. She checked his breathing and took his pulse. Although weak, his pulse was there. And then it disappeared completely. Terri knew she could not wait for backup. She began CPR compressions while another EMBA student administered breaths. Terri called for a nearby student to get her CPR mask and another to get the automated external defibrillator (AED) located just next to the atrium. The AED is a relatively user-friendly device that "talks" the user through its operation. It scans the patient and will tell the user if there is the need for a shock or if no shock is necessary. Terri applied the shock pads on the student and pressed the "shock analyze" button. The AED gave a "shock advised" response, so Terri made sure the area around the student was clear, and administered a shock. She then checked again for a pulse and, upon finding none, resumed CPR. Around her, the normally bustling atrium was eerily quiet as 60 EMBA students looked on in disbelief. About this time Environmental Health & Safety and Cornell University Police arrived with additional equipment such as blood pressure cuffs and a stethoscope. The police officer asked Terri if she needed a break, but she was concentrating so hard on the job at hand that she did not hear him and continued on with compressions. After a minute or so of CPR the student's eyes popped open and he began to speak. Terri asked him a few questions. How did he feel? What did he remember? Could he move his arms? Legs? Fingers? Toes? The student, being an overachieving MBA candidate, said he was fine and tried to get up, but Terri knew better. She explained to him what had happened and that it was best to lay and wait for the paramedics to come and examine him. And while Terri asked the student for information regarding his health history, the Bangs Ambulance arrived. The Bangs paramedics prepared to transfer the student to the ambulance. They removed the AED so they could hook him up to their own heart monitoring equipment and, as the transfer was taking place, the student’s pulse stopped once more. The Bangs paramedics shocked the student to bring him back for the second time that morning. The student was then rushed to Cayuga Medical Center where he was treated and eventually transferred to another cardiac care unit. After the student was taken away in the ambulance, Terri was still pumped full of adrenaline, but there was more to do. She needed to talk to the police so they could fill out a report. She needed to talk to the building’s facilities manager so she could write a report. She needed to take a walk around the building to calm her own nerves. She needed to take stock of what had happened, and yet at the time she says she felt the entire sequence of events was a bit unreal. It is often the case that CPR is not successful in resuscitating a patient. However, the American Heart Association notes that when CPR and defibrillation are administered within the first three to five minutes of cardiac arrest, the patient’s chances of recovery increase dramatically. In this case, the student is recovering nicely. Two things that weighed heavily in his favor were his youth and the fact that Terri was so close by. It was also crucial that she was able to begin CPR within moments of his pulse stopping. Terri’s years of training developed her instincts such that she was able to respond calmly and quickly. Although she has twelve years experience as an EMT, this was the first time Terri was the lead in such a rescue situation and she handled it flawlessly. When asked how she felt about what had happened she replied, “I just did what I was trained to do and I’m really glad in turned out well.” Talk to your supervisor to find out how your unit would handle an emergency situation. For those interested in becoming trained in CPR and/or AED, a few places in the area that offer courses include the American Red Cross of Tompkins County, the Cornell University Wellness Program, and Cornell Emergency Medical Service. And for those interested in becoming an EMT, TC3 offers courses or you can contact your local fire department for more information. Editor's note: a version of this piece appeared with Kaleidoscope's permission in the February 7, 2008 issue of Pawprint. Unit in the Spotlight: Echols Southeast Asia
People NewsWelcome The Nestle Library welcomes Ken Bolton as the new public services librarian. Previously Ken was a research specialist in the Johnson Graduate School of Management Library where he worked since 2003. Ken's primary responsibility will be library and database instruction. The Nestle Library is very pleased to have someone with Ken's experience and knowledge of Cornell and library resources join their staff. Michelle Cowles is the new administrative assistant in Public Services and Assessment. Michelle previously worked for the school of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell where she provided administrative and financial support. David Gislason is the new preservation assistant in the Department of Preservation and Collection Maintenance. Previously David was a self employed painter and carpenter. He has an Associate’s in Fine Arts from Mohawk Valley Community College. Jon Ladley is the new administrative assistant in Library Facilities and Business Operations. Jon previously worked as a temp in Facilities and in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He has a BA in history from Ithaca College. We are pleased to welcome Daniel McKee as the new Japanese Studies Bibliographer at the Wason Collection on East Asia. Daniel has a B.A. in comparative literature from Rutgers University (1989), an M.F.A in creative writing from Syracuse University (1999), and an M.A. (2001) and Ph.D. in Japanese literature (2007) both from Cornell University. Colleagues may recall that in 2006 his collection of textbooks of the Meiji Period won him first place in the national collegiate book collection contest. During his final year at Cornell, he was able to apply his specialized interest to a public exhibition of Japanese poetry prints (surimono) for the Johnson Museum. He is the author of two exhibition catalogues, Japanese Poetry Prints: Surimono from the Schoff Collection; and Haiku and Haiga -- Moments in Word and Image: Japanese Scroll Paintings from the Jon de Jong Collection. Welcome back, Daniel. Transfers Deb Muscato has transferred from Fine Arts to the Physical Sciences Library. Physical Sciences is delighted to welcome Deb and extends congratulations to her also on her promotion to Access Services Supervisor. Promotions Congratulations to the various folks who were recently promoted within their departments: Ken Bolton, Hotel Library; Danielle Mericle, DLIT; Cammie Wyckoff, Library Annex; Bethany Silfer, Access Services; Michelle Nair, Access Services; Brian Eden, Law Library; Suzanne Schwartz, Preservation and Collection Maintenance; and Kirsten Hensley, Physical Sciences Library. Promotions in DLIT Desktop Services Congratulations to both Amy Blumenthal and Keene Silfer who were promoted this January! Keene Silfer has been promoted to Desktop Services Manager and he will be supervising five DS staff. Keene will be responsible for Desktop Services's operational activities as well as continuing to contribute using his strong technology skills. Amy Blumenthal has been promoted to Staff Services Coordinator and she will be organizing and coordinating DS's support services for the several hundred staff we directly support. This promotion also recognizes Amy's continuing important role as a member of CUL’s Technical Problems Response Team, providing expert service and technological support of the Library's electronic resources via LibIT-l and LibGateway-l. Amy will also continue in her role as the primary library-wide lead on Voyager client software deployments. Please join me in congratulating both Keene and Amy on their recent promotions! (Oliver Habicht) Congratulations Congratulations to Stuart Basefsky whose article was published as the Cover Story in the November 2007 issue of SLA's Information Outlook. The article is available to all via Proquest: “The Personal Information Trainer” by Stuart Basefsky, Information Outlook, Vol.11, No. 11, November 2007, (Cover Story) pages 11-17. Congratulations to Adam Chandler who was recently chosen to receive the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) Outstanding Collaboration Citation for 2008 in recognition of his contributions to the development of a new usage statistics measurement protocol. The award recognizes Adam's significant efforts in the Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) during the last few years. Citation Committee Chair Gracemary Smulewitz wrote to Adam, "The jury unanimously feels that your work represents a collaborative effort between industry and academia and strongly represents the criteria for the Citation. Your leadership in the development of the protocol was exceptional and the results have a universal impact on usage statistic measurement. It is an honor to recognize your contributions." The award was created last year to recognize efforts that improve and benefit managing library collections, and Adam shares the award with his SUSHI committee co-chair Oliver Pesch. Congratulations to Ira Revels who has been awarded the prestigious John C. Tyson Award by the Black Caucus of the American Librarian Association (BCALA), for her work with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Library Alliance. Ira, who manages Cornell’s partnership with the HBCU Library Alliance, has secured $850,000 in funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation since 2005 to help train librarians and archivists at twenty HBCU institutions in digital imaging, preservation, and management. This effort has resulted in an online digital collection that chronicles the founding of America’s black colleges and universities and represents the first collaborative effort by HBCU libraries to make a historical collection digitally available. The John C. Tyson Award is granted to a librarian with less than ten years experience who is building an impressive body of work. It is given in honor of Tyson, who served as the vice president and president-elect of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association from 1986 until 1990, and was instrumental in establishing the National Conference for African American Librarians. During his career, he served as the state librarian of Virginia, library director of the University of Richmond, and as a professor of library and information science at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Recognized by Library Journal in 2006 as a Mover and Shaker (Kaleidoscope article), Ira is the first librarian to receive the award since 1998. ANNOUNCEMENTS From Library Alumni Affairs and Development Dear Colleagues, Beth (Fontana) Anderson has accepted a position with alumni affairs and development in Cornell Plantations. We miss her, but wish her well in her new endeavors. As the Library’s development communications manager since 1996, Beth planned CUL Reunion events, coordinated much of our correspondence, and performed our graphic design (including the CUL Update and the beautiful new Honor with Books brochure). We will not be seeking a replacement for Beth; Ellen Marsh and the communications team will be providing additional support for our office, and Alex Wolf has increased his hours from half-time to take on many of Beth’s responsibilities. He will be the new Reunion contact, and you can expect to hear from him soon as we plan the Library’s events for Reunion 2008. Sharon Kendall continues to manage our office, keeping Library Development running smoothly and coordinating our many students as they help us with our work. Thanks,
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Olin Library Renovation Web site at http://www.library.cornell.edu/RenovateOlin/. This site is a primary source of information on the history and progress of the renovation project, so please bookmark the URL and visit the site for periodic updates. In addition, you are invited to contact the Olin Library Renovation Committee with any questions or comments at RenovateOlinLibrary@cornell.edu. Regards, Thank You I wanted to thank everyone in the CU Library for their thoughts and prayers while I was out recently for surgery. The many cards and gifts that I received were a great comfort to me and really contributed to my recovery. It meant so much to know that friends and co-workers were thinking of me and wishing me the best when I was suddenly confronted with an unexpected health problem. You are a wonderful group of people and I will always remember how kind and thoughtful you all have been. Sincerely, Good-Bye Good-bye and good luck to Amy Mosher, Collection Maintenance; Gale Halpern, DLIT; Elizabeth (Fontana) Anderson, Library External Relations; and Bob Scott, Library Annex; who recently left the Library. Holiday Party Photos
RetirementsHana Dedina After nineteen years with the Cornell University Library, Hana Dedina is retiring at the end of December. Her last day of work is today [Friday, December 14, 2007]. Hana joined what was then the CTS Catalog Department in 1988 as the Slavic Languages Cataloger. Ten years later, she became the project manager for our various retrospective conversion initiatives, a role that culminated last June in the completion of the massive CUL recon effort, which spanned 32 years and 1.9 million titles overall. Hana joined Database Management Services (then called Database Quality and Enrichment) in 2002, when recon operations were transferred to that department. Somehow, Hana still managed to catalog a significant number of Slavic and Cyrillic script titles throughout these past several years, and since June she has been working on the retrospective cataloging portion of the Harris Project. Although I am pleased that Hana will now be able to pursue other activities, free from the yoke of a regular job, we in Database Management Services will miss her outstanding project management skills and elegant professionalism. Good luck and best wishes, Hana! ~Jim LeBlanc Obituaries
Esther C. Stark passed away on December 10, 2007 at the age of 82, after a lengthy illness. Esther was born in Ithaca on March 9, 1925. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Esther Sanford and a lifelong resident of Ithaca. Among her close friends she counted Dorothy Cook, Florence Mahoney, Jean Brown, Carol Pyhtila, Lois Bobbett, Betty Porteus and Patricia Aldrich. (From the Ithaca Journal, 11/13/07) Carol Pyhtila writes: "I worked with Esther for six years when I was Personnel Director for the University Libraries during the early 1980s. Esther was a very dedicated and committed team member. She worked hard to make sure Library staff were well served. Esther was always quick to share her wisdom and took a no-nonsense approach to her work. On a more personal note, Esther was always willing to give me good advice about raising my two sons, as she had lots of practice doing the same. Esther enjoyed caring for her rose garden at her home and during rose season, she arrived at work every Monday morning with a fresh rose for my desk. My favorite was a tangerine colored rose. We remained friends for the rest of her life and, every year on my birthday, a beautiful floral arrangement arrived at my office, complete with a couple of tangerine roses. I will miss our lunch dates and the opportunity to brag about our children and grandchildren. May she rest in peace, knowing how much she enriched our lives." Esther retired from Cornell University Library after 30 years of service. Donations in her memory may be made to Cornell University Library, Alumni Affairs and Development, 701 Olin Library, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Helen Wilkins, 1928-2007 Helen Beardsley Wilkins passed away at her residence in Ithaca on Friday, November 9, 2007, at the age of 79. Born on September 6, 1928 in Ithaca, Helen was the daughter of Harold and Josephine Simmons Beardsley. She received her Associates degree with high honors from TC3, and worked in the Cornell libraries for 32 years before her retirement in 1992. Helen began her library career in Central Technical Services (CTS) in catalog maintenance as a card filer. She later moved to the Business and Public Administration (BPA) Library (now Management) where she worked first as a serials assistant and then as office manager. Helen was a familiar face to students and faculty in the library. She was a great believer in education and continued her education after her children were grown. Helen had a great sense of humor and could always be counted on for a caustic remark! (Don Schnedeker) Helen's membership in the Immaculate Conception Church family was an important part of her life. She was a Mercy Associate for the church and developed many close relationships over the years. Her kindheartedness was shared as a volunteer at Cayuga Medical Center and as a Driving Safety Course Instructor for AARP. Helen was also a voracious reader who capitalized on any free moment to delve into the next chapter. (From the Ithaca Journal, 11/12/07)
Credits: Kaleidoscope is published bi-monthly except June and July by Cornell University Library. Editor: Elizabeth Teskey, Photography: Cynthia Lange, Layout: Carla DeMello and Jenn Colt-Demaree |
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Esther Stark, 1925-2007