Friends of the UNCG Libraries

Dr. Keith Gorman Ms. Beth Ann Koelsch If you watch C-SPAN programming this weekend, you’ll see some familiar UNCG faces, including two from the University Libraries.  The UNCG related programming will air Feb. 21-22. Recently, C-SPAN came to the UNCG campus and interviewed two faculty members of the Special Collections and University Archives Department in Jackson Library. They also interviewed two faculty members and one emeritus faculty member in the History Department. Ms. Beth Ann Koelsch is curator of the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project in the library’s Hodges Special Collections & University Archives. “Since it’s for C-SPAN2 “the book channel,” I pulled books from the collection including memoirs, books written about particular companies (for example, “The 149th WAAC Post HQ Company, 1940-1943: Our Story”), comics, books on the history of women in the military and books about the role of women in the military,” she said. Dr. Keith Gor...

left to right: Kelly McBride, Lead Librarian for Information Literacy Rachel Fleming, Lead Acquisitions Librarian Pam Mitchem, Preservation and Digital Project Archivist Beth Cramer, Coordinator of Bibliographic Services The University Libraries at UNCG wish to thank their colleagues at Appalachian State University for meeting with the library faculty here on February 13, 2015 regarding the promotion, tenure and rankings guidelines and procedures at their library.

We have been asked to let Friends members know about these upcoming events sponsored by the MFA Writing Program at UNCG, O. Henry Magazine, and the O. Henry Hotel. For details, see: http://www.ohenryhotel.com/literary_stars.htm

Corrine Luthy is an example of one of the outstanding students who are working in the University Libraries while earning their MLIS (Master of Library and Information Studies) degrees at UNCG.  A former journalist in eastern North Carolina, Corrine recently completed an independent study/practicum expanding awareness and knowledge of the use of makerspaces in libraries, such as the one in Jackson Library. A website she has designed to be part of her capstone project for the degree describes her work on Makerspaces.  For the Fall 2014 semester she worked with a three-person team at UNCG's Jackson Library - Beth Filar-Williams (distance education librarian), Brown Biggers (server administrator), and Michelle Folkman (graduate student/curriculum coordinator) - on a project funded by an LSTA grant through State Library of North Carolina. The goals of the grant were to provide makerspace training to Library & Information Studies students and collaborations with other departm...

As an increasing number faculty at UNCG see it, those treasures stored in the Special Collections and University Archives are tools for helping UNCG students learn, express themselves, and develop their skills.  Making available and engaging students, faculty and researchers in the active use of primary sources is a major goal of the Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) Department, headed by Dr. Keith Gorman, himself a historian. During 2014, the Department worked with or made presentations to 84 classes and presentations involving more than 1400 students, and the engagement is growing each year.   Given our collections and the nature of the subjects, one might expect classes with students in History, English, or Art, but other departments and classes represented include African American Studies; Women and Gender Studies; Photography; Kinesiology; Music; Education; Interior Architecture; Consumer Apparel and Retail; Food; and Latin. This growing use of s...

Courage is often identified as a dramatic act of bravery in combat, saving someone’s life at personal risk, or some other heroic action.  There is, however, a quieter kind of courage that all too often goes unrecognized. Bob Galbreath, who died on February 1, exemplified this quieter courage.  After serving as Assistant Director for Collection Management in Jackson Library beginning in 1990, Bob was stricken with multiple sclerosis and found it necessary to stop working due to disability in 2000, officially retiring in 2004. For over fifteen years Bob fought this dread illness with determination and optimism.  Though confined totally to his bed and unable to attend scholarly presentations or conferences or cultural events that he loved, Bob never lost his love of life or his sense of humor.  A dedicated scholar with a Ph.D. in history, Bob taught at the college level, served for a number of years as director of the honors program at the University of Wisconsin ...

Please join University Library's Digital Projects Team for Vintage Viands, a taste testing of vintage recipes showcased in the online Home Economics, Food, and Nutrition Pamphlets Collection in the Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives Department.  Faculty and staff of the University Libraries will be working hard to make these recipes as authentic as possible for people to try. There will be a competition for the best and worst food from the recipes, so we invite library patrons to attend, and need your taste buds and your votes! The tasting event will be Friday, February 13, 2015 from 12:30-2:30 in the Reading Room of Jackson Library. We will be serving food until it runs out, so come out early! In addition to the taste testing, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collection & University Archives will have a display of the actual pamphlets held by the Libraries. Please contact Callie Coward at cemoss@uncg.edu or 336-334-5781 or Erica Rau at elrau@unc...