Because of a six month extension to an Institute of Library and Museum Services grant, the Wayne State University Library System and the Walter P. Reuther Library just finished adding around 20,000 images and over 400 videos to the Virtual Motor City photo collection, an online resource already containing digitized images from the Detroit News Collection, a photojournalistic resource held at the Reuther Library.

This is the first time that videos were digitized as part of the VMC Project. The new videos added are Detroit News newsreels from the 1920s and include footage from local people and events to more well-known subjects like Babe Ruth and Helen Keller. The videos can be browsed at www.lib.wayne.edu/resources/digital_library/det_news/

The Library System’s Web Development Team added more than 20,000 images to collection since 2005, bringing the total number of images to over 36,000.

Donated to Wayne State in 1997, the full collection consists of more than 800,000 photonegative images, many of them on vintage glass plate. The Detroit News was a pioneer in the use of photojournalism equipment and techniques, which gives many of the early images recorded on glass and film additional historical significance. The collection is the largest single collection of graphic images of any kind at the Reuther Library.

The Office for Teaching and Learning is pleased to announce its annual Xtreme! Week, a partial week of workshops scheduled before Spring/Summer classes. Once finals are over, spend some time redesigning a course, learning about Blackboard, or using technology in the classroom!

In addition to our regular workshops, we’ve added two special days: one focused solely on incorporating service learning into your courses (sponsored in conjunction with CommunityEngagement@Wayne) and workshops being offered on Saturday for those of you with busy schedules during the week.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all participants, so come to all five days, just an hour, or anything in between! Attend four or more sessions and receive a book on teaching!

The full schedule <http://www2.otl.wayne.edu/pdf/calendars/2008/xtreme2008.pdf> is available online. Register for any of these sessions on Pipeline <https://www.eaa.wayne.edu/event_new/session_registration.cfm?eid=359> and look for our summer newsletter and schedule of events soon!

Wayne State University’s Technology Resource Center (TRC) was recently named an “exemplary model of digital learning and teaching with new technologies” by the international Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Collaboratory (HASTAC). Wayne State joins a distinguished roster of model institutions and projects and appears on the interactive Google map of institutions and projects that are advancing the future of digital learning. (www.hastac.org/node/1109)

The nomination was based on an evolving portfolio of projects managed by the TRC, a collaboration of the Office for Teaching and Learning (OTL), Computing and Information Technology and the Digital Projects Initiative of the Wayne State University Library System (WSULS). Called “Digital Partnerships for Engaged Learning,” the portfolio fosters purposeful integration of digital media in teaching and learning by bridging faculty and TRC expertise, building faculty learning communities and collaborating with other institutions in the community (viewable at www.otl.wayne.edu/dpel).

Presentations of the portfolio this year included the Humanities Center Brown Bag series and invited national forums of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes in St. Louis in March. The portfolio will also be presented at the HASTAC annual conference at UC-Irvine and UCLA on May 24 as well as the annual meeting of the Association for Integrative Studies at the University of Illinois-Springfield in October.

The three projects in the current portfolio include:

The Digital Media Learning Community is developing new technologies for teaching and learning, including Second Life and other communication and social networking tools. TRC staff are currently working with the Honors Program on the use of new technologies in a service learning requirement with roots in the community, and during the 2008-2009 academic year, the TRC and Humanities Center will co-sponsor a new WSU-HASTAC Digital Humanities Collaboratory (a monthly series featuring innovative uses of technology across campus with a parallel Webspace).

The Art History Luna Project is a collaboration of the Art History Department and staff of WSULS. Using LUNA Insight software, the team is replacing art history slide carousels with digitized images while adding innovative metadata and searchability features that will make the tool more widely available for the university community at large.

The Digital Learning and Development Sandbox (DLDS) aims to foster greater use of the WSULS Digital Images Collections, created through collaborations with museums and archives. The DLDS will be a digital workspace with images from Virtual Motor City and Digital Dress and will also feature templates for authoring digital learning objects that integrate images, texts and audio in online assignments.

For further information, send an email with “Digital Partnerships” in the Subject Line to the OTL at otl@wayne.edu

For a quick guide to the libraries’ hours during finals time, visit the Library Hours Page.

All floors of the UGL will be open for the following hours from April 22- May 4:

Tuesday, April 22 Open all night from 8 am
Wednesday, April 23 Open all night
Thursday, April 24 Open all night
Friday, April 25 Closing at 9 pm
Saturday, April 26 9am – 9pm
Sunday, April 27 Open all night from 11 am
Monday, April 28 Open all night
Tuesday, April 29 Closing at 11 pm
Wednesday, April 30 8 am – 11 pm
Thursday, May 1 8 am – 11 pm
Friday, May 2 8 am – 9 pm
Saturday, May 3 9am – 9pm
Sunday, May 4 11 am – 11 pm

The Extended Study Center at the UGL will be open for the following hours from April 22-May 4:

Tuesday, April 22 Open 24 hours
Wednesday, April 23 Open 24 hours
Thursday, April 24 Open 24 hours
Friday, April 25 Open 24 hours
Saturday, April 26 Open 24 hours
Sunday, April 27 Open 24 hours
Monday, April 28 Open 24 hours
Tuesday, April 29 12 am – 11pm
Wednesday, April 30 8 am – 11 pm
Thursday, May 1 8 am – 11 pm
Friday, May 2 8 am – 9 pm
Saturday, May 3 9 am – 9pm
Sunday, May 4 11 am – 11 pm

Stop by the UGL atrium during the week of April 13 to see some of your favorite University “celebrities” featured in ALA-style READ posters. We’ll have representatives from all over the University, including VP of Research Hilary Ratner, Honors Program Director Jerry Herron, OTL Faculty Fellow Julie Klein, Dean of Students David Strauss and others. You’ll even see a few familiar faces from the libraries! We’ll be adding more throughout the week so come by to check them out!

Wednesday, April 16, 5:00 - 6:30 pm, MS Powerpoint II:  Smart Art

Thursday, April 17, 5:00 - 6:30 pm, MS Excel II:  Advanced Features 

 All workshops are held in Lab B, Second Floor UGL.

Sessions are free and open to everyone. No registration is required. A complete drop-in computer workshop schedule is available at: http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction_tutorials/drop_in.php

Celebrate National Poetry Month on May 2 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Kresge Auditorium at the Purdy/Kresge Library with the Wayne State University Library System and students from Brace-Lederle K-8 School in Southfield.

As part of the ongoing Chapbook Project at Wayne State, the Brace Lederle students will read their poetry and show off the art that they created to accompany the poetry. Around 40 sixth to eighth graders will be showcasing their poetry and art work as part of April’s National Poetry Month and would love to share their accomplishments with the University community. Stop by to check it out!

Tuesday, April 8, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, MS Word II:  Advanced Features

Wednesday, April 9, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, MS Excel I:  Spreadsheet Basics 

All workshops are held in Lab B, Second Floor UGL.

Sessions are free and open to everyone. No registration is required. A complete drop-in computer workshop schedule is available at: http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction_tutorials/drop_in.php

Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, MS PowerPoint I:  Presentation Basics

Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 5:00 - 6:30 pm, MS Access I:  Creating Databases

Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Blackboard e-Portfolio

All workshops are held in Lab B, Second Floor UGL.

Sessions are free and open to everyone. No registration is required. A complete drop-in computer workshop schedule is available at: http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction_tutorials/drop_in.php

Marcia Mardis, assistant professor in the Wayne State University Library and Information (LIS) Science Program, and Steven Bowers, director of the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET) were named by Library Journal, two of 2008’s “Movers and Shakers,” an award that recognizes librarians across the country for their innovation and commitment to providing the best possible service to their users.

As assistant professor in Wayne State’s school library media program, Mardis encourages school librarians to show teachers how new technologies—even personal entertainment devices—can enhance student learning. She’s worked with the Michigan Educators’ Resources Library and National Science Digital Library to disseminate high-quality digital resources among school librarians and teachers.

“She’s an unstoppable force, inspiring others to try new things and undertake new challenges,” said Professor Robert Holley, Mardis’ colleague in the LIS Program.

In order to expand library collections and digital projects that included materials created by the interactive online community, DALNET director Steven Bowers enabled librarians to incorporate YouTube videos and make them viewable within the online catalog. The pilot project began with videos of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, which were made available through DALNET member libraries’ catalogs.
Library Journal also recognized Bowers for expanding the definition of OPAC (online public access catalog) by developing the first online catalog for the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn by designing a search portal of Arab American community resources, including Web sites and directory information.

Evette Atkin, a 2004 graduate of the Wayne State LIS Program was also recognized. “The Library System is so proud to have two representatives and an alum out of the 52 winners across the country this year,” said Sandra Yee, dean of the Wayne State Library System. “It’s really an honor.”

Library Journal chooses the award winners based on their commitments to their communities as well as their ability to recognize librarianship as a profession where one can make a difference.

Founded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the field and is read by over 100,000 librarians nationwide.