Libraries Conference Elicits
Scholarly Discussions and Warm Praise

Professor Edward James of the University of Reading and Visiting Scholar at Rutgers, left, with Brian Hancock at the conference.

"Ancient Studies, New Technologies," a three-day conference held December 6 - 8 in the Scholarly Communication Center, was organized to address the various ways in which the World Wide Web is being, and can be, used in the fields of classical, medieval, and Byzantine studies. The conference was cosponsored by the Rutgers University Libraries and the Classics Department at Rutgers and was coordinated by Brian Hancock of the Libraries Center for Electronic Texts in the Humanities (CETH).

Participants at the conference included scholars from Australia, Belgium, England, Holland, Italy, Canada, and the United States. The conference covered wide ranging topics such as art, epigraphy, manuscripts, numismatics, pedagogy, and publication in scholarship on antiquity related to modern computer technology.

Conference participants hold an informal discussion before the start of the Sunday sessions.

Some interesting discussions at the conference, that focused on tenure and promotion related to work on the electronic presentation of scholarly work, were initiated by Janice Siegel of Illinois State and continued by Bert Lott of Vassar. In a roundtable session, Celia Chazelle of the College of New Jersey discussed a registration model for the publication of work in the humanities. Many of the participants expressed concern that the work they do with technology is not given good and proper credit by tenure committees.

The DjVu image file format gained attention due to the presentations of Samantha Doherty and Rutgers University Libraries' Jeffery Triggs on the Roman Republican Coins database project at CETH and the work at the Syriac Institute by George Kiraz.

The conference was well received by the different participants. Miguel Torrens of the University of Toronto wrote to Brian Hancock after returning home:

"We want to thank you very much for a splendid and very useful meeting at Rutgers. You managed to get together a great assortment of scholars working on very diverse fields and make it all work. Leaving aside the beastly storm - for which you were not at all responsible - it was an excellent gathering and we felt both welcome and well looked after, all of which thanks to your organizing skills and dedication."

Combined Charities
2003 Campaign Results

All of us in the Libraries have good reason to be proud.

The results of the Libraries' participation in the recently completed 2003 New Jersey Employees' Charitable Campaign are in. Campaign statistics show that Libraries staff and faculty contributed $11,111.06 to the 2003 campaign. Compared to last year's contributions of $7,901, this represents a 71% increase!

Thank you to the area solicitors, whose efforts helped produce this outpouring of generosity, and to all those who contributed to support the campaign. We value your values.

Librarian Participates
In European Study Tour

Jackie Mardikian, Health Sciences Librarian at the Library of Science and Medicine, recently participated in a delegation formed to study European urban planning and development initiatives. The purpose of the tour was to explore successful and innovative planning, sustainable development, economic development, and municipal practices employed by European cities that may be applicable to rebuilding Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the region after September 11. The Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development [PICCED], in cooperation with the Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown, the Labor Community Advocacy Network, the Planning Center at the Municipal Art Society, and Rebuild Downtown Our Town, New York City sponsored this study tour to Western European cities from November 15-23, 2002. Funding for the trip was provided by grants to PICCED from the German Marshall Fund, Deutsche Bank, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

A group of approximately 50 people, representing diverse constituencies from throughout New York City, participated in the week long tour. Participants included representatives from the Deputy Mayor's office; the New York City Department of City Planning; the labor community; architects and urban designers; the media; the development and the manufacturing communities; private foundations; the financial community; nonprofit organizations, including youth representatives from various environmental justice organizations; small business owners in Lower Manhattan; and representatives of the families of those who perished in the World Trade Center attacks. Jackie was one of four family members invited to join the tour.

The delegation first visited Berlin, where they studied the positive and negative lessons of the rebuilding of Germany following the fall of fascist and communist rule. The trip highlighted the redevelopment activities initiated after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the move of the German capital back to Berlin. They also visited memorials and the Jewish Museum.

From Berlin, the contingent divided into three different groups: one group (with Jackie) traveled to Copenhagen, where they studied the participatory planning process and sustainable planning and development efforts. The visit focused on examples of effective transportation systems, including the city's auto-free pedestrian zone. They looked at Copenhagen's successes in economic development and excellence in design, including low-and moderate- income housing. The second group visited Bologna and Munich, and the third group visited Barcelona.

In December, the group will be presenting extensive documentation and a publication to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, created to plan and coordinate the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan.

If you would like to hear more about Jackie's study tour, you are invited to a brown bag lunch at noon on Wednesday January 15 in the Special Collections Room at the Library of Science and Medicine.

Librarian Publishes Book
on Latina Writer/Activist

Julia with her first poetry book Poema en veinte surcos (1938). From: Cronologia de Julia de Burgos. Department of Spanish. University of Puerto Rico.

Congratulations to New Brunswick Libraries' Lourdes Vazquez on the publication of her book Hablar sobre Julia: Julia de Burgos: Bibliografía, 1934-2002 (Texas: SALALM, 2002; Bibliography and Reference Series no. 50.)

Julia de Burgos is the best known 20th century female poet in Puerto Rico, and one of the best of Latin America. Lourdes' 101-page bibliography of this influential Latina writer and Caribbean political activist includes all the work of Julia de Burgos and everything that has been written about Julia in the 20th century. Julia's work had been widely anthologized and had inspired more than twenty thesis and dissertations, one of them from the University of Kyoto in Japan and sixteen from universities in the USA. Julia's work was the focus, as well, for an estimated 420 scholarly articles, thirteen biographies, and fifteen audiovisuals, including documentaries- films, and videos, cassettes, records, CD-roms, and posters. The bibliography includes a preface, an introductory essay, and an index.

Post Open:
Librarian at SMLR

The School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) at Rutgers seeks an individual to direct the Carey Library of Management and Labor Relations at the School's Labor Education Center, Cook-Douglass Campus. The position carries faculty rank and reports to the Dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations. A faculty advisory committee provides policy guidance and advice to the library director.

The librarian will provide information retrieval and reference services to SMLR faculty, staff, students, and members of our labor, management, and public constituencies. He/she will also collect materials for the Carey Library to support the credit and extension programs of the School.

Interested candidates should send a cover letter, vita, and the names and contact information for three references to Ms. Debbie Fitzgerald, Office of the Dean, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, 94 Rockafeller Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Review of applications will begin January 6, 2003, although applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

	December 1, 2002 November 17, 2002 The Agenda Archive

Contributors for this issue were Brian Hancock, Jackie Mardikian, Sandy Troy, Loudes Vazquez, and Marilyn Wilt. Contributions for future issues of The Agenda should be sent to Harry Glazer, editor of The Agenda, at hglazer@rci.rutgers.edu.