Librarian Publishes Article on
“Do It Yourself Courseware”

Congratulations to Ronald Jantz of the Scholarly Communication Center and Rutgers history Professor Rudy Bell, who wrote the article “Do it Yourself Courseware: How We Built A Reusuable Web Platform for Studying World Cultures,” published in the February 2003 issue of Syllabus magazine.

In the article, Ron and Professor Bell explain that they created an online platform that allows the professor to engage students in locating and evaluating the usefulness of websites to aid their studies in an “Italy's Peoples” course. Students submit their selections for inclusion in a class database, with the professor reviewing and modifying entries as necessary before they are incorporated into the database.

The authors state that they modified the technology framework developed for the course so it may be used by other courses that focus on studying distinct groups of people. The article invites readers to download the generic platform, free of charge, from the SCC website and provides a narrative of how it was developed.

The article may be read at this URL:
http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=7253

Libraries Host Three
International Contingents

Linda Langschied, standing, spoke with some of the Russian librarians before formally welcoming them to the SCC on January 30th.

The president of Moldova State University makes a presentation as members of his delegation, Ryoko Toyama, Bob Sewell, and others, listen on January 31st.

For a few days at the end of January, the Rutgers University Libraries could easily have been mistaken for an international visitors center.

Librarians from the Scholarly Communication Center, a Special Collections archivist, and other librarians and library staff gathered January 30^th to share aspects of their work with ten Russian library managers in the SCC's teleconference lecture hall. The Russian librarians were participating in a four-day visit to Rutgers and the New Brunswick area as part of the Open World Program, a program of the Library of Congress' Center for Russian Leadership that is sponsored by the US Congress.

Five Open Program delegates hosted by the Camden County Library system participated in the January 30^th program in the SCC, along with a contingent of 10 Russian librarians sponsored by the US State Department's International Visitor Program. Global Outreach Coordinator Thelma Tate coordinated this joint program.

The theme of this program was “Promoting Access to Online Information in Libraries: Rutgers University Libraries' Digital Initiatives.” In a special session arranged by Thelma Tate and moderated by Associate University Librarian Bob Sewell, library personnel provided briefings on these digital library initiatives:

• Electronic Document Delivery - Jane Mihalik and Brian Beyer
• Online Resources at the Rutgers University Libraries - Robert Sewell
• Electronic Reserves - Roger Smith
• Roman Republican Coins Database - Jeffrey Triggs
• Electronic Reference Services - Martin Kesselman

The Russian library managers also shared lunch with Rutgers librarians at the Library of Science and Medicine, met with University Librarian Marianne Gaunt and toured Alexander Library, visited the New Brunswick and East Brunswick public libraries, and received briefings from SCILS faculty on their research. The trip was coordinated by SCILS Associate Dean Betty Turock and Libraries Global Outreach Coordinator Thelma Tate. The objective of the visit was to advise the Russian librarians on how US libraries work with local government, business, civic, and university organizations.

The next day University Librarian Marianne Gaunt, Jeanne Boyle, Samson Soong, Bob Sewell, and Ryoko Toyama met with a group from Moldova State University in Chisnau, including the university president, to discuss library resources and services. The Moldovan delegation was participating in a two and a half week visit organized by Rutgers' Citizenship and Service Education Program (CASE) and the Rutgers Center for Russian, Central and Eastern European Studies.

The Modovan group visit was set up to expose the visitors to the skills and resources needed to develop community service programs and civic partnerships in their local communities in Moldova, the second smallest former Soviet state with a population of 4.7 million people. The visit was supported by a grant from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program and included visits to CASE community service sites, meetings with CASE partner agencies, and discussions with CASE affiliated faculty.

More Programs Added
To Jazz Research Roundtables

The Institute of Jazz Studies has added three new programs to the Jazz Research Roundtables schedule. These programs are:

May 8: Julia Scott: Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Jeff Lovell: Joe Henderson (students in Rutgers Masters Program in Jazz History present their research)

June 12: Dan Morgenstern: “Just Jazz” Rediscovered

July 17: Christopher Meeder: Cecil Taylor

All programs are free and open to the public and take place Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 9:00 pm in the Dana Room, on the 4th floor of the John Cotton Dana Library. Refreshments will be served. For more information, please call the Institute of Jazz Studies at 973/353-5595.

Coming Up:
Research Revolution
Film/discussion on Genetics
Tuesday March 25th

Libraries faculty and staff and their friends are invited to participate in the next film and discussion in our thought- provoking series, “The Research Revolution: Science and the Shaping of Modern Life” on Tuesday March 25th in the SCC.

The next session is focused on genetics, testing and the right to know, and will feature a viewing of the film “Our Genes, Our Choices: Who Gets to Know?” Following a brief break with refreshments, participants can broaden their understanding of the topics involved in a spirited discussion led by Rutgers Professor Peter Day.

To RSVP for this session, please send an email to events@rci.rutgers.edu or call the Libraries Administration reception desk at 732/932-7505.

For more information on the Research Revolution, please see this news story:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/news/archive_03/2003_02_research_revolution.shtml

To read a brief essay provided by the national organizers of Research Revolution as recommended reading, please see:
http://www.nvr.org/research_content.php?pro=research&sec=essay&subsec=3

	February 16, 2003 January 19, 2003 The Agenda Archive

Contributors for this issue were Ed Berger, Patty Lamiell, Thelma Tate. Contributions for future issues of The Agenda should be sent to Harry Glazer, editor of The Agenda, at hglazer@rci.rutgers.edu.