A Primer on How to Launch an Institutional Repository Successfully

This is a case study about the implementation of an institutional repository (IR) at Marshall University. Libraries have always collected information from a worldwide marketplace and have disseminated these resources locally. The IR has created a new function for the library by making it practical to acquire locally developed resources and to disseminate them freely worldwide. This has altered the traditional role of librarians and suggests a broader set of implications for the future usefulness and relevancy of the IR as doors open to new partnerships that will strengthen the university and the library’s place within it

Lietuvių ir Vilniaus krašto lenkų laidotuvių giesmės: repertuaro bendrieji bruožai ir raidos tendencijos

The article discusses the key features and trends of the repertoire of Catholic funeral hymns, functioning in Lithuania in both Polish and Lithuanian; at the same time attempts are made to grasp the possible causes of mutual interactions and influences. In combining literary and ethnological approaches, field research data, historical sources, printed and manuscript hymns are analysed and interpreted, related scientific literature is examined. The conclusion is reached that the similarity and commonalities of the Lithuanian and Vilnius Region Poles’ folk piety funeral repertoire were, and still are, a result of similar cultural conditions. The basis of the old repertoire is primarily determined by trends, influences, and themes coming from Poland, while the areas of the modern repertoire’s influence are much broader: both general international trends and a broad mutual influence can be noted.In Lithuania’s villages and cities it is still common practice to invite a group of hymn-singers to a funeral wake and burial ceremony. Singing of funeral hymns is an old tradition, likely coming from the 17th c., from Poland, slowly covering also the territory of modern-day Lithuania and gradually settling down, gaining distinct regional features. However, we do not have any accounts as to whether a folk piety funeral repertoire existed in Lithuanian – it likely formed later.The texts of funeral songs can be divided into several groups according to their origin and function: some are adapted from church liturgies and are traditional church hymns, while others were created at different times by either anonymous local authors or well-known songwriters. Some hymns, for a long time, functioned as part of the liturgy of death and funerals, they established themselves in the practice of folk piety, while others became part of the funeral repertoire when they came into it from various thematically-fitting church calendar holidays or they were created by known or (more often) anonymous songwriters, then spreading among the people.The similarities of the repertoire of Lithuanian and Polish funeral songs are first of all a result of close cultural conditions. The texts of the oldest repertoire of funeral hymns were usually translated from Polish to Lithuanian, with the former taking root in the practices of folk piety much earlier. The melodies of hymns also mostly came from Poland; many are of liturgical origin, although over the centuries they grew into the local musical environment and gained a distinctive tone.The trends of the formation of the new hymns (from the beginning of 20th c. until now), on the one hand, are a continuation of the previous ones; however, on the other hand, local (Lithuanian) features, resulting from the faster and wider spread of information, become clearer, as well as various international influences. A certain group of hymns exists only in Lithuania, we can clearly see the influence of the Lithuanian environment on the poetry and melodics of Polish-language funeral hymns. This repertoire spreads only through writing down by hand the texts, while melodies are learned by ear; they are not published in any hymnals approved by the Church.Straipsnyje aptariami pagrindiniai Lietuvoje funkcionuojančio laidotuvių giesmių repertuaro lietuvių ir lenkų kalbomis bruožai, raidos tendencijas, o taip pat mėginama užčiuopti galimas abipusės sąveikos ir įtakų priežastis. Derinant literatūrologinę ir etnologinę prieigas, analizuojami ir interpretuojami lauko tyrimų duomenys, istoriniai šaltiniai, spausdinti ir rankraštiniai giesmynai, nagrinėjama susijusi mokslinė literatūra. Prieinama išvadų, kad lietuvių ir Vilniaus krašto lenkų liaudiškojo pamaldumo laidotuvių repertuaro panašumą ir bendrumus lėmė ir tebelemia panašios kultūrinės sąlygos. Senojo repertuaro pagrindą sąlygoja daugiausia iš Lenkijos pusės ateinančios tendencijos, įtakos ir tematika, o šiuolaikinio repertuaro įtakos zonos žymiai platesnės: pastebimos tiek bendros tarptautinės tendencijos, tiek ir plati abipusė įtaka

This Ain’t Your Papa’s Allocation Formula! Team-Based Approaches to Monograph Collections Budgets

In 2009, the University of Guelph (UG) Library’s Organizational Renewal Initiative created new strategic teams to replace its existing liaison-based service model. The five new teams were charged with the delivery of service clusters (traditional and emerging) in alignment with the University’s academic mission. The new Information Resources (IR) team of specialist librarians and professional staff are charged with deepening their skills and engagement within specified team objectives/accountabilities, collection development, management, and assessment. The team-based ethos of the new IR Team has reshaped how the institution allocates, budgets, and orients its work for monographic collections. Factors which have shaped UG’s unique approach to this core team activity include increased consortial licensing, evolving publishing trends, the growth of multi-institutional research teams and discipline clusters within the University, evolving research and teaching modalities, an increased focus on accountability, and the demise of formal university governance bodies. Monograph budgeting has shifted from departmental budget allocations to broader, cross-institutional allocations in response to resource format changes and shifting strategic priorities. A paradigm shift from allocation metrics towards post hoc adjustments based on curricular need and efficiency is described. Time-series linked examples of current UG Monograph budget structures illustrate this budgetary evolution, and external systems and tools to actively manage monographs budgeting and expenditure processes will be discussed. Strategies from a Selector’s point of view and that of the Team Head to adapt, change, guide, and modify budgeting practices also are analyzed. Two significant challenges to the team-based process (monitoring expenditures and improving stakeholder communications) are identified

Undead Pedagogy: How a Zombie Simulation Can Contribute to Teaching International Relations

A global zombie outbreak constitutes a hypothetical event in world politics that could likely lead to the collapse of civilization. At the same time, the very threat of such a global catastrophe offers a unique experimental terrain on which to investigate various possible changes and developments in human interaction in social, economic, and political processes. In this article, we discuss our experience with using a global zombie outbreak-based simulation in International Relations teaching and our attempt at measuring the learning outcomes, taking our point of departure in the existing literature on active learning. Following an outline of the objectives, setup, and parameters of the simulation, we evaluate the results of the survey we conducted of the student participants and discuss the learning outcomes discerned

The IR has Two Faces: Positioning Institutional Repositories for Success

This article will describe ongoing efforts at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries to evolve the role of the institutional repository (IR) and to effectively position it within the context of the Libraries’ collections, research support, and scholarly communication services. A major component of this process is re-examining the fundamental aims of the IR and aligning it to the Libraries and the campus strategic goals. The authors situate UNLV Libraries’ experience within the context of the current literature to provide background and reasoning for our decision to pursue two, at times conflicting, aims for the IR: one for scholarly communication and another for research administration

The End of Institutional Repositories and the Beginning of Social Academic Research Service: An Enhanced Role for Libraries

As more and more universities establish Institutional Repositories (IR), awareness is developing about the limitations of IRs in enhancing the academic research service. The concept of an IR needs to be expanded to include the integration of the processes that transform intellectual endeavor into a broadening array of academic and research support services which are fundamentally social. These include, but are not limited to – (1) sharing institutionally developed intellectual product (traditional IR) (2) informing others of the availability of this product with defined purpose (3) collecting additional academically relevant materials in digital formats using IRs (4) disseminating timely information about what has been collected to researchers (5) creating an environment that encourages awareness and exchange of information (6) and more…. In brief, information gathering, dissemination, and discussion in the form of library service must become a crucial part of researchers’ networks. An IR cannot and should not be viewed as a stand alone endeavor. It needs to be viewed and used as a research and communication tool in an environment that synergizes all elements of the research process. If an IR does not create discussions between librarians (information specialists) and researchers, its potential is lost both to the academy and the library. The library and its librarians must be interactive with researchers and the institution served. With the advent of digital acquisition that IRs started, a new vision of the role of librarians can be fulfilled. The foundational concepts behind this vision are found in my article: The Library as an Agent of Change: Pushing the Client Institution Forward Information Outlook (Journal of the Special Libraries Association), Vol. 3, No. 8, August 1999, pages 37-40. The above is not theoretical. It is being practiced every day at the Martin P. Catherwood Library of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell University where I work. By combining the uses of an IR, known as the DigitalCommons@ILR – see http://www.digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu, with a discipline-based Internet news service, see -- http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/iws/news-bureau/index.html, supported with outstanding web content, technical support for both print and digital collecting, reference, referral, and teaching, a goal has been realized. The library is seamlessly integrated into the outreach, research and teaching of the institution it serves. The library is part of the social fabric and network of the school