Building History: Public History Students make Community History More Accessible through Building History Projects

Historic buildings shaped, witnessed, bear evidence of, and can serve asaccessible gateways to the history of a community. They also cancontribute the development of a community’s identity. The case for thevalue of aging structures and the task of arguing for their preservationmay fall upon the shoulders of underfunded and under resourced localhistorical societies. Public history students and local historicalsocieties benefit from collaborative service-learning experiences wherestudents help the historical society document local history and buildtheir work place skills. Students also gain an awareness of theimportance of the work historical societies do and the needs of thecommunities that they serve. This presentation will discuss the learningexperiences of students in an undergraduate public history class whoworked with a local historical society to document and share the storiesof historic structures that are located the town’s historic main street.It will describe the evolution of this collaborative activity, describeproject stages, assignment topics, means of coordination betweenacademic librarian, public history professor, students, and historicalsociety, the benefits for all involved, the outcomes of the project, andnext steps that are envisioned. It will invite discussion of similarexperiences or suggestions of how the collaboration, which is expectedto be repeated, might be improved

Civil War Nurse Narratives, 1863-1870

Review of: Civil War Nurse Narratives, 1863–1870, by Daneen Wardro

Fun Assessment: How to Embed Evaluation with Educational Games

Most librarians, and indeed students, tremble at the very mention of the dreaded word “assessment.” This does not have to be the case. When assessment is non-threatening and strategically placed to provide needed feedback, it can be pleasant, rewarding and improve learning outcomes. Many educational games have built-in assessment that turns evaluation into fun. This session will look at specific examples used at two Pennsylvania academic libraries where games help instructional librarians ensure that students are accomplishing what the activity requires and assess student learning. Come to this session prepared to play

A Structural Model of the Staphylococcus aureus ClfA–Fibrinogen Interaction Opens New Avenues for the Design of Anti-Staphylococcal Therapeutics

The fibrinogen (Fg) binding MSCRAMM Clumping factor A (ClfA) from Staphylococcus aureus interacts with the C-terminal region of the fibrinogen (Fg) γ-chain. ClfA is the major virulence factor responsible for the observed clumping of S. aureus in blood plasma and has been implicated as a virulence factor in a mouse model of septic arthritis and in rabbit and rat models of infective endocarditis. We report here a high-resolution crystal structure of the ClfA ligand binding segment in complex with a synthetic peptide mimicking the binding site in Fg. The residues in Fg required for binding to ClfA are identified from this structure and from complementing biochemical studies. Furthermore, the platelet integrin αIIbβ3 and ClfA bind to the same segment in the Fg γ-chain but the two cellular binding proteins recognize different residues in the common targeted Fg segment. Based on these differences, we have identified peptides that selectively antagonize the ClfA-Fg interaction. The ClfA-Fg binding mechanism is a variant of the “Dock, Lock and Latch” mechanism previously described for the Staphylococcus epidermidis SdrG–Fg interaction. The structural insights gained from analyzing the ClfANFg peptide complex and identifications of peptides that selectively recognize ClfA but not αIIbβ3 may allow the design of novel anti-staphylococcal agents. Our results also suggest that different MSCRAMMs with similar structural organization may have originated from a common ancestor but have evolved to accommodate specific ligand structures

Everyone Likes a Challenge: Getting Students' Attention with Interactive Games and Authentic Assignments

Most college students today have little trouble finding information through Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. They find it more challenging when asked to locate, evaluate, and ethically use the highest quality and most appropriate resources, which might require them to look beyond the first few hits in a Google search. Academic librarians are spending more time designing and delivering instruction to help students develop these important information literacy skills. How can librarians design their classes to promote the learning of these higher-order mental processes? How can they capture the attention of their students and engage them in the learning process? Adding games, activities, and authentic or problem based assignments to existing instruction sessions may be the answer. This article will discuss how librarians at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Libraries have made instruction more engaging and effective by adding action to orientations and authenticity to assignments.</div

Our Army Nurses: Stories from Women in the Civil War/Turn Backward, O Time: The Civil War Diary of Amanda Shelton

Reviews of: "Our Army Nurses: Stories from Women in the Civil War," by Mary Gardner Holland and "Turn Backward, O Time: The Civil War Diary of Amanda Shelton," by Amanda Shelton