Articles by Tag | Drexel University

Q&A with Deb Morley, Director of Data & Digital Stewardship

Submitted on October 3, 2016 - 2:42AM

Earlier this year, the Libraries launched the Data and Digital Stewardship division. Director of this new division, Deb Morley fills us in on what this program is all about and how it is taking Drexel University Libraries into the future.

Libraries Launches New Data Services Program

Submitted on September 14, 2016 - 3:00PM

On September 1st the Libraries launched a new Data Services program as part of its evolving activities within the Data and Digital Stewardship division. This new division, led by director Deb Morley, has migrated the work of the Libraries' former Research Data Services Support task force into a matrixed organization focusing on improving services and tools to help Drexel researchers effectively manage their research data output.

Dean's Update: September Memories

Submitted on September 14, 2016 - 3:00PM

I suspect that many of us associate September with the new academic school year. My own most vivid recollections include opening a box of new, sharp-tipped crayons in grade school and wrapping the covers of school-issued textbooks with flattened paper shopping bags in high school. Having these fresh school supplies at the start of the year somehow gave a special energy to all the reading and writing that I knew was to come.

Shifting Collections: Oversize Books

Submitted on September 14, 2016 - 3:00PM

An expansion of the library's collection of oversize items is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of next month. When completed, the expanded oversize collection will see additions pulled from all parts of the collection.

PALCI Reciprocal Borrowing Extends Information Access

Submitted on September 14, 2016 - 3:00PM

The Libraries is working with regional partners to provide our faculty, students and staff with on-site access and borrowing privileges at a number of local institutions--extending direct user access to hundreds of thousands of print resources at very little cost.

Q&A with Shin Amano, Access Services Specialist

Submitted on September 12, 2016 - 2:00PM

When library seating fills up and students double-down to study, filled with the best intentions for the new school year, Shin Amano sees it all. As the Libraries' Access Services Specialist, Shin comes in close contact with clients, answering their questions and helping them find what they need. Since Shin sees so much of the day-to-day library activity, he was able to shed some light on how students use the library and how library staff keep up with them at such a busy time of year.

Celebrating Drexel's History

Submitted on August 4, 2016 - 10:08AM

In planning for the upcoming year, we have been searching the University Archives for interesting and lesser-known facts about Drexel's history.

Dean's Update: Summer Reading

Submitted on August 4, 2016 - 10:03AM

'Summer must be a slow time for you' is a sentiment friends and strangers voice when commenting on working in a library. It is true that during the summer there are fewer people in the building including our staff who use the quieter time to go on vacation or attend conferences. But many of us recall summer as a busy time to catch up with that stack of professional articles or perhaps the bedside pile of deferred novels that we've been meaning to read. Summer reading allows us to escape into a different time and place while we travel or sit on the beach. Given that I seldom read for pleasure, I wondered how people who are avid readers select what to read these days. Results of a highly unscientific investigation I undertook might offer you some ideas on how to select your next reading material during the so-called lazy days of summer.

Teaching Information Literacy Skills through Gaming

Submitted on August 4, 2016 - 9:07AM

Today's students have grown up in a digital world with a seemingly endless amount of information available at their fingertips through their multiple connected devices. So, it does not seem like much of a stretch to assume that these students are well versed in information literacy. However, studies show that most incoming college students lack fundamental information literacy skills - relying on familiar open resources such as Wikipedia or Google. Libraries are at the forefront of teaching information literacy skills. At Drexel, librarians partner with faculty to ensure that information literacy is on the curriculum, working on tutorials and guides, guest lecturing and providing consultations on research efforts.

Sound Booth Added to Libraries Reservation System

Submitted on August 3, 2016 - 3:28PM

This month the Libraries added a new item to the room reservation system that already includes meeting spaces, a 3D printer and the data visualization zone. The enclosed sound booth is available for audio recordings and audio/video recordings individuals interested in using the booth can reserve equipment from the Libraries or bring their own.

Drexel's Writer's Room receives a Big Read Grant from the NEA

Submitted on July 29, 2016 - 12:24PM

This September, Drexel's Writers Room, a literary arts program designed to bring the Drexel community and its neighboring residents together, will use Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God as the basis for a series events supported by a NEA Big Read grant. Writers Room will partner with The Free Library of Philadelphia as well as other partners across the city to use both writing and art to create a community from a wide range of people throughout Philadelphia. Events will vary from book discussions and writing sessions to a second line parade through campus and a demonstration of soul food cooking by Drexel Alum chef Brian Lofink.

Dean's Update: Framing Drivers for Change

Submitted on July 12, 2016 - 4:14PM

[The Dean's Update is a reoccurring column introducing the Libraries' monthly newsletter In Circulation.] In recent months it seems that more and more people are bringing to my attention their new discovery that 'libraries must really be changing.' They ask me to have coffee, seeking my impressions of what goes on in libraries or sharing newspaper articles, blog posts or other communications. For those of us in the midst of the change, this isn't news, it is simply a continuation of our work. Libraries have seen many changes over the years and we continue to project what drives the need for change and to make sense of transformations that occur.

Liaisons Participate in Open Access Discussion

Submitted on July 8, 2016 - 11:56AM

On Tuesday, June 6, 2016 liaison librarians Shannon Robinson and Jay Bhatt participated in a panel discussion with the ExCITe Center's podcast series, ExCITeCast, speaking about open access and research.

Libraries Celebrate the Legacy of Drexel President William Walsh Hagerty

Submitted on July 8, 2016 - 11:14AM

On Friday, June 10, 2016 the Libraries hosted a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of former Drexel president William Walsh Hagerty. Hagerty was a transformative president who laid the groundwork for the institution that Drexel is today.

Exploring Qualitative Research Software

Submitted on July 8, 2016 - 10:43AM

Qualitative research methods, traditionally associated with social scientists, are increasingly being used across disciplines to support results from quantitative analysis. This mixed-methods approach provides a richer and more nuanced output, but it can be complicated to design. Drexel librarians are exploring tools to help support the process.

Dean's Update: Celebrating William Walsh Hagerty

Submitted by Danuta A. Nitecki on June 1, 2016 - 11:14AM

[The Dean's Update is a reoccurring column introducing the Libraries' monthly newsletter In Circulation.] Anniversaries provide us with an opportunity to reflect upon and celebrate milestones. They become significant when shared among those most affected by their impact and when they disclose new insights. Next Friday, the Libraries will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Walsh Hagerty who served as Drexel's president from 1963 to 1984. While Dr. Hagerty's birthdate falls during a particularly busy day of commencement exercises, we hope members of our community, visiting parents, families, and friends will be able to join some of the festivities on Friday, June 10th from 1 - 2:30 p.m. in W. W. Hagerty Library. The event will feature a talk, an exhibit, and a custom Cake Boss cake in the shape of the Hagerty Library building. For more information, please visit our event listing.

New Health Sciences Guide Showcases Free Resources

Submitted on May 26, 2016 - 10:57AM

The Libraries has a new Library Guide that showcases free health sciences resources and is accessible to the entire Drexel University community and members of the general public.

2016 Staff Celebration Awards

Submitted on May 6, 2016 - 1:07PM

On Thursday, May 5, 2016, the Libraries recognized six staff and two student workers at the sixth annual Library Celebration Awards. The Library Celebration Awards recognize individuals or teams who embody the characteristics of the Libraries organization; including providing exceptional service, championing and embracing change, contributing to the profession and employing user feedback to guide decisions. The Libraries staff provides critical support for the University's mission of teaching, research and community engagement. Awards are given to individuals or teams who have advanced these values through exceptional accomplishments that surpass expectations and serve as a model for other staff.

Dean's Update: Strengthening communities around access to information

Submitted on May 4, 2016 - 3:45PM

Access to information is a public good. It enables us to make informed decisions and improve lives. On a global level, communities that have timely and relevant information are better positioned to take advantage of the economic, social, and educational opportunities that access can provide. At Drexel, access to authoritative information and strengthening the community's ability to use it, position the University to improve economic growth, strengthen civic engagement and add to the world's knowledge. Worldwide, libraries are trusted institutions that reinforce and strengthen communities. By first preserving and organizing information, libraries have created places for people to access knowledge. But, libraries go beyond ensuring access to information. They guide people to find information to make better-informed decisions to improve their lives, which subsequently makes for a better society.

Join the Libraries and #ChoosePrivacy this Week

Submitted on May 4, 2016 - 3:41PM

Our privacy is increasingly threatened as technology, social media, mobile computing and 'big data' analytics continually expand and become more sophisticated in connecting and exposing us. The recent Pew Research Center project on Privacy and Information Sharing reports that more than 90% of adults 'agree or strongly agree that consumers have lost control of how personal information is collected and used by companies.' A majority express a 'consistent lack of confidence about the security of everyday communication channels and the organizations that control them.' Hacking, key-logging, phishing and malware attacks make us all vulnerable. Libraries, and librarians as a profession, are dedicated to providing access to information while defending the individual privacy and civil liberties of their patrons

PAR and the Libraries

Submitted on May 4, 2016 - 3:37PM

Drexel is beginning a new cycle of Program Alignment and Review [PAR] and the Libraries is a source of information for multiple aspects of the reviews. The Libraries offers to identify scholarly works produced by faculty in each program. Librarians are able to provide comparative metrics, such as citation counts and impact factor, for publications by Drexel faculty as well as faculty at peer and benchmark institutions. Using InCites, we help to identify research subjects that are areas of excellence for the program. The example provided is a graph of publications over the last five years for five U.S. research universities that compares the amount of output from each institution, Drexel liaison librarians assist in further uncovering and analyzing available data about faculty publications by a specific department.

Computable Knowledge Base and Symbolic Coding Platform Comes to Drexel

Submitted on May 4, 2016 - 3:29PM

Drexel now enjoys a site license to the Wolfram Alpha and Mathematica products as a result of a new collaboration between Engineering, LeBow, the Math Department in COAS, and Drexel University Online (DUO).

Seventy-six Authors & Editors Recognized at Fourth Annual Celebrating Drexel Authors Event

Submitted on May 2, 2016 - 1:42PM

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016 the Office of the Provost and Drexel Libraries honored Drexel faculty, staff and students who wrote or edited books that were published in 2015. The fourth annual Celebrating Drexel Authors event was hosted in the A. J. Drexel Picture Gallery. Books this year included textbooks, children's books, works of fiction, and stories told through photographs. In total 76 authors and editors were recognized at the 2016 event.

Privacy and Justice in the Digital Age

Submitted on May 2, 2016 - 10:55AM

Why do stories of Secretary Clinton's emails keep popping up in the news or the government's request of Apple to create a backdoor for their encryption? Why should we care? Email and texting have changed the ways we communicate and the ways our government can surveil its citizens in the name of national security, causing ripple effects throughout our justice system. This issue and others related to e-discovery, will be the topic of a documentary film and panel discussion at a May event hosted at Drexel University.

Libraries Transform: Drexel's Libraries Celebrate National Library Week

Submitted on April 13, 2016 - 11:25AM

Announcing Drexel's Participation in DLF E-Research Network

Submitted on April 13, 2016 - 9:33AM

Drexel University Libraries has been selected as a member of the 2016 Digital Library Federation (DLF) eResearch Network, a research data management community in practice. The cohort of institutions included in this program are focused on implementing research data management services, and engaging in shared skill development, networking, and collaboration. Among the members of this year's cohort are the Universities of Pennsylvania and California-Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, Rice University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the National Institute of Health.

Dean's Update: Organizing for Data Management

Submitted on April 8, 2016 - 9:59AM

Drexel's Libraries Gain NACO Independence

Submitted on April 8, 2016 - 9:49AM

In January of this year, the Libraries was approved for membership in the Library of Congress' Name Authority Cooperative Program [NACO] after successfully participating in the training and review process. This membership allows Drexel's library catalogers to directly contribute Name Authority Files to the Library of Congress - establishing national standards for consistent use of names, places, topics and more. The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world by collection size and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Though it officially serves the United States Congress, it is considered the national library for the country. The NACO program allows participants to contribute authority records for people, corporations and jurisdictional names. Libraries staff can now add new authority files to uniquely identify researchers, authors, colleges and locations at Drexel, for Philadelphia and beyond.

Free Textbooks and other benefits of Open Educational Resources

Submitted on April 8, 2016 - 9:43AM

Open Educational Resources, OER, are a popular topic in the educational press right now. But what is OER? Who is producing OER and where can they be found? What institutions are using OER and what kind of impact are they measuring? Explore these and other questions with our new Library Guide, Open Educational Resources. UNESCO, an early proponent of Open Educational Resources, defines OERs as: 'any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license. The nature of these open materials means that anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them. OERs range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video and animation.'

Beyond Lecturing: Online Instruction & Demonstrations

Submitted on April 7, 2016 - 1:00AM

Online tools have become an increasingly valuable and efficient vehicle for the Libraries to reach online students for instruction and research guidance. Providing high quality instructional sessions in an online environment can be daunting - especially as library instruction often includes theoretical content alongside practical demonstrations of specific information tools and resources. The liaison librarians in the Library Academic Partnerships division at the Libraries have many years of experience teaching and working with students online.