Rice News recently published an article featuring a photo of Alice Dean, the university’s first librarian. And if you have not yet seen the exhibit, “The University Works Because We Do,” in the first-floor corridor, our very own Ginny Martin is pictured.
Woodson online exhibit highlights history of science collection
Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727). Philosophia Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687.
Fondren Library intern Susan Kirby created an online exhibit featuring books from the Woodson Research Center’s History of Science book collection. Susan selected works from the collection, scanned pages, created metadata, researched the works and created the layout of the exhibit. The exhibit also includes an introduction by Dr. Albert Van Helden, Rice professor emeritus of history, who was instrumental in the acquisition of many of the books in the History of Science collection. The exhibit can be found online: http://exhibits.library.rice.edu/exhibits/show/historyscience
The History of Science collection includes important volumes of physics, mathematics, and astronomy tracing the history of science. The collection includes four rare astronomy books: Nicolaus Copernicus’ masterpiece, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (1566), which marks the dawn of modern science; Alessandro Piccolomini’s La Sfera del Mondo (1579), considered the first handbook for stargazers; Cornelius Gemma’s De Naturae Divinis Characterismis (1575) relating to the nova of 1572 and a comet in 1556; and Johannes Kepler’s Tabulae Rudolpinae (1675), the first English text of Kepler’s tables based on the laws of planetary motion.
Susan received her master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University in December 2013.
Umbrellas Now Available for Rainy Day Checkouts
Photo Credit: Christopher Dohna
Access Services now has Rice umbrellas available for checkout! Eligible patrons include Rice faculty, staff, and students. Umbrellas checkout for two days, and one renewal is allowed. No need to worry about late fees over the weekend!
Speaking of late fees, they accrue at a dollar per day, maxing out at thirty. If you lose the umbrella, the replacement cost is $100.
Don’t fret on a rainy day again! Just come by and see us at the Circulation Desk!
Image Credit: Kelly, Gene. Singin’ in the Rain. 1952. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Beverly Hills, CA. JPEG file.
Tribute to Esther Crawford
The Kelley Center for Government Information and Microforms is devastated by the loss of department head Esther Crawford to breast cancer. Esther was a warm, joyful, and innovative boss who was not afraid to try new things herself while encouraging and supporting others to do likewise. She was incredibly intelligent but never condescending and had the enviable knack of being able to ask just the right incisive question at just the right time. Her leadership, support, and friendship will be sorely missed.
The department is planning a celebration of Esther’s life on Monday, March 31, the day after her birthday. We’ll email details via LibStaff when planning is complete.
Fondren prepares for new federal open access initiatives
In February 2013, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memo entitled “Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research.” It directs all federal research agencies to develop and implement open access plans over the next several years.
The OSTP directed agencies to submit proposals for compliance by August 22, 2013. Although many details are still unknown, it is very important for academic institutions—in particular, academic libraries—to closely monitor developments and proactively assess existing resources to ensure compliance.
In response to inevitable changes, a Public Access Working Group has been formed, comprised of members from different Fondren departments. The purpose of this working group is to conduct an assessment of Fondren’s ability to meet new federal public access requirements.
Be on the lookout for the group’s report later in the semester!
Learn more about the SHared Access Research Ecosystem (SHARE)—a model for making federally funded publications available—that is supported by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL): http://www.arl.org/focus-areas/public-access-policies/shared-access-research-ecosystem-share
Woodson Research Center acquires new illuminated manuscript leaves
The Woodson Research Center recently added 2 illuminated manuscript leaves to its collections. The “Beatus” leaf from a Latin psalter has a beautiful historiated initial B showing scenes from the life of King David and with a decorative border including a hunting scene. The text is from Psalm 1:1-2:8. The upper compartment of the initial contains of miniature of King David harping in his palace and the lower compartment shows the young David about to behead the giant Goliath.
The second leaf is also from a Latin Bible with an illuminated initial showing King Ahasuerus, Esther, and Mordecai all connected by a hangman’s rope. The text is from the opening through the first three chapters of Esther. Both leaves are dated around the late-13th century.
New Music Acquisitions
Cartier's L'Art du Violon
The Library recently acquired two rare French violin treatises. The first is Jean-Baptiste Cartier’s L’Art du Violon, originally published in 1798. Fondren’s copy is an expanded third edition from c. 1803 and is bound in beautiful marble boards. Grove’s music dictionary describes the importance of this treatise: “This imposing volume contained a comprehensive selection of sonatas and single movements composed by Italian, French and German masters of the 17th and 18th centuries. Cartier included both manuscripts and early editions, and he salvaged a number of masterpieces from oblivion.”
Corrette's L'Ecole d'Orphee
The second acquisition is a much rarer item and the only known copy in a library outside of Paris. Michel Corrette’s L’Ecole d’Orphée Méthode Pour Apprendre facilement a jouer du Violon dates from 1738 and was the most advanced method on violin playing to appear in France up to that time. Corrette would go on to write a number of additional treatises on string playing, and this particular book, which details both French and Italian styles of playing, provides valuable insight in the historical methods for playing the violin as well as the development of the instrument and its repertoire.
Annual Holiday party on Thursday, December 19
Fondren Library’s Annual Holiday party is nearly here! Thursday, December 19th from 11.30-2.00 in the Kyle Morrow Room. Holiday meats and beverages provided by Fondren Library. Please bring a festive dish to share.
RSVP online at http://library.rice.edu/fondren-intranet/staff-association/public-forms/party/
Presentation slides from December Town Hall Meeting
Presentation slides are now available for December 2 Town Hall Meeting.
Please visit https://library.rice.edu/fondren-intranet/library-administration/town-hall-meetings/december-2013-town-hall/view and be sure to login to Fondranet.
Additional Temporary Seating
The library has added additional temporary seating during finals. Here is a sample of it on the first floor:
And here is the Kyle Morrow Room with extra tables and seats for studying:
