More than usual is new in the Library at the beginning of this fall semester, now that Alderman Library is on the verge of being transformed into a beautiful, safe, and more functional space.

BOOKS ARE MOVING

Before construction can begin on Alderman, all the books have to be moved and kept available to students and faculty. The building is open but shelves are being emptied as more than 300,000 titles are going to the 1st floor of Clemons Library where they will remain for the duration of the project, available for browsing on mobile compact shelving installed to preserve as much study space as possible. In preparation, the 1st floor of Clemons has undergone a complete makeover! Come down and check out the new carpeting, furniture, and lighting.

The remaining items in the Alderman collection, including maps and microforms, are being moved to the Library’s Ivy Stacks off-Grounds retrieval facility where they are available by request in Virgo.

LEO DELIVERY FOR GRAD STUDENTS

A longtime favorite service of UVA faculty, Library Express On-Grounds (LEO) delivery, is now available to grad students. Grad students can request PDF scans of book chapters and articles, and have library books delivered to a preferred pick-up library. Up to 30 active requests are allowed. More requests can be made as open requests are filled.

IVY READING ROOM

There’s a new reading room at the Library’s Ivy Stacks off-Grounds retrieval facility, giving researchers an option to use the collection’s materials on-site. The bright, inviting space has tables for examining maps, a viewer for reading microforms, and a turntable and CD player for listening to audio recordings. Users must contact Ivy Stacks in advance to set up a time to come and use the material. Those using Special Collections material at Ivy must make requests through the Special Collections Request System  and coordinate with Special Collections staff on a time to use it.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS REQUEST SYSTEM

Researchers using material in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library no longer have to be on-site to make requests. The new Special Collections Request System allows you to request material using your laptop or phone, from anywhere on-Grounds, as far in advance as you want. The system handles up to 6 active requests. Once you have created an account, you can request material directly from Virgo using the Special Collections Request button, track its status, and arrange for a class session. The new system also allows instructors to create a course schedule for using Special Collections material, which can be cloned or modified from one semester to another.

APERIO AND OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

The Library’s open access publishing service Aperio is producing two journals: the Journal of Modern Philosophy (an original publication) and Summer Academe: A Journal of Higher Education (a transfer). They’re being published continuously as articles become available, instead of by month or year. Editors or editorial board members who want to start a new journal, transfer a journal, or flip a journal to open access to get it out from behind a paywall should contact Aperio. The service also includes publication of Open Educational Resources (OER) like the Public Domain Song Anthology. If you have an interest in using OER in the classroom, please contact Director of Faculty Programs Judy Thomas.

LIBRA ELECTRONIC THESES & DISSERTATIONS (ETD)

Students have always had two options for submitting Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) to Libra—either allowing public access or limiting access only to users on the UVA network. Now they have a third option. Upon consultation with their thesis or dissertation committee and approval from their dean’s office, students may also choose to place an embargo on ETD deposited in Libra. Initial embargoes may be requested for periods of up to five years, and may be extended at the discretion of the dean’s office.

GUEST WIRELESS

Guest researchers in the Library used to be issued temporary wireless passwords at the desk. Now, guests will be able set up their own wireless connection by following instructions on the ITS website, or on cards available at the desk:

NEW DATABASES

The Library has added the following databases to its collection of digital resources:

• American Indian Newspapers—200 years of Indigenous print journalism from the U.S. and Canada represent a huge variety in publisher, audience, and era, and reveal how events were reported by and for Indigenous communities.
• fDi Markets—A comprehensive database of crossborder “greenfield investments,” covering all countries and sectors worldwide. (needs special code “UOV” to log in)
• Independent Voices—An open access collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines, and journals drawn from the special collections of participating libraries, containing publications produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press, and alternative literary magazines in the latter half of the 20th century.
• Life Magazine Archive and Time Magazine Archive—Full color, archival quality scans of Life (1936–2000) and Time (1923–2000), including ads.

EXHIBITIONS

The Library opens a new season of exhibitions, beginning with “Oliphant: Unpacking the Archive” (Sept 23–May 2020) in the main gallery of the Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library, celebrating the recent acquisition of editorial cartoonist Patrick Oliphant’s voluminous archive. This exhibition juxtaposes cartoon drawings, sculpture, and paintings with manuscripts, correspondence, and personal effects and tells the fullest story yet of the most influential caricaturist of American politics and culture in the last half century.

DIGITAL COLLECTING TOOLKIT

The Library’s Digital Collecting Toolkit was designed to implement quick collection of digital material during and after rapidly evolving events and community crises. The challenges met by the Library in launching its Digital Collecting site “Unite the Right” Rally and Community Response led to improvements that make collecting efforts easier for the Library and others. In just a few minutes, a community group or a class can set up a site for members to deposit and share photos, videos, and social media content.