Friends
Newsletter of Friends of ACU Library (2004 edition)
By Dr. Mark Tucker
Dean of Library and Information Resources
Building Community: How the Library Can Help
In his classic study, College: The Undergraduate Experience in America (New York, 1987), Ernest Boyer calls for "groups of well-informed, caring individuals who band together in the spirit of community to learn from one another" (p. 172). Whether or not Boyer was a Christian, he succeeded in identifying one of the cornerstone purposes of a Christian college education, one that thousands of ACU students and alumni have been able to experience. We come to college not only to learn the essentials of a discipline or to begin making career decisions; we also come to establish relationships with one another, to become connected for life.
Increasingly students who come to the university come to collaborate, to work in teams, to teach one another. But what we have discovered in recent years is that our primary model for delivering academic information cannot sustain the multiple ways that new students learn. We have promoted the "anywhere any time concept," concentrating resources at the desktop, creating a kind of individualized scholar's workstation. This allows students to accomplish much academic work in the dorm room, perhaps at home, or halfway around the world. But it also encourages our students to work in isolation, often without benefit of those trusted guides who can help navigate Internet based resources.
Now is the time to bring together the cooperative elements that Christian education imbues with such great, enduring value. We are creating a new vision of the university library, a place where students work in teams on academic projects, a place where personal guidance becomes available during all phases of a course assignment, a place where students learn to work together and begin creating the spirit of community that makes ACU the remarkable place it has become. Our staff members labeled this place the Learning Commons.
We in the Library seek to partner with other departments in order to bring this new vision to reality. Our partners include Information Technology, the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, Physical Resources, and our teaching faculty. Working through the Faculty Library Committee, ACU professors have identified a number of ideas and activities that assist the Library in reaching its full potential as a partner in integrating faith and learning. Chaired by Mark Hamilton, Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Theology, the Committee produced a series of phrases that characterize ways we intend to enhance the Library's role: technology and learning, community-building and learning, aesthetics and learning, collaborative learning, Christian missions and learning, to name a few. We hope to bring these new ideas to fruition in the months and years ahead. We are fully engaged in prayerful discussion and planning. We hope to do our part to create the ACU Library for the 21st Century, to help our students build community, to honor the reasons they chose ACU.
By Dr. Carisse Berryhill
Special Services Librarian, Editor of Friends Newsletter
Senior Librarian Honored at Winter Commencement
Senior librarian Marsha Harper received the Doctor of Letters degree from ACU and addressed the graduating seniors on the power of "Connecting Through Stories" at winter commencement ceremonies December 10.
The presentation of her framed diploma by Dr. Royce Money was greeted with a standing ovation from the faculty and assembled guests. Don Crisp, chairman of the Board of Trustees, bestowed the doctoral hood.
Her commencement address emphasized that shared stories form the connections to build community.
"Connection has been kind of a soap box of mine, because in library work, that's what we do," she explained later.
The climax of her speech was her reading of the children's book Every Man Heart Lay Down by Lorenz Graham, with projected illustrations by Colleen Browning. This retelling of the Christmas story is based on a version by Liberian storytellers, presented in the local English dialect.
"I hope that there will be times when you just look on the Lord and your hearts be laid down," she concluded.
Harper said later that her choice of the book, a family favorite for years, had been suggested when her husband, English professor Preston Harper, heard her read it recently at a family gathering. She liked the idea because of the book's connection to ACU's emphases on cultural diversity and on missions.
Director emerita of the Brown Library and professor emerita of library science, Harper began working at ACU as media services librarian in 1972. In 1986 she was named "Faculty of the Year" for the College of Arts and Sciences. She became library director in 1987. She became senior librarian upon her retirement as director in 2003.
Harper was "pretty astonished" to learn that she would receive the "tremendous honor" of the degree. At the time the news first came in late August, she was hospitalized briefly with a neck injury subsequent to a mowing accident. Later she learned that she would be delivering the commencement address in conjunction with receiving the citation.
"I am just so happy that the whole thing occurred, because it illustrates the importance that the ACU administration places on the library."
By Dr. Mark Tucker
Dean of Library and Information Resources
After One Year
After one year as Dean of Library & Information Resources, I find that although my learning curve has flattened slightly, I am still meeting people in order to build relationships on behalf of the Library, a process that will continue. In talking with others, one of the most obvious discoveries I have made is that support for ACU is strong and growing.
The University's friends and alumni care deeply about what happens here. Their lives were transformed here. Many of them met Jesus for the first time; they chose a career, a life-long mate, or maybe a friend who has been side-by-side with them through life's darkest trials. Many remain as active Christians committed to living with gratitude. Their experiences constitute the stuff most essential to building and re-affirming our relationships with alumni and other supporters.
Another important discovery is the depth of interest in the Library on the part of the University administration. Signs of this support are abundant. A prime example is the recognition of Marsha Harper's contributions over the past thirty-three years in the form of an honorary doctorate presented on the occasion of the December 2004 graduation. Marsha's devotion to ACU and its people and her wise, skillful leadership over a long period are wonderful resources that ACU administrators recognize and appreciate.
Another example is support for the Library's remodeling plans in the form of a new concept for academic library services. At ACU we call it the Learning Commons. Scheduled for installation in 2005, the Learning Commons will become a very special place where students complete all phases of an academic project, work in teams on class assignments, and build the kind of community that makes Christian higher education such a remarkable experience. The Learning Commons will feature expanded computer workstations, technology assistance for student computing, library reference services, help from specialists in the ACU Writing Center, and a coffee shop. The entire concept represents a value-added perspective on library practice; it will become a new attractive gathering place for students; and it will position the Library as a vitally important site for undergraduate education.
This administration also supports the more traditional functions of libraries by adding substantially to its intellectual resources. Thus, we are able to benefit from an increase of 24% in recurring funds for book acquisitions, an increase that began with the current academic year. The administration further encourages us to pursue existing collections in order to make up for historic deficiencies, especially in humanities disciplines.
I want, finally, to mention the excellent students who work in the ACU Library. They speak often of the spirit of family and the feeling of community the Library provides. We are pleased that many of them regard the Library as a home away from home. Their knowledge of procedure, their devotion to effective service, and their desire for the Library to grow and improve make the Library what it has become. We count it a privilege that we can add something valuable to their formal education. We are thankful for the opportunity to model a good work ethic. They honor us with their presence. They are the reason we are here. They are true Library friends both now and in the future.
By Dr. Gregory Straughn (94)
FACUL President
Transplanting the "Heart" of the University
As a music historian, I know that the library is the center of my scholastic universe. From medieval manuscripts to new editions of Mozart and Mahler, no one in my discipline can exist apart from the library. Of course, this is true for almost any discipline so true that we frequently take the indispensable centrality of the library for granted. Lucky for me, the ACU library is located right in the middle of campus. In fact, any trip across campus would become twice as long if you were trying to avoid it. Isn't this a lovely metaphor: the library as the University's nexus the axis around which scholarship turns.
But like any attempt to define something so valuable, this metaphor has its problems. Many people use the "library" without ever setting foot in the building, though they are denying themselves the secret pleasure of cozying up to a carrel with countless references within arms' reach, or the strange familiarity of seeing the same shelves every time they walk to the copy machine. No, the venerable old metaphor needs updating. But how do you replace such a good description? More importantly, how would a new way of thinking about the library affect my use of it?
After working through a number of possibilities, I stumbled across one (literally) that is both elegant and accurate. The State Library in Victoria Australia houses over 150 years' worth of documents, artifacts, and research on the local area as well as a general public library collection to serve the 3 million people in Melbourne. It is an imposing building with a sandstone façade and a pediment with "State Library Victoria" engraved in ten-foot-tall letters. I visited Melbourne this summer and was walking in front of the library when I saw the sculpture pictured above: a portion the library's entablature. My first instinct was to interpret it as a ruin, as though the library was swallowed up by the progress of a modern society and there was no need for the old building. Since it was located on the sidewalk of a busy intersection, I walked past the sculpture many times and began rethinking this initial impression.
Instead of a relic, what if it symbolized a foundation: the library as the superstructure upon which society rests. We might intersect it at a specific place but, like an iceberg, there is more that is invisible yet influential. Of course, the library as iceberg metaphor would not work for obvious reasons; that is why this sculpture works so well.
Viewing the library as a foundation makes it possible to have an almost universal presence. You are never more than a few mouse clicks away from a library; and with the consortium model ACU shares with other Abilene libraries, this foundation is expanded and strengthened immeasurably. No matter how you access the library hand to shelf, hand to mouse, or even spade in hand let me challenge you to find ways to actively support the library through your time, donations, or other gifts.
One more thing: if you are ever in Melbourne, watch your step you might just come across something that makes you change your thinking.
By Dr. Marsha Harper ('59)
Senior Librarian
Friends Give "Big Time" Honors to Mogan, Palmer
Dr. Joseph Mogan is retired from teaching 30 years at Texas Tech University; he knows ACU mostly by hearsay. Dr. Joyce Palmer, a graduate of Lipscomb University, teaches at Texas Woman's University. Yet each of these long-time English professors has given many important, scholarly books from their own libraries to the ACU Library. Their reasons for doing this make great stories.
It took Dr. Mogan a long time to find out about ACU. Born in Nashville TN, he holds degrees in English language and literature from St. Mary's College (Baltimore), an M.A. from Notre Dame and the PhD. from Louisiana State University in 1961. He came to Texas Tech in 1966. The next year he made friends with another newcomer, Dr. James Culp, a former English professor and department chair at ACU. He is the first reason Dr. Mogan became interested in ACU. Dr. Forrest McCann is the second. Forrest studied under Dr. Mogan during the 1970s, earning his doctorate in English in 1980. These two gentlemen, both now retired from the ACU English Department, made such an impression on Dr. Mogan that after his retirement from Tech in 1996, he decided that ACU was the kind of school he wanted to support with the gift of his library.
And what a library it is! The working collection of a true scholar of Medieval Literature, it contains many editions of works by early English writers, Chaucer, Dante, and other writers of that era along with the biographies and critical studies that always in demand by English students. The jewel of his collection, according to Dr. Mogan, is the Dictionary of Middle English, which we now have in all its numerous fascicles, thanks to his generosity.
Dr. Mogan is a member of the Medieval Society of America and has published Chaucer and the Theme of Mutability (Mouton, The Hague, 1969), a volume on The Parson's Tale in the Chaucer Variorum, and numerous articles in such publications as the Chaucer Review, American Notes and Queries, and Papers on English Language and Literature. He also has a list of conference papers to his credit.
Dr. Joyce Cornette Palmer is another Nashvillian. She attended Lipscomb's Campus School for grades 1-12 and has a B.A. degree in English from Lipscomb University. Her advanced degrees (M.A. and PhD.) are from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville where she met her late husband, Leslie, who also earned a PhD. in English. The couple moved to Denton, TX, where Leslie taught at the University of North Texas for 36 years before his untimely death in 2003. Dr. Joyce has now completed 37 years at Texas Woman's University. She is a member of the Modern Language Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Rhetoric Society of America and is a founding member of the South Central Society for 18th Century Studies. 18th Century British Literature is her specialty; Boswell and Johnson are her special interests. She has published and given many conference presentations in this area. Dr. Leslie's interests were wide-ranging, from the classics to Thomas Hardy, modern British novels, and creative writing. He was a poet himself, with eight books of poems to his credit.
Dr. Joyce served on the ACU English Department Visiting Committee in the early 1990s; Dr. Leslie was a member 1997-2000. Both decided as a result of their experiences that they would help the English Department by helping the Library expand its collection of books and periodicals. They came together to deliver the first installment of their gift (some 233 books); Dr. Joyce sent an additional gift of 700 volumes after Leslie's death.
The "Big Time" theme for the FACUL reception, featuring different clocks and with the image of England's Big Ben as the logo, was chosen to highlight these magnificent gifts of materials on English language and literature-- also to celebrate a grant this year of $14,000 from the Provost for the acquisition of new titles to support English studies.
Special guests at the reception included Dr. Mogan's wife, Jewel and one of their sons, Gavin and his wife, Amy, from Richardson, TX; also Dr. Joyce Palmer's twin sister, Joan Cornette Stone, from Nashville.
True to the theme and to our expectations, the Friends had a "Big Time" while honoring these two generous donors.
By Dr. Mark Tucker
Dean of Library and Information Resources
Welcome to Carisse Berryhill
The ACU Library welcomes Carisse M. Berryhill as Special Services Librarian and Associate Professor of Library Science. She joined us on May 24, 2004, and she follows Erma Jean Loveland who had retired the previous year. Carisse holds perhaps more degrees than any other ACU faculty member. She graduated from Harding in Searcy with B.A. degrees in both English and Biology. She also holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English from Florida State, an M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Texas, and an M.A. in Church History from Harding University Graduate School of Religion.
She brings to ACU an excellent work record including nearly twenty years as a writing instructor and professor of English. She taught at Lubbock Christian from 1975 to 1992 when she was appointed assistant librarian in the Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis. She was promoted to associate librarian in 2001.
Professor Berryhill has actively served in professional organizations, presiding over the Memphis Area Library Council, the Tennessee Theological Library Association, and the Christian College Librarians (CCL). As a member of CCL, she has also chaired the Restoration Archives Committee, and served as a board member and journal indexer. She has presented papers at meetings of the Texas State Historical Association, Speech Communication Association, and the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). She has published articles and reviews in the ATLA Proceedings, ATLA Newsletter, and Restoration Quarterly. Her essay on Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address appears in a collection edited by Thomas Olbricht and Hans Rollman.
Carisse Berryhill possesses a lively, informed interest in the purposes of Christian education, and she understands her role at ACU as having responded to a calling. She writes that "a Christian librarian takes the idea of objective truth seriously, while confessing human shortcomings in apprehension of the truth. This is the import of the Lord's saying, ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free'. . . . God repeatedly provides opportunities for each of us to revise our understandings in response to the Word of God. In practical terms, this means that libraries collect a wide variety of points of view to assist the researcher in discovering other voices whose insights may lead to a better apprehension of the truth."
Carisse grew up in the Churches of Christ, and is a member of the third generation on both sides of her family to benefit from Christian higher education. Her parents were ACU students and her father was a minister, mostly in Texas but also in Alabama, Minnesota, and New Mexico. She has taught Sunday classes at the Broadway Church in Lubbock and at White Station in Memphis. And she has written a number of funded grant proposals on behalf of community organizations devoted to health and women's issues.
Her special role at ACU is all about helping us tell the story of who we are and what we did and how our years at ACU have shaped our contributions to our families, our communities, and the Lord's church. It is all about collecting the materials of institutional identity and long term memory, making it possible to examine our past and to relive the memories. Carisse has placed great faith in ACU in a most personal way by donating the papers of her father, Wayne Mickey, to the Center for Restoration Studies.
Carisse Berryhill's interests and experience combine to make her the right person at the right time for the ACU Library. As the University's Centennial approaches, the entire ACU community has a fresh awareness of institutional identity, history, and accomplishments. Carisse's leadership in professional associations, her expertise as a teacher, her grant-writing abilities, her superb writing and analytical skills, her heart for Restoration history, and her devotion to students will all prove to be valuable assets in preserving our history. Please make time to stop for a visit, to welcome Carisse to the ACU community, and to hear her vision for the University's rich historical resources.
By Dr. Carisse Mickey Berryhill
Special Services Librarian, Editor of Friends Newsletter
On Making New Friends
When I was a little girl in Brownies, at every meeting we sang, "Make new friends / but keep the old; / one is silver / and the other, gold." That's been a good motto for me during this first half of my first year at ACU's Brown Library.
My first new friends were the librarians and library staff. My second day here in May, six of us piled into an SUV and drove to Nebraska to attend the annual meeting of my old friends, the Christian College Librarians, being held at York College. After getting off to this great start, I spent the rest of the summer getting settled in, meeting the library staff, and getting used to the routines that make this place tick.
I also spent time with Dean Mark Tucker, reviewing my responsibilities in my new position. "You must give your department direction, emphasis, and definition," he told me. In the process I am drawing heavily on the experience of my administrative assistant, Chad Longley, leaning on his extensive hands-on knowledge of what we have, where we have it, and how we serve our readers.
I also made friends with a scraggly eight-foot schefflera plant, abandoned in a tall windowed corner. I put a seat near the plant and watered it now and then while it lifted its nine-leaved hands and I lifted my heart in prayer about my job. I'm glad to report that it is putting on some new leaves. And so, I think, am I.
Late summer found all of us in the library engaged in a series of conversations about planning for the future of the library. It was a joy to watch Mark Tucker work with his staff, and to listen to people from all over the library talk about their mission and dreams of the future. Melissa Johnson and Mark Tucker and I worked hard on successive revisions of our vision document. By the time summer was over, I felt very much part of the team.
When school started in the fall, I discovered that I not only worked in the library, but that I worked at ACU! Suddenly I had a new purple shirt, four student workers to manage, and committee meetings and new faculty orientation to attend. Carol Williams, the Dean of the Graduate School, has been a special friend to me in the New Faculty Mentoring program. I made new friends on the Centennial Collection Task Force headed by Charlie Marler as we planned to collect, preserve, and exhibit centennial memorabilia.
One of my biggest tasks in the fall was to transport over 100 boxes of the Lewis Fulks papers to the archives. In the process I worked closely with my new friend Becky Estrella, the Centennial curator, with Adam Hester of the theater department, and with Chris Kyker and her daughter Jan Bryan, who had been caring for the Fulks papers and arranged the transfer.
At Homecoming, I at last got to meet many of you Friends of ACU Library, as the officers and I worked on the reception honoring the Friends of the Year. I was happy to be introduced to the FACUL board and to share with everyone a very special time of celebration to honor Dr. Mogan and Dr. Palmer. I have especially enjoyed working with our Friends president, Dr. Gregory Straughn, of the Music Department. His passion for the library endears him to all of us.
I'm making friends with the library's established friends, many of whom are new to me, such as the members of the Library Visiting Committee who came in November. It is a pleasure to see an often-mentioned name resolve into a friendly face and an offer of advice and support.
In the fall I visited the familiar haunts of Chambers Hall to meet with a few former colleagues in English professorship, and with many new ones, as I began my role as the liaison to the English department for collection development.
Our library staff's conversations about our vision for the future continue now as the spring semester opens. That conversation has broadened to include the library's partners in the Learning Commons project, whether faculty, staff, or administration. And I have new conversation partners in the VISTA team I am working with to suggest library initiatives to be incorporated into ACU's vision for its second century of service.
I have new friends in the Abilene Library Consortium and in the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence, whose fall conversations with me shaped our first successful proposal for external funding for digital access to materials in Special Collections. Through the next year my staff and I will build a digital exhibit titled "Here is Water," providing online access to about 200 digital images of baptisms and baptisteries from 20th Century Churches of Christ. Initial funding is being provided by my old friends at the American Theological Library Association through their Cooperative Digital Resource Initiative.
Being back in Texas has brought some old friends back into view, even some former students from my days as an English instructor at Lubbock Christian University. Some of those are moving their children into the dorms here! Some are faculty here, or spouses of faculty members. Being back in Abilene has put me much closer to relatives. Unexpectedly, at church my mother is renewing her friendships with ACU classmates of 60 years ago!
Almost every day I meet a new friend, perhaps a researcher, or maybe someone who is probing our interest and capacity in caring for church or family records and memorabilia. Soon during Lectureship many old and new friends will be on campus. Perhaps you will be among them. I hope that when you are on campus, you will stop in the Special Collections area, and make friends.
By Dr. Lawrence Ray Smith ('58)
FACUL Vice-President for Resources
Reunions and Anniversaries
There comes that time! The time of landmark reunions and anniversaries comes to all who live to observe them. Well, okay, perhaps they aren't all landmark reunions as the official number three meaning in the dictionary states "An event marking an important stage of development or a turning point in history."
Reunions are grand times of getting together, though. It may be family, a military unit, a high school class, a college class, or some other special group of people with a common togetherness. My family reunions began to dwindle years ago. No one in my military unit cared whether we got together and remembered basic training and cold winters in New Jersey. But those class reunions kept right on coming until UHS number 50 burst right in front of me! The Uvalde High School 50th Reunion was a great event! We had two days of fun and fellowship ending with a Saturday night banquet.
That means if there was a 50th high school reunion then there had to be a 45th ACU reunion somewhere in there. And it was a fun filled time with old friends and companions. In 2001 the KACC/KACU Radio Station Announcers met for a 50th event. What a grand time!
Landmark reunions? Perhaps not. But let me tell you of an anniversary that is a true landmark because it is "a turning point in history." Abilene Christian University's Centennial "Called to Faith & Excellence" is what President Money calls "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." And we are celebrating all over the place at ACU.
A century! In 2006 we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Abilene Christian University. So many people have dedicated their lives to the future of this university. The Brown Library at ACU is a major part of the centennial. The library has become the center of the university. Without a library you have no university. And, that is why we are part of a great landmark.
Friends of the ACU Library invites you to be with us as we celebrate. Come visit our outstanding facilities recognized throughout the world. Come talk with our scholarly librarians. Come, and leave a mark on time by becoming part of the ACU Library family.
Centennial Visions
ACU's centennial celebration is still months away from its kickoff, but for many on campus who are charged with preparing exhibits, it is here. Two of those are Becky Estrella, curator of the Centennial Collection, and Carisse Berryhill, special collections librarian. Estrella, employed in 2004 by the Centennial Collection Task Force, is receiving, collecting, and preserving memorabilia donated for the centennial so that she can create a campus-wide series of exhibits to give visitors the opportunity to visualize the past.
"I care for the objects I receive and help preserve them for future generations. More importantly I care about the objects and the people who used them or remember them," Estrella said.
Cooperating with her in the preservation effort is Berryhill, whose responsibilities include preservation of the two-dimensional objects received for the collection during the centennial. Together they received the Lewis Fulks collection in September, comprising more than a hundred boxes of the long-time director's papers, photographs, images, set models and memorabilia. They have recently completed purchasing the storage materials needed to process this collection, using funds allotted to the Centennial Collection Task Force.
Estrella vacated her position as the acquisitions coordinator for Brown Library in order to take the part-time appointment as curator. A master's-level student in history, she has a passion for museum science and has worked on exhibits at the Cokedale Colorado Mining Museum and Abilene's own 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.
"I love to create exhibits using historical photographs and artifacts," Estrella said. "My hope is that the finished product will tell the story of the people and objects depicted. I also hope that someone looking at one of my exhibits will remember their own past. Maybe I will create a new history lover, and they will go on to help others get excited about the past."
Berryhill has recently received a $2,500 grant to develop an online exhibit of materials already in the library's special collections department. The funding, from the American Theological Library Association's Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative, was given so that about 200 images of baptisteries and baptisms can be digitized, uploaded to the funder's database, and simultaneously exhibited by the recipient online. The project, called "Here is Water: Baptismal Images from 20th Century Churches of Christ," will be carried out in the centennial year.
"This is an exciting project because we will learn so much," said Berryhill. "We are so happy to have this opportunity to learn about building and managing a digital archive, so that materials we have can be made accessible to many who might not have the opportunity to look at them first hand."
By Dr. Marsha Harper ('59)
Senior Librarian
More! Better! Newer!
Being at the heart of the university, the library cannot keep from being affected by changes, especially to other parts of the Academic Division. This summer the university's restructuring worked to Brown Library's advantage. A large space and all its furnishings, formerly used by the Learning Enhancement Center, was allocated to the library. Plans are being made for the most appropriate use of the vacated space next to the Audio Visual Department on the bottom floor. The furnishings are already in use.
As it happened, Dean Mark Tucker brought with him to ACU a strong interest in workplace ergonomics and had already appointed an Ergonomics Committee to study the needs of staff for furnishings that would better suit their physical needs and their work assignments. The Committee, composed of Becky Estrella, Elaine Huckabee, Virginia Bailey, and Connie White, researched the issues involved and reported to the staff on ways to prevent harm to eyes, necks, backs and shoulders, also repetitive stress injuries, by using properly-designed furniture. They learned that safer, more comfortable workers are more productive as well. A survey of staff work stations helped them determine priorities for upgrades as funds became available. Though it was necessary to buy a few desks, etc., the free furnishings came along at just the right time. The Committee was able to place the different pieces where they were needed most. No nostalgic sighs were heard as the 1970's furniture was carried out!
A further upgrade to library productivity was received this summer when all computers used by library employees were replaced by state-of-the art Dells. 2004 was the year for library personnel to turn in their old computers for new according to the university's three-year replacement schedule. Workstations for the public were replaced in the fall semester.
By Dr. Mark McCallon
Assistant Library Director
TEXSHARE Update
ACU continues to benefit from the resources available through TEXSHARE. TEXSHARE is a statewide consortium of academic libraries, public libraries, and medical libraries that employ innovative strategies to resource sharing. The TEXSHARE databases are essential tools to help ACU faculty and students conduct research and fulfill their information needs on a wide range of subjects. The databases include the full-text of articles and books. Access is available 24 hours a day from the dorms and faculty offices. Students in the ACU Study Abroad programs in Oxford and Montevideo are also able to access the databases remotely.
The TEXSHARE Card Program allows ACU students and faculty to borrow materials directly from over 400 academic libraries and public libraries around Texas. The TEXSHARE Card allows the ACU library to offer students and faculty infinitely more resources throughout the state of Texas. This program is especially helpful as ACU moves forward with its distance education programs to allow students who live outside of Abilene to borrow materials from research libraries that were inaccessible in the past.
The TEXSHARE databases were funded through 2003 by a grant from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) to the Texas State Library. Budget cuts by the Texas Legislature eliminated the grant program in 2004. We need your help to communicate to our state legislature about the importance of these databases to our students and faculty and to seek additional funding so that we can continue to offer these high quality resources to our students. TIF will be reviewed in 2005 as a part of the sunset review for the Public Utilities Commission. It is our hope that we can convince the state to reestablish the TIF fund for use by libraries and educational institutions throughout the state. State funding of the TEXSHARE program yielded important outcomes for our students and the need for support continues.
List of TEXSHARE Databases: http://www.texshare.edu/programs/academicdb/databases2004.html
TEXSHARE Card Program: http://www.texshare.edu/programs/card/
TEXSHARE Home Page: http://www.texshare.edu/
Library Hosts Faculty Workshop
The ACU Library Faculty hosted a scholarship workshop on March 5-6, 2004 in the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence. Speakers at the workshop included:
- J.P. Herubel, bibliographer and reference librarian at Purdue University
- Larry Hardesty, Dean of the Library at University of Nebraska at Kearney
- Donald Davis, Professor of Library Science at the University of Texas at Austin
-
Evelyn Curry, Assistant Professor of Library Science at Texas Woman's University
Presentations and discussion focused on methodology and research projects in library and information studies. Library faculty members discussed their research agendas and received advice on publication venues and scholarship.
Through the Year with FACUL
- On Friday, Oct. 24, 2003, at the Friends of the Year reception, we honored Dr. Mark Tucker, Dean of Library and Information Resources, and his wife, Barbara, as the newest members of the library family.
- The 2003 Stay-at-Home-and-Read-a-Book Ball brought in a total of $820 for library acquisitions.
- Dr. Steven McKenzie delivered to us, at the 2004 Lectureship dinner, the presentation that had been planned for the cancelled 2003 dinner.
- Our 2004-05 officers were elected at the dinner: Dr. Greg Straughn ('94), president; Howard Hodgson ('61), vice president for membership; Dr. Lawrence Ray Smith ('58), vice president for resources; Carolyn Thompson ('65), vice president for programs; Virginia Bailey, vice president for publicity; Erma Jean Loveland ('58), secretary. Dr. Tracy Shilcutt ('80) was added as a board member.
- The 2004 FACUL grant was awarded to Chad Longley ('03) to attend the Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio.
- On Friday, Oct. 22, 2004, we honored Dr. Joseph Mogan and Dr. Joyce Palmer for their contributions to our English collections.
By Dr. Marsha Harper ('59)
Senior LibrarianStaff in Motion
Retirements and changes have kept heads turning in the library as we have tried to keep up with new faces and familiar faces in new places. The end of May brought the retirement of two key staff members, Peggy Degge and Sara Spencer. Sara left after 13 years as an Assistant Cataloger and left large shoes to fill. She is enjoying retirement at home. Peggy has returned as Circulation Supervisor, a post she has held since 1989; she is working a reduced schedule. To take care of Sara's responsibilities and to help staff in future with their computer problems, the library hired two recent graduates who have been working as student employees. Allison Knudson, with a new M.S. in Human Communications, is working fulltime in Cataloging; Scott McBryde, his new B.A. in Bible in hand, held Dora Weathers' place in Audio Visuals while she was in Uruguay with the Study Abroad program.
Becky Estrella, Acquisitions Coordinator, has just been hired as the half-time curator of ACU's newly-established Centennial Collection. Becky is finishing up an M.A. in History; her strongest interest is in "public history," or the creation of exhibits that tell the public stories about history. The Centennial Collection position is tailor-made for Becky and she is enthusiastic about collecting all kinds of items connected to the history of ACU--then selecting for exhibits those that have an especially interesting past to relate. Becky will be working through 2005 and into 2006 on the Centennial Collection.
In preparation for Becky's departure from the library, she is currently training Connie White, Dean Mark Tucker's present Administrative Assistant, to take over in Acquisitions. Connie, in turn, is training a cataloger, Elaine Huckabee, to become Dean Tucker's new Assistant. After Jan. 1, Allison Knutson (see above) will move into Elaine's Professional Staff position, supervising the student workers.
Complicated? Yes! Risky? Perhaps, but all these talented, responsible people are committed to keep the Technical Services work flowing smoothly and our experience with them tells us they will surely succeed.
Library Happenings
- Library Visiting Committee members for 2003-04 were Mr. Lynn Waller, North Richland Hills, chair; Mr. Craig Beard, Birmingham, AL; Dr. Edwin Gleaves, Nashville, TN; Mrs. Robyn Hamilton, Abilene; Mrs. Judy Thomas, Abilene; Mr. Ron Stewart, Salem, OR; Mrs. Kathy Jones, Odessa; and Dr. George Takemoto, Baton Rouge, LA.
- At the fall '03 awards luncheon, Chad Longley was given the staff award. Outstanding student workers: Ryan Crowder ('04), Katherine Lane ('04), Wendy Hale (06), and Heather Wickholm (03). Newcomer: Chad Huddleston (04). Best Shelver: Marie Shinsky (). Special Merit: Richard Maddeaux (04).
- The Texas Library Association annual conference was held in San Antonio in March. Librarians attending were Virginia Bailey, Laura Baker, Jana Davis, Marsha Harper, Karen Hendrick, Melissa Johnson, and Mark McCallon. Chad Longley received the annual staff grant from FACUL to attend as well.
- At the spring '04 awards luncheon, Sara Spencer was given the staff award. Outstanding student workers: Dan Bircher (GST), Heather Lemmons (05), Scott McBryde (04), Winnie Ndara (07). Newcomer: Blake Bond (07). Second Mile: Malcolm McMillan (GST). Best Shelver: Amy O'Neal (06). Special Merit: Brad Hoover (07).
- Carisse Berryhill, Craig Churchill, Karen Hendrick, Melissa Johnson, Mark McCallon, and Mark Tucker attended the Christian College Librarians' conference at York College, May 26-29. Erma Jean Loveland made a presentation titled "Cold Case Clues in the Archives."
- Carisse Berryhill attended the American Theological Library Association conference, June 16-19.
- On August 19th, the library faculty and staff met at Cedar Gap Farm for their summer retreat. The event featured an entertaining presentation by Cary Branscum, a Mark Twain impersonator.
- Library Visiting Committee members for 2004-05 were: Mr. Craig Beard, Birmingham, AL, chair; Mr. Hulen Bivens, Montgomery, AL; Mr. Don Davis, Austin; Mrs. Robyn Hamilton, Abilene; Ms. Sara Harwell, Nashville, TN; Mr. Dennis Hood, Nashville, TN; Mrs. Judy Thomas, Abilene; Mrs. Kathy Jones, Odessa; Dr. George Takemoto, Baton Rouge, LA.
- At the fall '04 awards luncheon, Connie White was given the staff award. Outstanding Student Workers: Angie Blackwell ('05), Kalyn Pierce (07), Todd Podzemny (07), Emily Vaughn (06), Flora Williams (07), and Mark Willis (05). Newcomer: James Kinzie (04). Second Mile: Rob O'Connor (GST). Best Shelver: Sarah Cole ('06). Special Merit: Matt Hurley (05).
- Craig Churchill attended the Society for Biblical Literature conference in Austin this past November.
- At the December graduation ceremony, Marsha Harper was awarded an honorary doctorate for her service to the library. She also delivered the charge to the class.
By Chad Longley ('03)
Special Services AssistantLibrary Gifts
During the 2003-04 fiscal year the library received a total of 11,505 cash and non-cash gifts. These gifts are an essential part of the growth of the library's collections and services.
Two new endowments have been established: the Harper-Loveland Library Endowment and the John T. and Evelyn Willis Library Endowment. During 03-04, exactly 108 donors added a total of $19,250.68 to these funds that will serve the library for years to come.
One of the library's oldest endowments, the Sewell Library Endowment, began with $75,000 willed to the library by Jesse P. Sewell. This past year the estate of his sister-in-law, Ila Sewell (wife of Jesse Mac), added an additional $14,000.
When Dr. Carisse Berryhill came to fill her position in Special Collections last May, she brought her father's papers with her. Wayne Mickey was a preacher in the churches of Christ for much of his life, and he had kept all of his papers, sermons, recordings, etc. for many years. These papers will be another valuable addition to the Center for Restoration Studies.
Dr. Lewis Fulks ('48) taught in the Theater and Communication departments here at ACU for over 40 years. During this time he directed dozens of plays, including all of the homecoming productions. After his death in September 2003, his collected papers and memorabilia were put under the care of Chris Kyker. This past fall the library received this collection representing over 40 years of Dr. Fulks' work. Several set models were places in the care of Adam Hester, chair of the Theater department, and the remaining 3-dimensional objects were given to Becky Estrella, the Centennial Curator. The ACU Archives will hold the papers, scripts, photos, negatives, posters, etc.
Sponsor a Student for FACUL
This year 8 sponsors added 8 students to the FACUL membership roll, paying for each student one regular membership ($25) and adding $12.50 for a ticket to the Lectureship dinner. Since this program began in 1999, a total of 67 students have been added to our membership. These students will remain on the mailing list for three years, establishing a connection that we hope will continue for years to come.
- Lawrence Ray ('58) and Nancy Smith sponsored Michael Vassallo, freshman English major.
- Al ('55) and Dale ('59) Ogren sponsored Brandi McClain, sophomore English major.
- Betty Cummins ('48) sponsored Jessica Poarch, senior English and Political Science major and Scott McBride, senior Bible major.
- Austin Emery ('62) sponsored graduate Marriage and Family Therapy student Rebecca Robertson.
- Iva Lea Barton sponsored Bob Parsons, freshman political science major and Richard Maddeaux, graduate Bible student.
- Preston (59) and Marsha (59) Harper sponsored Abby Longley, junior Communications major.
- James (64) and Carolyn ('65) Thompson sponsored Toss Podzymney, junior English major and Sam Garner, graduate Bible student.
- Mark and Barbara Tucker sponsored Mark White, graduate Marriage and Family Therapy student.
- Travis ('51) and Lois ('52) Tyer sponsored Emily Vaughn, senior education major and Brad Hoover, freshman business major.
- Karen Hendrick (65) sponsored John Estrella, senior Environmental Science major.
By Howard Hodgson ('61)
FACUL Vice-President for MembershipFriends of ACU Library Membership
Friends of ACU Library is a strong support group that works to enhance the library by:
- Providing funds to make special purchases of materials and equipment beyond the library's budget;
- Helping to sponsor programs and activities to strengthen the cultural experiences of the university community;
- Networking to seek out gift collections to enrich our library holdings;
- Attracting monetary gifts both within and outside our membership; and
- Serving as volunteers for the library.
With a FACUL Membership you receive the following benefits:
- A free library card;
- The Friends Newsletter;
- Invitations to special programs, exhibits, and activities sponsored by FACUL; and
- The privilege of being with others who love books.
We encourage you to continue your membership. We are looking for even better ways to support our students at ACU in their quest for learning.
