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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND LIBRARIES
FACULTY UPDATE FROM THE
FALL 2013
AFL-CIO gift a “game-changer”
The historical archive of the AFL-CIO will make the university a center for labor studies, President Loh announced at a ceremony on October 1.
As the largest archival gift ever received by the University Libraries,
the donation will fill six miles of shelving—a distance, Loh noted in his remarks, that stretches nearly two-thirds of the way from College Park to the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Vast collections dating back 150 years will help labor researchers
understand pivotal social movements, including those to gain rights for women, children and minorities.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke of the many stories
contained within the archive, found, for example, among the minutes of local union meetings or in personal letters. “The recovery of useful stories from the grist of the past requires skill and talent, and a lot of hard work on the part of archivists and historians, journalists and union activists,” Trumka said. “Each of us has a role, and together… as a community… we will struggle with and debate the meanings of the narratives within these archives.”
Two boys work in a textile mill in dangerous conditions, ca 1900.
Right: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Other speakers at the celebration included Mike Miller, President, Senate of Maryland; Leonard Howie, Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation; Paula Peinovich, President, National Labor College; and Patricia Steele, Dean, University Libraries.
Publishing fund expands open-access support Know your rights Open resources cut costs, multiply public access to research and textbooks as an author If you’re publishing in open access journals, you could
have your publishing fee paid by the University Libraries. A new publishing fund, aimed at increasing wide availability of UMD research results, opened to all faculty, students and post-doctoral researchers this fall. “It will really benefit any faculty member trying to make research freely available who is not able to afford the fee,” says institutional repository coordinator Terry Owen. The fund stems from the recommendations of the Senate Open Access Task Force to encourage authors to retain their rights as The creation authors. It also supports new publishing models and use of open that allow the public source textbooks to find and freely read scholarship. can greatly “[It] will give more notoriety to research benefit students here at Maryland,” says by making college Owen. “The goal is to allow researchers to make more affordable. research openly available in an affordable way.” Articles funded will be added to the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM). Institutional repositories such as DRUM provide a digital home for your research that’s open, freely available and long-term. By depositing your scholarship, you not only make it more discoverable but also preserve access to it with permanent links. DRUM currently holds UMD theses, dissertations, and faculty and student research. Articles published with support from the new Open Access Publishing Fund are included in DRUM, thereby ensuring they are broadly and freely available.
Open Educational Resources Open access materials, including textbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), benefit students by reducing some of the costs associated with higher education and by expanding access to valuable resources. “Open educational resources allow scholarly materials to be available to those who might not have other opportunities,” said Gary White, associate dean for the University Libraries. Open education resources are digital resources available for free or little cost to the public that are used in teaching and research. The resources can include course material,
journals, tools, and software. Professors can pick the resources suitable for their course and customize the material. “The creation and use of open source textbooks can greatly benefit students who would then not have to spend large amounts of money on commercial textbooks, making college more affordable,” says White. Books and supplies are a major expense for students. The average student will spend $1,200 a year on textbooks and course packets, according to a 2012 report from the nonprofit College Board. Many students enthusiastically support cheaper textbooks, which are just one facet of open educational resources. “Institutions and libraries will reap savings from not being forced to buy commercial journals and other products which currently constitute a huge portion of libraries’ budgets,” says White. “Faculty are currently giving away their research to commercial publishers who then charge exorbitant prices for libraries to buy back this content.”
Workshops October 22 and 24
When you publish a journal article, you sign a copy
right agreement. How can you negotiate your contract to make the most of your rights as a scholar, teacher and author? Learn how to preserve your rights to reproduce, distribute, and display the work you create. We’re offering two author-rights workshops as part of Open Access Week, October 21-25, 2013, an international event to increase support for open access.
Tuesday, October 22 10:00 – 11:00 am
Thursday, October 24 2:00 – 3:00 pm
McKeldin Library, Room 7121
More information about the fund: www.lib.umd.edu/oa/openaccessfund
Reserve a seat by registering online: www.lib.umd.edu/oa/openaccessweek
Open Educational Resource Guide: http://lib.guides.umd.edu/oer
Questions? Contact Terry Owen: towen@umd.edu
3D printing comes to McKeldin Used for prototyping especially in fields
such as engineering or design, “additive manufacturing,” or 3D printing, is now avail able in McKeldin Library. The printer is open to faculty and students to create any object they want to render in plastic. Printed models are $0.20 per gram, with the average model weighing around 15 grams. Printing can take from an hour to 10 hours depending on size and resolution. Ready to start? Visit the TLC to set up a file of the model in stereolithographic (STL) format. Questions? tlc@umd.edu or (301) 405-9056. The 3D printer is part of a suite of new and upcoming technology-focused services, which include the Tea Time Tech Talks (pg 2).