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May 31st, 2017
The research paper is a fact of life in college. If you have completed a college-level class, it’s almost guaranteed you have received a syllabus that instructed you to format a paper according to a particular academic style and directed you to turn in a double-digit-page composition citing at least three-to-five (or more) sources. While many college students get hung up on the number of pages required, it’s likely there are just as many who lament how many sources—and about their type: primary or secondary—they will have to read and consult to meet the minimum source-number requirements for the assignment.
But for students in the Spring 2016 Purdue University Honors College course “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Writing” 199 (section 03), co-taught by Kristina Bross, associate professor in the English dept., and Neal Harmeyer, an archivist in Purdue Archives and Special Collections (ASC), the oft-dreaded assignment resulted in getting their work published by the Purdue University Press—an unexpected perk for the inevitable undergrad research paper assignment. According to Harmeyer, the book, “More Than a Memory: Exploring Purdue University’s History Through Objects” (which is also available as an e-book via e-Pubs, Purdue Libraries’ open access repository) was printed this spring and was recognized with a Purdue Honors College-sponsored book launch event in late April.
In the 2016 course, the students, through honing their writing, sought to understand the history of Purdue University and to recover the student experience at the turn of the 20th century. Harmeyer added the course also provided students with a way to learn about primary-source research and gain hands-on experience working with the collections and artifacts stored in the ASC.
“Over the course of the semester, we asked the students to go through the collections, pick an object—a photo, a personal memento of some sort, or a document, perhaps—and then ask and answer three questions: 1. What is in front of you? 2. What do you think about what you’re seeing? and 3. What could this mean? We used this approach as a scaffolded step of deliberation and archival research methodology to help inform their writing,” Harmeyer explained. “From the class, 10 of the 13 students agreed to have their works published. The book, ‘More Than a Memory,’ provides a snapshot of the sources they found and the final outcomes of their individual research.”
Each student who agreed to have their work published received a few copies of the book to keep and to share. Their individual compositions included the image (a scan or photo) of the object they each chose, a little bit of background about themselves, and about 900 words or so about their research, their insights, and the object itself.
According to Bross, when she was first approached about teaching the class, she knew she wanted to have students research issues/topics that would matter to them, that would feel “real.”
“Having students dive into special collections is a sure way to give them that experience,” Bross said. “I’ve asked students to do archival searches for years, so I know they respond well to such assignments, and I think it’s especially important for students to know something about the history of Purdue,” she added.
The collaboration between Bross and Harmeyer that went into the spring 2016 course “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Writing” 199 and the book, “More Than a Memory,” was not the first time they worked together to instruct students in this particular Honors course. In 2013, they co-taught the course with the same title, and through their students’ research, they published “Little Else Than a Memory: Purdue Students Search for the Class of 1904,” also printed by Purdue University Press.
“I had been somewhat involved in the course in 2013, but when one of our archivists took a position at another institution about halfway through the semester, I took over her role as co-instructor,” Harmeyer said. “While students in that class implemented a similar project, for the 2016 version of the course, Professor Bross and I planned to focus more on teaching students about archival research and primary-source research. One of our objectives was to get them more accustomed and familiar with the various research avenues they may need to undertake, for whatever their disciplines were, as we had majors enrolled from across the various disciplines in the 2016 version,” he added.
Bross noted the ASC provided a fruitful learning laboratory to accomplish the goals of the course.
“The Purdue Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Division is ideal for undergraduate research, not only because it’s local, but also because its faculty and staff are so knowledgeable about Purdue’s history and our collections. In addition, they know how to introduce archival research to undergrads and help them understand the stakes involved in the work they are doing. Having a co-teacher from the ASC makes this course possible—and Neal is simply terrific in that role,” Bross said.
“The interdisciplinary part of the course title is represented by the Archives and the primary sources, and the writing part is Professor Bross helping the students hone their writing,” Harmeyer added. “Over the course, she assigned the students primary sources, dating back centuries, such as diaries and first-person accounts, along with secondary source materials, and she asked them to write about and respond to those. So the two things met in the middle—our idea was they would learn about writing along the way, they would learn about research along the way, and at the end, they would have a research paper.”
As part of the research and writing process, the students also contributed to a blog (see http://ascblogs.lib.purdue.edu/spring2016-honors19903/), “a site devoted to the sharing of undergraduate archival research and scholarship.” The blog was a fundamental component of the course; during the semester, the students composed three responses to their findings, which in turn were posted on the site, Harmeyer said.
“This blog allowed us to see their work in progress. Through it, too—because we encouraged comments on the site—they were able to communicate with one another and experience feedback from the larger community, as well. This site also enabled students to get their research out and think more critically as they were writing,” Harmeyer explained.
“The blog posts were just as—perhaps more important than—their final publications,” Bross added. “Neal was absolutely central to making the website excellent. It was interesting asking them to write about their individual processes, as well as to represent their findings. If we get the chance to teach this class or another like it, I want to think some more about the best way to use in-process digital media to publish their work.”
According to Harmeyer, ASC personnel are committed to keeping the blog site available for future research purposes.
“Not only do the final essays showcase the students’ work, but the research they compiled and shared on in their papers and through their blog posts, also serve as secondary sources. Later, students may be able to build and use their research.”
Harmeyer noted he thinks the course will be offered again, with the Purdue Archives and Special Collections again serving as a laboratory for Purdue students who enroll in it.
“For many of them, it was only their second semester in college, and I could see the light-bulb moments expressed in their faces and in their words: ‘Wow, this is hard… but interesting.’ Overall, I think most of them had that feeling and were extremely rewarded by it.”
Download the full text of “More Than a Memory” at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/sps_ebooks/9/
Filed under: faculty_staff, general, SPECMay 25th, 2017
Stewart Center, including the Humanities, Social Science & Education (HSSE) Library (located in Stewart Center), and the Hicks Undergraduate Library will be closed Saturday-Sunday, June 3-4, with no public or Purdue University student or personnel access to either of the facilities. (This means there will be no PUID swipe-card access to Hicks Undergraduate Library on June 3 or 4.)
The closure of both facilities is to enable in-house project teams (from Physical Facilities) to work on a water system project in the basement of Stewart Center. To complete the work, the water to all of Stewart Center and the Hicks Library will be shut off; no occupants can be in either facility when there is no water to the restrooms.
Visit Purdue Libraries’ website for a comprehensive list of the libraries’ hours at www.lib.purdue.edu/hoursList.
Filed under: Alerts: ExpiredMay 25th, 2017
Purdue University Libraries Assistant Professor and Medical Librarian Bethany McGowan has been tapped as a “Rock Star Librarian” by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). McGowan was featured, along with four other medical librarians, on the National Library of Medicine’s website Wednesday. You can read the article at infocus.nlm.nih.gov/2017/05/24/rock-star-medical-librarians-todays-headliners/.
Last month, McGowan was also featured in the VOLUMe, Purdue University Libraries’ bi-annual newsletter. Her contribution to the Spring 2017 issue is just below.
At Purdue University Libraries, I am in the unique position to teach health-care providers the information literacy skills that lead to better-informed clinical decisions.
In my role as Health Sciences Information Specialist, I teach the information literacy competencies and evidence-based practices that health-care professionals need to recognize and use quality health information. One of my favorite things about my work is teaching students with a range of research experience, from undergraduates, who are just beginning to explore their interests in entry-level nutrition classes, to graduate nursing students, who are able to put what they have learned to use in clinical settings immediately.
Most of my teaching is focused on conveying the link between health information literacy and evidence-based practices. The Medical Library Association defines health information literacy as the “set of abilities needed to recognize a health information need; identify likely information sources and use those sources to retrieve relevant information; assess the quality of information and its applicability to a specific situation; and analyze, understand, and use information to make good health decisions.” Evidence-based practices complement health information literacy by supporting the integration of clinical expertise, patient values, and current research evidence into the decision-making process for patient care.
Noteworthy projects I have been involved in include a collaboration with the Purdue Discovery Learning Research Center, in which we presented hackathon opportunities that encouraged participants to use open health data. I shared the experience in a recent publication, “Hackathon Planning and Participation Strategies for Non-Techie Librarians.”
I also attended the 2016 Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Immersion Teaching Track Program and served as a teaching assistant for the Spring 2017 cohort of IMPACT (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation) Faculty Fellows. Both opportunities are helping me transform my teaching approach. In addition to instructional design principles, I am exploring how information and data visualizations, such as maps, can be used to convey complicated health information.
Finally, I am interested in encouraging health equity by accommodating for learner diversity. In the Fall of 2016, I attended the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Congress in Columbus as a Congress Fellow. This experience encouraged me to consider the global implications of my work, and I subsequently joined the American Library Association International Relations Committee. My future research will focus on exploring how empowering women and adolescent participation in open technology and culture can improve health information literacy, health literacy, and health outcomes.
Filed under: faculty_staff, general, UncategorizedMay 21st, 2017
The academic year has ended and summer is upon us. For our final From the Archives post until fall, we present a campus photo that fully embodies summer. Do you remember where on campus you could find this scene? What’s there now?
UPDATE:
This outdoor swimming pool was part of the Recreational Gymnasium, which was completed in 1957 and later renamed the Recreational Sports Center. The pool’s site west of the center now is occupied by the Morgan J. Burke Boilermaker Aquatic Center, which was completed in 2001 and adjoins the Co-Rec. The Co-Rec underwent a major renovation and expansion approved in 2008, and it was rededicated in 2012 as the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center.
Recreational Sports Center, circa 1960s
The pool photograph was taken on August 27, 1980, just as these students had arrived on campus for the academic year. Beyond the pool at right is the Purdue fire station, and across Third Street are Meredith and Shreve Residence Halls. Both are visible in the background of the full photo.
When the anniversary of this photo rolls around in three months, we’ll be back with more From the Archives.
Filed under: general, SPECMay 17th, 2017
Purdue University Libraries faculty and staff have been proud to host the “Big Ten Academic Alliance Collective Collection: Leveraging a Legacy to Shape Our Shared Future” conference this week at Purdue University. Below are tweets and images from the #BTAALib17, which began Tuesday morning at Purdue.
Highlights also include tweets and photos from the Tuesday evening reception in Purdue University’s new Wilmeth Active Learning Center. Conference attendees were among the first groups outside of Purdue to tour the new building.
Tuesday evening conference attendees were treated to a sneak peek inside the Thomas S. and Harvey D. Wilmeth Active Learning Center, which houses the Library of Engineering and Science, 27 classrooms designed for active learning (which will stay open after class hours to provide study space), data visualization and 3D printing resources, the Hiler Theater, group study rooms, computer work stations, 24/7 access (with Purdue University ID)… a few of the new building’s features.
The WALC, constructed on the former site of the Purdue Power Plant, which was used as a hands-on teaching facility for Purdue Engineering faculty and students, “represents the transformation of teaching and learning at Purdue.” The building features archival photographs of scenes from inside the former Power Plant. An audio tour (that can be experienced via an app on a mobile phone or through a website), which describes the murals and the artifacts showcased in the WALC, is an active learning resource that will be available when the building opens Aug. 7.
The 2013 article, “Full Steam Ahead,” in “Leadership” (“The Magazine of the Purdue President’s Council), demonstrates a vision for the place the Wilmeth Active Learning Center will hold in Purdue University’s history.
“Where once a smokestack stood — an iconic symbol of another era — soon a new a structure destined to be equally representative of its historical moment will rise on Purdue’s campus horizon: the [Wilmeth] Active Learning Center.”
The article also describes Libraries Dean Jim Mullins’ vision for the facility:
“The dean was an early and persistent champion of the concept of a new centrally located ‘learning commons’ — integrated with library facilities and services — that will further reinforce Purdue’s national leadership as an innovator in emerging trends in active learning and collaborative study needs. Research shows that library facilities remain the top destination to study for undergraduates at Purdue, Mullins says. And because information literacy is embedded in the new core curriculum, Libraries faculty play a greater role in instructing students how to locate, evaluate and judge information’s accuracy and value.”
Below are more tweets and photos of the #BTAALib17 attendees’ visit to the Wilmeth Active Learning Center.
May 15th, 2017
Purdue University Libraries Associate Professor and Head of the Health & Life Sciences Division Vicki Killion placed the first book on a shelf in the Library of Engineering and Science in the Wilmeth Active Learning Center Monday (May 15) morning.
Purdue University Libraries’ personnel from facilities and faculty and staff from the former separate Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Life Sciences; Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences; Physics; and Engineering libraries are working this week to merge the materials into the consolidated library in the new Wilmeth Active Learning Center.
The new building opens to the public Aug. 7.
More information about about the newly consolidated library and new building is available at blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/2017/04/27/walc-move-faqs/.
Below are some photos of the first books moved into the Library of Engineering and Science, as well as a few photos of the inside of the building.
May 15th, 2017
A May 11 post from the Purdue Physical Facilities Communications alerts pedestrians to the construction projects near the Bell Tower. Various sidewalks and walkways around the Bell Tower, Wilmeth Active Learning Center, Brown Laboratory of Chemistry, Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry, and Stanley Coulter Hall remain closed for ongoing work in the area.
Nearby construction impacts can be viewed in a “Sidewalk closures by POTR, ME, and EE facilities continue.”
Follow Physical Facilities’ news feed at www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/index.html.
Questions may be directed to Rustin Meister, senior project manager, at (765) 496-9477 or rrmeister@purdue.edu.
Filed under: Alerts: ExpiredMay 7th, 2017
Graduation is almost upon us, so what better time to look back at other graduations in Purdue’s past? Here you can see Purdue students proceeding to their graduation ceremony, but can you tell where and when this photo was taken? What clues led you to your answers? Share your ideas in the comments and check back on Thursday for the reveal!
UPDATE:
On Tuesday, June 11, 1929, Purdue’s graduating class lined up on Memorial Mall and marched as a group to Memorial Gymnasium for a 9:00 AM ceremony. This photo, taken from the second story of Memorial Gym, shows their approach across the railroad tracks that led to the Power Plant in the center of campus. The former Purdue Hall is visible in the background. Family and friends gathered along the path to cheer on the soon-to-be graduates and the Purdue Military Band provided musical accompaniment for the ceremony. More than 600 students received their degrees that day.
The inside of Memorial Gym, set up for the 1929 graduation ceremony.
This was a tough one! Congratulations to all who participated!
Filed under: general, SPECMay 5th, 2017
Today (Friday, May 5), the Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS); Life Sciences; Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences; and Physics libraries will close at 5 p.m; the Engineering Library will close at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6. The libraries are moving to the newly consolidated Library of Engineering and Science in the Wilmeth Active Learning Center, which will open Monday, Aug. 7.
More information is available at blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/2017/04/27/walc-move-faqs/.
Filed under: Alerts: ExpiredMay 5th, 2017
Today and this weekend will be one that is bittersweet for many on the Purdue University campus–and especially so for many in Purdue University Libraries.
Many students are wrapping up their final exams and will soon head home for the summer, leaving their college lives behind for a time. Those who are graduating next week are preparing for commencement and are likely looking toward their new lives in the work world or in advanced degree programs.
And, here in Purdue Libraries, today and tomorrow, we are closing the buildings of six of our libraries–to start the process of the move to the new Wilmeth Active Learning Center (photo above).
The newly consolidated Library of Engineering and Science, along with the many active learning resources available in the Wilmeth Center, will officially open to the public Monday, August 7.
Information about the individual libraries that are closing, as well as for Purdue Libraries’ users, is just below.
Today (Friday, May 5), the Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS); Life Sciences; Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences; and Physics libraries will close at 5 p.m; the Engineering Library will close at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6.
The libraries that will remain open during the move to the Wilmeth Active Learning Center include:
From May 7-June 11, Purdue Libraries’ users who need materials from the closed libraries can search for and retrieve materials by using the secure Interlibrary (ILL) System or UBorrow. An active Purdue Career ID is required for login. You will be notified when the material you requested is ready for pick up at the ILL Office in the Humanities, Social Science, and Education (HSSE) Library or is ready for download. For currently employed West Lafayette faculty, staff, and visiting scholars, we deliver the research material you need to your desktop or office quickly and efficiently.
From June 12 through the opening of the WALC (August 7), users will be able to submit requests for the materials located in the closed locations and pick up their materials from an open library of their choosing. After the WALC opens, materials in the closed libraries can still be requested in the Libraries catalog and will be delivered to an open library of their choosing. Office and desktop delivery for currently employed West Lafayette faculty, staff, and visiting scholars will continue.
Here’s to the future, Purdue!
Filed under: CHEM, general, LIFE, PHAR, PHYS, PSET, Uncategorized, WALC