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September 14th, 2018
A revised and expanded paperback edition of Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Time of Gus Grissom by George Leopold will be released on September 15th. In preparation for the release, the press interviewed Leopold to find out more behind his inspiration in writing the book, some thoughts on the book’s subject, and more.
Q: What inspired you to write a book? How did you come across Gus Grissom as a subject?
Leopold: The standard narrative of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union is divided into two parts: before and after what came to be known simply as The Fire, the catastrophe that killed Gus Grissom and his Apollo 1 crew. After NASA recovered, the contributions of Gus Grissom were mostly forgotten—misremembered, really, when Tom Wolfe published The Right Stuff. Wolfe’s depiction of Grissom in his book and especially in the film version is a cartoon character. Wolfe got it wrong.
This struck me and many others as unjust. I determined to correct the record by writing a biography of Gus Grissom that places his life and career in the context of history of manned spaceflight.
I resolved to write his biography while standing before Gus Grissom’s grave in a lonely section of Arlington National Cemetery.
It only me took seven years.
Q: You have mentioned in previous interviews that you feel Grissom is underappreciated. Given his importance to early space exploration, how do you feel this happened?
Leopold: Part of its was Grissom’s unwillingness to toot his own horn. Gus always said the pre-flight press conferences were harder than the actual space missions. Another factor was the serendipitous nature of the early Project Mercury crew assignments. Most remember Alan Shepard’s first flight and John Glenn’s orbital flight. Grissom was remembered mostly for losing his first spacecraft.
And there was little reward or notoriety outside of his own peer group for the long hours at the factory doing the tedious testing required to get the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft into orbit. Grissom was engineering test pilot by training. All he really wanted to do was to go faster and higher—all the way to the moon and back. He cared not a whit about personal prestige, but he worked tirelessly to ensure the United States was first on the moon. Without Grissom’s contributions, I’m convinced we would not have made it by the end of the 1960s as we so declared.
Q: What do you imagine the space program would look like today if the Apollo 1 mission had been a success?
Leopold: It’s hard to say. Space exploration is a deadly business. If the Apollo 1 fire had not occurred on the launch pad, an accident in space would have been worse because investigators would know next to nothing about the precise cause(s). One of the cruel ironies, the central paradox of the Space Race, was that a launch pad fire actually saved the Apollo program. The reason was the evidence of what had been overlooked in Grissom’s ship—the faulty wiring, the leaking coolant, the lack of flame-retardant materials in the spacecraft, the clumsy inward opening hatch and, most important of all, NASA’s misguided engineering decision to use pure oxygen under pressure on the launch pad—all of it was there for the investigators to sift through.
To its credit, NASA rose from the ashes and built a great machine that took 24 humans to the moon.
Q: What are some things you believe the average person would be most surprised to know about the early age of space exploration?
Leopold: What a risky enterprise this was and the price the astronauts’ families paid. That, and the fact that Grissom and the early astronauts were test pilots who did not fly by the seat of their pants. They accepted risks, but they always sought to minimize them and come back alive. Gus Grissom is widely quoted as saying the rewards outweighed the risks (I never did track down the precise origin of Grissom’s iconic “worth the risk” quote, but he did say something close to this.) Hence, my thesis is that Grissom calculated those risks, dangers that every astronaut had to accept, and determined to proceed.
That decision cost him and his Apollo crew their lives, and shattered their families.
Q: What were some of the changes made for the new edition of the book? What makes it worthwhile for the person who has already read the original?
Leopold: For starters, the new Afterword describes how NASA finally provided a measure of closure for the Grissom, White, and Chaffee families. It’s an account of the 50th anniversary observance of the Apollo 1 fire. Gus Grissom’s brother Lowell did me the honor of an invitation to attend the ceremonies at Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA at long last did right by the crew, mounting a permanent Apollo 1 exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center that includes the scorched hatches. The NASA exhibit also includes photos of Gus Grissom first published in Calculated Risk.
I and others have long argued that some part of the spacecraft should be displayed in a dignified way to remind future generations of the sacrifices of the early astronauts. NASA did just that. The exhibit was long overdue.
Further, we believe the updated version is more readable, and benefited from the kind of crowdsourcing that occurs when a book on an important subject is published. A scholarly peer review process, enabled by social media, identified a few areas for improvement. The result, we firmly believe, is the authoritative account of Gus Grissom’s life and career.
Q: You have spent countless hours researching and interviewing for this book. What is your favorite story that didn’t make it in?
Leopold: Not left out, merely overlooked until recently. When the Apollo 1 crew assignment was announced during a press conference in Houston in March 1966, a reporter asked about the protocol for deciding which two astronauts on each three-man crew would land and walk on the lunar surface during later Apollo missions. A NASA manager started in with a long technical answer.
Grissom listened for a moment, smiled and jumped in—getting right to the point: “If it was this crew, it would be me and somebody else!”
Q: Do you think that Grissom’s reputation has improved? Are there steps you would like to see taken to ensure his place in space history?
Leopold: I’d venture to say Gus Grissom is beloved, especially by those who knew him and understood his competence, dedication, and willingness to work and sacrifice. Those contributions to manned space exploration are certainly more appreciated now than, say, the late 1970s and early 1980s when The Right Stuff narrative held sway. The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, for which the release of this biography was timed, also contributed to greater appreciation of Grissom’s central role.
My subject would undoubtedly be amused by all the fuss….
I am currently working with a group seeking to place a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the Apollo 1 crew. Gus Grissom and his crew mate and fellow Purdue alumnus Roger Chaffee are buried at Arlington. Surprisingly, there is no monument there commemorating the crew’s sacrifice—as there are for the astronauts lost in the two Space Shuttle accidents. The Apollo 1 memorial at Arlington National Cemetery was authorized by Congress, and we hope to have one in place during a future NASA Day of Remembrance for the Apollo 1 and shuttle crews.
Q: If you could ask Gus Grissom himself one question, what would it be?
Leopold: I would ask about his state of mind in the last weeks of his life, which must have been hell. He knew he had a faulty spacecraft on his hands, but he and the others figured they could fix it as they had done before. In that respect, Gus Grissom was a fatalist.
George Leopold is a veteran technology journalist and science writer who has covered the nexus between technology and policy for over thirty years. Leopold has written extensively about U.S. manned spaceflight, including the Apollo and space shuttle programs. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Scientist, and a variety of other science and technology publications. He resides in Reston, Virginia. Follow him on Twitter!
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Filed under: general
September 13th, 2018
The Purdue University Libraries, in partnership with the Native American Educational and Cultural Center (NAECC) at Purdue, is hosting the traveling exhibition “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.” The exhibit was developed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and it focuses on the interconnectedness of wellness, illness, and cultural life for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.
The exhibition will be on display in the Humanities, Social Science, and Education (HSSE) Library from Friday, Sept. 14-Wednesday, Oct. 24 in the Periodical Reading Room (first floor) and is open during the HSSE Library’s hours. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
The U.S. NLM developed and produced the exhibit, and the ALA Public Programs Office, in partnership with NLM, lends the exhibit to libraries across the U.S. Ann O’Donnell, library assistant, applied to host the exhibit in 2015, and she was notified the same year that Purdue Libraries was selected as a host site. Purdue Libraries is only one of the two locations in Indiana that will run the “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.”
A series of programs will supplement the exhibition, with the kickoff opening event featuring Terese Marie Mailhot, author of the 2018 New York Times’ best-seller, “Heart Berries: A Memoir.” Mailhot, who is currently a Tecumseh Postdoctoral Fellow at Purdue University and serves as a faculty member at the Institute of American Indian Arts, will deliver “Heart Berries: A Reading with the Author” beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 in the HSSE Library, room 142.
The series will also include Purdue faculty presentations and a screening of the documentary, “Don’t Get Sick After June: American Indian Healthcare.”
Details for each program in the series are listed below.
The traveling exhibition includes six informative panels that feature stories drawn from both the past and the present, exploring how the determinants of health for Native People are tied to community, the land, and spirit. Each panel also has interactive iPads to complement and enhance the banners. The content in “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness” provides a robust selection of videos, imagery, and personal stories that delve into several themes, including the impact of epidemics, federal legislation, the loss of land, and the inhibition of culture on the health of Native individuals and communities today.
For more information, contact O’Donnell at atodonne@purdue.edu or at (765) 494-9844.
Filed under: general, HSSESeptember 13th, 2018
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at Purdue University is now part of the Purdue Libraries, creating a partnership between two vital resource areas for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff at Purdue.
Now located in the Hicks Undergraduate Library, the OUR is easily accessible and continues to serve as a central resource to promote and expand experiential learning for undergraduate students through research experiences, creative endeavors, and scholarship with skilled mentors.
“The partnership between OUR and Purdue Libraries creates an ideal foundation for undergraduate research across our University,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity Jay Akridge. “This is the next step in the development and expansion of undergraduate research experiences at Purdue, and it will build on the successful launch of OUR by integrating the resources of Purdue Libraries into OUR programming and support.”
According to OUR Director Amy Childress, OUR connects students with opportunities to learn beyond traditional classroom activities and gain skills applicable to both research and non-research careers. Studies show that undergraduate students who engage in research are twice as likely to graduate, five times more likely to go on to graduate school, and have more successful careers after graduation.
“This increased collaboration with Libraries faculty and staff, who provide students with the research tools necessary for so many disciplines and publish the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research, complements the work of the OUR to deliver research support to students,” Childress explained. “It will expand upon the biweekly research seminars that have been sponsored by the OUR and Libraries for the past three semesters. The collective activities of the OUR and Libraries faculty strengthen the University’s commitment to providing high-quality experiential learning opportunities for undergraduates and encouraging mentorship from Purdue’s broad range of researchers and scholars.”
Dean of the Purdue Honors College and Interim Dean of Libraries Rhonda Phillips noted that linking OUR, which is a newer unit at Purdue, with Libraries will facilitate enhanced access to information and skills for knowledge building across the spectrum of inquiry.
“The Libraries faculty and staff are experts in information literacy, and this new partnership will benefit both by connecting vital capacities in information literacy and research-skill development with OUR’s programming and service to students, faculty, and staff across campus,” Phillips said.
“The purpose of the OUR is to foster strong faculty-student mentorships, which aids in student retention, helps students to clarify their career goals, reduces the amount of time it takes for them to earn their degrees, enhances their interest in graduate school, and further develops critical-thinking skills necessary for lifelong success,” Childress added.
According to Purdue Libraries Head of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, and Business (HSSEB) Division Erla Heyns, the faculty and staff of the Libraries have a long history and a strong commitment to supporting undergraduate inquiry.
“With the merger of OUR and the Libraries, Purdue University will be able to play a vital role in furthering the education of students as researchers. The Hicks Undergraduate Library, where the OUR is now located, has been identified as the focal point for supporting undergraduate research,” Heyns noted. “To support this collaboration between the OUR and Libraries, Associate Professor Clarence Maybee is spearheading a Libraries’ initiative to create space in Hicks for undergraduate researchers to engage in specialized consultations and interactions with Libraries faculty and staff, as well as a place for students and faculty mentors to come together as a community. He will teach a for-credit course devoted to undergraduate research and the consultation space will play a critical role in supporting this initiative.”
The OUR was launched in July 2017 and serves as a central resource for faculty and staff to coordinate and promote undergraduate research experiences (UREs). By providing this programmatic assistance, faculty, and administrators can better focus their time on more effective URE efforts and priorities. This infrastructure includes a portal for researcher and student recruitment through OURConnect, wraparound educational support in the form of online courses for current and prospective undergraduate researchers, promotion of research-based best practices, and development of a campus-wide community of practice for faculty and staff.
The OUR staff oversees multiple initiatives designed to recognize student research and scholarly achievements, including the annual OUR Scholarship, fall and spring undergraduate research conferences held each semester, a summer poster symposium, and research and travel grants.
For more information and to register for the OUR newsletter, visit www.purdue.edu/undergrad-research or contact Childress at childres@purdue.edu.
Filed under: general, press_release, UncategorizedSeptember 12th, 2018
Due to construction, Hicks Undergraduate Library will be closed from 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 through 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 14.
Hicks Library will again close at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14 through 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15.
For more information, contact Hicks Library at (765) 494-6733 or via email at ugrl@purdue.edu.
Filed under: facilities, generalSeptember 12th, 2018
Purdue University Press announces 12 new books for the Fall/Winter 2018-19 season. These new books, slated for publication from September 2018 through February 2019, feature works in the subject areas of flight and space, library and information sciences, business and leadership, veterinary studies, global languages and literature, literary criticism, Jewish studies, and European history.
Part of this slate of new scholarly and popular books is the release of the revised and expanded paperback edition of Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom. A book on the life of the famed Purdue astronaut that The Wall Street Journal described as “thrillingly told, taking the readers into the cosmos with Grissom, conveying the sense of wonder and danger that accompanied these early voyages.”
To find out more about these forthcoming books download the seasonal catalog or go to www.press.purdue.edu.
Purdue University Press is the scholarly publishing arm of the University and is a unit within the Purdue University Libraries. Dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly and professional information, the Press selects, develops, and distributes quality resources in several key subject areas for which its parent university is famous, including aeronautics and astronautics, business, technology, engineering education, health, veterinary medicine, and other selected disciplines in the humanities and sciences. The Press is also a partner for university faculty and staff, centers, and departments, wishing to disseminate the results of their research.
Filed under: general, press_release, scholcommSeptember 11th, 2018
Parrish Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring ProcurementIQ, formerly IBISWorld Procurement Reports, brought to you by IBISWorld Inc.
Link: http://guides.lib.purdue.edu/az.php?s=71213 is the alphabetical list of the databases specially selected for those in a business program of study. Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue login and password.
Focus: ProcurementIQ is a collection of procurement research reports in more than 1,000 areas, designed to help businesses make better purchasing decisions.
Tutorial: Click here see the basics of using the ProcurementIQ.
Start with this hint: Browse reports by title by clicking on “All reports” from the homepage.
Why you should know this database: ProcurementIQ procurement research reports provide information on pricing environments, including key trends, price drivers, product characteristics, and purchasing process.
Related Resources
Some other databases you might want to explore, are:
*This database is part of Thomson One and requires Internet Explorer.*
This Featured Database comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact parrlib@purdue.edu. Also let us know if you know of a colleague who would benefit from this, or future Featured Databases.
Since usage statistics are an important barometer when databases are up for renewal, tell us your favorite database, and we will gladly promote it. Send an email to parrlib@purdue.edu.
Filed under: database, general, MGMTSeptember 7th, 2018
Last week, the Washington Post published an article about the data a Purdue University professor (and two of his research colleagues) gathered on “every confirmed, line-of-duty police killing a civilian in 2014 and 2015.” Logan Strother, assistant professor in the Purdue Department of Political Science, used the Purdue University Research Repository, or PURR, to publish the dataset of police shootings he references in the piece. (Co-authors include Charles Menifield and Geiguen Shin, both at Rutgers University, Newark.) According to Data Repository Outreach Specialist (Research Data, Purdue University Libraries) Sandi Caldrone, by using PURR to publish the dataset, Strother is promoting transparency in scholarship.
“It also allows others researchers to replicate or build upon his work,” she noted.
She said the dataset referenced in the Washington Post piece is freely available for public download on the PURR website at doi.org/10.4231/R70G3HCR. It is an example of how one Purdue faculty member uses the valuable PURR research data-management tool.
“PURR is available to anyone at Purdue—faculty, staff, and students,” Caldrone said. “We support researchers throughout the research data-management lifecycle, providing help with data-management planning, online file storage for ongoing projects, data-publication services, and data preservation and archiving.”
According to Vikki Weake, assistant professor in biochemistry at Purdue, she and her lab team members have used PURR extensively to archive datasets associated with their published studies.
“Data management and archiving are becoming increasingly important in the life sciences,” Weake noted. “This is really important, as other researchers have access to the raw data, so they can replicate our analyses and results. The National Institutes of Health have recognized that we need efforts to improve rigor and reproducibility in biomedical science, and services that make raw data freely available are a great way for labs to be transparent about the work that they are doing. Ideally, other groups should be able to take our data and replicate our findings, or if new knowledge becomes available—they might use our data to gain novel insight into a biological process.”
In a brief Q&A below, Caldrone shares how PURR fits into the work that researchers at Purdue University perform and how she and Libraries’ faculty and staff can support them via PURR.
Q. How does PURR fit into the resources and services provided to campus by the Purdue Libraries?
Caldrone: Most of our resources are available online at purr.purdue.edu, but what really sets us apart from other data-management tools is that we have a team on campus to help every step of the way. We’re part of the Research Data unit, which provides consultations and support to help Purdue researchers plan, describe, disseminate, steward, and archive datasets.
Q. Why would faculty and students want to use PURR for their research needs?
Caldrone: Data is a valuable research product, and increasingly funders and publishers expect that product to be shared with the public. We provide the support to meet those funder and publisher requirements. There are lots of other places to publish data online. Our advantage is that we have support staff on campus to help with the process.
Since we are part of the Libraries, we also take preservation seriously, and we carefully archive all of our published datasets. During data collection, many researchers also take advantage of our online file storage space. It’s accessible anywhere on the web and is a simple, easy option for sharing files with off-campus collaborators.
Students learning about data should also look to PURR for sample datasets. See what data looks like in your discipline, download data files, and use them to test data analysis and visualization tools. Or, just explore our collections.
Q. Recently, PURR was redesigned. Why it was needed? What changed about it?
Caldrone: Our look hadn’t changed much since we started in 2011, so we were definitely due for a visual redesign. We took that opportunity to make functional improvements, as well. We increased our storage space, streamlined the registration process, and really expanded our collection of help resources.
Q. When in the research process should a researcher at Purdue begin to think about using PURR?
Caldrone: We’re happy to help researchers at any stage, but ideally we hope people will think about PURR early in the planning process. We provide helpful resources and in-person guidance for researchers writing data-management plans, whether or not they decide to publish their data in PURR. Having sound data-management practices in place before data collection starts saves a lot of work and stress down the road.
Q. How should a researcher reach out to you and your team members about using PURR? What kind of customer service help can you provide them to help get them started?
Caldrone: We have written instructions and video demos online showing how to use the PURR (see purr.purdue.edu/guides). We also provide one-on-one or group training sessions and consultations. Researchers can reach out to us at purr@purdue.edu or submit a support ticket on the website. You can also reach the entire Libraries Research Data team at researchdata@purdue.edu.
Q. Any other information you would like to impart to the audience at Purdue?
Caldrone: We’ve had some exciting data collections published recently. Standa Pejsa, PURR’s data curator, worked closely with Professor Nicholas Rauh in classics to publish an image database of hundreds of pottery sherds from Dr. Rauh’s archaeological work in the Cilicia region in what is now Turkey. Their publication is the result of years of hard work and can be found at https://purr.purdue.edu/publications/2924/1.
We’re also working with the philosophy department to publish audio recordings and transcripts of lectures given by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. This work is still underway, but we have several semesters’ worth of lectures already published. Anyone who would like to hear what it was like to take a course with Deleuze can check out The Movement-Image: Bergsonian Lessons on Cinema.
Filed under: faculty_staff, general, UncategorizedSeptember 7th, 2018
Purdue University Libraries’ unique archive on psychoactive substances research has been named and is now known as the Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Collection. Recently, with Gordon’s support, Purdue Libraries established an endowed archivist position in the Purdue Archives and Special Collections (a division of the Libraries) to lead and grow collections relating to the history of psychedelics research.
Stephanie Schmitz is the first Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Archivist at Purdue University (effective July 1, 2018).
First established in 2006 with generous funding provided by the Betsy Gordon Foundation, the archival collections comprise unique materials that document the history of psychoactive substances and their applications for medicine and healing. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of research studies surrounding psychedelics, e.g., the Heffter Research Institute‘s studies on psilocybin for cancer distress and addiction.
“I am pleased to be able to help in developing, through Purdue Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections, an archive and library centered on the work of so many dedicated chemists and clinicians who have worked in the field of psychoactive substances,” noted Gordon, a founder of the collecting initiative, who recently donated funds to name the collection and endow the archivist position. “As we have learned from the past, psychoactive substances hold untold potential in the area of reducing human suffering and healing. With such an archive, and through sharing with other universities and research institutions, all the work can be collectively stored and shared through this collection at Purdue,” she added.
According to Purdue University Archivist, Head of Archives and Special Collections, and Professor Sammie Morris, the renaissance in research surrounding the use of psychedelics for mental, physical, and spiritual health is attracting a growing number of scholars to Purdue to use the collection.
“Substances that once brought panic and fear to the public are now being recognized as having substantial health benefits in treating post-traumatic stress disorders, addiction, individuals facing terminal illnesses, and other health concerns,” she noted. “What many people may not know is that there is a long and rich history of psychedelics research conducted by psychiatrists, scientists, and health care professionals prior to the association of these substances with the counterculture movement. The past discoveries and research findings are highly relevant today in informing the future of this research.”
In 2006, Gordon and David Nichols, Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at Purdue, recognized the need to create a unique collection on the history of psychoactive substances research. According to Morris, the collection has increased dramatically over the last 12 years.
“The scholarship and learning that have resulted from the use of this growing collection would not be possible without Gordon,” Morris noted. “The Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Collection is the premier archival collection of its kind in the United States. It is the only major research collecting effort in the nation specifically centered on acquiring the original, historical primary-source papers of researchers in the field. Other libraries and museums have some collections on this topic, but no other academic institution has been dedicated to collecting these types of one-of-a-kind, original documents, images, and artifacts comprehensively. These items are critical to supporting an understanding of the history of psychedelics research.”
The endowment of the archivist position allows the collecting effort to expand and ensures the sustainability of the collection into the future, Morris added.
The collection benefits researchers in a wide array of disciplines, attracting historians, anthropologists, chemists, and clinical psychologists. Scholars have traveled from around the world to consult the collection, and faculty and students at Purdue and in the local community routinely use the collections for teaching and learning.
Schmitz has led the collecting initiative since 2007. She frequently collaborates with faculty to incorporate the collections into Purdue’s educational mission.
“One of the most compelling things I do is to introduce this fascinating and interdisciplinary area of research to others. There is nothing more gratifying than witnessing the trajectory of archival materials from their inactive use while still in the possession of the donor, to their transfer to archives, and ultimately into the hands of scholars, where their work is referenced in publications such as books, journals, and presentations, further legitimizing this area of research,” Schmitz noted. “These collections of archival materials capture the triumphs and struggles of the work that was carried out in the past, helping to inform current and future research. Betsy’s generous gift will allow me to take this collecting area to new levels, increasing our acquisition of collections, promoting them for research use, and using them in course instruction,” she added.
Purdue University Department of History Dema G. Seelye Chair in the History of Medicine Wendy Kline said the collection is one of the most valuable sources she has encountered on the history of psychiatry and mental health.
“My forthcoming book, ‘Coming Home: How Midwives Changed Birth’ [Oxford University Press, 2018] draws on the papers to demonstrate the curious and fascinating connections between alternative birth and psychedelics,” Kline explained. “This collection draws historians from all over the globe, and it will continue to draw in more scholars as interest in these substances and their history grows, as it undoubtedly will. I have used the papers in undergraduate history research seminars and witnessed students come to life as they discover the collection’s fascinating contents. It has made them rethink the connections among science, medicine, and the counterculture.”
These substances, when used in appropriate settings under care of a medical professional, have been shown to increase the quality of life for people suffering from a wide array of illnesses from cancer patients to veterans of war to individuals who have had lifelong struggles with addiction.
“Works by authors such as Michael Pollan (‘How to Change Your Mind’) are informing the public about the health benefits of psychedelics and their potential in addressing issues of national concern, such as the opioid crisis,” noted Interim Dean of Libraries Rhonda Phillips. “The Libraries is proud to hold a comprehensive collection of archival materials dedicated to this research, to preserve and share the history of psychedelics for current and future generations of scholars.”
Learn more about the Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Collection at http://collections.lib.purdue.edu/psychoactive/.
For more information, contact Schmitz at sschmit@purdue.edu.
Filed under: general, SPECSeptember 6th, 2018
In celebration of #ReadABookDay, Purdue University Press asked around the office to see what our team have been reading. We hope you enjoy their responses, and that you’re inspired to let us know what what you’re reading, let us know on Twitter and Facebook!
Liza Hagerman, Assistant Production Editor
I’m currently reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It’s super long, but I’m finding it easy to get lost in the beautiful writing and intimate stories of the characters. I finally picked it up after several recommendations from friends who were incredibly moved by it—it’s intense, in a good way.
Katherine Purple, Interim Co-Director and Editorial, Design, and Production Manager
I just finished Difficult Women, by Roxanne Gay, which was a Secret Santa gift from December (it only took me eight months to finish — no fault of the author’s!), and before that it was David Sedaris’s Calypso. Now I’m focused on finishing another book I was reading concurrently, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara, a thrilling account of her research into the Golden State Killer. Next on my list is to revisit Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is one of my favorite books in the world, and which I try to re-read every so often. Normally, however, my job keeps me so busy reading professionally that I often prefer long-form journalism to full books read for pleasure, and my go-to site is www.longform.org. Not a day goes by that I can’t find something enticing to read on that curated site.
Kelley Kimm, Senior Production Editor
I’m starting to read But Can I Start a Sentence with “But”? by the University of Chicago Press editorial staff. The title of the first chapter is “It’s not so much an issue of correctness as of ickiness.” That’s what attracted me.
Matthew Mudd, Marketing & Outreach Specialist
I’ve just started Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold. It was a gift from my sister and I’m very thankful, as I’m really enjoying it and probably would not have picked it out otherwise. Also, I always have a sports book in progress and right now it’s Basketball (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano, which takes a takes a look at the game of basketball through questions like “Who is the Greatest Dunker of All Time?” and “What is allowed and not allowed in a game of pickup basketball?”, so it’s been a great read. Finally, I’m reading through the Harry Potter series for the first time (late to the party, I know), and just got to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’m finding I appreciate the extra character development and narrative that the movies could not quite provide!
Marcy Wilhelm-South, Digital Repository Specialist
I’m reading Feedback and A Wrinkle in Time (and a few other books but I’ll restrict myself to two 🙂 ). “Feedback” is in a series I’ve read before but is the story of the first novel in that series told from a different perspective; because I loved that original book so much, I wanted to see what the new take was. What has been interesting has been seeing some small details included that seem to reflect on the changes that have happened in the world since that first book’s original publication. “A Wrinkle in Time” is just one of those kids’ classics that I’ve never read, and so my stepdaughter has become my excuse to visit it along with other children’s literature I was never exposed to back then – we are reading this one together. This is also how I’m introducing her to the concept of reading a book before you see the movie.
Nina Collins, Scholarly Publishing Specialist
I’m currently reading, Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (2017). I guess I just like being immersed in history. I recently bought an old sewing machine; and, I’ve been skimming The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sewing. As all my grandmothers have passed away (and it’s been a very long time since they taught me how to sew), this is a valuable resource. I like the clever chapter titles, like chapter 10, “Win One for the Zipper”.
Susan Wegener, Acquisitions Assistant
I just finished reading The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It has one of the quirkiest, most brilliant, and sympathetic main characters I’ve ever read, and the story is like a Victorian novel combined with spy fiction. It is over 500 pages and I read it in two days!
Chris Brannan, Graphic Designer
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick imagines an alternate timeline where Japan and Germany have split control of the United States, and continue to fight for world domination. It is a story of mystery and intrigue in business and daily life living under totalitarian rule, and the glimmer of hope found in the myth of the man in the high castle.
Alexandra Hoff, Assistant Production Editor
I’m currently listening to the audio book version of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, which is about two executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company who are competing for the same job promotion. With a captivating story and brilliant, hilarious writing, this book easily takes a spot in my top-five list of favorite books of all time.
Bryan Shaffer, Interim Co-Directer, Sales & Marketing Manager
I just finished Catch Every Ball: How to Handle Life’s Pitches by Johnny Bench, arguably the best catcher to ever suit up in a Major League Baseball uniform. An easy read, yet gave some insight into how a normal kid can triumph over adversity and reach his goals and dreams. Another book I recently read was The Cathedral Builder: A Biography of J. Irwin Miller. This book hit home for me because J.I. Miller was an icon from my hometown of Columbus, Indiana. Because of him, that small Southern Indiana town is now rated in the top ten globally in architecture and is home to Cummins Engine, a global powerhouse in diesel engines. Finally, I just bought and look forward to starting Scholarly Communication: What Everyone Needs to Know by Rick Anderson.
What are you reading? Looking for something new for #ReadABookDay? Use discount code PURDUE20 for 20% off any book from our website and #ReadUP.
Filed under: UncategorizedAugust 31st, 2018
The scholarly publishing landscape has changed more in the last 20 years than the last 300 years. Every year, we see the rise of new technologies and innovations in scholarly publishing, and in many ways, the rapid change has made it difficult for the remainder of the scholarly community to keep pace. Unfortunately, not all emerging trends in scholarly publishing are changes for the better. In recent years, predatory publishing has been on the rise.
Fortunately, for Purdue University researchers, Purdue University Libraries offers in-house expertise and can help faculty and other researchers navigate the issue of predatory publishing, as well as help reap the benefits of Open Access publishing.
Scholarly Publishing Specialist Nina Collins, who is situated in the Purdue University Press, has put together the “Deceptive Publishing” resource via this LibGuide. “Deceptive Publishers: Predatory Publishing.”
Additionally, in the brief Q&A below, she provides an overview of predatory publishing, its impact on Open Access publishing, and how she aids Purdue faculty and researchers in their scholarly publishing pursuits.
Q. What exactly is predatory publishing? Why is this topic and practice important for faculty to be aware of?
Collins: Currently, the phrase “predatory publisher” is an umbrella phrase to describe a wide variety of issues in scholarly publishing, including failure to adhere to publishing best practices, deception, inadequate or non-existent peer review, fraud, and even scientific misconduct. Predatory publishers cause harm to all stakeholders in the scholarly communication ecosystem. Often, these publishers look legitimate on the surface, and scholars in all disciplines can have a difficult time discerning a predatory publisher at first. Frequently, predatory publishers send relentless spam email to scholars, requesting submissions to their journals or participation in their conferences.
Publishing in a questionable journal can have a negative effect on a researcher’s reputation or even inhibit career advancement. Furthermore, as good scholarship can be published in bad outlets, scholars, as consumers of knowledge, can find themselves questioning scholarship based solely on the publication outlet in which it was published. This erodes trust in the scholarly record, in scholarship, and even in scientific knowledge.
Due to the negative association of Open Access, the movement has been especially challenged with the presence of many predatory publishers. Although predatory publishers use traditional publishing business models, as well as Open Access business models, the literature oftentimes associates “open” with “predatory.”
Open Access is a noble goal, supporting many benefits for scholars, students, researchers, practitioners, academic institutions, funding agencies, and the public. There are many paths to Open Access, including the gold standard “author-pays” model, which is the OA business model most often exploited by predatory publishers.
As funding agencies move toward greater transparency and openness, the need for greater awareness of predatory publishers is critical in order to protect scholars, funders, and academic institutions from these deceptions.
Q. What predatory publishing resources do you provide for Purdue faculty?
Collins: Purdue University Libraries offer resources to help faculty identify predatory publishers.
Our “Deceptive Publishers” LibGuide includes tools for faculty and researchers to help identify the most common deceptive and non-transparent practices of predatory publishers.
The University Copyright Office (housed within the Libraries) advises Purdue University faculty and staff about copyright law, as it applies to higher education, and provides information on current issues in copyright. The Copyright Office can provide programs and lectures on issues related to copyright.
Purdue University Press, a division of Purdue University Libraries, aligns the strengths of both publishers and librarians to advance the creation, communication, and discovery of new knowledge. We are Purdue University’s own scholarly publishing experts. Located in Stewart Center, we are available for publishing consultations on any topic related to scholarly publishing.
Within the Press, I serve as the scholarly publishing specialist. I have been researching and talking to scholars about predatory publishers since 2013, and I offer predatory publisher workshops and presentations to departments, schools, and colleges throughout campus. I can be contacted at nkcollin@purdue.edu.
In addition, our librarians work with publishers to provide access to scholarly literature. Collection development and collection assessment are some of our core duties; we are constantly evaluating sources and teaching information literacy, the skills used to evaluate resources. For more information, contact a Subject Librarian.
Q. How else do you help Purdue faculty in their Open Access publishing pursuits?
Collins: Open Access is a legitimate business model in scholarly publishing. It differs from traditional business models in that anyone, anywhere, can access scholarship as soon as it is published.
There are many ways to support Open Access, including publishing in Open Access journals or using the “green” Open Access model, which is a process of self-archiving in an institutional repository. In this model, authors publish their scholarship in traditional publishing outlets, then archive a version of the paper on their institutional repository. Many scholarly publishers have friendly sharing policies, permitting this type of sharing.
Purdue e-Pubs, Purdue University’s institutional repository, provides free, global access to more than 50,000 scholarly resources created by the Purdue University community. We provide a free sharing policy review service, alerting authors which version of their papers can be archived on Purdue e-Pubs. We also offer a free mediated upload service—uploading the paper on the author’s behalf. To participate, email a list of your Purdue publications to epubs@purdue.edu.
Through memberships provided by Purdue University Libraries, Purdue-affiliated authors are entitled to discounts from some gold model Open Access publishers. We are members of SPARC and the Open Textbook Network. Purdue University Press publishes several Open Access journals, and we generously support Open Access publishing in many ways. As scholarly publishing specialist, my expertise is Open Access. Send Open Access questions and inquiries to nkcollin@purdue.edu.
Filed under: faculty_staff, general, Open_Access, services, Uncategorized