IDS: Lilly Library houses a world of history

 

Courtesy of Indiana University.

A woman polishes the silver metal handle of a locked brown padded door. Meanwhile, visitors peer through glass cases, coming closer than they might ever be to the likes of Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Christopher Columbus and Sylvia Plath.

That is, until they walk through that door.

The Lilly Library is home to more than 400,000 books, 130,000 pieces of sheet music and approximately 7 million manuscripts.

From the first printing of the Declaration of Independence to an extensive small book collection, students can access it all for nothing more than a photo ID...

Read the full article.

(By Danielle Rindler and Biz Carson: IDS: 3/3/2010)

IU Bloomington libraries named top in the country

Wells Library.  Photo courtesy of IU Libraries

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Bloomington Libraries have been recognized by peers as the top university library in the country, a national library association announced Tuesday, Jan. 26.

The Association of College and Research Libraries yesterday named the IU Bloomington Libraries winner of its Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in the university division. The annual award recognizes the accomplishments of librarians and other library staff who work together to support the mission of their institution.

IU will receive $3,000 from sponsor YBP Library Services and will celebrate with a public reception this spring, at which the president of the library association will make a presentation.

"Receiving this honor is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our librarians and staff at every level," said Carolyn Walters, interim Ruth Lilly Dean of University Libraries. "At a time when the nature of libraries is changing so swiftly and dramatically, this award is welcome recognition that we are not only responding to these changes in a positive way, but also leading by example."

IU has been at the forefront of projects that range from digitizing books to supporting instruction by providing easier access to online journals. In January, the university received $2.38 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a library-led project to create software to manage the complex transactions of acquiring and tracking library materials. Librarians are helping faculty members publish online journals not only to provide broad or "open" access to those journals but also to provide faculty the flexibility to achieve their own scholarly goals.

"The IU Libraries excel in performing the vital function of assisting our faculty, students, staff and citizens of the state of Indiana in their pursuit of knowledge," said Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson. "This award confirms what the university community has long known -- that our libraries are among the nation's best."

An accomplished team of librarians select, manage and grow Bloomington's research collections, which include more than 6.6 million books and materials in more than 350 languages. The materials support every academic discipline on the Bloomington campus, with an emphasis in the humanities and social sciences. Collections also include journals, maps, films and sound recordings. Users can access more than 692 databases, 60,315 electronic journals and 816,255 electronic books, as well as locally developed digital content.

The Association of College Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of more than 12,000 academic librarians and other interested individuals. For more information, see http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/index.cfm.

(IU News: 1/26/2020) 

Media Contact: Eric Bartheld, Indiana University Bloomington Libraries
ebarthel@indiana.edu, 812-856-4817

Library Research Seminars for Faculty and Graduate Students

This Spring, the Reference Services Department is offering free seminars designed to help you learn new skills, explore the library’s services, and find the best resources for your research.   Register now at http://www.indiana.edu/~library/seminars.

Getting Ready for Research: An Intro to the IU Libraries for New Faculty, Post-Docs, and Grad Students
This seminar is designed to introduce new faculty, post docs, and grad students to IU Libraries' resources and services. Important databases, useful services, and selected online resources will be featured.

Save & Share Your Favorite Web Pages: Web 2.0 & Social Bookmarking Tools:
Have you ever found a great web page and then had trouble finding it again or worse you could not find the web page again? Would you like to easily share web pages with your friends, colleagues or students? This workshop will show you how you can save important web pages and  easily find them again using Web 2.0 tools. We will cover tools such as Delicious, Google bookmarks and Diigo. We will also cover essential web 2.0 tools for collaboration and project management.

Research Refresher: Making the Most of Electronic Resources
Find out about ways to identify the appropriate journals and databases for your field of study. Improve your electronic research skills and develop your familiarity with specific databases which are of interest to researchers in a range of disciplines. We will look at some of the major journal databases as well as some of the less well-known ones. Built in to the seminar will be time to practice and ask questions about particular problems and issues.

Copyright 101 for Authors
Did you know that you have rights as an author? Do you know what rights you have and how to protect those rights? This workshop will cover the basics of copyright law for authors and discuss how to protect and manage your rights. We’ll also look at some licensing agreements including creative commons licensing. (Please note: The information provided in this workshop is not legal advice and is not meant to substitute for professional legal counsel.)

Researching 18th-Century Literature: Internet Resources
Nowadays, a wide range of reputable scholarly resources are available via the Internet. This seminar aims to introduce researchers of 18th-century literature to important Internet resources in their field. Particular attention will be paid to bibliographic resources and electronic full text pertaining to Anglo-American and West European literatures. All of the resources covered in this seminar are from reputable sources, and all are freely available without subscription.

Introduction to the E-Korean Studies Database
This is an introduction session to demonstrate how to access and search the eleven databases included in E-Korean Studies.

Register for these seminars and see complete listings of our Spring Research Seminars for faculty and graduate students at http://www.indiana.edu/~library/seminars/.   A calendar of currently scheduled Seminars is available here: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=5866.