The Baylor University Libraries recently unveiled a new, streamlined web site that moves even more functionality to the front page, saving you time and effort in accessing the information you need to succeed! The new, multi-faceted search interface features BearCat Plus, a new discovery tool that provides a streamlined search interface and integrated access to

• BearCat: The Libraries’ traditional online catalog, which contains information on the print, non-print, and electronic resources owned by the Baylor Libraries
• BEARdocs: The Libraries’ institutional repository, which contains digital materials that represent the intellectual life of Baylor University, such as electronic theses and dissertations
• CONTENTdm: The Libraries’ digital collections, which are digital representations of unique and rare materials available in the Baylor Libraries.
• Research Guides: Online research guides developed by Baylor University Library staff.

Along with this powerful, new integrated search capability, BearCat Plus enhances your research experience with these features:

• A single, Google-like search box for queries
• Search facets that allow you to quickly refine your results to find the most relevant resources
• A word cloud that links you to related topics to expand your research categories
• Search results that immediately display information about items returned in searches, including direct links to online materials when available
• A “My Discoveries” feature that allows you to identify and “tag” items of interest for future reference
• Retention of popular features in BearCat Classic, such as “Text a Call Number”, “Request”, and information about the book, including: table of contents, reviews, excerpts, and links to content at Google Books.

The traditional search interfaces for BearCat Classic, BEARdocs, and CONTENTdm will remain readily accessible, but we invite you to take advantage of the new features BearCat Plus offers to enhance your research. If you have questions about BearCat Plus or would like to provide some feedback, please email us at libraryquestions@baylor.edu.

Abby Gamble is an academic consultant with the Electronic Library.  She provides Blackboard support and training for the Baylor community.  We talked to her about the exciting features of the new Blackboard 9.

What’s new in the Blackboard 9?
The new version of Blackboard 9 offers:

• Edit Mode
• Web 2.0 look and feel
• Drag and drop
• drop-down contextual menu
• Journal tool
• New Group Features

Will faculty still have access to the same tools offered in Blackboard 8?
With the exception of very few rarely utilized tools (Digital Dropbox, Learning Objects Blog, Student Homepages and the Electronic Blackboard), Blackboard 9 will have all of the same tools accessible in version 8, in addition to new features and updates.

Will existing content work in the new version?
Yes! All existing content will be accessible in the new version. In addition, faculty will still be able to utilize course copy to copy content from previous courses into the new version 9 courses.

What training will be available?
Training will be offered through the fall semester on a variety of days and times to offer many options for faculty to attend.  Visit the Professional Development Web site for the full line-up at http://www.baylor.edu/pod.  In addition, Blackboard 9 trainings can be scheduled during departmental meetings and one-on-one desktop coaching sessions can be arranged by request.

What other resources are available to help faculty learn version 9 of Blackboard?
Baylor’s Blackboard Web site contains a Self-Service tab that offers links to a host of Blackboard resources.  Another new resource is an instructional video library for Blackboard 9 available at http://www.baylor.edu/lib/factech/bbvidlib.  Each video covers one specific task and is around three minutes in length.  The videos are also organized by category.

If faculty need more information, what should they do?
They can contact me at Abigail_Gamble@baylor.edu or call my office at 254.710.3294.  If they are having any problems with the software, they should contact the Help Desk at 254.710.4357 or helpdesk@baylor.edu.

Armstrong Browning Library’s annual Benefactors Day will take place on September 30 at 3:30 p.m. in the McLean Foyer of Meditation.  A tradition that began in 1999 under the directorship of Dr. Mairi Rennie, Benefactors Day marks the anniversary of the Brownings’ wedding month and provides a venue for the Library to thank its gracious supporters.  Exhibit cases proudly show off the acquisitions that their generous gifts over the past year have made possible, and donors and supporters of the ABL are honored with a special program featuring a guest lecturer.

This year’s Benefactors Day guest lecturer, Dr. David R. Sorensen, professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, is a senior editor of the Duke-Edinburgh edition of The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle and co-editor of Carlyle Studies Annual.  He will speak about the two most famous Victorian marriages, between Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle, and Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. His theme, “Selective Affinities: The Browning and Carlyle Marriages,” will explore the ways in which these two couples mirrored and shaped Victorian notions of marriages and how they were interpreted in the 20th century.

“The Carlyles and Brownings came to embody the worst and best features of Victorian marriage,” says Sorensen, “and to a startling degree, they continue to influence modern notions of what marriage should and should not  be.”

Sorensen, a guest speaker at the ABL last November, spoke on the influence of Carlyle’s work on English poetry and, particularly, on Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues. He has previously edited (with K.J. Fielding) a selection of Jane Welsh Carlyle’s letters (2004) and a collection of essays  entitled The Carlyles at Home and Abroad (2004). He is co-editor of the forthcoming Strouse variorum edition of Carlyle’s The French Revolution. In 2009, he received the Tengelmann Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research from Saint Joseph’s University. He also received four grants totaling $670,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1999-2012) for the Carlyle Letters Project, which includes the creation and maintenance of Carlyle Letters Online, an open-access Web site that houses the first thirty-five volumes of the collected letters.

Preceding the lecture, KT Sullivan, a New York cabaret and Broadway headliner, will perform Elizabeth Barrett’s “Sonnet 21” and Robert Browning’s love poem “Now,” both set to music by composer and pianist Elizabeth Sullivan, her mother.  KT Sullivan has received the Mabel Mercer Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs Outstanding Female Vocalist Award. Named by Irish America magazine as one of the top 100 Irish-Americans, she is married to fellow Irish-American Steve Downey, who also happens to be the president of the New York Browning Society.  Sullivan’s latest recording, Timeless Tunes, with Jon Weber is available through CDBaby.com.

A reception will follow the program. This event is free and open to the public.

BearCat, the online catalog system for the Baylor University Libraries, has been enhanced to provide new tools for students, faculty and others who use the Libraries for their education and research. The Baylor University Libraries continuously evaluate more efficient means for users to access library resources. These newly released BearCat features are designed to enhance the research experience and save patrons time.

• Call Number Texting allows users to send a text message containing the call number of an item located using BearCat, saving the need to either retype or write the information to locate a resource in the libraries. Standard text charges apply when using this service.
• OsoFast Faculty Delivery requests can be submitted from the bibliographic record page within BearCat. Faculty in participating departments can simply click the OsoFast Faculty Delivery button when it appears to submit an online request and the Baylor University Libraries will deliver the item to the department’s delivery location.
• More@Google appears on the bibliographic record page if the book is available in either full text or as a preview on Google Books. A function that once required you to exit BearCat and search Google Books is now available at the click of a button.
• My Lists allows you to log into your patron record within BearCat and create a “wish list” of resources located in the Baylor University Libraries that you would like to read in the future.
• Larger Book Jacket Images that appear on the BearCat bibliographic record page help to visually identify books, easing the research process.
• Syndetic Solutions provides bibliographic data that appears on the bottom of the BearCat bibliographic record page to enhance the information about published resources. Additional information from Syndetic Solutions was previously available within BearCat by clicking a link, but now the information appears automatically if it is available for a particular resource.

Visit BearCat to test drive these new tools designed to assist you with your education and research.

Baylor University is closing today, Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. due to inclement weather. The Baylor Libraries will also close at 2 p.m. today.

If Baylor University resumes normal operating hours on Wed., Feb. 24, the Central Libraries will reopen at 7 a.m., and Armstrong Browning Library, Poage Library and the Texas Collection will reopen at their regularly scheduled times.  A delayed start time for the University will result in later opening times for the Libraries.  Please check the Baylor Libraries Web site for further updates.

The Texas Collection at Baylor University is pleased to announce the “Texas Blooms” spring exhibit and lecture. The exhibit will run from until the end of May. The lecture, “Lessons from a Rose Rustler,” will take place at 3:00PM, February 25, 2010, in the Guy B. Harrison, Jr. Reading Room at the Carroll Library. The featured lecturer is author and antique rose enthusiast G. Michael Shoup.  Following the lecture, Shoup will sign copies of his latest book, The Guide to Antique Roses.

Shoup has shown an interest in plants all his life.  Since 1976, Shoup has grown and sold woody plants, old-fashioned perennials, native flowers and neglected garden roses. Since then he has opened the Antique Rose Emporium, which has developed into display gardens and retail centers in Texas. Of the two emporium locations, the first was established in Independence, Texas, which is also the birthplace of Baylor University.

G. Michael Shoup received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Trinity University and later received his Master’s in Horticulture from Texas A & M University. A year after graduating, he began Containerized Plants, Inc., a small nursery that catered to domestic gardeners. In 1984, he found his niche and focused his business to consist of theme gardens that showcase antique roses in garden settings. His work has been recognized in Smithsonian and National Geographic magazines and many trade journals. He currently serves as the president of the Heritage Rose Foundation, an organization dedicated to the preservation of old roses.

The “Texas Blooms” exhibit will showcase a sampling of horticulture holdings from the Texas Collection. The showcase will feature a dozen sheets from Florence Speight’s mid-19th century herbarium along an array of botanical illustrations, vintage pressed flowers and a plethora of materials on all aspects of horticulture. The exhibit will run February-May and is open to the public.

“Though the lecture focuses on roses, I think that anyone would find the topic interesting,” Library Associate, Amie Oliver, said. “The exhibition is much broader and highlights those items that would benefit the all types of gardeners, novice or master. The event is great for Baylor and The Texas Collection.”

Refreshments and a book-signing will be held at the Guy B. Harrison Reading Room of The Texas Collection in Carroll Library following the lecture.  Shoup’s latest book, The Guide to Antique Roses, will also be available for purchase. The exhibit, lecture, reception and book-signing are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Ellen Brown, Assoc. Prof. & Archivist for the Texas Collection, at 254.710.1268.

Libraries To Host ELI Online Spring Focus Seminar
Posted February 22, 2010

Baylor University Libraries and the Academy for Teaching and Learning will host an online symposium that explores emerging trends in mobile learning. The symposium will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, in the Garden Level Study Commons of Moody Memorial Library. The online symposium is presented by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) as part of its ELI 2010 Spring Focus Session: “Mobile Learning 2.0: The Next Phase of Innovation in Mobility. The two-day symposium features a blend of keynote lectures by leading minds in mobile technologies, “lightning round” presentations by participating institutions and breakout conversations among symposium attendees. Participants will be able to view each presentation while simultaneously expanding the conversation through “backchannel” Twitter conversations with other attendees using the hashtag #elifocus.

The complete ELI 2010 Spring Focus Session schedule and registration form are available online at http://www.baylor.edu/lib/elifocus. Lunch will be provided each day for registered attendees. The registration deadline is Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) is a strategic initiative of EDUCAUSE that is dedicated to helping institutions advance learning through IT innovation.

For more information, please contact Gardner Campbell, director of the Academy for Teaching and Learning, at (254) 710-4064.

The Central Libraries of Baylor University are excited to announce the installation of two KIC scanners for client use in the Moody and Jones Libraries.  The KIC (Knowledge Imaging Center) scanner can scan books, journals, magazines, class notes and other documents of any size up to 17 x 24 inches in black and white or full color. Users can then save those images to their personal flash drives for quick, convenient storage.

In addition to offering high-quality images for research and study purposes, the KIC scanner will also aid Baylor in its sustainability efforts.

“The KIC scanner will be a huge help in allowing us a more sustainable solution for student success,” said Smith Getterman, Baylor University sustainability coordinator.  “The fact students can now save these documents for research use instead of printing them off will allow the University to cut down on paper and toner consumption and still give students access to the information they need.  This will have a major impact on the amount of paper the library recycles and amount of waste generated by our libraries on campus. It’s an exciting development.”

For added convenience, flash drives are available for purchase at Java City on the Garden Level of Moody Library.

For more information, please contact Jeff Steely, director of the Central Libraries at 254.710.2464.

The W. R. Poage Legislative Library will host author and distinguished professor Dr. Randall B. Woods in a lecture honoring legendary Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. The lecture will take place at 4:00 p.m., March 18, 2010, at the Meadows Recital Hall in the Glennis McCrary Music Building. The lecture is being held in conjunction with the Poage exhibit, “LBJ: Texan, Politician, President.” The exhibit, reception and book signing, following the program, are free and open to the public.

Dr. Woods was raised in Johnson’s 10^th Congressional District and received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas. Because of the release of LBJ’s White House Tapes and the declassification of additional documents, Dr. Woods was able to gain deeper insight into the legendary political figure.  He also interviewed LBJ’s longtime secretary, his Secret Service detail and closest aides and confidants, allowing readers to see the real man behind the myth. He will reveal the Texan, politician and President he discovered while writing his acclaimed book, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was a complex man and astute politician. As President, he achieved revolutionary domestic legislation, bringing about changes that have improved the lives of most Americans. He was also a man with many character flaws and one often remembered by his tragic miscalculations in Vietnam.  Dr. Woods will address the complexities and controversies associated with the LBJ presidency.

The annual Poage Lecture was established in 2007 to bring notable speakers to the Baylor campus to present a lecture dealing with a topic or publication related to the political process. Attendees include Baylor students, faculty and staff, as well as citizens from Waco and surrounding communities. Past speakers include: former Lt. Gov. of Texas Ben Barnes, Dr. Max Sherman, Baylor alumni and author of Barbara Jordan: Speaking the Truth with Eloquent Thunder, former U.S Ambassador Lyndon Olson, Jr. and Charlie Schnabel, chief of staff to Congressman Charlie Wilson.

A reception and book signing will be held at the W. R. Poage Legislative Library following the lecture, where guests can also view the LBJ exhibit. For more information, please contact Ben Rogers, director of the Poage Library at 254.710.3540 or go to the online press kit at: baylor.edu/lib/poage/lecture2010.

Are you doing something innovative with technology as part of your teaching and research? Are you an undergraduate or graduate student who’s using technology for class work or research in new and interesting ways? Share your insights with your colleagues at the Fourth Annual Educational Technology Showcase on April 7 and 8, 2010, in Moody Memorial Library. Poster presentations will take place in the Allbritton Foyer of Moody Memorial Library on Wednesday, April 7 from 1:30 till 2:45 p.m. Presentations and panel discussions will take place as concurrent sessions from 9 to 11 a.m. or 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 8.

We seek proposals that describe an innovative use of technology in teaching and learning, research, or collaboration. Proposals may be for posters, individual or group presentations, or panel discussions. Sample topics may include, but are certainly not limited to:

• Designing online courses (multimedia, courseware, theories of online instruction, etc.)
• Using emerging technologies for the creation of faculty or student research projects
• Integrating new tools into the curriculum (podcasting, wikis, blogs, rss, etc.)
• Using Blackboard in new and different ways
• Including Social Networking / Web 2.0 technologies in your courses or coursework (blogging, Facebook, Second Life, Del.icio.us, Twitter, etc.)
• Deploying classroom technology systems in engaging and interesting ways
• Incorporating library resources in your courses or coursework in innovative ways
• Combining the classroom experience with the use of gaming, simulation, or virtual world applications
• Engaging colleagues, students, or fellow students with mobile learning technologies

To submit your proposal visit the 2010 ETS Proposal Form and complete the submission form. The proposal deadline is Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

If your proposal is chosen for this year’s Education Technology Showcase, we encourage you to work with our Digital Media Studio to create and/or print posters and other media necessary for your presentation. You can contact the Digital Media Studio online at http://www.baylor.edu/dms/, by phone at (254) 710-2871 or in person on the Garden Level of Moody Memorial Library (just past JavaCity through the glass door on the left).

This year’s ETS includes a keynote address by Dr. Larry Johnson, CEO of the New Media Consortium. Our featured speaker and workshop leader on digital storytelling will be Dr. Bill Shewbridge, Director of the New Media Studio at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

For more information about this year’s Education Technology Showcase, feel free to contact any of the following program committee members: Sandy Bennett at (254) 710-4133, Ken Carriveau at (254) 710-4607, Ellen Hampton Filgo at (254) 710-2968, Sha Towers at (254) 710-6673, Sinai Wood at (254) 710-4606, or Gardner Campbell at (254) 710-3412.

The Educational Technology Showcase is sponsored by the Academy for Teaching and Learning, the Baylor University Libraries and the Electronic Library.