The Oldfields School visits Langsdale Library's Special Collection

The Oldfields School visits Langsdale Library's Special Collection

For the month of May, Oldfields School for Girls does a 2-week experiential learning program for the students to get a wide variety of history, art and culture. Last week, Oldfields students came for a visit to view our Eva Anderson Baltimore Dance Theater and Robert  Breck Chapman collections. 

Carrie Hammond the Performing Arts Department Chair,  and the coordinator of the  May programs at Oldfields said that the girls gained a lot of knowledge about the arts and culture viewing the artifacts and photos. The experience for them was exciting and it was great to see photos that reflect the history the culture of Baltimore.



Knowing our history allow for personal discovery and growth that can last a lifetime.

Library 2.0: the new UB library

It’s a home, a university square where students and faculty will work together. It’s designed to inspire both individual research and collaboration. Kyle Fierstien

The library is certainly home to us! With only a week before the highly anticipated move begins, we're packing, marking boxes, inventorying, and taking count of the lasts for Langsdale.

The last Final Finish.
The last birthday party celebration.
The last student appreciation event.
The last learning and success workshop.
The last Coffee Break.

What will the new UB library look like? Well, we're not sure--and that's kind of the point.

Learn more about the new library, its flexible space, and what we hope will be the new heart of the university at the Library 2.0 blog.

Libraries' place in the university

This photo by unknown author is licensed under cc by-nc-nd 2.0

Here's an interesting essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the changes (losses) we face in academic libraries and the impact on higher education (and I would argue society/culture).  I hope it will engage some discussion here.

New Materials at the Library!

Did you know that your UB Library offers a list of all of our newest materials? We do! Each month we'll post an update letting you know about a few select titles, but there are far too many to mention here so be sure to check out our comprehensive online list. There is an RSS feed to the list, so you can subscribe and be updated when new materials get listed each month.

New Materials at the UB Library:

"Minority Leader is a guide to harnessing the strengths of being an outsider by Stacey Abrams, slated to become the first black female governor in the U.S. Networking, persistence, and hard work are the crucial ingredients to advancing a career, but for people like Stacey Abrams, and many in the New American Majority, it takes more than that to get ahead. In Minority Leader, Stacey combines aspects of memoir with real-world advice for women and people of color, offering hard-won insights for navigating worlds that, until now, were largely the territory of white men alone."

"A groundbreaking new look at the neuroscience of change--and how elastic thinking can help us thrive in a world changing faster than ever before. "

"A portrait of the artist as a young woman. A novel about not just discovering but inventing oneself. The year is 1995, and email is new. Selin, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, arrives for her freshman year at Harvard. She signs up for classes in subjects she has never heard of, befriends her charismatic and worldly Serbian classmate, Svetlana, and, almost by accident, begins corresponding with Ivan, an older mathematics student from Hungary. Selin may have barely spoken to Ivan, but with each email they exchange, the act of writing seems to take on new and increasingly mysterious meanings." 

These are just a few of the many new books, movies, and games at your UB Library. To see the complete listing of new materials check out our list right here! If you want to receive updates when new materials get listed each month, you can subscribe to the list through the RSS feed.

The History of the University of Baltimore

There are multiple ways to learn more about the history of the UB. The UB photographs and Yearbook collections are the best way to start. The University of Baltimore Photographs Collection includes images from the University Archives that depict the past athletics programs, the campus, significant events, and student life. The photographs are drawn from archival collections that were generated by a diverse set of units in the University and span over the period from 1925 to the present.

Below, there are some pictures from this collection:

Former Odorite Building 1994

The former Odorite building at the southeast corner of Maryland Ave. and Mount Royal Ave. 

(The current location of the University of Baltimore Student Center)

 University of Baltimore Campus 1990

Aerial view looking west featuring the Academic Center, Charles Hall, Charles Hall Annex, the Lyric Theatre, The Law Center, Penn Station, and the Jones Falls Expressway

Edgar Allen Poe Statue Installation in Gordon Plaza 1993

Edgar Allen Poe statue being lowered onto a plinth in Gordon Plaza 

Edgar Allen Poe Statue 1984

 Cover image from the spring 1984 edition of the Newsmagazine

Also, the University of Baltimore Yearbook Collection contains issues of the UB student yearbook from 1928 to 1975.

The University of Baltimore was founded in 1925 to provide an opportunity for working adults to receive degrees in law and business, graduating its first class in 1928. This graduating class began the tradition of publishing an annual yearbook, known as The Reporter. 

If you want to know more about UB Archives you can browse the complete database here.

A Tribute to a Forgotten May Day Tradition

When I was younger we changed this a bit and used tiny cups of candy to leave on the doorsteps of our friends. We'd ring the doorbell then run and hide so we could watch them pick it up and look for us. It was a fun and innocent thing to do and made our friends feel good. 

If a boy hangs a May basket on a girl's door and the girl catches him, "it's a great disgrace." If a girl is the hanger, "it disgraces the boy again not to catch her."

Happy May Day!

An Image Database to the Rescue--Britannica ImageQuest!

So, now it’s crunch time with final papers and presentations coming due in the next few weeks. You need a couple of photos to illustrate your points. Where do you turn? Well, there is one resource available to you here at UB—Britannica ImageQuest—and it’s easily accessed from Langsdale’s list of A-Z Databases.

Britannica ImageQuest has tons of rights-cleared images for non-commercial, educational purposes on just about any topic in the world. This means you can use the images for your course-related papers and presentations.

There are nearly 3 million images from almost 60 collections (which include the likes of National Geographic, Getty Images, and DK images). In addition to photographs, there are maps, diagrams, artwork, and clipart (a new collection is Graphics Factory). You can download, email, or print individual images or save images to a “My Images” album for later use.

Britannica ImageQuest is an easy database to use, and is accessible 24/7 on any device. Its high-quality images will make any paper or presentation visually compelling. So don't procrastinate--get to it!

New Materials at the Library

New Materials at the Library!

Did you know that the UB Library offers a list of all of our newest materials? We do! Each month we'll post an update letting you know about a few select titles, but there are far too many to mention here so be sure to check out our comprehensive online list. There is an RSS feed to the list, so you can subscribe and be updated when new materials get listed each month. New Materials at the Library:

"In a future just a few years down the road in the wrong direction, a woman's failure to comply with her patriarchal overlords will result in exile to the meanest penal planet in the galaxy. When the newest crop of fresh femmes arrive, can they work together to stay alive or will hidden agendas, crooked guards, and the deadliest sport on (or off!) Earth take them to their maker?"

"In Greek mythology, Cassandra foresaw calamities, but was cursed by the gods to be ignored. Modern-day Cassandras clearly predicted the disasters of Katrina, Fukushima, the Great Recession, the rise of ISIS, and many others. Like her, they were ignored. There are others right now warning of impending disasters, but how do we know which warnings are likely to be right? Through explorations in a variety of fields, the authors uncover a method to separate the accurate Cassandras from the crazy doomsayers." "The Miracle of Analogy is the first of a two-volume reconceptualization of photography. It argues that photography originates in what is seen, rather than in the human eye or the camera lens, and that it is the world's primary way of revealing itself to us. Neither an index, representation, nor copy, as conventional studies would have it, the photographic image is an analogy." These are just a few of the many new books, movies, and games at your UB Library. To see the complete listing of new materials check out our list right here! If you want to receive updates when new materials get listed each month, you can subscribe to the list through the RSS feed.

Langsdale to become The Land of AS

Over the past few years, Langsdale has seen more than its fair share of changes. One of the biggest changes is just around the corner when we return to a renovated building at 1420 Maryland Ave. shortly after the Spring semester ends. With a new building comes new workflows and ways of organizing which has inspired many of the departments within Langsdale to rethink how we represent ourselves to the UB community.

The library building renovation is
giving us plenty of new perspectives.

For example, Langsdale's newest department, the Achievement and Learning Center needs to change its name because it is no longer an independent center, but part of the library. ALC Director John Chapin initially thought that Academic Support Services had a nice ring to it, but quickly realized it was acronymically challenged.  This led him to spend much effort considering other options. When he brought up the idea of going with Academic Success (AS), Head of Access Services Sean Hogan* quickly pointed out that AS was the best acronym in the history of departments within academia. Everyone agreed that that this was indeed the case, and we are now transitioning to an almost entirely new slate of department names that will better reflect the gestalt of our soon to be newly renovated building.

As mentioned, the Achievement and Learning Center will be known as Academic Success (AS)
Access Services, will continue as Access Service (AS)
Administration, will become Administrative Services (AS)
Reference will change to Answering Services (AS)
Acquisitions & Discovery Services will transform into Acquisition Services (AS)
Special Collections will henceforth be known as Archival Services (AS) and
Integrated Digital Systems will transition to Automated Programing Resources Inspiring Literature For Online Ontological Learning Systems (AS)

In announcing the new names, Dean Lucy Holman emphasized how these changes, far from being cosmetic, will make a real difference for the UB Community.  "So many times students and faculty have come into Langsdale not knowing which department they needed to see.  Heck, I have a hard time keeping them straight myself" Holman said. "Now, everyone will know they can ask to speak with someone in AS, and be certain they asked for the correct department."

This renaming project has gone so well, that the next step will be to rename Langsdale itself. Athenueum Station (AS) is the early favorite.

*A special thanks to Sean Hogan for providing the inspiration for this blog post.

The UB Writing Center Goes to MAWCA

Attending and presenting at conferences is part of academic life. Professionals in higher education share their research and intellectual interests with communities of peers at local, regional, national, or international meetings of disciplinary organizations. A conference presentation is an important addition to one's curriculum vitae because it shows engagement in an academic community of practice, but it can be difficult to get one's foot in the door and get that first presentation notch in the old academic belt.

Writing Centers, like any other academic discipline, share ideas and practices via a network of regional organizations affiliated with the International Writing Center Association (IWCA). Our regional affiliate is called the Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association, or MAWCA, and our regional conference happened over the weekend of March 24, 2018. The theme of the conference was "Activism in the Writing Center: Uncovering Hidden Narratives," and five members of the UB Writing Center community submitted proposals and were accepted to present at this conference, which took place at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.

In order to help pay for UB students to travel to the conference, the Writing Center hosted a crowd-sourced fundraiser, to which several members of the UB community donated. For that, we are very grateful. The fundraiser generated enough money to pay for the group's hotel room and travel, and the remainder of the costs were covered by the MAWCA scholarship program, for which the UB panel applied and were the sole recipients.

The presenters included Kerrin Smith, an MFA candidate in UB's Creative Writing and Publishing Arts program and a longtime Writing Consultant in the UB Writing Center. Her project included an IRB-approved survey of students in the Writing Fellows program and was titled "Bridging the Gap Years: Non-Traditional Students in the Writing Center." For Smith, the project represented a significant professional development opportunity. She said, "Attending this year's MAWCA conference was a tremendous opportunity to become a better tutor by listening to experts, especially keynote speakers Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young and Dr. Frankie Condon."

The other presenters participated in a common panel discussion about working with diverse learners in the Writing Center. Our work grew out of a conversation about the gap between Writing Center theory and praxis, and our panel was titled "Minding the Gap: Exploring the Spaces between Language, Identity, and Culture." The presenters included:

• Sharea Harris, a graduate of UB's MFA program, former Writing Consultant and Interim Director of the Writing Center, and current adjunct faculty in the Writing Program. Professor Harris' talk was titled "Black Tongues on their Way to Whiteness: Redefining Academic Identity in the Writing Center."
• Jodie Fair, a candidate in UB's MFA program and current Writing Consultant. Jodie's presentation was titled "A Socially Diverse Composition."
• Lauren Campbell, a candidate in UB's MFA program and current Writing Consultant. Lauren's paper was titled "Negotiating Control: Empowering Students with Transparency, Collaboration, and Transfer Theory."
• Mairin Barney, the Writing Services Coordinator for the Achievement and Learning Center and the director of the UB Writing Center. My talk was called "Academic Precarity and the Danger of Being Written Off: Building Solidarity in the Writing Center."

From left to right: Lauren Campbell, Jodie Fair, Mairin Barney, Sharea Harris, and Kerrin Smith

at Rowan University just after our presentations were completed.

For the three graduate students involved, MAWCA 2018 was their first conference experience, and their initial takeaways demonstrate how valuable an opportunity this was for them. Campbell said, "MAWCA was my first conference experience, and I learned so much through the conference sessions and by conducting my own research." Fair agreed, saying, "Attending MAWCA was one of my most rewarding experiences as a graduate student at UB. The opportunity to present provided me a sense of pride that my contributions as both a scholar and writer matter." Smith added, "The conference's theme of activism allowed me to examine the ways I might be perpetuating racism and classism in my sessions with students, and reflect on how to resist that cycle."

Ultimately, sharing ideas among participants in a community of practice is at the heart of academic work, so this conference was more than merely a professional development exercise. For graduate students imagining their careers in higher education, presenting at MAWCA allowed them to add something meaningful to our professional dialog and get a feel for intellectual labor. I have a good feeling that this first conference will not be their last.

Apply to Inspired Discoveries: Undergrad Symposium of Research & Creative Works

Apply now to present at the 9th annual Inspired Discoveries, a symposium of undergraduate research and creative works! One of Langsdale Library's missions is to recognize, encourage, and celebrate research and academic achievements.

Take this opportunity to share your hard work with the University of Baltimore community! Projects may include individual or collaborative research as well as creative works like video games or design projects. Presentations can take the form of

• Poster sessions
• Exhibits
• Panel presentations
• Presented papers

The best project in both areas will receive a $500 scholarship and their work will be submitted to UB's institutional repository.

Student applications are due by Friday, April 6th and must be accompanied by a faculty letter of recommendation. The event will be held on Friday, April 27th in the Learning Commons Town Hall.

Access the application and more information at the Inspired Discoveries website at http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/inspired-discoveries.

NEW software at Langsdale

Just in time for spring, Langsdale's iMacs now have Office 2016 and Adobe Creative Cloud installed on them.  Adobe Creative Cloud is a suite of Adobe programs, including InDesign and Photoshop.  Our 13 lab iMacs also recently got upgraded to MacOS Sierra.  Stop by the 4th floor in Langsdale Library to check them out!  

Dragon Naturally Speaking, a program which turns your spoken words into type, is available on the PC in study room LC430.  Feel free to try it out.  Stop by the main desk for a microphone headset, spend a few minutes training the software to get familiar with your voice, and you'll be all set to speak your next paper!

If you have suggestions or ideas for technology we could offer at Langsdale Library, please leave a comment below or email kbreneman@ubalt.edu.  

Ditching the checklist: Evaluating information

Evaluating sources requires nuance, contextual understanding, and time to explore and validate the information. So, it’s not surprising a lot of us take shortcuts to determining what sources are credible. And shortcuts we take: See the just published study that found that humans (not bots) share fake information more often than true information.

Ryan McGeough and C. Kyle Rudick recently investigated reasons students gave in an introductory level communication course for selecting sources they used in a persuasive speech. They published their findings in a 2018 Communication Education article, “‘It was at the library; therefore it must be credible’: Mapping patterns of undergraduate heuristic decision-making” (also available freely through an author’s copy on ResearchGate).

While heuristic strategies help simplify the decision-making process (think: checklists), over-simplifying or heavily relying on one characteristic can lead to using inappropriate or unreliable sources.

McGeough and Rudick’s research found four main reasons college undergraduates gave for why they chose a source. 

1. Authority – perceived reputation of an organization or search tool (e.g. library database or Google Scholar)

A simplified way of using authority is to say that all material found through a reputable search tool will be credible, or that all articles published by a news organization or government agency are equally reliable. But, authority is constructed and contextual, so we need to consider the context of the sources, the different genres that are published by the same entity, and how we assign authority to a person or group. In other words, do the authors actually have authority in this particular context? Says who?

2. Form – the way information is presented

The study found that students believed if a source used statistics, it was deemed more credible, despite not researching to find where the statistics were coming from, or the methodology. Other students wanted a date and author for any source, and preferred sources in print. Form can definitely matter, but it’s important to acknowledge that information creation is a process, and different genres require different formats, delivery methods and publication methods.

3. Popularity – credible because it’s well known

Popularity led students to selecting a source because they’d heard of it before, and because the audience the students were presenting to would also be familiar with it, so they reasoned, more likely to buy in to their argument. But, popularity is problematic because it’s often the loudest and most traditional sources that are valued instead of underrepresented authors or formats, which can be just as, if not more, credible.

4. Ideology – fits our narrative or already held beliefs

Often we don’t see a bias until a source disagrees with us. As the authors put it, a student “conflated [their] ideology with ‘true’ or ‘neutral’ knowledge.” Instead of letting our questioning drive our research, and therefore allowing us to be more open to a wide variety of viewpoints, pre-determining our conclusion creates an artificial credibility level by which we judge sources. It’s dangerous because it eliminates good information that disagrees with us.

Which set of keys is the right one?

So where does this leave us? It moves us away from checklists to having some not-so-black-and-white conversations about how we evaluate information, and practicing good information literacy habits, so whether we’re retweeting or formally citing, we know what is credible.

All images from pixabay.com, Creative Commons License 0

Drop-In Math Tutoring in Langsdale

Langsdale’s Achievement & Learning Center has started offering new services this semester, drop-in math tutoring and math success review sessions.  Students taking any 100 level math course can stop by the 4^th floor of the Learning Commons in Langsdale Library to get help from CRLA trained math tutors.  In addition to the drop-in tutoring the Achievement & Learning Center has also started offering weekly math success review sessions for MATH 100 and MATH 111.  These sessions are guided study sessions held by a tutor who has tailored the sessions to highlight key topics in these courses. 

More information is available on the Math Support page.

See you on the 4^th floor!

New Materials at Langsdale!

New Materials at Langsdale!

Did you know that Langsdale Library offers a list of all of our newest materials? We do! Each month we'll post an update letting you know about a few select titles, but there are far too many to mention here so be sure to check out our comprehensive online list. There is an RSS feed to the list, so you can subscribe and be updated when new materials get listed each month. New Materials at Langsdale:   "As the self-made gods of planet Earth, what destinies will we set for ourselves, and which quests will we undertake? Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century -- from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution. This is Homo Deus."--Publisher's Web site."   "When Jean Tirole won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics, he suddenly found himself being stopped in the street by complete strangers and asked to comment on issues of the day, no matter how distant from his own areas of research. His transformation from academic economist to public intellectual prompted him to reflect further on the role economists and their discipline play in society. The result is Economics for the Common Good, a passionate manifesto for a world in which economics, far from being a "dismal science," is a positive force for the common good." "A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine results and algorithms Run a Google search for "black girls"-what will you find? "Big Booty" and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in "white girls," the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about "why black women are so sassy" or "why black women are so angry" presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society. In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities." These are just a few of the many new books, movies, and games at your Langsdale Library. To see the complete listing of new materials check out our list right here! If you want to receive updates when new materials get listed each month, you can subscribe to the list through the RSS feed.