Germanists Discussion Group Minutes – 2009 Annual

ALA Annual Meeting, Chicago

Sunday, July 12, 2009
12:00 – 1:30pm
PALM Salon V

Minutes

I. Introductions and Announcements

  • Panel was attended by 28 German Studies librarians; incoming convener of the discussion group is Anna Shparberg.

II. Discussion Group Business

III. Presentations

  • Marija Freeland
    • Print Newspapers: Are They Still Being Used in Academic and Research Libraries?
    • Marija Freeland will talk about the design of a newspaper use study at the University of Michigan library, the cancellation project that followed the study, faculty response over the past three years, and challenges in monitoring electronic coverage for foreign newspapers.
    • Consult the paper and the website for more information:
      • Freeland, Marija and Bailey, Marcia (2008) ‘Print Newspapers: Are They Still Being Used in Academic and Research Libraries?’,The Serials Librarian,55:1,210 — 226 Project Website: http://beta.lib.umich.edu/serials-and-microforms-services/newspaper-use-study
  • Gaby Divay
    • Developing Online Collections for German Studies: a Case Study of the University of Manitoba.
    • Gaby Divay’s efforts as German Bibliographer were occasioned by a Graduate Review of the UM’s German Studies Programs.
    • In November 2006, she took Diane Kovac’s ACRL online course “Electronic Collection Development for the Academic E-Library”, with the specific purpose to “acquire” FREE scholarly e-resources for enriching her library’s resources. This resulted in a reference Links-Page* in her subject area in 2007.
    • Her report of this experience will also include strategies to enhance a University’s German Studies Program by linking primary library resources, like local manuscript- and rare book collections, to the academic Department’s teaching and research goals. http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/dafoe/subjects/internetres/german.html
  • An update from the publisher: the de Gruyter Open Library 3
    • Dr. Sven Fund, Managing Director; Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
      • “In order to support innovations in scientific publishing Walter de Gruyter is pleased to announce the introduction of an enhanced feature in its publications: de Gruyter Open Library. Effective immediately, authors of journal articles and book chapters in collected volumes and series titles have the option of making their accepted articles freely accessible on the service Reference Global 4. de Gruyter Open Library will be offered in addition to the subscription or purchase-based publication channels…” A de Gruyter representative will talk about this new e-model; explore the website – free articles are clearly marked 5
    • Powerpoints are available upon request: heidi.madden@duke.edu
  • Recommended Reading
    • Building area studies collections. Edited by Dan Hazen and James Henry Spohrer. Series: Beiträge zum Buch- und Bibliothekswesen, 0408-8107 ; Bd. 52 Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 2007.
    • With the recent influence of interdisciplinary studies and the number of new programs and departments springing from it, academic librarians and others supporting those programs find they must learn how to realign their present collections and augment them with suitable texts or electronic media. Given the universal nature of budgets (not enough and need too much), librarians also find their money will not stretch any more than it already has. To keep academic librarians from going collectively mad, this collection of essays addresses specific issues in a range of area studies, giving acquisition channels and methods, software and net resources, selection tools, and ways of collecting such special materials as bibliographies. Contributors address areas of concern in African studies, romance languages, Southeast Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies, Latin American studies, and East Asian studies, closing with an article on building area collections. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)