Georgia Tech Library News

In early October a campus steam line running underneath the sidewalk between Price Gilbert Library (PGL) and Crosland Tower failed. The failure also damaged the electrical service to PGL. GT Facilities has taken emergency action to make the appropriate repairs. However, this has blocked the main north-south pedestrian sidewalk between the two buildings. The work should be completed by 13 Nov, with restored sidewalks.

A detour around the west end of PGL is currently accommodating north/ south pedestrian access; however this route will be closed starting on 31 Oct due to CULC construction activities. Signage is being installed to redirect north/ south pedestrian traffic to Fowler St. and to the west side of the CULC construction site.

Once the emergency repairs are completed, the sidewalk between Crosland and PGL will be reopened to pedestrian traffic.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded $857,005 to the Georgia Institute of Technology Library and Information Center for the project, “The GALILEO Knowledge Repository (GKR): Advancing the Access and Management of Scholarly Digital Content.”

Georgia Tech, in partnership with the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, the Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Southern University, Valdosta State University, Albany State University, North Georgia College and State University, and the College of Coastal Georgia, will build a statewide digital repository to provide access to scholarly works and research information. The principal investigator on the grant is Tyler Walters, Associate Director for Technology and Resource Services, the Georgia Institute of Technology Library and Information Center; the co-PI is P. Toby Graham, Director, Digital Library of Georgia, University of Georgia Libraries.

The scholarly works and research information to be held by the GKR are materials such as:

Annual Reports; Audio/Video Recordings; Conference Papers; Electronic Theses and Dissertations; Instructional Materials; Lecture Series and Symposia Materials; Newsletters; Pre-Prints/Post-Prints; Proceedings; Research and Technical Reports; Web Sites; White Papers; and Working Papers.

The GKR program has five activities that it will complete during the grant:

1. Conduct a survey and focus groups of the USG librarians’ and faculty’s usage and perceptions of digital repositories.
2. Establish a service to host individual repositories for four participating USG institutions (Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Southern University, Albany State University, College of Coastal Georgia)
3. Build a central, searchable web site and database from all eight GKR-related digital repositories, featuring the GKR-developed repository collection mapping tool. This will be done by harvesting database records from all eight GKR-related digital repositories (the four hosted repositories mentioned above, plus existing repositories at Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Valdosta State University).
4. Establish repository-related services for the GKR partners: copyright assistance, digitization, content submission into their repository, and digital preservation
5. Design and offer to a nationwide audience a symposium and workshop on managing statewide and consortial repositories. The goal of the training program is to increase the number of digital repositories operating in the U.S. and the number of information professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage repositories consortially.

The GKR project will have many important impacts on research, teaching and learning, and scholarship. Some of these impacts are:

• Increase the University System of Georgia’s (USG) visibility and prestige through global exposure to its digital scholarship and research.
• Promote information sharing and the discovery of research being conducted at the 35 USG institutions from a single web site.
• Improve access to learning for the citizens of Georgia at large.
• Create an outlet for new forms of instructional media and scholarship, including open access scholarship.
• Provide stewardship for the least permanent (i.e. non-published) elements of the USG’s intellectual works.
• Demonstrate the effectiveness of USG institutions and their faculty for assessment and accreditation purposes through enhanced access to their scholarly works.

By the project’s end, the GKR will become a comprehensive statewide repository program and has as one of its major goals to increase the number of consortially-managed digital repositories in the U.S. through training and instruction. The GKR is a new and progressive digital service from the University System of Georgia and will benefit all from the teaching and research that its institutions conduct.

View the official press release from IMLS

The Georgia Tech Library is closed, due to a power outage, until further notice. We will be re-opening as soon as the power is restored. We currently anticipate that we will be re-opening Tuesday, October 6 at 7:30 am.
In the interim, the Architecture Library remains open, and the Computer Lab at the Student Center is fully functioning and open.

There will be a Memorial celebration of the life of our beloved GT Library Security Guard, Darrell McClure (Mr. “D”), on Wednesday, September 30 from 2:30 – 3:30 pm in the Neely Lobby (1st Floor West in the Library).

Darrell meant so much to all of us. This will be an opportunity to join together and share the memories & stories that bring us joy when we remember our time with him.

This will be an informal event, meant for joyful remembrances. Students, faculty, and staff, who loved Darrell as much as we did, are invited to join us in this celebration.

Knovel, an online collection of science and engineering handbooks available through the Library, is giving away a Kindle, 2 Nintendo Wiis, 4 iPod Nanos, and 6 iTunes gift cards.

To Enter:
• Go to www.info.knovel.com/challenge
• Search Knovel and correctly answer 3 engineering questions

The contest ends Dec. 1, 2009.

ScienceDirect will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance for approximately 13 hours from 8:00 AM EDT Saturday, September 19 to 9:00 PM EDT.

During this time, you may be unable to access Elsevier ScienceDirect journals. If you have access problems with these journals during this time, please wait until after the maintenance window is over and try again.

On Tuesday, September 15, the Georgia State University Library will begin enforcing several new and more restrictive library policies. One of the major changes is that they will be asking patrons from GIL institutions to use a valid institutional ID card to gain admittance to the library. If they do not have a valid institutional ID card they will be able to use an alternate form of picture ID but will only be allowed into the library during regular business hours (Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 5:15pm).

Bottom line: Georgia Tech faculty, students and staff still will have full access to the Georgia State University Library IF they have their valid Buzz Card.

SourceOECD Science and Technology Databases, a key data resource for science and technology policy studies, is now available and listed on the A-Z List of Databases. The School of Public Policy purchased a one-year subscription to this resource, and they are sharing access with the campus. The Library is collaborating with the School of Public Policy and making the resource available to Georgia Tech faculty and students.

September 17th is Constitution Day and the library will host Professor Ty Herrington’s lecture entitled “The Constitution’s Intellectual Property Clause, Democracy’s Lifeblood.” The lecture will be in the Library East Commons’ Performance Space from 11am to noon.

GT CrossSearch enables you to search several databases at one time, making searching for articles easier and faster. GT CrossSearch allows you to locate articles from journals, magazines, newspapers, and encyclopedias – as well as conference proceedings and technical reports – with a single search. For more information, see What is GT CrossSearch?