Hanna Holborn Gray Graduate Student Fellows Explore New Kinds of Scholarship and Expand Career Horizons at the Library
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Volume 24 Fall 2019 A newsletter for faculty and the University community published by the University of Chicago Library with support from the Libra Library Society Hanna Holborn Gray Graduate Student Fellows Explore New Kinds of Scholarship and Expand Career Horizons at the Library BY RACHEL ROSENBERG NEESAH ETTRESS’S GRANDMOTHER, Lena project at the University of Aneesah Ettress, a Ettress, was a librarian for most of her life and an Chicago Library. Divinity School student and Hanna Holborn Gray The new Hanna Holborn active member of the Nation of Islam for some years, Graduate Student Fellow who provided Muslim Girl Training and educated Gray Graduate Student Fellowship in Digital Scholarship women on their role in the Nation. Among the program, launched at the Library (Digital Humanities) family’s treasured possessions are a letter Lena wrote in winter 2019, is giving University in the 1970s to Minister Louis Farrakhan questioning of Chicago students unusual opportunities to expand their the supremacy of men over women in the Nation of professional horizons and enhance their development as scholars. AIslam and another she wrote to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad Fellows learn about careers in academic libraries and archives asking whether the Nation was aligned with “Cassius Clay,” who through hands-on work conducted under the mentorship of had taken the name Muhammad Ali by that time. a UChicago librarian, while simultaneously pursuing their These letters inspired Aneesah, an MDiv student and Hanna individual research and teaching interests. Holborn Gray Graduate Student Fellow in Digital Scholarship, With the support of stipends made possible by Hanna to focus on women’s theological discourse in the Nation of Islam Holborn Gray, the Harry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service when she began developing her digital humanities fellowship Professor Emeritus of History and President of the University continued on page 8 FROM THE DIRECTOR MISSION The University of Chicago Library empowers intellectual discovery, rigorous learning, and global engagement through its deep and rich collections, extensive expertise, innovative programs, A RENEWED SENSE OF PURPOSE and diverse spaces. BY BRENDA L. JOHNSON, Library Director and University Librarian VALUES The University of Chicago Library staff has begun the • Building a new Center for Digital support our acquisitions, cataloging, and Diversity: A diverse and inclusive Scholarship: A space on Regenstein’s circulation operations. academic year with a renewed sense of purpose. Over the environment builds a stronger, First Floor between the Dissertation Diversifying Collections: We more creative community. Office and the Circulation Desk will be • preceding months, we have reviewed our mission and values are exploring ways of coordinating User focus: Our users are at the renovated to create a new physical Center statements and the Strategic Directions that were developed purchasing with our Ivy Plus partners so center of all we do. for Digital Scholarship. It will enhance that we all have access to more diverse Innovation: We embrace for 2016-2019 and have worked to develop and articulate the Library’s current ability to act as a collections. curiosity, experimentation, and our commitments for 2020-2023. While many aspects of hub for digital scholarship that provides faculty and students with technologies, 5. Extend the University’s learning. our prior mission, values, and strategic directions remain instruction and consultation services that Impact through Local and Collaboration: We advance relevant today, our commitment to excelling in a changing support the exploration of new research Global Engagement knowledge and build a better methodologies, analysis of complex data, The Library continues to engage with future through partnerships. environment and to focusing on the needs of our Library and sharing of research and creative local and global partners to extend the Knowledge Sharing: Open and endeavors through new publishing models users is leading us to work in new ways and to refocus our University’s impact on pressing challenges equitable access to information Brenda L. Johnson (see page 6). strategic directions. Library Director and University Librarian in our city, nation, and the world. Some of is a cornerstone of research and • Enhancing Open Access to Data our current collaborations include: education. and Code: Knowledge@UChicago, the I would like to share with you here the needs of Muslim students, and for their development as scholars with the All of Us: As part of a National Library campus open access digital repository for • the key aspects of these statements and providing workspace for visiting students guidance of library mentors. I am deeply of Medicine program, librarians from our documents, data, and media, is managed a few of the preliminary projects and from the University of Puerto Rico honored that President Emeritus Gray John Crerar Library and the Chicago by the Library in collaboration with IT offerings we are providing as a result of affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. has recognized the wide variety of ways Public Library will work together to New librarians expanding our Services. This summer and fall, we have • our Strategic Directions. As we develop further plans to that Library experts and Library work provide training and access to high- capabilities include David Woken, our first implemented a new system and are adding cultivate diversity and inclusion, we expect can contribute to graduate students’ quality online health information for Latin American and Caribbean Studies new capabilities that better meet growing our strategies to include fostering a development (see page 1). public library patrons, taking an important Librarian, and Holiday Vega, our new campus needs for open access data Strategic Directions diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent step to help decrease the life expectancy Health and Social Services Librarian (see • Geospatial Workshops: GIS and sharing and preservation (see page 4). 1. Cultivate an Inclusive organization; actively recruiting and Maps Librarian Cecilia Smith is offering gap between Chicago’s wealthiest and our website). poorest neighborhoods (see page 9). Community retaining a diverse workforce; acting customized geospatial workshops for We are in the process of hiring a new as a strong partner in campus diversity 4. Enhance Access • Our first Strategic Direction is a new research groups in Crerar Library to Scholarly Resources • Black Metropolis Research Consortium Clinical Library Resident, who will enhance focal point. We are building an inclusive activities; providing welcoming, accessible (see our website). (BMRC): In September, we hired Marcia our ability to support clinical care at We will connect scholars with resources organization that cultivates and values library spaces and services; and Walker-McWilliams, PhD’12, as the new UChicago Medicine. Instruction in the Social Sciences: at the point of need by developing a diversity, recognizing the strength that it developing inclusive collections. • Executive Director for the BMRC, a Librarians are collaborating with faculty user-centered, content-rich, integrated brings to our community and operations. Chicago-based membership association 2. Empower Faculty and Students to provide customized instruction for discovery environment and by providing Transforming Purpose We are proud to be joining the University- of libraries, universities, and other archival with Library Services, Collections, students. For example, librarians partnered fast and convenient access and delivery into Action wide Diversity and Inclusion Initiative and with the Social Sciences Research Center institutions based at the University of and Spaces services. are beginning to determine how we will this summer to create a specialized Chicago Library with a mission of making These examples are only a few of the Our commitment to empowering faculty participate. Early steps in this process Research Lifecycle workshop series for Improving Discovery and Delivery: We broadly accessible its members’ holdings many ways we are beginning to transform and students continues. We will advance • have included bringing Vice Provost undergraduates in the Summer Institute in are building tools to improve the discovery that document African American and our renewed sense of purpose into action. state-of-the-art research, teaching, Melissa Gilliam to the Library for meetings Social Research Methods (see our website). of materials—including more than 216 African diasporic culture, history, and Some of our directions and corresponding and engaged learning by implementing with Library staff, hosting “Hearing One million items—held by our consortial politics. offerings are a continuation of long- Another” workshops for Library staff innovative and inclusive services and 3. Advance Digital Scholarship partners in the Ivy Plus and the Big Ten held Library commitments. Some reimagining library collections and spaces. members on our annual Staff Day, and In 2020-2023, our commitment to Academic Alliance. We are also building 6. Excel in a Changing Environment directions are driving new approaches to Just a few of our current offerings include: forming a Library Diversity and Inclusion advancing digital scholarship will continue better tools to speed the processing and We continue to build an agile, collaborating with you on groundbreaking Working Group that has developed a • Hanna Holborn Gray Graduate Student