Library News

English Language lovers, try Vocabula Review

The Northeastern University Libraries have just subscribed to The Vocabula Review, which “battles nonstandard, careless English“. Enjoy back issues and online forums, as well as each issues’ special departments like Clues to Concise Writing and Scarcely Used Words with a Definition a Day Quiz.  This is a new subscription, so please feel free to tell us what you think.

Announcing: Two Key Library Hires

Distinguished librarians Amira Aaron and Patrick M. Yott are joining Northeastern University Libraries in April 2010.  These hires are part of the Library’s ambitious vision to advance scholarly communications and expand the University’s digital initiatives, building on its institutional repository and digitization of special collections. Amira Aaron will begin April 1st as the Library’s Associate Dean for Scholarly Resources.  In this role she will oversee and direct the development of the Library’s collections and information resources including digital initiatives and technical services.  She will also be a member of the senior administrative group, which develops and implements the mission, goals, budget, and broad policy directions of the library.  Amira will bring to Northeastern over thirty years of experience in information resources, systems, and technical services.  Most recently she was the Director of Information Resources at Brandeis University and prior to that she was Manager for Digital Content & Access Services at Harvard University.  Amira holds a Master’s degree in library science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University. Patrick M. Yott will join Northeastern on April 15 as Digital Library Manager. In this role he will build the institution’s digital library program, providing vision and leadership in the creation and delivery of digital content.  Patrick developed and led Brown University Library’s Center for Digital Initiatives and directed its Digital Technologies division.  Prior to his time at Brown, he was Director of Digital Services Integration at the University of Virginia.  Patrick holds Master’s degrees in both library science and education from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire. Both Amira and Patrick have extensive experience presenting, publishing, and advancing the library profession at the national level. Welcome Amira and Patrick!

Amira Aaron

Patrick Yott

Patrick Yott

Read the full release here.

Oral Histories of Lower Roxbury Community Members Available for Research

Oral histories recorded under the auspices of Northeastern’s Lower Roxbury Black History Project are now open for research. The Lower Roxbury Black History Project evolved from a meeting on November 9, 2006 between Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun and members of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Massachusetts to discuss possible collaborations between Northeastern and Lower Roxbury clergy. During the meeting, Reverend Michael E. Haynes suggested the University create a history of the African American community in Lower Roxbury, so President Aoun appointed Joseph D. Warren, who was at that time Special Assistant to the Director of Government Relations and Community Affairs, to oversee the Lower Roxbury Black History Project. Warren’s advisory board consisted of Rev. Michael E. Haynes, formerly of Roxbury’s Twelfth Baptist Church, Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing, Northeastern University Archivist Joan D. Krizack, and Northeastern University history professors William M. Fowler Jr., Gerald H. Herman, and Robert L. Hall, and Northeastern Vice President for Public Affairs Robert P. Gittens. In November 2007, Warren hired Lolita Parker Jr., a photographer and documentary film researcher, to collect oral histories of Roxbury community members. From 2007-2009 with the assistance of her son, London Parker-McWorter, Parker spoke with over 40 residents of Roxbury. The 758.28 gigabytes of digital files and .90 cubic feet of records date from 2007-2009.  The collection contains video and audio oral histories of African American clergy, educators, businessmen, politicians, community activists, former military men, laborers, and citizens of Lower Roxbury. Interviewees discussed their families, childhoods, and geographic areas in Roxbury, including Roxbury Crossing, Sawyer Street, and Haskins Street, from the early to mid-20th century. Records include audio (.aiff / .mp3 / .wma); video (.avi / .mov / iMovieProject / MiniDVs); partial, edited, and unedited transcripts of interviews; scans; and photographs. A guide to the collection is available here. The Lower Roxbury Black History Project collection is open for research Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, 92 Snell Library, Boston, Massachusetts. For a list of all the Department’s special collections, see this link. Adelaide Cromwell, noted Sociology Professor and the first African American instructor at New York’s Hunter College, during oral history interview, 2 April 2009.   For more information, please contact Joan Krizack, University Archivist and Head, Special Collections, at j.krizack@neu.edu or 617-373-8318.

Why Should I Go Looking in IRis?

"Tires to Fit," by Flickr user Bob Aubuchon

If I was applying to go to college, and was hearing over and over about how important research is at major universities, I might wonder what exactly that means. Research can be something of an abstraction to a high school student—most of the social and lab science taught in classes is done straight out of textbooks, two or three times removed from the original research that they’re based on. Northeastern has great opportunities for grad and undergrad students to be involved in research, with faculty and independently. IRis contains research done here at NU, and can show a prospective student both what she or he could be working on, and the kinds of research that are being done on campus that make NU unique. For example, I’ve gone through just now and seen a capstone project in mechanical engineering about turning tires into fuel. This seems like a really interesting project: the method is laid out for breaking down old tires, pulverising them into particles, and the economic model for generating fuel this way. IRis is free and open to the public, and is therefore a great way for the university to show off to prospective students. It can also be appealing to new students to see how their work could be published and permanently archived.

Jazz Music Library is a Hot Sensation

The Library has just added Alexander Street Press’ Jazz Music Library collection of 4,974 albums and 60,553 tracks to our media streaming repertoire. Sample its many artists and genres and set up your own play list. Listen to Deval Patrick’s father Pat play sax on “Come Rain or Shine” or hear Ella Fitzgerald sing “720 in the Books.” Enjoy!