2014

New: Free Access to 400,000 Digital Images from Metropolitan Museum of Art

Exciting news! New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced recently that “more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of public domain works in the Museum’s world-renowned collection may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use—including in scholarly publications in any media—without permission from the Museum and without a fee. The number of available images will increase as new digital files are added on a regular basis.” The Met calls this initiative Open Access for Scholarly Content (OASC). When searching their online image collection, look for the OASC icon, which designates images that are part of this initiative. These images may be used for non-commercial purposes, including school assignments, presentations, scholarly publishing, or personal projects. (Read more about the OASC policy in the FAQ.) This decision by the Met follows a very welcome recent movement among galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (the so-called GLAM organizations) to make more of their digital image content freely available when possible. This benefits the organizations by increasing public awareness of and generating publicity for their collections. And of course it benefits all of us to have greater access to cultural content worldwide! Here are some links to more such programs: The initiative known as OpenGLAM, which is helping many museums to open up more of their content, has a longer list of these types of efforts on their website. You can learn more about OpenGLAM from their FAQ. And be sure to check out the amazing image collections listed above. Happy exploring!

New History of the South End Highlights Northeastern Archives’ Latino History Collections

In her new book Legendary Locals of Boston’s South End, historian Hope J. Shannon highlights the role of community group Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (Puerto Rican Tenants in Action) in securing affordable housing for the South End’s Puerto Rican community in the late 1960s. Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) began in 1967 as a grassroots movement against the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s urban renewal plan, which would have torn down affordable housing units in the South End, replacing them with new housing unaffordable to the existing residents. IBA incorporated in 1968 as the Emergency Tenants Council of Parcel 19, Inc. (ETC) and successfully designed its own housing development plan for a parcel of land in the South End (known as Parcel 19). In 1969, the Boston Housing Authority named ETC sponsor-developer of Parcel 19, and the resulting Villa Victoria housing development would become a model of citizen participation in urban renewal for housing developments across the country. The records of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción can be found in the Archives and Special Collections Department at Snell Library, just one of a number of collections documenting the history of Boston’s Latino community. The Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción collection’s photographs have been digitized and are available online as part of the Boston’s Latino Community History exhibit on the Archives and Special Collections website.

Residents of Villa Victoria gather together

Welcome Fall 2014 Snell Library Co-ops!

Snell is proud to welcome four new co-op students this semester. Manuel Simone, William Jackson, Michelle Espinosa, and Jennie Robbiano are already wonderful additions to the library staff.   Manuel Simone- DMC Studios Co-op Manuel (or Manny) is a Music Industry student going into his 4th year at NEU and originally from Montclair, New Jersey. He has been writing raps since he was 10, and learned how to produce/record since he was about 14. Recently, Manny released his first self-produced album after several albums with help from other producers. Other than music, Manny very much enjoys watching comedy and action TV shows and movies, reading a good fantasy novel or biography, and playing and watching sports.       Will Jackson-Co-op Web Applications Developer Will is a senior pursuing a dual major in Information Science and Business Management. This is his third and final co-op. Will is currently working on a NEH funded project to add Fedora Repository support to the Tapas Project. In his free time, Will enjoys writing and  playing video games. He also enjoys reading and listening to music. He says he is “okay” at both of those things.             Michelle Espinosa- Graphic Design Co-op Michelle is a fourth year aspiring Graphic Design major and a business management minor. She is from the small, but beautiful country of Honduras. Michelle has been a competitive horseback rider since she was nine, mainly show jumping and dressage. Her other hobbies include playing the flute, singing, and mountain biking.               Jennie Robbiano- Marketing and Events Co-op Jennie is a fourth year International Affairs and Religious Studies major. She is also the co-director of Strong Women, Strong Girls at Northeastern. In her spare time, (what little she has) Jennie enjoys sewing, vegan baking, and Sci-Fi TV shows.               Welcome to all of you, we are looking forward to a great semester!    

Recommended Reading from Staff at Snell

Nothing is better than kicking back with a good read over the summer, so some of our staff at Snell Library have compiled a list of summer reading recommendations that are sure to fit a wide range of tastes. Enjoy and happy reading!

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

“Extraordinary miniatures, very original, take your breath away at first reading (and the second, third…)”

Recommended by Will Wakeling, Dean of University Libraries

Find it at Snell Library

     

Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff Vandermeer

“These are nicely written in a creepy, weird fiction style, so they have overtones of science fiction and Southern Gothic. The unfolding mystery plot is fascinating so far, with very good, evocative writing.”

Recommended by Amanda Rust, Assistant Head of Research and Instruction

Find it at Snell Library: Annihilation & Authority    

Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson

“Clever author Atkinson proposes alternative lives (and deaths) for a child born during a snowstorm in 1910.”

Recommended by Julie Jersyk, Research and Instruction Librarian Find it at Snell Library    

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce

“Retiree Harold Fry embarks on a cross-country journey on foot to hand-deliver a letter to a dying acquaintance… ‘Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowledging the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human.’”

Recommended by Ernesto Valencia, Systems Librarian

   

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

“A magical and inspiring story about navigating through life’s challenges, following your heart, and accomplishing your dreams.”

Recommended by Nina Shah, Library Development Officer

Find it at Snell Library

 
 

A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night, both by Deborah Harkness

“The first book is wonderful—so much fun—a mystery set in academia with witches and vampires and other creatures of the night! The story is fast-paced and well-executed and ends far too quickly. The second book is at least as good as the first!  Great books for the beach or a long flight to some place fun!”

Recommended by Janet Morrow, Head, Resource and Discovery Services

 

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

“This fascinating book is composed of long segments in the voices of six individual characters from different time periods, in totally different writing styles. Mitchell truly inhabits the main characters in each of the six segments, making them sound and feel authentic, and very different from one another. There are plenty of little overlaps and connections among the stories, too, which make for another level of enjoyment as you try to find those along the way.”

Recommended by Rebecca Bailey, Research and Instruction Librarian

Find it at Snell Library

What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell

“Journalist Malcolm Gladwell has pieced together a collection of essays about human psychology and social behavior, many of them about sort of weird or unexpected phenomena.”

Recommended by Karen Merguerian, User Engagement and Assessment Librarian

Find it at Snell Library

   

Chain of Change: Struggles for Black Community Development, by Mel King

“Published in 1981, Chain of Change traces the story of the Black Community of Boston from the 1950s to the 1970s through the eyes of one of the South End’s most vocal residents, former Massachusetts State Representative Mel King. It also proposes a strategy for the future (the 1980s): a Community Development Plan that included decentralization, education, and coalition building.”

Recommended by Giordana Mecagni, Head of Archives and Special Collections

 Find it at Snell Library and other NU locations  

R&I Librarian Donna Kennedy Retires after 37 Years

Donna Kennedy, R&I Librarian, Snell Library I am both delighted and disappointed to announce that, after working 37 years with Northeastern University Libraries, Donna Kennedy has decided to retire from the University, effective July 1st, 2014. My delight is in knowing that, after years of a strong and productive commitment to her working career, Donna will now have the time to pursue a quite active engagement with her hobbies and, most important, numerous children and grandchildren. My disappointment is in knowing that the Library and University are losing a colleague who has always brought energy, a solid commitment, and a rare expertise to her work and, most especially, to the curricular and research needs of the student and faculty communities. Soon after arriving at the University in 1977, Donna was instrumental in developing services and collections at the former Burlington Campus Library to accommodate and enrich the experiences of a significant population of adult students enrolled in University College (later College of Professional Studies). When the Burlington Campus Library closed, Donna returned to Snell Library to, at first, lead the Access Services Department and, finally, as a Research and Instruction Services Librarian, to anchor the outreach and research support to the significant education program at the University. Donna’s achievements will long be valued and remembered by us and, I’m sure, by the many, many students and faculty to whom she has given expert assistance over the years. We hope to see some of these old friends at the event on June 24th. On behalf of all Library staff, I wish Donna a long and very well deserved retirement. —Will Wakeling, Dean, University Libraries