Category: Collections

OhioLINK Adds New Digital Resources with the Ohio Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Funds

Posted on by Sue Polanka

OhioLINK, Ohio’s academic library consortium, has received $2.5 million from the Ohio Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds through the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The funds will be used to purchase digital resources for Ohio colleges, such as streaming video and e-books, to supplement online research, as well as provide instructional support for a wide range of curriculum, including physical and applied science courses that traditionally have not been taught online. GEER is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which authorized federal economic aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act includes several funding streams, such as GEER, to support the education community’s response to the public health emergency.

OhioLINK’s collection development committee recommended the following e-resources be purchased with GEER funds to assist faculty/instructors in teaching remote and hybrid courses to Ohio’s 2-year, undergraduate, and graduate-level students across a wide range of disciplines, with emphasis on the most pressing need to support teaching labs in the STEM sciences and courses for the allied health fields. We thank ODHE for their advocacy and assistance in procuring the funds to make these resources available. See the full announcement on the OhioLINK website. For assistance with any of these new resources, please contact your Wright State University Libraries’ subject librarian.

JoVE Core + Lab Manual Combo

Access Dates – January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2022 (2 years of availability)

Films on Demand

Access Dates – March 8, 2021 to May 31, 2022

Wiley Cochrane Library

Access Dates – January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 (1 year of availability)

MIT Press Direct eBooks

Starting January 2021, perpetual access to all e-books published from 1943 through 2021

Sage Business Cases

Starting January 1, 2021, perpetual access to all cases published through 2020

The Educational Resource Center Relocates to Dunbar Library

Posted on by Sue Polanka

When the Dunbar Library reopens this fall it will have 19,000 new and unique items added to the collection, all from the Charles & Renate Frydman Educational Resource Center (ERC).  The ERC, formerly maintained by the College of Education and Human Services, has now become a featured collection within the University Libraries.

bookshelves in Dunbar Library
ERC collection in Dunbar Library

Relocating to Dunbar Library provides the following opportunities for the ERC:

  • 7-Day service for the entire collection and media lab
  • Longer daily hours and extended finals week hours
  • A dedicated room in the Dunbar Library (210) for the collection and media lab services
  • Longer loan periods for print and non-print items (print now 112 days, non-print now 14 days)
  • Greater accessibility for a wider-range of users
  • Display cases to feature the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center artwork
  • Ask a Librarian service
staff with cart of books
Library staff moving the collection

University Libraries staff teamed up with Facilities Services to move the collection from 116 Allyn Hall to 210 Dunbar Library during the months of July and August.  After an extensive inventory, and over 250 trips through the tunnels, the move was complete in approximately 5 weeks.

tables of non-print materials
Temporary holding place for ERC items

Most of the Media Lab equipment, furniture, and computers were also relocated to Dunbar and the ERC webpages have been integrated into the University Libraries website. More information will be shared through social media about how and where to access the Media Lab equipment and services.  Future plans include integrating the University Libraries’ Children’s Literature collection into the ERC collection and expanded programming and outreach.

Next time you are in the Dunbar Library, visit the new Charles & Renate Frydman Educational Resource Center on the 2nd floor.

Library Budget Reductions Lead to the Cancellation of Resources

Posted on by Sue Polanka

The University Libraries’ budget has been reduced by 15% for fiscal year 2021.

The Libraries cannot absorb a cut of this magnitude without reductions in the materials budget. In making these reductions, our priorities are to maintain our OhioLINK commitments and to preserve resources that are geared toward student learning and instructional support. With those priorities in mind, we plan to make the reductions outlined below:

  • Reduce the funds allocated for books and audiovisual materials and buying books and AV materials only on faculty request
  • Reduce the funds allocated for binding, materials preparation, and postage
  • Cancel selected journal and database subscriptions

Unfortunately, database subscriptions must be cancelled immediately because the subscriptions typically run on a fiscal year and providers require a thirty day notice of cancellation.  We have cancelled or will cancel the following databases:

  • Access Medicine
  • ATLA Religion Index
  • BCC Research
  • Birds of North America
  • Cochrane Library
  • CRSP
  • GeoRef
  • Mental Measurements Yearbook
  • OECD iLibrary
  • Refworks
  • RILM
  • UlrichsWeb

Journal cancellation decisions will be made later in August and September. We will attempt to consult with faculty on the journals to be cancelled; however, the magnitude of the cuts to be made this year when combined with the drastic cuts that have already been made due to earlier budget cuts gives us very little room for negotiation. We will increase funding for ILL to help us handle increased requests for articles from cancelled journals.

University Libraries Offers Anti-Racism Resources and Book Discussions

Posted on by Sue Polanka
MLK in Boston
Martin Luther King in Boston, April 23, 1965, image from WSUL Special Collections and Archives

Wright State University has an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion. In support of President Edwards’ encouragement to “take advantage of campus resources to find compassion, support, and understanding,” and in response to student requests for reading lists and suggestions, the University Libraries staff have prepared a guide of anti-racism resources, organized a book discussion, and are participating in a community-wide book discussion on racism.  Highlights of each of these activities is below. 

Anti-Racism Resource Guide

This guide organizes a variety of resources in one place.  Resources include: research databases focused on anti-racism and criminal justice;  fiction and non-fiction books in the Libraries’ collection about racism and white supremacy (request these for curbside pickup); media and videos from the Libraries’ Kanopy collection and YouTube selections; campus resources for health, wellness and support; and links to additional reading lists and recommended resources from national organizations.  If you have suggestions for other resources to add, you may direct those to mandy.shannon@wright.edu.

Book Discussion:  An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Book cover image

Join us on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. via WebEx for a book discussion on Tayari Jones’ award-winning novel, An American Marriage. Dr. Lynette Jones, Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature will provide an introduction for our discussion, moderated by Dr. Sarah Twill, Professor in the Department of Social Work.  Copies of An American Marriage are available at the Dunbar Library and local public libraries.  Registration is available and is optional. Please join us!

The Big Read: Anti-Racism, Justice, and Equity – Dayton Metro Library Program

book cover image

Dayton Metro Library invites you to participate in a special community-wide Big Read project, centered on the book Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad. This book takes readers on a 28-day journey to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people to do better, too. A live streamed panel discussion will take place on Wednesday, July 8th from 5 – 6 p.m. on Facebook.

Panelists Include:

  • Amelia Robinson, Community Impact Editor, DDN (Moderator)
  • Debbie Feldman, President and CEO, Dayton Children’s Hospital
  • Shannon Isom, President & CEO, YWCA Dayton
  • Kevin M. Kelly, Executive Director, Dayton International Peace Museum
  • Brian O. Martin, Executive Director, Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission

More information is available from the Dayton Metro Library.