Library News
2024 Periodical and Standing Order Review
Posted on April 17th, 2024
Booth Library’s annual Periodical and Standing Order Review is currently underway. The lists of periodicals and standing orders selected for cancellation are now available for review. This annual exercise is designed to ensure that library collections continue to meet the needs of library users. Titles are added or canceled based on input from the relevant academic departments.
Questions about the review can be addressed by individual subject librarians.
National Library Week
Posted on April 9th, 2024
Booth Library will host a week-long celebration of National Library Week from April 8-12. National Library Week, initially sponsored in 1958, is a national observance supported by the American Library Association and libraries nationwide each April. It serves as a time to honor the contributions of our nation’s libraries and library staff while encouraging library use and support.
On Monday, April 8th, the library will host the annual Peep into a Book: Edible Book Festival in the Marvin Foyer, near the north entrance. Dioramas will be on display for public viewing starting at 9 a.m., and visitors are invited to vote for their favorites from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A reception with light refreshments will commence at 4 p.m., followed by the announcement of award winners at 4:15 p.m.
Tuesday, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., students are invited to the Write Night & Study Buddies event! It will take place in the 4th Floor Clock Tower Lounge. Librarians, The Writing Center, Academic Success, and TRIO tutors are available to provide ample assistance. Attendees will receive a goodie bags, snacks and a chance to win a raffle prize!
The Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creativity will showcase ten students, beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the West Reading Room. This program promotes and recognizes excellence in student research, and encourages students to enhance their studies by utilizing the wealth of information available at Booth Library.
Booth Library’s Authors@EIU series continues on April 11th, featuring talks by nationally recognized authors. Among them is Ryan Burge, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University. His latest work, “The Nones, Second Edition: Where They Come From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going,” published by Fortress Press in 2023, offers a comprehensive examination of Americans who identify as having no religious affiliation. Dr. Stephen Eskilson will also be featured for his book, Digital Design, a History explores the evolution of digital design, offering insights from its nineteenth-century origins to its contemporary prominence.
To conclude the week, an AI Sandbox: Tools for Academic Research and Writing will be available in the CSI- Center for Student Innovation from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Attendees can try out AI tools designed to aid researchers in navigating the academic research and writing process. Demonstrations will include Scopus AI, PaperPal, and JSTOR’s AI research tool (beta).
Don’t forget to explore the new exhibits for Emeritus Professor Charles Coleman, Ph.D., in the Faculty Reading Room, and Booth Library Benefactor Annette Christy, Ed. D., in the Ballenger Teachers Center.
Peep into a Book
Posted on March 29th, 2024
Join us for a literary celebration by creating a book-inspired diorama where all the characters are Peeps! Booth Library’s Peep™ Into a Book: The Peeples Choice Awards 2024 will kick off National Library Week activities this year.
Students, faculty, staff and area residents are encouraged to join in the fun by creating their own book-themed dioramas featuring Peeps™! In a shoebox or similar-sized box, create a diorama with the iconic Easter candies — Peeps™! — as the main characters.
All characters in the diorama must be made using Peeps™. Craft supplies and other objects can be used to complete the diorama, which should be connected to a book in its theme or content.
Students are encouraged to make their Peep™ diorama at this year’s Crafting Galore on April 7! Supplies will be provided. Look for this activity in the BTC- main floor of the library (while supplies last). In addition, a limited supply of Peep™ diorama starter kits for students will be available to pick up at the library beginning April 1.
Peep™ dioramas can be dropped off at the library from 5-11 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at the Research Help desk on the main floor, or from 8-9 a.m. on Monday, April 8, in the Marvin Foyer on the north end of the building. Entries will be on display for public viewing and voting from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
All Peep™ entries are eligible to win one of three best-in-show prizes, determined by popular vote (the “Peeples Choice” Award). Honorable mentions also will be awarded. Prizes will be distributed during a reception at 4 p.m. April 8 in the library’s Marvin Foyer.
Those who plan to enter the contest are asked to register in advance.
More information about the Peep™ Into a Book event can be found on the library website. Questions may be directed to event organizer Amy Odwarka at aodwarka@eiu.edu
Open Educational Resources (OER) Funding Opportunity for Faculty
Posted on February 8th, 2024
Booth Library and the FDIC are partnering to extend an opportunity for funding for EIU faculty interested in creating and adopting Open Educational Resources (OER) materials: textbooks and textbook alternatives, and other materials like simulations, case studies, videos, assignments, quiz banks, lecture slides, lab manuals, etc. The use of OER is a proven means for reducing the cost of education and enhancing student success, and an extensive corpus of high-quality materials exists and is readily available – to learn more visit: OER LibGuide at Booth Library.
The Illinois State Library has announced a grant program to support the creation of OER content at institutions of higher learning, and academic libraries can apply for project funding.
To qualify you must begin to use the new OER content in the 2025 academic year. EIU faculty with successful proposals under this State Library program will receive a one-time payment of $4,000, during the Summer 2024 semester, to support OER development and adoption.
Following the OER implementation, the faculty member will assess the OER content. Refinements and adjustments will be made in Summer 2025. Once that review process is complete and the OER materials finalized, participating faculty will receive another $1,000 at the project’s completion.
An array of supports will be provided to participating faculty by the FDIC and Booth: instructional design, integration of content into D2L, proofreading, and copyright and accessibility consultations; along with help in discovering existing content.
The OER projects eligible for the Illinois State Library funding must fit into at least one of the following categories:
- Author – Create and adopt a substantially new open textbook or open course where it is possible to demonstrate that quality resources are not currently available to meet learning objectives.
- Revise/Remix – Update existing OER with major revisions or develop custom course content from multiple open educational resources and original open content to support learning objectives not met by existing open resources.
- Ancillaries – Adopt existing OER and create ancillaries such as quiz banks, lecture slides, or lab manuals.
- Update – Update and adopt existing OER that requires minor editing for currency or relevance, without major changes to the content or structure.
The proposed OER projects have to be specific to a course the faculty member teaches, and funding requires a commitment to use the created OER, at least once by Spring 2026 and for three years following. In addition, the State Library requires an evaluation component focused on the implementation of the OER material, which includes some data collection for enrollment and student outcomes. Participating faculty may have a role in compiling this data for reporting.
In addition, the digital resources created under this grant must be made open themselves – meeting the following criteria:
- available at no cost to students
- shared via an online repository, like LibreTexts, OER Commons, or the Open Textbook Library
- made available for printing through a printing platform such as XanEdu
- available with the license of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Note regarding open content and academic integrity: LibreTexts allows faculty to determine access to materials. In other words, they can be marked Instructor Only and then only someone with a verified instructor account would have access.
Interested in Participating?
To express interest in participating in OER@EIU, please complete this Expression of Interest questionnaire by no later than February 25, 2024. If you have multiple courses for which you are interested in creating OER for this grant, please make separate submissions if you have multiple courses. The grant proposal from EIU to the Illinois State Library must be submitted by the end of March, so expressions of interest after February 25, might not be considered.
Questions, Concerns or Comments? Want to learn more?
Virtual information sessions will be held on via Zoom:
In addition, feel free to email Brian Keith, Dean of Library Services, at bwkeith@eiu.edu and Michael Gillespie, Director of the FDIC, at mgillespie@eiu.edu.
Thank you for considering participation in this important new opportunity and for helping spread the word to other faculty colleagues. Open Educational Resources play a crucial role in fostering a more inclusive, accessible, and collaborative education system, aligning with the principles of openness and equity in learning. OER also advances EIU’s various educational, economic, and social goals.
15th Annual Awards for Excellence in Research and Creativity.
Posted on February 8th, 2024
The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students in any major. Entries may be a research paper or thesis, artistic work, exhibit, musical work, video, podcast, documentary, oral history, performance, data analysis or visualization, or other formats. As long as the student(s) used library resources to complete the project within the last 12 months, it is eligible for the competition. Participants have a chance to win cash prizes up to $300. To be eligible for these awards, participants must submit their entries electronically before the deadline of 11:59 p.m. CST on February 29, 2024. This award is an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their academic expertise and innovative creations! Thank you for announcing this super opportunity for our students to share their scholarly work and become part of the critical conversations in higher education!
Additional info on how to apply: eiu.edu/booth/awardsforexcellence/
Booth Library celebrates Authors@EIU
Posted on February 8th, 2024
Booth Library invites the campus and community to join us for the launch of a new speaker series this Spring semester, Authors@EIU. Six authors will be featured in three Spring 2024 Authors@EIU events to celebrate the research, scholarship and creative success of EIU faculty who have recently achieved publication of a book.
The library recognizes and celebrates the diverse, robust community of EIU teaching faculty who are contributing to scholarship or popular learning, through this series and has added the featured publications to the library’s collection.
Please mark your calendars to attend Authors@EIU, 5 p.m. in Booth Library’s West Reading Room:
February 28: Scott Meiners, Ph.D., Biological Sciences
Tree by Tree: Saving North America’s Eastern Forests, by Scott Meiners
Cornell University Press, 2023
Alexis L. Jones, Ph.D., Teaching, Learning and Foundations
Teaching is a Human Interaction: How Thoughtful Educators Respond, are Responsive, and Take Responsibility, by Alexis L. Jones
Information Age Publishing, 2023
March 13: Julie D. Campbell, Ph.D.,
English Women, Entertainment, and Precursors of the French Salon, 1532-1615, by Julie D. Campbell Amsterdam University Press, 2023
Bob Klein, Ph.D., Teaching, Learning and Foundations
The Middle of Somewhere: Rural Education Partnerships and Innovation, ed. by Sara L. Hartman and Bob Klein Harvard
Education Press, 2023
April 11: Stephen Eskilson, Ph.D., Art & Design
Digital Design: A History by Stephen Eskilson
Princeton University Press, 2023
Ryan Burge, Ph.D., Political Science
The Nones, Second Edition: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going by Ryan Burge
Fortress Press, 2023
Events will include a shared reception at 5 p.m. Presentations will begin at 5:30 with introductory remarks, followed by presentations and question & answer sessions for each author.
All members of the Charleston and EIU communities are welcome, including students. Please join your colleagues in recognizing these accomplishments and for stimulating dialogues.
Blind Date with a Book ends February 29
Posted on February 2nd, 2024
Patrons are invited to fall in love with a new book during February by participating in “Blind Date with a Book.”
Through “Blind Date with a Book,” patrons choose from several books wrapped in brown paper with descriptive hints written on the front. Patrons check out the book at the Circulation desk and then take it home to reveal their “blind date.”
Patrons are invited to choose their blind date from the table located on the main floor near the Circulation desk.
Eastern Illinois University’s Digital Archive, The Keep, Reaches Major Milestone
Posted on January 18th, 2024
Booth Library is proud to announce a milestone in the preservation and sharing of the creative and scholarly work of Eastern Illinois University. The Keep, EIU’s digital archive, has just posted its 100,000th object.
The historic 100,000th object, posted on December 12, 2023, is a photograph from the investiture ceremony of Jay Gatrell. The photograph captures a significant moment in the university’s history, and through serendipity represents a historic accomplishment for The Keep. The 100,000 entry can be viewed at here. The image was created by Jay Gabriec, the university photographer, who has contributed a remarkable collection of over 1,300 entries to The Keep.
The Keep is the EIU institutional repository, a digital archive of faculty scholarship, student and professional journals, graduate theses, undergraduate honors papers, EIU historical documents, committee documents and more. The mission of The Keep is to digitize, preserve and promote the scholarly and creative output of EIU, optimizing the content for easy online discovery.
Todd Bruns, Head of Scholarly Communications, shared appreciation of hitting this milestone, “I am beyond thrilled that we have passed the milestone of 100,000 works posted. The Keep presents the digital life and history of Eastern Illinois University in a variety of formats, from photo galleries of important events like Commencement and the Investiture of a new president, past editions of The Warbler- EIU Yearbook spanning from the 1920s onward, to collected scholarship like master’s theses and faculty research. Online collections like the historical publications of EIU’s Alumni Services extends the reach of our institution worldwide – Alumni Services publications have been downloaded over 17,000 times to 108 countries around the world, from Athens to Bangkok and Lagos to Shanghai. With the recent record recruitment numbers of international students, the increased digital footprint of EIU via online collections of the Eastern Alumnus, Old Main Line, and ForeverEIU, can only be a boon.”
We invite you to explore The Keep by visiting https://thekeep.eiu.edu/.
Eastern Illinois University’s Digital Archive, The Keep, Reaches Major Milestone
Posted on December 18th, 2023
Booth Library is proud to announce a milestone in the preservation and sharing of the creative and scholarly work of Eastern Illinois University. The Keep, EIU’s digital archive, has just posted its 100,000th object.
The historic 100,000th object, posted on December 12, 2023, is a photograph from the investiture ceremony of Jay Gatrell. The photograph captures a significant moment in the university’s history, and through serendipity represents a historic accomplishment for The Keep. The 100,000 entry can be viewed at https://thekeep.eiu.edu/gatrell_investiture/39/. The image was created by Jay Gabriec, the university photographer, who has contributed a remarkable collection of over 1,300 entries to The Keep.
The Keep is the EIU institutional repository, a digital archive of faculty scholarship, student and professional journals, graduate theses, undergraduate honors papers, EIU historical documents, committee documents and more. The mission of The Keep is to digitize, preserve and promote the scholarly and creative output of EIU, optimizing the content for easy online discovery.
Todd Bruns, Head of Scholarly Communications, shared appreciation of hitting this milestone, “I am beyond thrilled that we have passed the milestone of 100,000 works posted in The Keep, making our institutional repository one of the largest in the state of Illinois, second only to the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana. Since we launched The Keep in the fall of 2010, the content has been wildly popular with over 5.5 million downloads to over 235 countries and over 57,500 institutions from Greenland (54 downloads) to New Zealand (18,915 downloads).As we move into the second decade of The Keep, I’m excited to see the growth of our repository increase exponentially as we transition to empowering faculty, staff, and students to directly and easily add their content to the platform. Additionally, Library Services will soon be providing new digital scholarship tool with a Digital Exhibit platform and a Research portal, a research information management system. These combined resources will tell the story of EIU as a research institution, digitally archiving and preserving institution, digitally archiving andpreserving EIU history, student life, academic scholarship, events, and more for the benefit of current and future scholars. This milestone achievement is one that truly belongs to all of us.”
For further details about The Keep and Booth Library, please visit https://thekeep.eiu.edu/. This milestone achievement is a demonstration of the collective efforts of the entire EIU community.
Image displays a density map of downloads from The Keep by region, since 2010.
Booth Library Now Offers Free Online Access to the New York Times
Posted on December 11th, 2023
EIU students, faculty, and staff now have free online access to the New York Times through Booth Library! We are thrilled to offer this new service to better serve our students and the EIU Community as a whole.
The complimentary subscription is available to anyone with an eiu.edu email address- including retired employees and emeritus members!
Online access to the New York Times through EIU Library includes:
- 24/7 Breaking News
- Archives (dating back to 1851) timesmachine.nytimes.com/browser
- Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality – found in the App; NYT stories told through enhanced technology
- Daily 360 content – two dimensional, 360° views (with mobile device or using a mouse)
- Podcasts (including The “Daily” podcast)
- All multimedia, including video, photography, VR features, and new multimedia to come.
- Newsletters (there are a variety of topics that you may subscribe to)
- Spanish and Mandarin Chinese versions of NYTimes.com.
Activate your access to The New York Times, compliments of Booth Library here.
