Black Swamp Memories  (Institute of Museum and Library Services, LSTA)

The Wood County District Public Library, Center for Archival Collections, Wood County Historical Center, Wood County Genealogical Society, and Northwest Library District received funding from the State Library of Ohio through an LSTA minigrant for the creation of an online digital scrapbook containing historical images of northwestern Ohio, formerly known as the Great Black Swamp, in the 1800s and 1900s. These photographs provide a visual documentation of our region’s history that does not exist elsewhere and through this project images too fragile to be handled can be made accessible to a wide audience. The CAC has contributed photos for Phase One, which focuses on the oil and gas boom.

UL staff contact:  Steve Charter, Reference Archivist, Center for Archival Collections

Preservation of Local African-American History

BGSU’s Center for Archival Collections is partnering with the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections at the University of Toledo and the African American Legacy Project of Northwest Ohio to gather and preserve materials related to the history of the northwest Ohio African-American community.

The formal partnership was announced at a news conference June 19 at the African American Legacy Project headquarters in Toledo. Founded in 2002, the project is a repository of information about the region’s black history.

The agreement calls for the partners to work together to professionally preserve materials donated to the project, while making vital documents available to the public.

Representatives of the four organizations have been meeting for the past year to finalize the agreement, which outlines how materials will be collected and enables each institution to own donated material. A significant portion of the collection will be retained at the project’s Upton Avenue facility in Toledo.

The coalition sees it as an important step in preserving local history.

UL staff contact:  Steve Charter, Reference Archivist, Center for Archival Collections

Bringing Books to Life: Engaging School-age Children in Book Reviewing (a 2005 Partnership for Community Action grant recipient)

This project introduces area educators and librarians to the Children's Book Center (CBC), an outstanding collection of juvenile literature in Bowling Green State University's Curriculum Resource Center, University Libraries. In conjunction with area school children and BGSU ENG 342 students, a substantial number of exceptional picture books will be explored, critiqued and reviewed during an artist-in-residence series of in-school visits. This project will:

• engage students in urban, suburban and rural elementary schools in an active learning experience designed to promote the language arts skills of reading, evaluating and responding to children's books;
• heighten awareness of area educators and librarians regarding the collection of materials available in the CBC and through the CRC and how they can use the materials;
• bring a professional teaching artist into area classrooms (urban, suburban and rural) in a "bringing books to life" artist-in-residence series;
• involve BGSU children's literature students (ENG 342) in a collaborative book-reviewing project with students from northwest Ohio schools;
• publish the work of BGSU students and area school children to the CRC/CSCL's online book review website, in the CSCL newsletter, Introspective, and encourage students from both sectors to publish their reviews on Amazon.com and other publishing venues;
• develop closer ties between BGSU University libraries and area educators and librarians;
• provide the CRC and CSCL with vital data regarding the needs of area librarians and educators in researching and developing a future part-time position for a CSCL Outreach Coordinator;
• develop a pilot "procedures manual" for a future part-time CSCL Outreach Coordinator; and
• demonstrate the sustainability and far-reaching effects of a part-time CSCL Outreach Coordinator.

View a WBGU PBS Focus on BGSU video segment about this project.

UL faculty contact: Sara Bushong, Head of Curriculum Resource Center

Orientation to Academic Libraries through Distance Education, Institute for Library & Information Literacy Education (ILILE)

This project will develop online instructional modules to teach Ohio high school students about academic libraries. Under the project leadership of Colleen Boff, University Libraries' First Year Experience Librarian, school library media specialists, public librarians, and other academic librarians state-wide are involved with developing the content for these instructional modules. The modules may be integrated into any Ohio high school curriculum as well as introductory courses at Ohio college campuses such as BGSU's University Success course or GSW program. In cooperation with Northwest Ohio Educational Technology (NWOET), distance sessions are being provided to several high school groups who are not able to make a campus visit because of budget cuts. The goal is to make students will feel more confident using academic libraries and as a result, potentially turn to the library for information early on. The work of school library media specialists and high school composition teachers in preparing high school students for college-level research will be reinforced.

UL faculty contact: Colleen Boff, First Year Experience Librarian, Library Teaching & Learning

Human Rights Monday Night Film Festival

This festival included showings of eight independently produced videos designed to increase awareness of human rights issues. It was a collaboration between the University Libraries' Multicultural Affairs Committee and Human Values for Transformation Action (HVTA). HVTA is a local organization that advocates for human rights and emphasizes respect for difference, empowerment, self-determination, collective action, sustainability, and accountability. They cultivate an understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the vision and work of UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization). Each of the documentary videos focused on at least one of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights and is part of a documentary film collection curated by the Human Rights Video Project. Twelve videos from the collection have also been made available from the University Libraries, the Wood County Public Library, and the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. Both public library systems also sponsored public screenings of the films. The videos are also available to all members of OhioLINK through patron-initiated borrowing.

The films shown during the festival included:

• Jan. 24 Every Mother's Son, (2003) about police brutality in the U.S.
• Feb. 21 Long Night's Journey into Day: South Africa's Search for Truth and Reconciliation (2000)
• Feb. 28 State of Denial, about the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa (2003)
• March 21 Calling the Ghosts, about rape as a weapon of war (1996) and Behind the Labels: Garment Workers on U.S. Saipan (2001)
• March 28 Life and Debt, about Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund (2001)
• April 11 Promises, about the daily lives of seven Israeli and Palestinian children (2001)
• April 25 Well-Founded Fear, about the U.S. asylum application process for political refugees (2000)

UL faculty contact: Mary Wrighten, Multicultural Services Librarian, Library Teaching & Learning

Children's Book Center (CBC) and Cooperative Services for Children's Literature (CSCL)

The Children's Book Center (CBC) is a joint venture between the Cooperative Services for Children's Literature (CSCL), the Curriculum Resource Center (CRC) in Jerome Library and the University Libraries to make high quality, recent children and young-adult books available to Northwest Ohio librarians and educators through a variety of services. Board members represent several regional institutions (including Wood County District Public Library, the University of Toledo, University of Findlay, BGSU, Perrysburg Schools, Bluffton City Schools, and Marygrove College ). Access to the collection is through:

• an onsite examination center at the Curriculum Resource Center
• book review presentations to Northwest Ohio educators and librarians by CSCL Board members, and
• checkout to BGSU faculty, staff, students and local courtesy card borrowers.

Books that represent a wide variety of curriculum-related topics are continually added to the collection by participating children's book publishers. Introspective, the CSCL newsletter, encourages K-12 teachers and librarians to critically evaluate book materials purchased for their classroom and libraries and announces children's literature-related events and activities. BGSU faculty, staff and students benefit from the Center and related CSCL activities that engage Northwest Ohio librarians, educators and students.

UL faculty contact: Sara Bushong, Head of Curriculum Resource Center (CRC)

CSCL Book and Reader Conference

The purpose of the annual Book and Reader Conference, sponsored by Cooperative Services for Children's Literature (CSCL) and the Curriculum Resource Center, is to provide an opportunity for K-12 teachers and librarians to experience a wide variety of activities surrounding the integration of literature into standards-based classroom instruction. The 2005 conference featuring author Margaret Peterson Haddix, will mark the 18th annual conference. Since 1992, when the CRC began collaborating with the CSCL Board to sponsor the conference, almost 1000 Northwest Ohio teachers and librarians have attended the annual event. Some of the authors presented over the years include: Pat Cummings, Patricia Polacco, Gerald McDermott, Jean Fritz, Ashley Bryan, Jan Wahl, Will Hillenbrand and Sharon Draper. BGSU faculty, staff and students benefit from the Conference and related CSCL activities that engage Northwest Ohio librarians and educators.

UL faculty contact: Sara Bushong, Head of Curriculum Resource Center (CRC)

Archives of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music

The purpose of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music archives is to preserve the record of the New Music & Art Festival and to provide intellectual and physical access to the music of our time. For many composers (40-60%), this is the only copy of their work held in a library. Archives include:

• scores and recordings for all compositions performed at the annual New Music & Art Festival;
• scores and recordings for pieces not chosen for performances;
• scores and recordings of BGSU student composers' works (student organization: Praecepta);
• print records of the festivals; and
• operating records of the Musical ArtsCCM.

All scores and recordings receive full cataloging and bibliographic records are available internationally.

UL faculty contact: Susannah Cleveland, Head, Music Library & Sound Recordings Archives

Contributions to the Ohio Memory Project

The Center for Archival Collections, University Libraries, is a major contributor of a wide variety of digitized documents and photographs related to Ohio history, including Civil War recruitment broadsides, black swamp photographs, letters from servicemen, and much, much more. The mission of the Ohio Memory Project is to provide access to historical treasures of Ohio, bringing together primary sources from all parts of the state in an online scrapbook that:

• commemorates the Buckeye State's bicentennial;
• celebrates state and local history;
• encourages cooperation between archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and other cultural organizations, and;
• allows the global community to discover and explore Ohio's rich past.

UL staff contact: Steve Charter, Reference Archivist, Center for Archival Collections

Research Revolution: Science and the Shaping of Modern Life

This program was designed to bring members of the community into libraries to watch award-winning documentaries and promote discussion about the legal, ethical, and moral issues raised by advancements in science and technology. It reinforced that libraries should be places of dialog and learning as it helped participants understand the impacts of scientific innovations on their daily lives and the importance of their opinions in shaping public policy. Five programs were held and participants included local high school students, BGSU students and faculty, as well as local community members. Discussions were led by Dr. Robert Midden, Chemistry.

Great Lakes Vessels Online Image Database

This image database provides an online tool for students and researchers around the world by making accessible hundreds of images of Great Lakes vessels and corresponding information from vessel data sheets. Vessel images and data sheets all come from the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes. The database was partially funded by the National Maritime Heritage Grants Program of the National Park Service and the Coastal Zone Management Act.

UL staff contact: Robert Graham, Archivist, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes