Hostos Library News
Spring 2011
Vol. 3, No. 2
Inside this issue:
Hostos Library
Welcomes
Madeline Ford as
Interim Chief
1
Prof. Kate Lyons
Appointed OIT
Liaison, Wins PSC
CUNY Grant
2
Prof. Matthew
Flaherty Wins Two
Scholarships
2
Prof. William
Casari’s Project
Studies Street Life
in Santa Domingo
& NYC
2
Collection News:
NYT, Nursing
eBooks, more!
3
Welcome to the Spring 2011 Issue of the
Hostos Library Newsletter!
Welcome to the Hostos Library Newsletter! Whether you are faculty, student or staff, we’ll help
you keep up-to-date about the library’s latest acquisitions, programs, workshops, & resources.
Hostos Library Welcomes
New Interim Chief Librarian Madeline Ford
M
Recommended
4
Summer Reads by
Prof. Miriam Laskin
Wonder Woman
5
and Sexism
Presentation by
Prof. Jennifer Tang
Prof. Rhonda
5
Johnson Speaks at
CUNY ©OPYRIGHT
Forum
What Literacy
6
Workshops Can Do
For You
New Access
Privileges for
NYPL Members
6
Hostos Archives
Goes to MARAC
7
Summer
Library Hours
8
adeline Ford has
spent most of her life
working at CUNY. ―Hostos
is wonderful,‖ she said.
―While I didn’t attend Hostos,
I have many connections here.
Shirley J. Hinds, for whom
the ―A‖ building is named,
was my mentor and was
responsible for me becoming
a librarian in the first place.‖
Years later, Madeline
walks into the A building
every day. On March 4, 2011,
she was appointed Interim
Chief Librarian of Hostos
Community College Library.
She replaced Lisa Tappeiner,
who served previously and
has now returned to her position as Head of Technical
Services at the Library.
Ms. Ford graduated from
Baruch College with a B.A.
degree in Business Administration and an M.S. in Education. Her Masters degree in
Library Science is from Rutgers University.
Prior to Hostos, Madeline
was Chief Librarian of the
Charles Evans Inniss Memo-
rial Library at Medgar Evers
College from August 2006 to
February 2008. Later she
served as Media Librarian and
Supervisor from February
2008 to March 2011. Her
past positions include Head of
Reference Services in the
Lehman College Library from
June 2002 to August 2006;
Reference/Instructional
Librarian at Hunter College
from May 2002 to June 2006;
and Adjunct Librarian at
Baruch College in 1993 and
1994.
Madeline was excited to
accept the offer to come to
Hostos. ―Hostos and Medgar
Evers are very similar in the
struggle that the schools went
through just to become established and maintain themselves,‖ she observed. ―They
are also alike because of their
connection to the community.
Perhaps the greatest difference is the location and the
populations that are served Medgar is in the middle of a
residential community in
Brooklyn and the students are
predominately Black and of
West Indian descent.‖
The granddaughter of
immigrants from Barbados,
Madeline knows firsthand
what it’s like to bridge two
cultures, an experience shared
by many Hostos students.
―My extended family is
quite large. While I was
raised in the Crown Heights
section of Brooklyn, most of
my relatives were born and
raised in Bedford Stuyvesant.
However, I spent many summers with relatives in Barbados, which gave me an appreciation of my heritage,‖ she
recalled.
(continued on page 7)
Page 2
Hostos Library News
SPRING 2011
Library Announcements
Prof. Kate Lyons Appointed OIT Liaison to Office of Instructional Technology;
Prof. Matthew Flaherty Wins ACRL and RBMS Scholarships
P
rof. Kate Lyons, Reference and Information
Technology Librarian, was
appointed liaison to the Office
of Instructional Technology
(OIT). This position includes
being the Chair of the Committee on Academic Computing (CAC) and a member of
CUNY-wide committees focusing on technology, such as
the CUNY Committee on
Academic Technology (CAT).
Kate, who has been at
Hostos since 2007, believes
technology is a powerful tool
for educators. ―I’m excited to
be involved in connecting
faculty who want to teach
with technology. I also look
forward to working more
closely with OIT; this will be
a great opportunity for me to
deepen connections between
this department and the rest of
the campus.‖
In addition, Kate also won
a PSC CUNY Research Grant
for her ―research analysis of
T
his has a been a year of
happy news for Prof.
Matthew Flaherty. He began
at Hostos Library
in Fall 2009 as a
substitute and will
now officially join
the Hostos family
as the Assistant
the applicability of different
Archivist and RefiOS development tools to lierence Librarian.
brary resource creation.‖
In addition, he
―Library applications
was the recipient of
make up a relatively small
two scholarships
portion of available apps for
this year: the Librarian Scholmobile device users, which
arship, intended to subsidize
are mostly commercial,‖ she
attendance at the ACRL
noted. She will research best (Association of College and
practices in selecting mobile
Research Libraries) conferdevelopment tools for the
ence for academic librarians
creation of different library
with five or fewer years of
applications, so users can ulti- post-MLS experience.
mately have access to library
The award included a reginformation on the devices
istration waiver, travel stipend
that they’re using.
and special breakfast presentaThe Hostos Library staff
tion and acknowledgment at
congratulates Kate on her lat- the conference, which was
est endeavor and award!
held in Philadelphia from
—Prof. Jennifer Tang March 30 – April 2.
Matt also won the RBMS
(Rare Books and Manuscript
Section) Preconference Scholarship, which covers attendance costs
to the ACRL preconference, a week
before ALA. This
event will be held
June 21-24 in Baton Rouge, L.A., a
week before ALA.
Given to first-time
attendees, the
scholarship includes a registration waiver and travel stipend worth $1,000.
We at the Library are very
proud of Matt’s accomplishments and are happy to
welcome him to the library
faculty!
—Prof. Jennifer Tang
Prof. William Casari Receives PSC CUNY Research Grant for
Photographic Essay on Santa Domingo & NYC
P
rof. William Casari, Archivist and Instruction
Librarian, received a PSC
CUNY Research Award
Grant this year for a research
project entitled ―Street Life:
Connecting cultures of Santo
Domingo and New York
City.‖ The project involves a
photographic essay illustrating the crossover of the lived
experience of Dominicans on
the Grand Concourse and
Avenida Mella in Santo Domingo.
―The streets in question—
The Grand Concourse in the
Bronx and Avenida Mella in
Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic, are both urban thoroughfares with many cars,
pedestrians, apartments and
retail,‖ observed Prof. Casari.
―While the Grand Concourse is dense with a mixture
of brick six-story apartment
buildings, Avenida Mella has
a lower profile with many
three and four-story concrete
structures.‖
The project seeks to answer questions such as, ―How
does daily life play out on
each street for Dominicans
who heavily populate both
streets? ―
This photographic project
will document the lived experience on and around each
street.
Prof. Casari expects the
finished project will result in
the photographic essay being
published online.
—Prof. Jennifer Tang
SPRING 2011
Hostos Library News
Page 3
Collection News
New York Times at Hostos Library
Last month, the big news in the world of online and print journalism was the
New York Times’ new policy of limiting a user’s access to only twenty full-text
articles per month. Fortunately, students, faculty, and staff at Hostos will continue to have online access to the Times thanks to the Library’s existing print
subscription and online subscriptions to the following databases:
The New York Times Historical provides full-text access to the Times from its first issue in 1851 to 2007. It provides both
text and images and is fully searchable.
InfoTrac Custom Newspapers provides full-text of the Times from 1985 through yesterday except images.
Lexis-Nexis Academic provides full-text of the Times from 1980 through today except images.
The New York Times print version: The Library maintains a weekday subscription but issues are not available on the same
day as the newsstand. Please expect 3-4 days processing time before a print issue is available at the Reserves desk.
Nursing ebook Collections Expand
Hostos Library now has access to Nursing@Ovid, a collection of over 50 ebooks in nursing and allied
health. This collection contains easy-to-use, student-friendly texts & is available to students 24/7 online.
Books in Print
CUNY libraries has licensed Books in Print online, the ―largest, unbiased, independent web-based bibliographic resource
offering information for over 7.5 million titles (in print, out of print, or forthcoming), including books, e-books, audio and
video titles.‖ This subscription supports CUNY’s compliance with the textbook provision of the 2008 Higher Education
Opportunity Act (HEOA) which requires colleges and universities to provide textbook ISBN’s and pricing information on
course schedules.
Biblioteca Ayacucho
Hostos Library received a donation of over 100 volumes of Latin American classics published by the Biblioteca Ayacucho, donated by the Venezuelan Mission to the United Nations. This rich collection features
Latin American cultural and literary works in Spanish from pre-Colombian times to the present.
The Biblioteca Ayacucho Digital provides free online access to more than 75 titles in PDF format
(http://www.bibliotecayacucho.gob.ve/fba/index.php?id=103)
—Prof. Lisa Tappeiner
Page 4
Hostos Library News
SPRING 2011
Summer Reading—Books for Everyone!
This a great time to catch up on books you may not have had the time for during this
busy semester! Here are some recommendations from Prof. Miriam Laskin:
Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements
by James DeFronzo
The history of 20th century revolutionary movements within the context of political-sociological
theories of revolution; including (but not limited to) the Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cuban,
and Nicaraguan revolutions; and recent “revolutions through democracy,” in Venezuela and Bolivia. Also includes a guide to further readings and video resources .
The Information : A History, a Theory, a Flood
by James Gleick
The author examines the increasingly complex methods and technologies that humans have
used to create, transmit, store, analyze, and retrieve information. Begins with the invention of
language and mathematics, through the development of dictionaries, the telegraph & telephone,
through modern computers, information theory, and the Internet and Wikipedia, this book will appeal to science geeks and non-geeks alike.
Words Were All We Had : Becoming Biliterate Against the Odds
by Maria de la Luz Reyes
Personal narratives of well-respected educators who attained biliteracy at a young age. The accounts celebrate a linguistic potential that has been largely ignored in schools and underscores
the inextricable and emotional ties that Latinos have to Spanish. These stories of tenacity and
resilience offer hope for a new generation of bilingual learners who are too often forced to choose
between English and their native language.
Return to Sender
by Julia Alvarez
This novel for 6 – 9th graders tells the story of a Vermont farm family and their undocumented
Mexican migrant workers. In a novel full of hope, but no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a
beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.
Faces of America : How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered Their Pasts
by Henry Louis Gates
A fascinating journey into the lives of some of America’s favorite celebrities, Gates excavates
historical archives and uses the latest advances in genealogy and genetics to bring each individual his or her history. The book, as well as the PBS television series on which it is based, uncovers the common thread that holds us together while highlighting the differences that make us
unique from each other and from one generation to the next.
Some Sing, Some Cry
by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza
Ntozake Shange and her real-life sister Ifa Bayeza tell an epic story of the Mayfield family. The
novel begins at Sweet Tamarind, a rice and cotton plantation on an island off South Carolina's
coast; recently emancipated Bette Mayfield flees for the mainland. With her granddaughter, Eudora, she heads to Charleston. We follow them on a journey through the watershed events of
America's troubled, history--from Reconstruction to both World Wars, from the Harlem Renaissance to Vietnam and the modern day.
NOTE: Prof. Laskin has adapted these descriptions from publishers’ summaries.
SPRING 2011
Hostos Library News
Prof. Jennifer Tang Presents Talk on the 1970s TV Show,
―Wonder Woman‖ for Women’s History Month
O
n Wednesday, March 8,
2011, Prof. Jennifer
Tang presented a talk,
―Wonder Woman: 70s Feminist Icon or Victim of Covert
Sexism?‖ as part of Hostos’
Women’s History Month celebrations. The event, which
took place in the Library’s
classroom, A214, featured a
PowerPoint presentation charting the history of the first female superhero, followed by a
screening of the first episode of
the 1970s TV Show, ―The New
Adventures of Wonder
Woman‖ starring Lynda
Carter.
Among those in attendance
were Profs. Karen Winkler,
Sandy Figueroa, Madeline
Ford, William Casari, and
many students. The discussion
centered on the ways in which
Wonder Woman’s stature as
the women were shown as eye
candy and sexual objects
through skimpy attire and
wildly inappropriate music.
Since the series debuted
around the same time as the
Women’s Movement, I found
this very revealing.‖
Several students pointed out
that the show also betrayed
dated conceptions about race.
Referring to the show’s depiction of Paradise Island, the
mythological home of Wonder
the first female superhero may Woman and Amazons, she
have been subtly undermined
noted, ―Paradise Island is notaby the way network and televi- bly absent of people of color,‖
sion executives of the 1970s
noted one attendee.
portrayed women.
The event concluded with a
―When I was a little girl, I
lively discussion on the role of
wanted to be like Wonder
women, sexism, and the media
Woman,‖ commented Prof.
that promised to extend to
Tang. ―Then, 20 years later, I other areas.
watched a few of these epi—Prof. Jennifer Tang
sodes and realized how often
Page 5
FAST FACTS:
Most Popular
Databases in
the Library:
#1
Academic Search
Complete
#2
Encyclopedia
Britannica
#3
Literature
Resource Center
and MLA
#4
Nursing
Resource Center
#5
Opposing
Viewpoints in
Context
Prof. Rhonda Johnson Speaks at CUNY Copyright Forum
O
n Friday, May 8, 2011, Prof.
Rhonda Johnson, Head of
Access Services at Hostos Library,
gave a presentation, ―Why Copyright Matters in Higher Education‖
at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Her talk was part
of the CUNY-wide forum entitled
―Copyright and Fair Use @CUNY.‖
Outlining the history of current U.S. copyright law, she explored various aspects of across academia, including how
copyright law pertains to faculty, administrators and students.
Dr. Jim Lengel, a visiting Professor at Hunter College, was the
co-presenter and offered various scenarios in physical and
virtual classroom contexts that illustrated the grey areas of fair
use and copyright. All presenters stressed the importance of
being informed about rights and responsibilities related to
copyright in academia.
The forum, attended by nearly 100 faculty, students, and
administrators from across CUNY, revealed how copyright
issues affect everyone in academia—from members of the
faculty as they use and produce copyrighted research to students creating original works of art and writing.
Every day, Hostos librarians struggle with copyright compliance as we provide access to materials belonging to other
institutions via Interlibrary Loan. In loaning out expensive
items, such as textbooks, students are tempted to reproduce
pages and images in violation of copyright laws. New technology makes it easy for information to be reproduced and
distributed online, which is a great benefit to teachers and students, but also raises questions about the use of digital copyrighted information. On many campuses, librarians are the de
facto experts on issues related to copyright and fair use, and
Hostos is no exception.
For more information on copyright, visit CUNY Libraries
Copyright Committee website Copyright@CUNY
(http://www.cuny.edu/libraries/services/copyright.html)
—Prof. Rhonda L. Johnson, Head of
Access Services: rhjohnson@ hostos.cuny.edu.
Page 6
Hostos Library News
SPRING 2011
FACULTY: NEWS YOU CAN USE
What Library Open Workshops Can Do For You
T
he Library offers open workshops for students (and anyone
else) in the Library classroom, A214, throughout the Fall
and Spring semesters. They’re called ―open workshops‖ because students sign up for them on the Hostos Workshop Calendar and take workshops outside of their class schedules. Some
faculty require one or more of our workshops and others offer
extra credit or strongly recommend them.
Each workshop covers information literacy concepts and
skills and lasts 75 minutes. Descriptions of our workshops can
be found under the ―Instruction Programs‖ tab on the Library’s
homepage. We supply signed Attendance Verification forms to
students who take our workshops. The Hostos Workshop Calendar is available through a link on the Library’s homepage as
well.
If your students can not make a workshop, we also offer two
online sets of information literacy tutorials, both with ways for
students to provide documentation that they completed the tutorial. The first is the CUNY Information Competency Tutorials
which we have been using for the past several years. It is available at our Library homepage. It consists of eight modules,
each providing instruction in the concepts and skills that help
students do research. Six of the modules also offer a 10-
question quiz and students can email the results to their professors directly from the quiz pages. They must use the faculty
member’s Hostos email address.
Our new online tutorial is quite a bit different. It duplicates
the workshop that has been taught by CUNY Writing Fellows as
part of our coverage of plagiarism. It is called “Plagiarism:
How to Cite Using MLA.” Created by Writing Fellow Sarah
Archino and English faculty member Clarence Robertson, this
series of ―bite-size‖ modules comes with activity sheets that
students can print and fill out to practice the skills this workshop/podcast covers. Both of these online tutorials are free to
use at any time, from any computer at all (no password needed).
Both descriptions and links are available on our ―Citation Help‖
webpage, which is accessed by choosing it in the ―Quick Links‖
menu on the Library’s homepage.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Prof.
Miriam Laskin at (718) 518-4207 or email
[email protected].
—Prof. Miriam Laskin, Coordinator of
Instructional Services and Reference Librarian
New Manhattan Research Library Initiative Allows NYPL Members
Access to NYU and Columbia University Libraries
B
eginning March 2011, New York Public Library cardholders in good standing who live, work or attend schools in New York
State are eligible to participate in a new library service, MaRLI (the Manhattan Research Libraries Initiative) that allows users
to borrow select research library material for at-home use. Members can borrow select library materials from the New York Public
Library for the Performing Arts, Science Industry and Business Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building for 60 days (non-renewable loans).
All requested material must be reviewed by staff for suitability for circulation prior to checkout. Borrowing privileges are nontransferable and users must present photo identification at the time of checkout. In addition, participants will be granted access to
select materials owned by Columbia University and NYU. This unprecedented access initiative is in a pilot phase and is expected
to last through June 2012.
To apply, please consult with a NYPL librarian and submit an application form. The Hostos Library web page has a direct
link to NYPL in the right side box under “Quick Links.” In addition to Library policies outlined here, MaRLI participants remain subject to New York Public Library cardholder Terms and Conditions.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must first:
acquire a New York Public Library card
consult with a librarian at a participating Research Library
complete an online application for MaRLI membership.
Successful applicants will be contacted by the Library via e-mail, generally within 2 business days. E-mails will be sent from
[email protected]. Upon admission to the program, MaRLI participants will need to visit a participating Research Library location to
have their library card authorized and updated. IDs must be brought. NOTE: current NYPL cardholders applying for MaRLI status
will have the expiration date on their record adjusted to coincide with the duration of the pilot. To renew their membership, as either
a MaRLI participant or standard cardholder, IDs will need to be presented in person. For more information about the partnership
between NYPL, Columbia and NYU, see http://marli.libguides.com.
SPRING 2011
Hostos Library News
Page 7
Hostos Library Welcomes Madeline Ford (continued)
mother as an influential role
model that helped her stay foHer interest in librarianship
cused on her career. ―My
began in her freshman year at
mother was very committed to
Baruch, when she took a remaking sure that I received a
search class with a professor
quality education, both in and
who later became her mentor.
―She opened up another world out of the classroom. She also
made sure that I was grounded,
to me,‖ she recalled. By her
that I knew about my cultural
senior year, she realized how
history both in Barbados, the
useful the research class had
U.S.A. and Africa. She taught
been and found herself
―enjoying the challenge of find- me how to bake and decorate
cakes, how to sew and cook,
ing information.‖ She soon
how to fix things, and how to
accepted an internship at the
appreciate life.‖
library and decided that her
Some of her favorite books
happy experience there ―sealed
include
Kindred by Octavia
the deal.‖ Having studied comButler,
Family
by J. California
puter science, she was excited
Cooper,
What
Looks
Like
to find that her new major in
Crazy
on
an
Ordinary
Day by
library science would successPearl
Cleage,
and
Letter
to My
fully merge with her background in computer information Daughter by Maya Angelou.
While maintaining an active
systems. Madeline credits her
(continued from front page)
work schedule, she has published articles such as
―Research and Writing in Sociology: A Collaboration between
Classroom Instructor and Librarian‖ and ―African American Health Resources on the
World Wide Web.‖ Her works
in progress are entitled
―Caribbean Children’s Literature: A Resource Guide‖ and
―Female Circumcision: Perspectives Explored.‖
As Interim Chief Librarian,
Madeline looks forward to developing projects that involve
cutting edge technology, such
as creating a library first year
experience module; digitalization projects and developing
mobile technology for the library. In addition, she is eager
to work with Design interns
who are planning to redesign
the library homepage as well as
create promotional materials to
highlight the library’s resources
and services. Also in the works
is an assessment tool to measure the effectiveness of library
services and programs. Madeline also has plans to increase
collaborative opportunities with
other college departments and
awareness of the library profession by providing possible internship and mentoring opportunities.
―I am so pleased to join the
Hostos family,‖ she said.
—Prof. Jennifer Tang
Hostos Archive Librarians Go to MARAC
T
his spring, the Hostos
Archives faculty had the
pleasure of representing
Hostos Community College at
the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Archives Conference
(MARAC). The conference,
entitled Sensational Archives,
was held in historic Alexandria, Virginia from May 5-7.
MARAC is a professional
organization that serves as a
platform for archivists from
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C.
Twice a year, the attendees meet to discuss concerns
and challenges and obtain
professional development
through a variety of rewarding presentations, workshops,
and events.
College Archivist William
Casari and Assistant Archivist
Matthew Flaherty had the
wonderful opportunity to contribute to the conference’s
success by partaking in a session entitled Community Colleges and Archives: Addressing Challenges, Needs, and
Opportunities.
On the morning of May
7, Professor Casari served as
moderator for the panel session that included ProfessorsFlaherty, Robin Emrich from
the Columbia Archives in
Maryland, and Alan Delozier
from the Seton Hall University archives in New Jersey .
The presentations lasted approximately 20 minutes each,
followed by a question-andanswer session from the audience. Approximately 25 archivists from various regions
were in attendance.
Emrich and Delozier
discussed their consulting
experiences in which they
assisted community college
libraries in developing policies and procedures as well as
acquiring and processing archival collections of enduring
historical value.
Flaherty discussed the
Hostos Archives program,
using its successes and challenges as a case-study and a
starting point for the ensuing
discussion. The topics covered included funding
sources; community outreach;
and collaboration opportunities. Central to the presentation was the role community
colleges play in documenting
the broader local community.
Hostos was cited as an
example of a college that is
actively involved with its
local community. In addition
to being a site of educational
advancement, it shapes and
impacts the community in
profound and enduring ways.
Thus, by documenting
the history of Hostos, the college’s archival program plays
a critical role in documenting
the South Bronx neighborhood and safe-guarding its
history for future generations.
Overall, the panel session
was a huge success. It provided attendees the chance to
learn about the role of archives in an atmosphere that
is often overlooked by archivists. The session also gave
Hostos the opportunity to
promote its archival program
as well as the community’s
unique and exciting history.
--- Prof. Matthew Flaherty
Page 8
Hostos Library News
SPRING 2011
Hostos Library News
Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Jennifer Tang
Content Advisors
Prof. Lisa Tappeiner
Prof. Miriam Laskin
Hostos Library Website:
www.hostos.cuny.edu/library
Address:
Hostos Community College Library
475 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 518 4222
Library Hours
May 30 - June 26:
Mon - Wed = 9 a.m.—8pm
Thurs. & Fri. = 9 a.m.—5 p.m.
CLOSED Sat-Sun
June 27-July 31:
Mon- Wed = 9 a.m.—8 p.m., Thurs 9 a.m.– 6 p.m.
CLOSED Fri, Sat, Sun
Holidays/Exceptions
Week of July 4th:
CLOSED Monday, OPEN Tuesday,
Wednesday 9 a.m.—8 p.m., Thurs-Fri 9am - 5pm
ALL SERVICE DESKS CLOSE 15 Minutes BEFORE
OFFICIAL CLOSING TIME