Hallie Ford Literary Series: The Art of Editing

Written by

Please join us for the second in this spring’s Hallie Ford Literary Series at Willamette University. The Art of Editing Thursday, March 7, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hatfield Room. Editing a Paper

Legendary editor and Salem native Gary Fisketjon will discuss his career in editing and book publishing. Fisketjon, who created the Vintage Contemporaries series for Random House, has published some of contemporary literature’s best-known writers, from Raymond Carver and Richard Ford to Donna Tartt and Haruki Murakami. He is currently editor-at-large for Alfred A. Knopf.

The following events are free and open to the public.
Contact Information:
Name: Scott Nadelson
Phone: 503-370-6290

Hallie Ford Literary Series: Lena Khalaf Tuffaha & Gabriel Tallent 

Written by

Please join us for the first in this spring’s Hallie Ford Literary Series at Willamette University. New Voices / Alumni Showcase, an evening with Lena Khalaf Tuffaha & Gabriel Tallent on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hatfield Room.

Two of our own return to campus to read from their highly acclaimed first books. Palestinian-American poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, who studied at Willamette in the mid-1990s, recently won the Washington Book Award for her poetry volume Water and Salt. Gabriel Tallent, a 2010 graduate, published his first novel, My Absolute Darling, to widespread acclaim, receiving praise in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and National Public Radio. Books will be for sale, courtesy of the Willamette Store. I hope to see you there.

Contact Information:
Name: Scott Nadelson
Phone: 503-370-6290

Newspaper Resources at Willamette

Written by

Some common questions that librarians receive at the reference desk revolve around newspapers.  Does the library have this newspaper?  How far back does your subscription go?  How do you use the microfilm machine to read old newspapers?

Before the Internet, most libraries subscribed to newspapers that were mailed to their campuses through the U.S. Postal Service.  Depending on where the newspapers were printed, it could take several days to receive the most recent edition.  And if you were lucky, the paper arrived undamaged!

Newspapers take up a lot of precious shelf space, especially when they are published daily.  To alleviate the space required for old newspapers, they were “photographed” onto microfilm or microform.  Even though the first uses of microfilm occurred as early as 1859, this technology wasn’t embraced by libraries until the 1960 and 1970s.*  However, this technology is cumbersome to use and not a big favorite among library users.  The Hatfield Library no longer receives newspapers on microfilm, but we still have a large collection of older microfilm titles.

Nowadays we access most of our newspapers digitally through the Internet, where they are much more accessible and not confined by physical space limitations.  Of course, digital newspapers require Internet access, electrical power, and often charge expensive access rates.  Technology has allowed us to scan old texts for recognizable words; we can search these words digitally and often bring up that exact instance used within a newspaper.  It certainly beats sifting through stacks of print newspapers or scrolling through rolls of microfilm!

The library continues to receive a number of important regional newspapers in print as well as a selection of national newspapers. Many of these titles are also available digitally; library users are able to access an incredibly wide range of newspapers online through our list of newspaper databases.  If you have a specific newspaper in mind, try looking it up in the Newsbank A-Z list of over 6,500 news sources.  Frequent questions we receive for specific newspapers include the Oregonian, Statesman Journal, Register Guard, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal.

If you’re looking for general news, a great place to start is Access World News. This resource pulls from over 5,900 U.S. news sources and international news sources from 172 countries!  It contains content from newspapers, wire services, and broadcast news transcripts.  You can also search for news sources by location.

We have the full C-SPAN collection which include every C-SPAN program aired since 1987 to present! This is an excellent resource for gathering information about U.S. politics.

International Newsstream is a collection of the most recent news content outside of the U.S. and Canada.  For only Canadian news, try our Canadian Newsstream.

For regional and local news, we have the Oregon Newspaper Source (a collection of 31 Oregon news sources), and Regional Business News.  We also have the Historic Oregon Newspaper database, which contains over 900,000 pages of Oregon Newspapers between 1846 to 2017.

America’s Historical Newspapers is ideal for really old content. It provides the full text to over 700 historical U.S. newspapers between 1690-1876.  And the Historical New York Times provides full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue ((1851).

Current Willamette faculty, staff, and students have off-campus access to these digital resources, and the general public are welcome to access these resources in the library.  If you don’t see what you need on our list of newspaper sources or have questions, please ask one of our knowledgeable library staff.  They would be happy to help!

* Source: microfilmworld.com/briefhistoryofmicrofilm.aspx

Written by John Repplinger

A Day at the Library

Written by

Circulation staff are kept busy answering questions about library services and policies, troubleshooting computer and printing problems, and directing patrons to various resources in the library and across campus. In addition to the full-time library staff, it takes a team of 30 circulation students to keep the library running smoothly!  We’ve asked some of our circulation staff and student workers what an average work day would be like for them.

Opening (by Charity Braceros-Simon)
Circulation students arrive 15 minutes before the library officially opens. We go through the building to turn on the computers, printers and other equipment so that they are ready for patrons to use. We also go through and make sure that supplies such as paper and staples are stocked. All of the materials that have been placed in the book drop overnight are checked in and sorted for reshelving. Finally, the bulk of the morning is spent processing Summit materials. We check in and sort all of the MOHL items that are being returned to us. We also receive the materials that Willamette students and faculty have requested from other libraries and place them on the hold shelf for check out.

Weekends (by Karla Gutierrez Hernandez)
On Friday and Saturday, there are often only a few students using the library. It is mostly quiet on both floors, but walking around to take a headcount encourages student workers to check and see if anything needs to be shelved or cleaned. It is also when we check for any issues with security or equipment. Weekend shifts are a good time to catch up on any shelf reading, organize our work space at the circulation desk, and restock our office supplies. Student managers inform student assistants if there are any special projects that need to be completed, such as taking down or putting up new displays. Making these shifts enjoyable and productive is all about finding balance by dividing the tasks among staff and allowing some down time.

Closing (by Shannon Lee)
Working the closing shift at the Mark O. Hatfield Library is a very similar process to tucking a child into bed. First, we send home all of the library’s friends with the promise that they may come back tomorrow for more learning and fun. Next, though we don’t use toothbrushes, we help the library stay clean by clearing the whiteboards and picking up any stray books. We then tuck the library into bed, pushing in the chairs and making sure there is no garbage around to give the library nightmares. One simply cannot forget to read the library an exciting bedtime story about taking the final gate count and unlocking the book drop. Finally, we turn off the lights, lock the doors, and say a soft goodnight to our dearest library.

Hatfield Halloween Hunt

Written by

The Hatfield Halloween Hunt…  (Oct 29-31st)

Five clues have been hidden in the library and on its website.  Complete a specific task to discover a hidden word. Collect all five words and then arrange them to solve the riddle below.  Drop off this completed form at the circulation desk by midnight on October 31st for a small prize and a chance to win a $15 Bistro gift card!  

Clue #1: Blitz’s Prof. Mustard placed the book “Ketchup and Mayo” on reserve. Find it.

Clue #2: Blitz found a historical photo of Waller Hall’s fire. Find it in the Archives (2nd floor).

Clue #3: Blitz loves books by Edgar Allan Poe. Find books by Poe (2nd floor stacks).

Clue #4: Blitz has an online Library Guide (LibGuide) for his College Colloquium course.  Find it.

Clue #5: Blitz wrote the biology thesis “Binturong of Willamette.” It is online in the Academic Commons. Find it.

The riddle: Why was Blitz late to Willamette’s Hauntcert?  
(University Chamber Orchestra/Wind Ensemble concert on Sunday, Oct 28th, 3:00 p.m., Hudson Hall)

____________    ____________  a   ____________    ____________    ____________

Your name & email:  ________________________     ___________________________

Copies of the entry form are also available at the circulation desk.  For questions or comments, contact John Repplinger (jrepplin@willamette.edu) 

Improvements, One Step at Time

Written by

By Craig Milberg, Mark O. Hatfield Library Director

It is hard to believe that the MOHL is over 30 years old, which is middle-aged for an academic library.  As the building and its furnishings age, we continually strategize about how to improve the student experience when using the library. Improvements to the building and furnishings should be evident, but are they? How many of the following have you noticed?

 

– New rolling white boards (summer 2017)

– New rolling tables, chairs, & alcove paint color, first floor of library (summer 2017)

– New seating styles (2017)

– Additional seating due to the popularity of new seats (2018)

– Additional mini laptop tables (2018)

– New white boards on table tops and group study room walls (2018)

– Replaced 40 old wood chairs with cushioned chairs, first floor of library (2018)

 

Several of the improvements came from feedback from ASWU and individual students, but there is always more that can be done. The library and WITS staff spent a considerable amount of energy last year developing a first-floor renovation plan that would move the WITS help desk into the library, greatly expand student seating options, and improve the 24-hour space.

While this renovation has been placed on hold while the University deals with more pressing projects, we want to continue to make progress until a major renovation can be done.  We really want student feedback on our next project.

Should we improve access to electrical outlets on the first floor (summer 2019)?  What other ideas do you have?  Stop by the library and tell Craig your ideas, or drop him an email (cmilberg@willamette.edu).

Sufism and Islamic Law Lecture

Written by

Sufism and Islamic Law: Tempering Legal Decision Making with the Jurist’s Knowledge of God

A lecture by Fareeha Khan

Thursday, October 4, 5 pm
Hatfield Room
Mark O. Hatfield Library

Sufism was as much a part of the life and blood of Muslim societies as Islamic law in pre-modern times. On a daily basis, it was what reminded both the lay and scholar Muslim what the point was in following Islamic legal rulings:  to worship and submit oneself to God. Unfortunately, due to various modern intellectual trends, Sufism no longer holds such a central level of importance among many of today’s Muslims. This lecture will examine a prominent modern-day case of Islamic legal reform in which the motivating factor was the jurist’s deep spirituality and practice of Sufism. I argue that a revival of such spiritually-inspired jurisprudence is necessary for the holistic survival of Islam in the modern day.

Fareeha Khan is an independent scholar affiliated with Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Her research interests include Islamic law, gender, and the place of traditional Islamic scholarship in the modern day. She is the author of several academic articles, is currently serving as Advisory Editor for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islamic Law, and is preparing her first book-length manuscript for publication, entitled The Ethical Contours of a Fatwa: Gender, Sufism and Islamic Law in Late Colonial India. Dr. Khan currently resides in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Facebook event page is here.  This event is sponsored by Willamette University’s Religious Studies Department, and is free and open to the public.

2018 MOHL Research Awards

Written by

The Hatfield Library is pleased to announce the winners of the Mark O. Hatfield Research Award. This award is given for a student paper in any discipline that demonstrates outstanding research using library and information resources. The paper must have been written in the sophomore or junior year as part of regular class work. Up to two awards are given each year and winners receive $500.

The winners for 2018 are:

Kelly Ewing for her paper “Including Indigenous Voices in Water Management: A Comparison of Australian And American Approaches.” (Faculty Supporter: Karen Arabas)

Cole Franko for his paper “Marx and the Mir: A Critical Look at the Evolution of Historical Materialism.” (Faculty Supporter: Bill Smaldone)

Congratulations to Kelly and Cole for their outstanding work!  Also, many thanks to Gretchen Moon, Joni Roberts, and the Hatfield Librarians for serving on the adjudication committee for the award.

Craig Milberg
University Librarian
Mark O. Hatfield Library
Willamette University

 

Wittenberg to Willamette

Written by

From Wittenberg to Willamette:  Unlocking the Secrets of a Rare Book from the Hatfield Library’s Vault.

By Doreen Simonsen
Humanities, Fine Arts, and Rare Book Librarian

Cover of the 1599 Vulgate

Researching a Rare Book is often like a treasure hunt.  The Mark O. Hatfield Library has hundreds of rare books ranging from medieval manuscripts to 20th century first editions, and my study of one of these works, a Latin Bible entitled Biblia Sacra, proves that you really cannot judge a book by its cover.

It all started with Martin Luther.  His actions in Wittenberg inspired the leaders of the Counter Reformation to revise their version of the Bible.  With the endorsement of Pope Clement the Sixth (1592 to 1605) and the Council of Trent (1545 – 1563), the Clementine Vulgate Bible was printed widely throughout Europe.  Our library catalog record for this book notes that our copy was published in Antwerp, Belgium at the Plantin Moretus Printing House in 1599.  According to records from that printing house, Jan Moretus shipped 500 unbound copies of this book, Biblia Sacra, to Germany to be sold at the famous Frankfurt Book Fair in the Fall of 1599.  The books in that shipment were missing a quire, (a section) of the book, and our copy has missing pages, which were replaced with handwritten copies of the missing texts.  But who wrote those handwritten pages?  And who bound this book?

Missing Pages from 1599 Vulgate

In the Renaissance and Reformation, books were sold unbound, and the buyers of those texts would have them bound by professional bookbinders.  Thanks to Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg in 1517, that city became a center of book publishing and bookbinding.  By 1555 Wittenberg had a guild of 50 bookbinders, who engraved metal plates and rolls to decorate the leather book covers they made. The cover on our bible is embellished with images, borders, Latin quotes, the initials CKW and the date 1562.  CKW turned out to be Caspar Kraft of Wittemberg, a prominent bookbinder in that city in northern Germany.  The images on his 1562 plates are of Justicia and Lucretia, images “that Lutherans used to justify their resistance to imperial [and papal] authority.”1

Around these images are decorative borders made by bookbinding rolls, which were made by Hans Herolt of Würzburg, in southern Germany.  Who hired Herolt to bind this book?  Julius Echter von Mespelbruun, the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1573 – 1617, is the most likely candidate.  A Latin inscription in the books states that “Magister Wolfgang Christoph Röner received (this book) due to the generosity of the most reverend and most holy Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.”  Another inscription is by Andreas Weissens…, a theology student, who might be the person who wrote in the missing pages in this bible.

Theology Student Inscription

The most prominent inscription, however, is that of Dr. Charles H. Hall who gave this book to Willamette University in 1875.  Born in Kentucky, Hall studied Classics at Indiana Ashbury College in 1852, taught Latin, Greek, and Natural Sciences at Willamette University in the late 1850s, and became the son-in-law of Alvan Waller in 1859.

How this Latin Catholic Bible with Lutheran images on the bindings traveled from Germany to America is a mystery that may never be solved, but revealing its secrets shows that rare books can be more than old texts with pretty pictures.  They are artifacts worthy of study in their own right that can illuminate historical controversies and engage curious student researchers here at Willamette University.  A rare book can truly be much more than its cover.

 

“Closeup of the CKW 1562 book
plate stamp made by Caspar
Kraft of Wittenburg, Germany”
“Emblem of the Plantin Moretus
Printing House, Antwerp, Belgium”
“Closeup of the book border rolls
made by Hans Herolt of
Würzburg, Germany”
“Inscriptions, Including Charles Hall’s
Donation to Willamette, 1876″

 

1 Zapalac, Kristin Eldyss Sorensen. In His Image and Likeness : Political Iconography and Religious Change in Regensburg, 1500-1600. Cornell University Press, 1990. Page 128.

 

New Art in Archives

Written by

We recently added a few works of art that are on display in the Archives. Four artists represent this collection of art, and their works range from the year 1946 to 1996 circa.  These artworks are on loan from the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.  To view the art, please visit the Archives and Special Collections between the hours of 9 a.m. to Noon and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

 

Image of Art: The Dance, 1946 Artist: Carl A. Hall

Title: The Dance

Date: 1946

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image of Art: Not by a dam site, 1959 Artists: Eunice Parsons

Title: Not a Dam Site

Date: 1959

Medium: Oil on canvas
Image of Art: Untitled horsemen, 1964 Artist: Eunice Parsons

Title: Untitled

Date: 1964

Medium: Collage on
canvas panel
Image of Art: Clover Small Vetch Seed Pods and Horsetails, 1996  

Artist: Stephan Soihl

Title: Clover, Small Vetch
Seed Pods, and Horsetails

Date:1996

Medium: Charcoal pencil
and watercolor
Image of art: ColburnJon Night Play, 2003  

 

Artist: Jon Colburn

Title: Night Play

Date: 2003

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

 

 

For comments and questions about this art, please contact Mary McRobinson (mmcrobin@willamette.edu), University Archivist at Willamette University, and Jonathan Bucci (jbucci@willamette.edu), Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.