It sometimes feels as though bibliographic instruction and teaching library research methodologies has changed little…

Popularity: 40% [?]

Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

This inscription is from Svenskt Bibliskt Uppslagsverk, an apparent dictionary gifted by one of the editors, Ivan Engnell, a former professor of Old Testament at Uppsala in Sweden, to William F. Albright when they met in Uppsala in May, 1952. The book subsequently became a part of our library’s William F. Albright Collection.

This inscription written inside the book by Engnell appears to be in one of the Scandinavian languages, probably Swedish, but I have no idea what it says. Do you?

Popularity: 54% [?]

Book Provenance, Books, Libraries | 2 Comments »

The catch-phrase these days in library reference work is “information literacy,” a concept which is defined by the Penn State faculty senate as being comprised of four interconnected components:

1. knowledge of information sources, the organization of information, and the nature of knowing the attributes of scholarly knowledge;
2. skills in finding, evaluating, using and effectively communicating information;
3. generalization of knowledge and skills to various applied settings with a positive disposition toward the use of new and extant information sources and information technologies;and
4. social context for the use of information, equability of access to information and the dissemination of knowledge

I have no desire to merely create a handful of informational literate students. I approach my role as a theological librarian as a ministry — a ministry which hopefully enables students to concentrate on their studies and less on Dewey decimals. Read my post about the ministry of theological librarianship.

I think Hermann Witsius was correct in saying that no one learns well unless he learns in order to teach and that no one teaches well unless he has first learned well.¹ Since these students are presumably studying with the goal of eventually teaching others (it is a seminary, after all), then they (we) must learn appropriately. My goal, then, is to teach students how to navigate the world of information — tools, taxonomy, architecture — in order to enable their study of other disciplines, not just to add another discipline to study.

But how? I can offer workshops — but students do not come to workshops that they are not required to attend. So I am left with attempting to foster relationships with faculty who are sympathetic with the goal of enabling students to do more effective research and then lobby for a chance to address their students. Some faculty are really quite open to the idea. This week, for instance, I am teaching the entire week’s worth of all of a particular faculty member’s Written Communications and Comp 2 classes, the result of which is really quite effective). Others are moderately receptive and are willing to give me a one shot introduction to bibliographic research. Still others are at least willing to send their students to me if they need help.

So I’m constantly polishing the presentation. Not so that it is impressively slick (well, not just that), but to find the most effective way to present the information. Soon, d.v., I will be able to transform these sessions into workshops with a cart of designated laptops. For the time being, however, it must be a one-sided presentation.

My appeal, then, is for ideas to make the sessions better. I’ve used Powerpoint. I’ve used mindmapping programs like MindManager. But I do not yet feel like I’ve found the best way to present the material. I typically use one of the two for the instructional aspects of the presentation, and for demonstration of online tools I use Firefox.

Any ideas?

---

¹ Hermann Witsius, On the Character of a True Theologian (Greenville: Reformed Academic Press, 1994).

Popularity: 37% [?]

Libraries, Research | 2 Comments »

I had some time between classes this evening, and so went to the library to spend it. I found this poem and thought, “that’s true–but only when talking about Truth and True Beauty.” On what level is Emily Dickenson correct, and where is she wrong? Is it a question of epistemology? Can we know beauty without Truth? Is one just the aesthetic outcome of the other? I’m not comfortable with philosophy, so someone help me out here.

I died for Beauty–but was scarce
Adjusted in the Tomb
When One who died for Truth, was lain
In an adjoining Room–

He questioned softly “Why I failed”?
“For Beauty”, I replied–
“And I–for Truth–Themself are One–
We Brethren, are”, He said–

and so, as Kinsmen, met a Night–
We talked between the Rooms–
Until the Moss had reached our lips–
And covered up–our names–

The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Shorter Edition. Arthur M. Eastman, ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1970.

Beautiful. But is it True?

Popularity: 48% [?]

Philosophy, Poetry, Quotes | No Comments »

Unlike most librarians, I actually don’t mind when patrons write in books — as long as they do it correctly. Marginalia is the technical term, and this does NOT include underlining and gaudy pink highlighting. I find marginalia fascinating because it provides a reading companion who dialogues with me while I read. They tell me what they thought was important, though I often disagree. They speak of cross-references and similar or contradicting arguments by others. Marginalia often enhances the experience of reading in ways that would leave us poorer without them.

Ownership marks in books are also fascinating to me. They aid in establishing the work’s provenance, or chain of ownership. I am currently repairing the binding on a book now owned by a seminary student but which was formerly owned by New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger (I must here offer a public apology to said student - I’ve had the book for about a year, but it should be done soon. Really.)

Today I came across this book, the provenance of which is unusually easy to piece together. It was donated to our library by Mrs. A. T. Robertson, wife of Dr. A. T. Robertson, another New Testament scholar. The donation bookplate:

>

Prior Dr. Robertson’s ownership, the book apparently belonged to his father-in-law, Dr. John A. Broadus, the well-known preacher and president of the seminary. Dr. Broadus’ signature on the fly leaf indicates his ownership:

Prior to that, the book was owned by a slew of people:

• J. H. Vincent (?), New Haven, CT
• John Potts, Montreal, Que.
• Franklin Fairbanks, St. Johnsbury, VT
• W. G. E. ??nny?ham, Nashville, TN
• B. M. Palmer, New Orleans, LA
• B. F. Jacobs, Chicago, IL
• James A. Worden, Princeton, NJ
• D. H. ????ica, Montreal, Que.
• H. Louis baugher, Gettysburg, PA
• Warren Randolph, Newport, RI

Their signatures are nicely ordered adjacent to the title page (click for a larger image):

Books have stories — no pun intended — and they influence the lives of multiple generations in multiple places, and the stories of how they move from one to another are largely lost. It’s alot like that coin in Clive Cussler’s Sahara…

Popularity: 49% [?]

Book Provenance, Books | 3 Comments »