“Spotlight on Scholarship” is a new series sponsored by the University Libraries. Every Fall and Spring semester, the Libraries will shine a spotlight on the scholarly output of one academic department through a reception and month-long exhibit.

The Communication and Theatre Arts Department is the focus of our first “Spotlight on Scholarship.” Traditional research and creative works produced by faculty for the past 10 years are featured in an exhibit in the Learning Commons from March 15 through April 30. Selected books, journal articles, posters, and flyers are on display.

Faculty will discuss some of their recent work at a reception on Friday, March 30, from 3-5pm in the Learning Commons Conference Room.

For more information, contact Karen Vaughan kvaughan@odu.edu

ODU Perry Library is celebrating Women’s History Month 2012 with an exhibit in the Learning Commons. The national theme for this year, “Women’s Education—Women’s Empowerment,” provides a fitting opportunity to honor our ODU’s Women’s Center. Since 1976, the ODU Women’s Center has offered programs and services that empower women to overcome obstacles and achieve personal and academic success.

The exhibit, available through the month of March, features news clippings, photographs, reports and other materials that illustrate the 35 year history of the Center’s programs and services. These materials were taken from a digital archive that was recently created from Women's Center materials donated to the University Archives.

For more information, contact Karen Vaughan kvaughan@odu.edu.

The University Libraries are celebrating Black History Month 2012 with an exhibit in the Learning Commons. The exhibit features a background depicting "the labors, struggles, organization, and sacrifices of common women" that have made possible the "prominence of heralded individuals" we know today. "Black Women in American Culture and History" will be available through the month of February 2011.

The exhibit was created by Edison Simmons and Marissa Jimenez. Contact Edison esimmons@odu.edu with questions or comments.

“Celebrating the History of Virginia Opera” is now on display in the Library Art Gallery on the first floor of Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library.

The exhibit contains posters, programs, costume and wig designs, photographs and fliers from the Virginia Opera Papers, housed in Special Collections and University Archives of the University Libraries. A chronological listing, from 1975 to the present day, of the Virginia Opera’s repertoire is also on display. The exhibit will be on display until February 13th, when it will move to the Harrison Opera House.

For additional information, please contact Sonia Yaco, Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist at 757-683-4483 or via e-mail at syaco@odu.edu.

The University's 34th Annual Literary Festival begins Monday October 3. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to hear from some incredible writers and artists.

Get the schedule and other information for this year's festival at: http://www.lib.odu.edu/litfest/34th

You may also wish to view an exhibit on the first floor Learning Commons @ Perry Library which features the participants of this year's festival with books by the authors. Previous literary festivals back to 1978 are archived in a digital collection hosted by the University Libraries at http://www.lib.odu.edu/litfest/.

Stop by the first floor Learning Commons @ Perry Library to view an exhibit featuring the participants of the 34th Annual Literary Festival. Books by the authors are also available for you to peruse.

The 34th Annual Literary Festival is October 3-8, 2011. On the Web site, you'll find the schedule of events.

Each year's literary festival is added to a digital archive of festivals back to 1978. Check out the archive at: http://www.lib.odu.edu/litfest/.

"Musical Heroes: A Tribute to Russell Stanger, Sidney Harth, and Benjamin Lees" is the title of a new exhibit at the Diehn Composers Room. All three men were outstanding examples of professional musicians. They were all passionate about sharing their music and taught young people for a good portion of their lives. They were not only teachers, however. Stanger was also a conductor and composer. Sidney Harth was a conductor and concertmaster of several American symphonies. Benjamin Lees was also a composer and is well known throughout the world for his symphonies and concertante. All three men have devoted their lives to sharing music with the world and this exhibit honors them -- especially since the musical world lost both Harth and Lees in the past year.

The exhibit is presented in honor of the John Duffy Composers Institute, which is sponsored by the Virginia Arts Festival. It is available for viewing through November at the Diehn Composers Room, 189 Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center, from 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday.

Also be sure to view the Web exhibit.

For more information, contact Jessica Mirasol, Librarian Archivist for Music Collections, at 757-683-4175.

The American Library Association has designated this week "Preservation Week" to bring attention to preservation needs in libraries, as well as in communities and homes where countless treasures are at risk. "Pass It On: Saving Heritage and Memories" is this year's theme. You can find information and resources on ALA's Website.

From the ALA Website:

Why is preservation important?

In 2005 the first comprehensive national survey of the condition and preservation needs of the nation’s collections reported that U.S. institutions hold more than 4.8 billion items. Libraries alone hold 3 billion items (63 percent of the whole). A treasure trove of uncounted additional items is held by individuals, families, and communities. Some 630 million items in collecting institutions require immediate attention and care. Eighty percent of these institutions have no paid staff assigned responsibility for collections care; 22 percent have no collections care personnel at all. Some 2.6 billion items are not protected by an emergency plan. As natural disasters of recent years have taught us, these resources are in jeopardy should a disaster strike. Personal, family, and community collections are equally at risk.

Key environmental factors that place collections at risk:

--> Light: Ultraviolet rays from natural and artificial sources can cause fading and disintegration.
--> Pollutants: Dust is abrasive and can accelerate harmful chemical reactions.
--> Heat: High temperatures can accelerate deterioration.
--> Moisture: High humidity promotes mold growth, corrosion, and degradation, while excessive dryness can cause drying and cracking. Fluctuations between extremes can cause warping, buckling and flaking.

Key items that should be preserved:

Historical materials that are unpublished and one-of-a-kind, such as: architectural drawings, artifacts, audio and video recordings, diaries, genealogical information, letters, maps, memoirs/reminiscences, minutes/reports, photo albums and photographs, printed materials, professional and business papers, speeches/lectures

From the Art Library blog:

Share Our Strength! Women Artists of the 1960s and 1970s

Feminism’s ‘second wave’ emerged in the USA at the end of the 1960s. Women were fed up with isolation at home and inferior pay and conditions at work. The emphasis on equal opportunity led women artists to organize against institutional discrimination.

From the early 1970s several exhibitions and publications began the retrieval of knowledge about women artists that had been overlooked in the 20th century. Among them were artist Judy Chicago who created The Dinner Party, one of the most significant works of feminist art. Around the same time, Art Historian Linda Nochlin wrote her groundbreaking article "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"

The exhibit in the Diehn Atrium highlights a few of the influential women artists and art historians during the time, including Judy Chicago, Louise Bourgeois and Virginia native Sally Mann.

The exhibit in the Art Library showcases art work by Old Dominion University student Mary-Paige Cannon, and places the work within the context of the feminist art movement.

Take a break and come by to view the exhibits!!

"Our History is our Strength" is the national theme for 2011 Women’s History Month. 2011 is also the centennial anniversary of the YWCA of South Hampton Roads. The ODU Libraries would like to take this month to promote and celebrate the YWCA which "has served as a source of strength to over a quarter million women and children in Hampton Roads."

Visit the exhibit on the 2nd floor (near Circulation Desk) and on the Web which feature materials from the archives of the YWCA of South Hampton Roads housed in Special Collections of the ODU Libraries.

Contact Karen Vaughan kvaughan@odu.edu with questions or comments.