Mardigian Library News

Faculty, join the Mardigian Library for one of two workshops discussing the library's new discovery tool Summon.

Summon is a one-search interface that allows researchers to navigate through the library's entire collection. Because Summon searches the entire library collection, print and online, the researcher is freed from using multiple resources. So, more time can be spent analyzing information, rather than searching for material. This workshop will go over tips and techniques for navigating this tool.

The workshop times are:
Monday, January 24, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and
Tuesday, January 25, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

The location:
1212 Mardigian Library

Send RSVP and questions to:
Teague Orblych
mtorblyc@umd.umich.edu

January 2011 R.E.A.D. (Read, Eat, and Discuss) Meeting

Book: "At the Dark End of the Street" by Danielle McGuire

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011

Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

Location: 1210 ML

Upcoming book: "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova (Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011)

Raymond P. Kettel recently received the library’s “Distinguished Faculty Friend of the Mardigian Library” award, which recognizes faculty who have been especially supportive in helping improve library services, collaborating with librarians on student instruction, etc.

In 2001, the Mardigian Library accepted a donation of children’s books from the Grand Rapids Public Library (GRPL). The collection, built by May G. Quigley, GRPL’s first children’s librarian, included more than 4,000 juvenile titles from the late 1700s through the mid-1900s. Quigley’s goal was to develop a collection of quality children’s books for Michigan parents to use with their children, acquiring the very best books available and, as a result, there are many gems in the collection.

But the collection was no longer being used by children and the GRPL librarians wanted to find an institution where the books would actually be used, rather than locked up in a rare book collection. They thought that educators studying children’s literature might find the collection to be a valuable resource. So, when the GRPL library director happened to ask Mardigian Library Director Tim Richards if he knew of a university that might like the collection, he thought of Ray Kettel and the excellent work he was doing with his students at UM-Dearborn. When RIchards contacted Kettel to see if he was interested in the Quigley Collection, Kettel was ecstatic and quickly said “Yes!” And so a deeper collaboration between Kettel and the Mardigian Library began.

Kettel and his wife spent many hours sorting through the boxes of books delivered to the library, examining the books and recommending the priority for processing them. Kettel’s deep knowledge of children’s literature and publishing were crucial in identifying the gems of the collection. He was a constant source of information for library staff during the seven years it took to catalog the 4,000 titles.

Kettel and his students have made astoundingly effective use of the collection, studying trends and themes of children’s literature, as well as analyzing how children’s literature has changed over the years. He also worked with the students to create a wonderful database of reviews and research related to the books, exactly the kind of work the Grand Rapids Public Library had been hoping would happen when they donated the books to our library.

Other individuals also recognized the value of the collection and began donating additional children’s books. The collection, renamed the Juvenile Historic Collection, is now an important resource for research and teaching. And the original donation would never have come to UM-Dearborn without Kettel, his commitment to his students, his love of children’s books, and his hard work.