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GRANTS AND ACQUISITIONS

C&RL News, March 2007
Vol. 68, No. 3

by Ann-Christe Galloway

The University of Calgary has received a gift of $25 million from longtime friends and supporters Don and Ruth Taylor to help build the digital library previously known as the Campus Calgary Digital Library. In recognition of this gift, the Board of Governors has named the digital library the Taylor Family Digital Library. In addition, the gift from the Taylor Family will be used to create a green space in the center of campus in concert with the construction of the Taylor Family Digital Library. This donation will permit the construction of a central quadrangle that defines the heart of campus.

Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, has received a grant from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) to participate in a nationwide effort to help universities deepen student commitment to academic integrity and social responsibility. The initiative, the “Leadership Consortium in Core Commitments: Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility,” aims to bring the entire campus community—from presidents and provosts to librarians and students—together to make academic integrity issues a priority of higher education. Miami University’s plan, “Be Miami: An Infrastructure for Cultivating a Responsible and Intellectual College Life,” features an online learning module on academic integrity and information literacy, called Miami eScholar. The Web-based tutorial aims to cultivate a level of student proficiency in locating, analyzing, and incorporating a variety of information resources for research. Additionally, Miami eScholar will inform students about ethical and responsible use of information, stressing the significance of academic and social integrity to a successful experience in higher education. The $70,000 cost to implement the program will be shared by the AACU and the university, and the budget covers a time period which began January 15, 2007, and will continue until December 31, 2008.

Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin (CBB) colleges have received a $280,000 grant from the Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation to build a model collaborative library collection development program. The plan is to collaboratively acquire and share collection resources in all formats (electronic and print), reduce unnecessary duplication and redundant purchases, and make a broader universe of materials available at each campus. Previous grants from the Mellon Foundation to the CBB libraries have helped build a service framework for collection sharing, enabling the libraries to develop technologies to share catalogs and support interlibrary loan activity. The libraries plan to determine how to expand the collection of materials available to the CBB academic communities, share budgetary and space resources so that all three libraries can operate more cost-effectively, and build a faculty culture that embraces the plan. The grant will be used over two years to hire temporary librarians who will enable current staff to devote time to the project. 

Acquisitions

The University of South Carolina has recently acquired the Robert D. Middendorf Collection of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Rawlings (1896–1953), a Florida-based writer, is best-known for her Pulitzer-prize winning novel The Yearling (1938). The collection, a majority gift from Middendorf with additional support from donations to the library’s Treasures Acquisition Program, covers the whole of her writing career, from her earliest magazine stories for McCall’s, her discovery by Scribner’s Magazine and Scribner’s legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, to the success of her subsequent books, notably The Yearling and Cross Creek (1942). Along with first editions and periodical writings—in fine condition, many signed and inscribed—the collection also includes letters, proofs, and movie memorabilia.

The papers of U.S. Congressman Sherwood Boehlert have been acquired by the University
at Albany’s Libraries. His papers include approximately 500 boxes and stand as record of a long career serving the people of New York. Among Boehlert’s many achievements was his chairmanship of the House Science Committee; he also served on committees on Transportation and Infrastructure. By appointment of the Speaker of the House, Boehlert served for eight years as a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he was on the front line of important intelligence decisions faced by Congress. Early in 2003, the speaker appointed Boehlert to serve on the newly created Select Committee on Homeland Security. In addition to being a leader on science issues, Boehlert’s legislative experience and seniority made him one of the most influential members of Congress. National Journal featured him as one of a dozen key players in the House. Time magazine highlighted Boehlert as a power center on Capitol Hill.

Ed. note: Send your news to: Grants & Acquisitions, C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: agalloway@ala.org.