6.26.2015

Art Exhibits in ScholarWorks

“Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.” –Lyndon Johnson, on signing into existence the National Endowment on the Arts

Flotilla  by Ian K. Smith – Albertsons Library 50th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibit
 
Boise State University hosted several art exhibitions this year, including the Albertsons Library 50th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibit, the Master of Fine Arts Visual Arts Theses Exhibits, and Ball of Wax – the Spring 2015 Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibit. While we are sad to see the art leave the 2nd floor hallway of the library and other exhibition halls, you can always see images from the exhibits in ScholarWorks!

Elements by Scott Russell Taylor
from his series
Hannibal 218 B.
C.
– BFA Fall 2014

ScholarWorks is a collection of services designed to capture and showcase ALL scholarly output by the Boise State University community. Traditional journal articles and peer-reviewed research make up the majority of the collection; however, we are committed to including more forms of scholarly outputs, especially artwork!

We see how diverse and original the work of the Boise State community is, and ScholarWorks gives everyone an opportunity to see that too. Each image is highlighted, giving the artists a chance to share their works with people all over the world.

Our system is optimized for search engine discoverability which helps people stumble upon a work through Google or find it quickly knowing the title, author, or keywords.

Since posting the Anniversary Exhibit on May 4th, the images have been viewed over 162 times. The three BFA Exhibit collections combined were viewed over 1150 times and the MFA collections, which just launched were viewed 218 times to date.

A map on the ScholarWorks homepage shows where certain works are downloaded giving you an idea of the broad appeal of Boise State scholarship. You can browse through the image galleries and click on an image for more detailed information, often including an artist’s statement to give the reader a better understanding of the artist’s motivation and interpretation.


h@rness f@mi1y sitc0m by Eric S. Mullis – MFA 2015
 

Using the J.Paul Getty Foundation’s Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) framework (suggestion for organizing and displaying the information), Library Assistant III, Kimberly Holling, reviewed each piece, selected the appropriate metadata and file formats. As a result most records describe the dimensions and art medium, so you can get a better idea of the materials used and size of the original piece.

Faculty members interested in including more of their own, or their students’, scholarship – in any form (art, papers, posters, videos, etc.) should contact scholarworks@boisestate.edu.           

Amber Sherman, Kimberly Holling, and Michelle Armstrong
ScholarWorks

6.15.2015

New Issue of the McNair Scholars Research Journal Now Available


The Spring 2015 issue of the McNair Scholars Research Journal is now available via ScholarWorks. The journal features research in physics, art, mass communication and journalism, biology, English, environmental studies, multi-ethnic studies, and history. This year’s authors focused on diverse topics such as sexual violence in India, the Melville-Hawthorne friendship, and the Arrowrock Dam. With over 140,000 full text downloads to date, the McNair Journal is one of the most highly used publications in the entire ScholarWorks collection.

The Boise State McNair Scholars Program serves students from groups underrepresented in graduate education and first generation college students from low-income backgrounds, grooming them for graduate studies through scholarly enrichment, exposure to research, and other academic experiences and opportunities. The program collaborates with Faculty Mentors to prepare McNair Scholars to successfully pursue a PhD and careers in university teaching and research.

Each Spring, the McNair Scholars Program publishes the Boise State McNair Scholars Research Journal, featuring articles reporting on research conducted during the McNair Summer Research Institute. The journal provides a unique opportunity for McNair Scholars to experience the publication process and develop important writing and revision skills.

Michelle Armstrong,
Scholarly Communications and Data Management Librarian

6.08.2015

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research


ICUR – the Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research will be held at the Student Union Building on July 29-30th. ICUR promotes undergraduate research and creative activity in all fields of study. If you are an undergraduate student and would like to showcase your research, submit an abstract before June 24th.

Registration for the conference is free, so even if you are not ready to discuss your research, you can attend and see what your fellow Idaho undergraduates are researching. The conference will also feature sessions on Author Rights, with Scholarly Communication and Data Management Librarian Michelle Armstrong, National Scholarships, with Emily Jones of the Honors College, and more. Details can be found on the ICUR website: http://academics.boisestate.edu/icur/.

Amber Sherman,

ScholarWorks Librarian

6.04.2015

National Week of Making!

The White House has announced a “National Week of Making,” June 12–18, 2015. To celebrate, libraries across Idaho will be hosting events! Albertsons Library will be taking part by hosting two events:

Thursday, June 18th, 10-11am, Library 201c, Come Meet Mini! Albertsons Library invites Boise State University students, faculty, and staff to come meet the library’s newest 3D printer, Mini. As part of LulzBot’s First Annual Educators Giveaway, Albertsons Library was one of only 20 educational institutions to be award a new LulzBot Mini 3D printer

Monday, June 22nd, 1-2pm , Library 201c, Silhouette Paper/ Vinyl Cutter Afternoon
University students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to join us in the Library for a fun afternoon break! Come experiment with the new Silhouette vinyl/ paper cutter we were awarded by Instructables. Watch the machine in action, learn all about what it can do, share ideas, and play with precut pieces. No experience necessary, but a fun attitude and willingness to learn are!

These events will celebrate the creativity and diversity of inventors, tinkerers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are contributing their talents in new and exciting ways. The maker movement is changing the face of higher education with learning that is inherently experimental, inventive, creative, and project-based.
Looking forward to seeing you there!

6.03.2015

eBooks: New and Improved!

Summer is finally here, which means it’s time to go outside and crack open a book or better yet download an eBook. If you are out of town or can’t make it to the library in person there is a fantastic selection of eBooks waiting for you through OverDrive.

OverDrive offers eBooks, audiobooks, and more for free through local libraries. You can check out eBooks through Albertsons Library at http://boisestate.lib.overdrive.com/, and thanks to their new improvements they’ve made it even easier to read on the go. 

They now have an option called “dyslexic font.” This function gives the text a heavy-weighted bottom, which makes it easier to read for those who have dyslexia.


OverDrive has also changed their waiting list feature to show where your hold position is as a ratio. Previously, the site would only show what number you were on the waiting list after you had requested a hold. Now, they use a ratio which divides the number of people on hold by the number of copies available, which should give you a better idea of how long you’ll be waiting.

Upcoming Updates: They’ve redesigned the menu so it will slide out from the left instead of dropping down from the top. Now you’ll be able to open up the menu next to the page you're reading instead of covering it up. OverDrive will also offer Assistive as one of the options under readability settings, which will automatically change the text to “Dyslexic Font.”

Hopefully you’ll find these additions useful and find the perfect eBook this summer!