Fogler Library, University of Maine - Library newsletter for faculty

FOGLER LIBRARY NEWS SERVICE
Publicizing events, collections, acquisitions and services at UMaine's library
-- Wednesday, October 20, 2010 --

SUMMARY
1. Announcements/Events
            A. UMaine Awarded Prestigious Grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services
            B. William S. Cohen Papers Forum 2010: The Promise and Problems of Transparency
            C. Town Reports: Rich Texts, Vital Resources
*********************************************************
1.   ANNOUNCEMENTS/EVENTS
            A. UMAINE AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS GRANT FROM INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES
Thanks to an $821,065 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the University of Maine, in collaboration with eight partner institutions, will develop a strategy for a statewide, multi-type library program for managing, storing and preserving print collections, while expanding access to existing digital book collections through print-on-demand (POD) and other services. The “Maine Shared Collections Strategy” will also develop policies essential for the management of shared print and digital collections. Grant partners are Colby College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Bangor Public Library, Portland Public Library, Maine State Library, the University of Southern Maine, and Maine InfoNet.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov. For more information about the grant, contact Deb Rollins at <deborah.rollins@umit.maine.edu> or call 581-1659.

            B. WILLIAM S. COHEN PAPERS FORUM 2010: THE PROMISE AND PROBLEMS OF TRANSPARENCY
Join us Friday, November 12, at UMaine’s Wells Conference Center for the 2010 Cohen Papers Forum. The free, day-long program will begin with a keynote presentation by Cary Coglianese, Deputy Dean and Political Science Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and former chair of the nonpartisan Task Force on Transparency and Public Participation for OMB Watch. From there, featured speakers include Amanda Wood, Director of Governmental Affairs in the Washington office of Senator Collins; Kelly Hokkanen, General Manager of InforME/Maine.gov; Tarren Bragdon, CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy Center; and several others. The full agenda and registration information can be found at <http://www.library.umaine.edu/cohen/transparency/event_info.htm> or by calling 581-2665.
Support for the event has been provided by The Bangor Daily News, the Max Kagan Family Foundation, the Maine Humanities Council, and the UMaine College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

            C. TOWN REPORTS: RICH TEXTS, VITAL RESOURCES
Is your family name in the town report? Did it appear there in 1898? What did this mean? Do you still think of the annual reports prepared by towns in Maine as dull bureaucratic documents detailing arcane activities of municipal governments, of little interest to anyone except local residents? This view will be challenged in a program sponsored by the Friends of Fogler Library entitled "Town Reports: Rich Texts, Vital Resources," held in the Special Collections Reading Room of Fogler Library on Monday, November 15, at 3:00 p.m. Librarians Mel Johnson and Richard Hollinger will demonstrate that town reports are unique and valuable resources for local history and genealogy, and are essential sources for research on regional and state history as well, containing information about social history often available nowhere else.

The program will also feature Maine Town Reports Online, where digitized historical reports from a number of Maine towns can be viewed. This site is a collaborative project between Fogler Library, the Maine State Library and several municipalities and historical societies. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact Gretchen Gfeller at <gretchen.gfeller@umit.maine.edu> or call 581-1696.

___________________________________________________________________

Distributed by the Fogler Library, The University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
Please send comments or requests for more information on news items to Gretchen Gfeller, 207-581-1696 <gretchen.gfeller@umit.maine.edu> or Nancy Curtis, 207-581-1679 <nancy.curtis@umit.maine.edu>. Newsletters are also posted and archived at <www.library.umaine.edu/librarynews>. If you would prefer not to receive future issues of this news service by e-mail, please send a message to: <librarynews@library.umaine.edu >

Link to past issues of the Newsletter