Spring 2019
Letter from the Dean
I am pleased to share with you the latest news of our progress at University of Houston Libraries. In this issue, we highlight the importance of engaging with our community.
Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning resources, either in the public domain or released with an open license, that anyone can freely use and re-purpose. As universities across the US have embraced OER, academic libraries have become central to the adoption of open educational materials in the classroom.
Ariana Santiago, Open Educational Resources Coordinator at UH Libraries, leads the planning, implementation, and assessment of the UH OER program. She shares more information on how the implementation of OER contributes to student success.
Acquisitions, Events, and Exhibits
Houston Beyond Convention: Ben DeSoto
The exhibit, Houston Beyond Convention: The Photography of Ben DeSoto, 1980-present, reflects on nearly four decades of work, past and present, produced by Houstonian Ben Tecumseh DeSoto, whose career spans genres of photography and a diversity of human experiences. After discovering his love for what he has called the “scientific magic” of the photographic process, DeSoto followed his passion for photography to a career chronicling his city. DeSoto has consistently challenged the viewer to see beyond static images of Houston, to look more deeply instead at the individual or community narrative behind the photograph.
GCAM
The Gulf Coast Archive and Museum Digital Archive is now available in the UH Digital Library. More than 30 years of Houston LGBTQ history is preserved and presented in this collection from the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of GLBT History (GCAM), with over 150 LGBT newspapers from central Texas, the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and other Texas regions, from the 1970s through the early 2000s.
Bill Sherrill
UH Libraries hosted a reception honoring visionary entrepreneur and UH alumnus Bill Sherrill, whose records are preserved in UH Special Collections. The collection consists of documents, plaques and framed awards, ephemera, and yearbooks that document Sherrill’s time in the military, family life, career in business, and teaching at the UH Bauer School of Business in the entrepreneurship program.
LinkedIn at the Library
UH Libraries, in partnership with UH Career Services, hosted LinkedIn at the Library, a biannual event designed to help students strengthen their career search skills.
Love Data @ UH
Guests attended Love Data @ UH, hosted by UH Libraries, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute, and Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics. The day-long conference featured panel discussions and speakers on a variety of topics in data.
Promotion & Tenure Recognition
UH Libraries and the Office of the Provost celebrated the accomplishments of newly promoted and tenured faculty and librarians at a reception. Now in its fourth year, the UH Promotion and Tenure Recognition program invited honorees to select a book that has offered inspiration in their professional journey. Digital Exhibit
University of Houston Libraries has regional and national partnerships to expand collections and services for faculty and students; and belongs to multiple consortia.
UH Libraries Receives Gift for Research Collections
University of Houston Libraries has received a $250,000 gift in support of research enhancing activities for Special Collections.
The John D. and Karen Otazo Hofmeister Leadership and Entrepreneurship Endowment will support collection and research opportunities that enhance leadership and entrepreneurship archives and research collections.
Upon retirement as president of Shell Oil Company in 2008, John D. Hofmeister founded the not-for-profit membership association Citizens for Affordable Energy. He has held executive leadership positions at General Electric, Nortel, and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International). He is a lecturer at the University of Houston, and is a member of the UH Libraries Campaign Committee focusing on the Energy and Sustainability Research Collection. Karen Otazo Hofmeister, PhD is the managing director of Global Leadership Network. For over thirty years, she has guided senior executives across the US, Asia, and Europe on executive development; leading effective cross-border teams; building trust; and cross-cultural impact. She is a prominent speaker and author on leadership.
“This transformative gift will allow us to strengthen the quality and relevance of our research collections, to the advantage of students, faculty, and researchers in a number of programs and disciplines,”
said Lisa A. German, dean of University Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair
“It will enhance our ability to acquire the primary source materials that reflect the University’s research priorities.”
Giving Spotlight
Dr. Saleha Khumawala & Dr. Basheer Khumawala
Dr. Khumawala and spouse Dr. Basheer Khumawala, also a faculty member in the Bauer College of Business, were inspired to give to UH Libraries.
Elizabeth Kennedy
UH Libraries welcomes Elizabeth Kennedy as the new director of advancement.
To learn more about giving opportunities, please contact Elizabeth at 713-743-6868 or ekennedy2@uh.edu, or visit libraries.uh.edu/giving.
McGovern Library Scholars
Kathrine G. McGovern visited UH Libraries to meet with this year’s McGovern scholarship recipients.
From left to right: Jasmine Ali, Jennifer Maza, Kathrine G. McGovern, Ashley Garcia.
Librarian News
Librarian News
Recent accomplishments and collaborations of UH Libraries’ librarians and staff
Melody Condron
Melody Condron is the first recipient of the Rooks Early Career Librarian Fellowship
Support UH Libraries
Our vision is a community nurtured by curiosity and creativity that drives lifelong learning and scholarship.
To learn more about UH Libraries giving opportunities, visit libraries.uh.edu/giving