Books and Bubbly
This week, University of Houston Libraries hosted a stewardship event for friends and supporters to learn about services, resources, and scholarship offered for the advancement of student success, faculty research, and community engagement.
Interim dean Christina Gola gives welcome remarks at “Books and Bubbly.”
“Books and Bubbly” was a “sparkling” celebration of UH Libraries and the communities we serve. Held at the MD Anderson Library Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion, the event featured presentation stations with Libraries leaders discussing current projects and programs. Guests of “Books and Bubbly” were encouraged to visit all stations and gain awareness about the foundation for Reimagined Libraries, a big idea that will drive the development of near-future spaces and services.
Interim dean Christina H. Gola opened the celebration with thanks, and an invitation for guests to imagine the possibilities and share in the Reimagined Libraries vision as they engaged with librarians and archivists.
Emily Vinson, preservation coordinator, presented audio/visual archives from the KUHT Film and Video collection and demonstrated preservation and reformatting efforts.
Vince Lee, archivist of the Carey Shuart Women’s Research Collection, guided guests through the exhibit Nevertheless, She Persisted!
Mary Manning, university archivist, and Katy Allred, assistant university archivist, displayed materials from University Archives. As the University approaches its centennial celebration, they are working to help tell the story of our past and its connection to our growing success.
The Open Education Resources team, Ariana Santiago and Kate Carter, discussed expanding access to course materials and teaching tools that are freely available, customizable, inclusive, and collaborative. Open educational resources (OER) engage students in critical inquiry in ways that traditional textbooks do not, and offer significant cost savings to students.
Interim head of Teaching and Learning Mea Warren and student success librarian Carolina Hernandez discussed the newly formed peer mentor program, in which undergrads are taught research and teaching skills, and find creative means of teaching their peers across campus through co-curricular engagement. Students from the program were present to talk about how peer mentorship is transforming the way Coogs learn and collaborate.
Leo Martin, head of Resource Management and Metadata, showed how UH Libraries makes its collections more accessible through reparative cataloging research efforts, in which librarians and archivists undertake a critical reexamination of language, terms, and practices used to describe materials.
Wenli Gao, head of Collections Strategies and Services, talked about the evaluation of circulating print collections to inform how UH Libraries can transform spaces and make collections more visible.
Linda Garcia Merchant, director of the Digital Humanities Core Facility, and Taylor Davis Van-Atta, head of Research Services, led guests on a visit to the Digital Research Commons and presented innovative digital humanities initiatives that are flourishing across campus, with students taking a central role in moving DH forward.