CHECK IT OUT!4

TurnouT SoarS PaST SevenTy for BriarS evenT

Newsletter of the James Earl Carter Library Volume 9, No. 2 Spring 2009

Inside This Issue:

Briar Event ........................1Library Info .......................2From the Dean ...................2What’s New .......................2Wish List ...........................2In The Spotlight: Kay Bell ......................3INFOcus ............................3

John P. Wilson Interlibrary Loan Assistant

jwilson@canes.gsw.edu

Briars in the Cotton Patch, produced and directed by Faith Fuller and narrated by former Atlanta Mayor and UN Ambassador Andrew Young, explores the individuals and events of Koinonia Farm from its founding in 1942 through the challenges the community faced in the late 1950’s and the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960’s. Such struggles included bombings, shootings and beatings as a result of Koinonia’s radical belief in the equality of all people. Whites and blacks were working and living together as equals on the farm. The program was enjoyed by all.

On Wednesday, February 25, the James Earl Carter Library presented the documentary Briars in the Cotton Patch in celebration of Black History Month. The event proved successful with a turnout of over seventy people from the GSW campus and community. The program, a joint venture with Koinonia Farm and Faith Fuller, daughter of Habitat for Humanity and The Fuller Center for Housing founders Millard Fuller and Linda Fuller, included an introduction to the film, an hour-long viewing and a panel discussion with Fuller, Alma Jackson (a resident who lived at Koinonia farm during the 50’s and 60’s), and Koinonia program director Bren Dubay. After the panel discussion, Fuller held a surprise viewing of never before seen footage of a 1965 Americus High School reunion in which former classmates of a Koinonia resident discussed the ways they mistreated him. They apologized for their actions.

The crowd watches a scene fromFaith Fuller’s documentary Briars in the Cotton Patch.

(L to R): Program Director of Koinonia Bren Dubay, Amanda Moore, former resident Alma Jackson, and

Faith Fuller look on as Ellie Castle (center) talks about her life at Koinonia. Refreshments at the event included cookies, soft drinks

and bottled water courtesy of the Library, coffee and bagged

Dean Weisskopf welcomes visitorsto the event.

pecans courtesy of Koinonia, and cupcakes courtesy of Faith Fuller.

4LIBRARY HOURS:

Monday-Thursday 8AM-10PMFriday 8AM-5PMSaturday 9AM-5PMSunday 2PM-10PM

4DEPARTMENTS:

Access Services229-931-2266Circulation: libcirc@canes.gsw.eduInterlibraryLoan: libill@canes.gsw.edu

Administration229-931-2259

Cataloging229-931-2258

Collection Development229-931-2789/2261

Reference/Government Documents229-931-2850/2262libref@canes.gsw.edu

4Web Page: http://www.gsw.edu/~library

4Circulation Policy:

Books 3Weeks

Audio/VisualMaterials 3Weeks

ReserveMaterials 2Hours InLibrary

WISH LISTThe Library is grateful to its supporters for their gifts and donations. These are often used to supplement the Library’s limited

collections budget. In each issue we will list a few examples of works we would like to

purchase from donations.

Tools for Teaching Video Toolbox $795.00 Forest Genetics Timothy L. White $100.00 Building Findable Websites Aarron Walter $39.99

Spring 2009 • 2

FROM THE DEAN’S DESK

CHECK IT OUT ispublishedbytheJamesEarlCarterLibraryValarieN.Anthony,Editorvanthony@canes.gsw.edu

Vera J. WeisskopfDean of the Libraryvjw@canes.gsw.edu

WHAT’S NEWAT THE LIBRARYSelective List of New Titles/Acquisitions In Spring 2009:

Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman LU PZ 7 .G1273 Cobra: The Last Avant Garde Movement of the Twentieth Century Willemijn Stokvis N6494.C5 S854413 How to Conquer Public Speaking Anxiety Jonathan Berent Media BF575 .A6 B47

The articles in this issue illustrate several of the themes I have emphasized over the years in this column. One of the highlights of this semester (see article by John Wilson) was the Library’s hosting of the Emmy-winning documentary Briars in the Cotton Patch. This project illustrated our commitment to diversity, to reaching out to the surrounding community, to preserving GSW and related local history, and our emphasis on collaboration. Without the latter, we could not have brought this event to fruition. Faith Fuller, Vice President for Communications for the Fuller Center, who produced this Emmy-winning documentary about Koinonia from its origins to the present, generously donated 2 copies of the film and assisted us throughout the entire process. She put us in touch with the wonderful folks at Koinonia whose many contributions from marketing, to providing the delicious home-baked goodies and coffee, to participation on the panel after the showing of the film were greatly appreciated. Others who assisted in marketing and preparations for this event included the Chamber of Commerce and GSW’s Stephen Snyder, Director of University Relations, Physical Facilities, Retirees Association, and OIIT. The Library committee which organized this event included Tishana Smith, Chair, John Wilson, Valarie Anthony, and Gretchen Smith. We are proud of this collaborative effort and grateful to all for making this event such a success. Ru Story-Huffman’s informative essay on INFOcus… illustrates our on-going commitment to the promotion of Information Literacy. This semester saw the realization of our goal to develop a Library one-hour credit course for Area B focusing on information literacy. We also continue to incorporate information literacy concepts into all Library courses and classes and encourage other faculty to work with us to include these concepts in other disciplines as well. A Library is only as good as its staff and we are fortunate to have a highly knowledgeable and user-oriented staff. By way of introducing our staff, we began the occasional feature spotlighting our individual staff members. In this issue we feature Kay Bell, our Senior Administrative Assistant. We are always grateful for your support and encouragement, particularly in these difficult economic times. Thank you!

Spring 2009 • 3

in THe SPoTLiGHT:

Ru Story-Huffman Reference Librarian

ru@canes.gsw.edu

INFOcus: Information Literacy at the James E. Carter Library

Kay Bell, Senior Administrative Assistant

Valarie N. Anthony Access Services Supervisor

vanthony@canes.gsw.edu

In 2000, the Association of College and Research Libraries published the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, with the definition of information literacy as a “set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information.” In other words, Information Literacy is a skill that helps us manage, organize, understand, and use the vast amount of information available in our world. Libraries are at the forefront of the information literacy movement, and the Carter Library is no exception. With the understanding that we are preparing our students for a career and their future, the Library has undertaken a concerted effort to provide training in information literacy theory and concepts. Each specialized class addresses the theory of information literacy and this spring a new course, LIBR1101 Foundations of Information Literacy, has 18 students enrolled. LIBR1101 is a one hour course that fulfills requirements for Area B of the Core Curriculum. Using the Big6 model of information literacy as a guide, students are learning the steps of information literacy, which include Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Information literacy is not something that is learned one time and then forgotten. Information literacy is considered a “lifelong learning” opportunity, which is something done over and over again throughout life. The concepts of information literacy provide us with the necessary tools to determine our information need, decide which sources of information would work best for our situation, find and use the information, and synthesize all the resources available. The evaluation stage helps choose the best and most reliable information for our information needs. At the Carter Library, we are striving to present an information literate learning environment for students, faculty, staff, and the public. Although the nature of information is continually evolving, a goal for successful use of information is to understand the nature of information and how to use that information. The integration of information literacy into the curriculum and into our lives is one step toward that goal.

“GSW is a warm and friendly place. I enjoy knowing the staff and students. We have students that come from around the world and it’s interesting to hear about their life and culture.” For the past 11 ½ years, Kay Bell has been employed by Georgia Southwestern State University in some capacity. She has held positions in the Human Resources, Admissions and Career Services departments, but for the last 10 years, she has served as the Senior Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the James Earl Carter Library. As the Senior Administrative Assistant to the Dean, Kay runs the daily operations of the Library’s administrative office and provides administrative support for other units of the Library. Kay’s list of responsibilities is extensive. She is in charge of maintaining and balancing the operations lines of the Library budget, purchasing supplies, interfacing with

vendors and library patrons, coordinating and facilitating Library activities with other units of the University such as physical facilities and purchasing, creating lists of new additions to the library and initial processing of all gift materials to the library. She served on the university’s Homecoming committee for two years. She has been on the Graduation committee for the last 10 years and is currently the President of Staff Senate. “One thing I love about my job is listing President Carter’s book donations to our Library. He has books about every subject imaginable. Most of them are autographed by the author!” Kay was born and raised in Americus, Georgia to Dorsey and Moncile Millwood. She grew up on a small farm outside town. She has two older siblings, her sister Marcia and her brother Larry, who is deceased. Her hobbies include scrapbooking and keeping a nice yard.

Spring 2009 • 4

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