19^th century handwritten documents are essential for researchers but are widely inaccessible even after digitization due to their inability to be searched. The Connecticut Digital Archive, a project of the UConn Library, is working to change that with a Catalyst Fund grant recently awarded by LYRASIS.

Archives and special collections from across Connecticut fill the Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA), providing online access to a treasure of historic materials. However, even digitized, the irregularity in the handwriting in many of the manuscripts leaves the historical information in these documents inaccessible to Optical Character Recognition (OCR), a transfer method that has been used for more than 20 years to assist in document discoverability. To address this, historians and computer scientists have worked to apply machine learning to handwriting text recognition (HTR) through a relatively small number of projects with varied techniques and varied success. 

In the summer of 2019, the Library, in partnership with Greenhouse Studios, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and UConn School of Engineering, created a set of over 16,000 images of 22 different characters from the John Quincy Adams Papers. These characters were used to train a neural network, or a set of algorithms modeled loosely after the human brain, designed to recognize patterns in those images. The neural network takes these handwritten digits, known as training examples, and develops a system to learn from them. As you increase the examples, the network learns more and improves its accuracy in identifying the individual letters and words. The pilot project over the summer produced promising results, with an 86%+ accuracy rate when testing on all 22 characters and an amazing 96%+ accuracy rate when testing on four of the characters.

“Historical manuscripts are essential for humanities research and these funds will help scholars engage with unique and distinctive collections in a way they couldn’t before,” noted Greg Colati, Assistant University Librarian for University Archives, Special Collections & Digital Curation for the UConn Library.

The grant funds from LYRASIS will allow the Library and the Computer Science & Engineering Department in the School of Engineering to expand this work on additional volumes of handwritten documents in the John Adams Papers. The goal is to expand the datasets, adjust the neural networks, and release the updated version to the public for free.

LYRASIS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support enduring access to the world’s shared academic, scientific and cultural heritage through leadership in open technologies, content services, digital solutions and collaboration with archives, libraries, museums and knowledge communities worldwide. The grant is part of their Catalyst Fund which provides support for new ideas and innovative projects that explore, test, refine and collaborate on innovations with community-wide impact.

The CTDA is a service of the UConn Library, providing services to preserve and make available digital assets related to Connecticut and created by Connecticut-based, not-for-profit educational, cultural, and historical institutions, including libraries, archives, galleries, and museums.

It’s hard to say this is our favorite time of the year because we know you are stressed out with finals and all but…we do love puppies. That’s right – it’s Paws to Relax time in Homer Babbidge so join us on Level 1 next week for a little fur, a little drool, and a whole lot of cuddles from our therapy dogs.

Here’s the schedule, starting this coming Monday, December 11. Schedule is subject to change but we’ll do our best to keep you posted.

Monday, December 11
1:00-2:00pm – Rebecca Caldwell & Hunter (Shetland Sheepdog)
2:00-3:00pm – Betsy Tubridy & Finn (Labradoodle)
3:00-4:00pm – Diane Baricak & Meka (Keeshond)
4:00-5:00pm – Jeanne Ladd & Benny (Shih Tzu)
5:00-6:00pm – Kerry Lurate & Jessie (Labrador Retriever)

Tuesday, December 12
1:00-2:00pm – Lauren Jorgensen & Dream (Rottweiler)
2:00-3:00pm -Octayvia Rickard & Boo (Golden Retriever)
3:00-4:00pm -Claudia Eberly & Tegan (Welch Springer Spaniel)
4:00-5:00pm -Michelle Volz & Chase (Golden Retriever)

Wednesday, December 13
1:00-2:00pm – Sandy Lok & Andy (Golden Retriever)
2:00-3:00pm – Laurel Rabschutz & Wrigley (Newfoundland)
3:00-4:00pm – Geri Bakaj & Taz (German Shepherd)
4:00-5:00pm – Niki Disapio & River (Collie)

Thursday, December 14
1:00-2:00pm – Patti Argoff and Aldo (Chihuahua)
2:00-3:00pm – Karen Tuccitto and Sebbi or Shaddow (Cocker Spaniel)
3:00-4:00pm -Steven Kornfield /Laura Kolk & Summit (English Labrador)
4:00-5:00pm – Laura Labato & Penny (Pomeranian Chihuahua mix)

Friday, December 15
1:00-2:00pm – Michelle Finnegan & Vinnie (English Mastiff)
2:00-3:00pm -Alexa Carey & Ambrosia (Greyhound)
3:00-4:00pm – Sandy Lok & Nutmeg (Golden Retriever)
4:00-5:00pm -Christine Anderson and Bo (Labrador Retriever mix)

We are pleased to announce that Anne Langley, currently Associate Dean for Research, Collections, and Scholarly Communications at Penn State University Libraries, has accepted the position of Dean of the UConn Library. Anne will begin her term as Dean on February 1, 2018.

Anne holds a master’s degree in library science from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Georgia State University. With more than 24 years of professional library experience, Anne has overseen the collections budget, nine subject libraries, acquisitions and collection development, special collections and archives, and scholarly communication at Penn State since 2015. Previously she served as the Director of Scholarly Communication and Head Librarian of the Science and Technology Libraries at Princeton University. She has also worked at Duke University and North Carolina State University, and she began her career at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is the lead author of three books in the field of academic librarianship and just finished co-editing a book on open education resources and academic libraries.

On November 8, from 2-4pm we will welcome Professor Charles R. Venator-Santiago for a launch event and presentation for the Puerto Rican Citizenship Archives Project.

The Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives Project (PRCAP) is a public repository designed to document the legal history of the extension of U.S. citizenship to Puerto Rico. The PRCAP provides a comprehensive overview of 119-year history of debates over the extension of citizenship to Puerto Rico. It also provides public access to the key historical documents shaping this story. The main goal is to create a reliable public archive of primary documents that can foster new research projects on Puerto Rico and its relationship to the United States as well as on broader visions of U.S. citizenship.

The PRCAP is part of a collaboration between the University of Connecticut’s Libraries and El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies; CENTRO: Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York; the Biblioteca y Centro de Investigación Social Jesús T. Piñero, Universidad del Este; Departamento de Ciencias Politicas, Universidad de Puerto Rico; and the Hartford Public Library’s Park Branch.
Lean more at: scholarscollaborative.org/PuertoRico 

Launch Event:
November 8, 2pm to 4pm
The Gathering Place at the Scholars’ Collaborative
Homer Babbidge Library, Level 1
Coffee and refreshments will be served

Come join us for lunch and talk about your research and learning needs.

The Library is hosting a series of focus groups to collect direct user feedback on what the UConn community values in research, teaching, and learning.  This feedback will help to inform the Library’s strategic planning efforts and is an integral part of our continual assessment practices.  All sessions are from noon – 1:00pm in the Homer Babbidge Library’s Heritage Room.  Lunch is provided.

Undergraduate Session: November 8, 2017
Limited Space Available – RSVP at homer@uconn.edu by November 3, 2017

Graduate Sessions: November 1 and November 17, 2017
November 1 – Full
November 17 – Limited Space Available – RSVP at homer@uconn.edu by November 8, 2017

Faculty Sessions: November 9 and November 15, 2017
November 9 – Limited Space Available – RSVP at homer@uconn.edu by November 3, 2017
November 15 – Limited Space Available – RSVP at homer@uconn.edu by November 8, 2017

For more information, please contact Khara Leon

The current system for communicating research is rooted in a print-based system, even though we are in the digital age. This conventional model does not take advantage of the extraordinary new possibilities for how researchers can create, share, and access scholarship.

Here at the UConn Library, one of the tenets of our Purposeful Path Forward is to engage in the driving of UConn’s ‘Scholarly Engine’, or the processes of research and knowledge creation. One of the core activities in our approach is educating our community on the importance of Open Access. Open Access (OA), as defined by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), refers to the “free, immediate, online availability of research articles, coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.”

Why Open? Open changes the way we discover knowledge. It can turn ideas into reality,  break down barriers to learning, and lay the groundwork for breakthrough research.

This month we are embracing the challenge provided by the 2017 International Open Access Week by answering the question, “Open in order to…” through a series of programs and initiatives.

OpenCommons@UConn
The UConn Library is proud to announce the re-launch of the University’s institutional repository, OpenCommons@UConn, a showcase of the scholarship and creative works of the UConn community. The renaming of this services emphasizes the Library’s role in providing the tools to enable independent learning, research, and scholarship. By making the University’s diverse and unique resources openly accessible worldwide, we hope to inspire groundbreaking research and advance learning, teaching, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Open in order to…provide access to UConn’s scholarship

Open Educational Resources @ UConn Exhibit: published teaching and learning materials under an open license
October 18-31, 2017
HBL, Plaza Level
Open Access and Open Educational Resources (OER) are related but distinct, with the commonality of providing high quality learning materials at no cost. In an academic setting, the lines of Open Access publishing for research materials and Open Educational Resources for teaching and learning overlap in significant ways. UConn’s OER Initiative began only 2 years ago and to date has saved our undergraduates over $500,000 in textbook costs. View some OER textbooks and learn more about the faculty who are working towards making UConn more affordable.
Open in order to…save students money

Is this open access journal any good?
Thursday, October 19, 9:30-11:00am
Homer Babbidge Library, Collaborative Learning Classroom
Faculty often struggle to identify good quality open access journals in which to publish or to serve as an editor or reviewer. Many new open access journals exist now – some are good quality, some are exploitative, and some are in-between. This workshop will include a brief discussion of faculty concerns about identifying journals. The majority of the session will be devoted to identifying and demonstrating indicator web-based tools which can help faculty to appraise a journal’s quality.  Please register at http://cetl.uconn.edu/seminars
Open in order to…find quality teaching materials

Paywall: A Conversation about the Business of Scholarship with Filmmaker Jason Schmitt
Wednesday, October 25, 2:30-4:00pm
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Help us celebrate Open Access Week by joining award-winning filmmaker Jason Schmitt as we screen and discuss footage from his in-progress documentary Paywall: The Business of Scholarship. Schmitt will be accompanied in the discussion by a panel of UConn faculty who will share their views on making the results of academic research freely accessible online. Panelists include:

• Johann Peter Gogarten is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in UConn’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. He is a Fulbright scholarship recipient and his pioneering research in the field of molecular evolution has appeared in numerous scholarly publications.
• Arnab Roy is a Ph.D. candidate in UConn’s Department of Literatures, Cultures and Languages and he is also a co-editor of the Open Access publication, The Quiet Corner Interdisciplinary Journal. He is currently writing his dissertation, titled Ethical and Empathic Universals in the Study of Indian Literary Traditions.
• Jason Schmitt, the filmmaker.

Co-sponsored by UConn Humanities Institute

Open in order to…talk about the business of scholarship
Flyer in pdf
Release in pdf

Open Data In Action
Thursday, October 26, 11:00am-2:00pm
Hartford Public Library Atrium
Open Data In Action brings together a wide range of researchers to showcase how their work has benefited from openly and freely accessible data. Presenters from the public, private, and academic sectors will discuss how open data, ranging from historical documents to statistical analyses, is being used to create projects, change policies, or conduct research and highlight the importance open data has on shaping the world around us.

Opening Remarks:
Tyler Kleykamp, Chief Data Officer, State of Connecticut

Presenters:

• Steve Batt, UConn Hartford/CT State Data Center, Tableau Public and CT Census Data
• Jason Cory Brunson, UConn Health Center, Modeling Incidence and Severity of Disease using Administrative Healthcare Data
• Stephen Busemeyer, The Hartford Courant,Journalism and the Freedom of Information
• Brett Flodine, GIS Project Leader, City of Hartford Open Data
• Rachel Leventhal-Weiner, CT Data Collaborative, CT Data Academy
• Anna Lindemann/Graham Stinnett, UConn/DM&D, & Archives, Teaching Motion Graphics with Human Rights Archives
• Thomas Long, UConn Nursing, Dolan Collection Nursing History Blog
• Tina Panik, Avon Public Library, World War II Newsletters from the CTDA
• Jennifer Snow, UConn Library, Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives: Government Documents as Open Data
• Rebecca Sterns, Korey Stringer Institute, Athlete Sudden Death Registry
• Andrew Wolf, UConn Digital Media & Design, Omeka Everywhere

Co-sponsored by the Hartford Public Library
Open in order to…share data 
Flyer in pdf

Introduction to Data Visualization using Tableau Public
Monday, October 30, 3:00-4:15pm
Homer Babbidge Library, Level 2 Electronic Classroom
Tableau Public is a free version of Tableau business intelligence / visual analytics software, which allows anyone to explore and present any quantitative information in compelling, interactive visualizations. In this hands-on session you will work with different prepared datasets to create online interactive bar graphs, scatterplots, thematic maps and much more, which can be linked to or embedded in blogs or on web sites. Please register at http://workshops.lib.uconn.edu/
Open in order to…visualize research

Digital Scholarship: Partnering for the Future
Joan K. Lippincott, Associate Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information
Tuesday, November 7, 2:30-4:00
Homer Babbidge Library, Humanities Institute Conference Room
Researchers in many disciplines are finding that they can ask new kinds of research questions as a result of the rapid growth in the availability of digital content and tools. In addition, the outputs of their research can include many more types of products such as data visualizations, geo-referenced representations, text augmented with images and audio, exhibits on the web, and virtual reality environments. Developing these projects takes a team of people who have a variety of skill sets. These individuals may come from academic departments, the library, the information technology unit, and other specialties. Graduate and undergraduate students are also often part of teams working on digital scholarship projects. In this presentation, Lippincott will provide an update on developments in digital scholarship and will describe existing programs and projects, discuss the importance of physical space, and encourage the development of a campus digital scholarship community.  Co-sponsored by UConn Humanities Institute
Open in order to…develop digital scholarship

Printable Brochure (pdf format) for all of our events

Martha Bedard, Vice Provost for the UConn Library, will be retiring on July 20, 2017. Vice Provost Bedard has led the library since October, 2013 and during her tenure she has been instrumental in moving the UConn Library forward in several key areas.

One Library Initiative. The One Library Initiative has created a coordinated library system which now includes the Health Sciences Library in Farmington, and the transition has significantly increased the collaboration for decision making and judicious expenditure of, and access to, all library resources.

Master Plan. The flagship facility in the UConn Library system, the Homer Babbidge Library, has not seen significant physical changes since the early 1990s until this summer. A strong proponent for creating an active and creative place for the UConn community, Martha has been able to work with the University to secure $5 million in funding each year over the next four years to transform the Library into a thriving central academic resource for years to come.

Open Educational Resources. Having been involved with the Open Access movement for over a decade, Martha brought her passion for how the library can serve as a facilitator of open and affordable resources and elevated the conversation both at UConn and on the state-wide stage. Her work has sparked a movement on campus that has already saved an estimated 4,500 students over $450,000– and growing each year affecting thousands more.

Collaborations across campus. Increasing collaborations that are mutually beneficial has been a tenet in Bedard’s strategies. Working more closely with the Humanities Institute, the Entrepreneurial and Innovation Center, and the creation of the Mellon Foundation funded Greenhouse Studios project with Digital Media and Design and the School of Fine Arts are just a few of the successes. She was also the driving force in ensuring the continuation of the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair for its 25^th anniversary, and has been eager to connect with students on campus, working with students in the Undergraduate Student Government, Provost’s Library Advisory Committee, and the student friends of the library organization, the Homies.

Throughout her time at UConn, Martha continued to engage in the profession of librarianship as she has done over her 50 years in libraries. She has provided mentoring support in leadership through the Association of Research Libraries’ Leadership Program, for which she was selected as a Fellow for in the first cohort. She has also just completed her appointment as the President of the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) where she was actively engaged in regional wide collaboration including joining the Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust [EAST] program for shared retention of print materials across the BLC Network and beyond.

Prior to coming to UConn, Martha was the Dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico, a position she held for over six years. She has also held high level positions at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. At TAMU, she served in various leadership roles beginning in 2000, including Associate Dean for Information and Collection Services. Her previous positions at TAMU also included Associate Dean and Director of the Medical Sciences Library, Associate Dean for Advanced Studies, and Associate Dean for Digital Initiatives.

She served as the Associate Director for Library Services, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Sciences Library, and held medical library directorships at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh NC, the Medical Center of Central Massachusetts in Worcester MA., and Lowell General Hospital.

In retirement, Martha is looking forward to spending time travelling from Coast to Coast to visit family here in her native Massachusetts, in California where her son lives, and in New Mexico where her and her husband Denis still reside.

There will be a celebration of Martha’s career on Tuesday, August 8th at 3:00pm at the Homer Babbidge Library. All are welcome, and RSVPs can be sent to Kim Giard.

UConn has named Holly Jeffcoat as interim vice provost for libraries while a search for a successor to Martha is conducted. Holly has served as assistant vice provost for libraries since 2016 and was associate university librarian for finance, planning, and assessment from 2014 to 2016.

This summer the UConn Library’s Research Guides are being upgraded to a fresh new look and improved functionality. Besides becoming easier to read, they will be organized more efficiently, include improved navigation for less clicking to get to the content you need, easily searchable by topic, subject and course, and will now follow accessibility standards. We will also have an opportunity to incorporate interactive surveys and polls to enhance learning.

The new site will be located at http://guides.lib.uconn.edu as of Thursday June 1. During the migration from midnight on May 31 through 10:00am, Thursday, June 1, all guides will be unavailable.

We will be redirecting from the old site for a short time but we recommend that you update any links you have pointing to the current site (http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu.)

If you have any questions, please contact your subject specialist librarian.

Paws-to-Relax, our therapy dog stress relief program is back again for finals. Join us on Level 1 of Homer Babbidge while you study and make sure you tag the #uconnlibrary in your photos!

Monday, May 1

1-2pm – Rosie Lee (Corgi Mix) and Devon
2-3pm – Sophia (Mini Golden Doodle) and Layla
3-4pm – Fenway (Labradoodle) and Jean
4-5pm – Benny (Shih Tzu) and Jeanne

Tuesday, May 2

1-2pm – Meka (Keeshond) and Diane
2-3pm – Dream (Rottweiler) and Lauren
3-4pm – Boo (Golden Retriever) and Octavia
4-5pm – Mia (Shetland Sheepdog) and Terri

Wednesday, May 3

1-2pm – Suzie (German Shepherd) and Gery
2-3pm – Dolly (Golden Retriever) and Julie
3-4pm – Bo (Lab Mix) and Christine
4-5pm – Chase (Golden Retriever) and Michelle

Thursday, May 4

1-2pm – Sebbi (Cocker Spaniel) and Karen
2-3pm – Vinny (English Mastiff) and Michelle
3-4pm – Hunter (Shetland Sheepdog) and Rebecca
4-5pm – Rosie Lee (Corgi Mix) and Devon

Friday, May 5

1-2pm – Spumoni (Great Dane) and Tracey)
2-3pm – Tegan (Welch Springer Spaniel) and Claudia
3-4pm – Bo (Lab Mix) and Christine
4-5pm – Dream (Rottweiler) and Lauren

Times and dogs are subject to change.