October 2003
Volume 21
(back issues)

In this Issue

New Library Employees
Brian Parker
Lewis Walpole Library
9/17/03

Matthew Sorrellis
Acquisitions
9/22/03

Anotnia Caserta
Library Administration
9/22/03

Dorothy Rachmat
Southeast Asia Collection
10/13/03

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A Word From the University Librarian

A summer season of conferences

By Alice Prochaska

As Library Links resumes its monthly cycle, the fall semester seems already half past, and a busy summer is becoming memory. Like so many members of the Yale Library community, I find summer is among the busiest times for conferences out of town. Two in particular stand out for me.

Toronto

First was the American Library Association annual conference in Toronto at the end of June. Yale librarians are always extremely active and well represented at ALA, and this held true for the Toronto conference, despite the scares about SARS. My own main reason for being there was to give the concluding plenary talk at the pre-conference arranged by the Rare Books and Manuscripts section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. The conference theme was Fakes and Forgeries: an opportunity for a rich feast of presentations about charlatans and some tragic-comic episodes in the history of rare book and manuscript libraries. I particularly enjoyed a paper by Bruce Whiteman from the Clark Library at UCLA, on the shameless nineteenth-century forger Constantine Simonides, and a brilliant presentation by Stephen Rhind-Tutt of the Alexander Street Press, exploring the implications of representing original and copy in the digital environment. Yale's Manon Theroux gave a much praised presentation on cataloguing issues, following up the work done at the conference on Descriptive Cataloguing of Rare Materials held at the Beinecke in March.

The underlying theme of the Toronto conference was one of serious concern to all librarians charged with collecting and cataloguing rare and unique materials: our common responsibility to be vigilant and accurate, rigorous in reporting cases of fraud or fake, and meticulously scholarly in the way we investigate and represent materials offered to us and materials in our care. My task in winding up, was to remind us all of the vital importance of the original material, and why it matters that we preserve authentic, original manuscripts and rare books from an international legacy of the records of human experience.

Next year's RBMS pre-conference will be at Yale in June, on the theme of the migration of manuscripts and rare books into North America. Although those going on to attend the ALA conference will have to travel to Florida to do so, I expect to see a good crowd of people (perhaps about 200) attending this event in New Haven. It will be a wonderful opportunity to show off our collections to an expert audience.

Berlin

My second high point of the summer was the International Federation of Library Associations, World Congress on Library and Information Sciences, held in Berlin in early August. A strong contingent of Yale librarians attended, and several gave papers at some of the hundreds of sessions. As always at IFLA's annual conferences, it was difficult to select from the extraordinary array of sessions. One session that attracted a large crowd was a report from the UNESCO representative on a delegation that had visited Iraq about two months earlier. We saw a series of slides showing total devastation of several libraries and archives. It was a somber, even heart-breaking, session, reminding us all of the central importance of libraries in any free community. The deliberate firing of the main public library in Basra and the National Library in Baghdad were just two cases in a depressing account. At the Council concluding the conference, a resolution was passed calling on IFLA to bring attention to the importance of libraries in rebuilding civil society in Iraq, and to work with UNESCO and other international bodies to coordinate appropriate measures supporting the Iraqi library profession and helping to reconstruct libraries and their collections and provide training for librarians.

This IFLA conference was my last as chair of the Rare Books and Manuscript standing committee. It is a vibrant collection of people drawn not only from Europe, America and the Near East, but with at least one member each from China and Latin America. Our open session on the history of printing and the impact of the Reformation on the book in eastern Europe, included presentations from Latvia, Poland and Leipzig in eastern Germany. The group also enjoyed visits to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, a leading international research library that suffered division and spoliation during the Second World War and throughout the period of the cold war, but is now building up a numerous interesting programs. A workshop held at the library by the Rare books and Manuscripts section considered the preservation and collection of music manuscripts, and heard some fascinating presentations on the digital reconstitution of the archive of JS Bach. Our hosts in Berlin were more than generous with their time, giving tours and viewings of their collections that really brought home to us the extraordinary depth and richness of the cultural inheritance of Germany and central Europe.

Both Toronto and Berlin were hot this summer. One by-product of my visits was a closer acquaintance with the street cafes and evening life of both cities. They made a lively backdrop to many absorbing conversations with fellow librarians from different parts of the world. I was pleased that Yale was able to send so many staff to both conferences, and I hope they profited from the professional networking and information-sharing as much as I did. I firmly believe that meeting each other face to face, and working together to consider professional issues form different perspectives, helps to build a foundation for the collaboration and partnerships that are increasingly essential in our work.

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Calendar of Events

Yale Photos

Yale Holiday Calendar

 

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Hr News

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For information on the Pay Schedule
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Find It

Communications Committee Website http://www.library.yale.edu/cc/

 

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Communications Committee Bulletin

Letter to all YUL Staff

At the September 25 joint meeting of the Microcosm Group and Communications Committee, we used our value of open communication to discuss frankly the extent to which we observed our values during the strike, and what we can do to reinforce our values now.

We found the discussion helped our individual and team understanding. We encourage all departments and teams to hold similar discussions.

Additionally, we encourage individuals to engage in conversations by sharing thoughts and feelings and inviting others to explore how we can move forward together.

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Suggestions and Comments
Send all comments to the Editor, Jessica Linicus

If you would like something or someone featured in the next Library Links, please contact me.

Library Human Resources hopes you enjoyed this issue of Library Links.
You can also contact one of the members of the Library Links Committee.

~Robin Gordon~Randy Main~Marybeth Bean~Nicole Benevento~Susan Brady~Lynn Sette~
~George Stranz~Marsha Garman~Pedro Soto~
~Julie Niemeyer~Tanya Allen~Emily Horning~Diane Ducharme~Ceasar Zapatas~

jessica.linicus@yale.edu

Wellness

Mental Wellness:HUMOR

Wellness Now

Many people suffer with headaches and migraines. One of the steps suggested to controlling your headaches is to learn your triggrs and ways to avoid them. Below I am providing information about headache triggers, I hope you find the information from WebMD useful. For more information on headaches go to http://content.health.msn.com/content/healthwise/125/31003.htm

Identifying and avoiding headache triggers

What are headache triggers?

A trigger is anything that can lead to a headache. A trigger is not something you are allergic to; it is something your body is sensitive to in some way. When you are around something that can trigger your headaches, you are more likely to experience a headache. That doesn't mean that a headache will always occur. Triggers vary from person to person and from headache to headache in the same person.

Most likely, you cannot identify all of the things that can trigger your headaches. In addition, more than one trigger can lead to a single headache, which can make them harder to identify. However, you can identify many of your headache triggers.

Although you will not be able to avoid all of your triggers, avoiding the ones you can may help decrease the frequency and severity of your headaches.

Triggers for migraine headaches differ from person to person. Migraines are often related to periods of stress and hormonal changes during a woman's menstrual cycle. Other migraine triggers include foods, lifestyle factors, medications, and environmental factors.

Other things to consider when avoiding headache triggers

You can decrease your chances of having a headache when exposed to headache triggers if you:

• Eat a balanced diet, and eat regularly. Don't skip or delay meals or fast.
• Have a regular bedtime, and get up at about the same time each day. Sleeping too much or not enough can lead to a headache.
• Learn to say no. Look closely at your daily schedule and make sure you have time for the healthy things you need to do. (especially for teens)
• Exercise regularly. Exercise can help reduce stress. See reducing stress to help prevent headaches for more information.
• Practice relaxation. There are several relaxation methods that may help you deal with everyday stress and pressures.

Think Now