Online Newsletter of Roxbury Community College Library

February 2005

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

It’s JAZZ!! at the library for African American History Month. Come take a look and listen.

· “Jazz Greats” in the library’s front windows by Boston area artist Paul G. Andriesse. These 5 collages memorialize the achievements of some of the giants of jazz including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, CannonBall Adderley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, and many, many others.

· Come into the library and browse a display of jazz books at the entrance.

· Next to the jazz books, watch a video monitor playing “Jazz” all month. This is the 12-part PBS series by Ken Burns. Headphones supplied.

· Listen to a jazz CD with headphones at the new library CD listening station. Or just borrow some Count Basie, Brubeck or Ellington to play at home. Library CDs, classical and jazz, can now be borrowed.

Non-jazz displays in the library’s front windows this month:

· Timeline of African American History. This 35-foot long timeline illustrates African American history since 1619 with nearly 200 captioned pictures. Updates for 2004 include Barack Obama, keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and the National Hip Hop Political Convention in Newark.

· “Fractured Fotos.” Also in the front windows are very colorful, unusual and stimulating photos which artist Paul G. Andriesse has filtered and fractured using Photoshop© and Illustrator©.

BLACK UNITED FRONT PAPERS TO BE PROCESSED

A project to process the papers of the Boston Black United Front will begin shortly. The library is seeking an archivist who will organize and catalog the collection and apply appropriate preservation techniques to ensure long-term retention. Some of the collection will also be scanned into the library’s online archive. The library is fortunate to be getting advice from members of the Archives Program at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Jeanette Bastian, director of the program, and Tywanna Whorley, Archives Program faculty member, visited RCC recently to view the papers and agreed to provide ongoing consultation.

The papers document the activities of the Black United Front, an umbrella organization in Boston’s black community in the 1960s and 70s. Through its member organizations and as a central actor, the United Front was involved in a kaleidoscope of activities using strategies to bring economic and political power to blacks of the region. Community control and development were its twin objectives. Members of the organization included a constellation of influential leaders in the black community, including Chuck Turner, now on the Boston City Council; Mel King, later State representative and Boston mayoral candidate; and Byron Rushing and Doris Bunte, later State representatives.

Leonard Durant, former Black United Front chief of staff, donated the papers to RCC several years ago. He has spent considerable time organizing the papers in anticipation of the day when they could be professionally processed.

DU BOIS COLLECTION EXPANDING

The library is adding more books by and about W.E.B. Du Bois to its collection. These books supplement The Papers of W.E.B. Du Bois, an 88-reel microfilm collection containing the complete writing of Du Bois from 1877 to 1963. The originals are housed at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The RCC library is one of only three other libraries in Massachusetts to have this collection, which contains over 100,000 microfilm frames. Together with the expanded book selection, this makes the RCC library an excellent place for any student to do research about one of the most important intellectuals of the twentieth century.

DARFUR PICTURES AVAILABLE

In December, the library displayed 28 beautiful pictures of the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. Jeffrey Cornish, Country Director of the aid organization Sudan Operations for Concern Worldwide, took them. Because many people asked how to get copies, the library is making them available in its online archive and by clicking here. Jeffrey Cornish has generously given his permission to allow the pictures to be downloaded without further permission, although if distributed, he should be credited. Those wishing to give Mr. Cornish feedback may do so at: jacornish@yahoo.com.

STATISTICS SHOW CONTINUED GROWTH IN STUDENT SERVICES

Here are the library’s main end of year and multiyear statistics for 2001-2004. The complete listing is part of the RCC Board of Trustees Report for January 2005. Ask at the library circulation desk to see Trustee’s reports.

• Gate count, the number of warm bodies that enter the library. Down about 8% in 2 years.

• Despite this decline, there is a big increase in the use of the library in most areas. For example a 35% increase in circulation over 2 years.

• And a 395% increase in interlibrary loans (ILL) over 2 years. This is the borrowing of items from other libraries. This figure is still very low. It should dramatically increase after May 2005. At that point RCC library users will be able to make online requests for items at other libraries that will be delivered to RCC by special library van.

• The library’s instruction program is very important to helping students understand how to find informational resources. The number of students taught by library staff has increased 23% in 2 years and 370% in 3 years.

• One skill that library staff teaches is how to access the library’s online databases to find information for reports. One measure of the effectiveness of the training program, therefore, is the number of database searches performed. Up 87% in 2 years and up 690% in 3 years.

Database searches, since October 2001, for 12-month periods prior to the months below

• The number of items cataloged has declined 8% over 2 years but should increase markedly in 2005 with the substantial increase in the support of the library provided by the college.

BEST SELLING BOOKS, February 2005

	FICTION		NON-FICTION
	The Godfather Returns Mark Winegardner		America: a citizen’s guide to Democracy inaction. Jon Stewart
	I am Charlotte Simmons Tom Wolfe		Will in the World Stephen Greenblat
	Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Susanna Clarke		Eats, Shoots & Leaves Lynne Truss
	The Rule of Four Ian Caldwell		The Games Do Count Brian Kilmeade
	The Line of Beauty Alan Hollingshurst		His Excellency: George Washington Joseph Ellis
	The Plot Against America Philip Roth		Faithful Stewart O’Nan
	Kite Runner Khaled Hosseneini		A Brother’s Journey Richard Pelzer
	The Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom		When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? George Carlin

To build a better college library and provide superior customer service, we need your comments. Send both praises and gripes to mlawrence@rcc.mass.edu.

If you missed earlier issues of Welcome to the Library, click on “Read the Library’s newsletter” on the library website http://www.rcc.mass.edu/lib.

Welcome to the Library, published by Roxbury Community College Library, Roxbury Crossing, MA

Mark Lawrence, Acting Library Director