One of the goals of the Library Technologies and Metadata department is to describe our work in more detail. This week, I'll look at technology in use with our conversion project, including perl scripting, APIs, and Microsoft's tools: Access and Excel. Taking a cue from our Metadata Librarian, Kim Sanderson's recent thought, "I’ll have to try that when I come across something particularly onerous…", one of the joys of working in library systems is automating parts of a project that are … [Read more...]
7th Annual Poetry Reading in the RBR
March 31, 2016 By
On Tuesday night, April 19th at 8:00 we are celebrating National Poetry Month with our 7th annual Poetry Reading in the Rare Book Room of the E.H. Little Library. Last year was great fun, and we’re looking forward to this year’s event. Davidson students, faculty members, and town poets ---talented all---will read from their own works. There will also be time afterwards for refreshments and chatting with the poets. How did this start? When I came up to the Archives & Special Collections … [Read more...]
Davidson Hosts College Library Director Mentoring Program Seminar
March 25, 2016 By
Over Spring Break, Davidson’s library hosted the annual seminar of the College Library Director Mentoring Program. This program, meant to provide new college library directors with mentors and a cohort, brought 17 new directors and three seminar leaders to campus. I also serve as a seminar leader. The curriculum over two-and-a-half days was intense, focusing on leadership development and big-picture thinking but also meeting participants’ needs for nitty-gritty management advice, too. The … [Read more...]
19th century metadata…
March 16, 2016 By
I remember seeing an early catalog of the library. It was a tall book of lined paper with columns…a bookkeeping ledger. Entries were recorded in ink with a semi-legible script. I thought it was time, at long last, to examine the metadata of my very distant predecessors.The first illustration is actually from the Philanthropic Society collection’s catalog—or catalogue. That collection was far greater than the library’s. Dated 1869, it’s a typical catalog for the time period, being an inventory … [Read more...]
