Editor
Haiwang Yuan

Column Editors
Jonathan Jeffrey
Katherine Pennavaria
Sue Lynn McDaniel

Web Design
Haiwang Yuan

Photography
Haiwang Yuan

Contributors
Carrie L. Barnett
Mike Binder
Brian Coutts
Earlene Chelf
Dan Forrest
Pat Hodges
Jonathan Jeffrey
Jayne Pelaski
Katy Roe
Katherine Pennavaria
Roxanne Spencer
Sandy Staebell
Haiwang Yuan

Council of Library Department Heads
Michael Binder
Brian Coutts
Connie Foster
Timothy Mullin
Carrie Barnett
Earlene Chelf
Jayne Pelaski
Jan Renusch
Haiwang Yuan

Dean of Libraries
Michael Binder

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Email Haiwang.yuan.
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Write to Cravens 101, Western Kentucky University Libraries,
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Bowling Green, KY 42101-3576

Developed by Haiwang Yuan and the Collections & Connections Editorial Committee.
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All Contents Copyright ©1995-2005. Western Kentucky University.

Publication Date: January 15, 2005.

www.wku.edu/Library/c&c/

A Message from Carrie Barnette, WKU Libraries' Development Officer

by Carrie Barnette

With a new year comes many exciting projects for the University Libraries, including the Southern Kentucky Book Fest and exhibits and programs at the Kentucky Library and Museum.

Now is a great time to update your Library and Museum Associates membership for just $50 for individuals and $100 for families. As an associate, you receive many great benefits including notice about upcoming events, admission to the Kentucky Library and Museum, borrowing privileges at any University Library site and access to a portion of the on-line databases accessible to students and faculty. Databases accessible from your home computer include: EBSCOHost (With more than 25 content specific databases to use), FirstSearch (11 databases) KYLV and ProQuest (featuring 4 database offerings). All in all, more than 50 databases are available for remote access by Library and Museum Associates. And if you can’t find it there, as an associate, you can always ask our reference librarians. They’re glad to help!

To request more information about becoming a WKU Library and Museum Associate or would like to learn Carrie Barnett at 745-7056 or carrie.barnett@wku.edu or go to our website at http://www.wku.edu/Library/development/mbform.html.

Happy New Year from Western Kentucky University Libraries Development!

Southern Kentucky Book Fest 2005

by Jayne Pelaski

The Southern Kentucky Book Fest is the state’s largest literary event and will be held April 15 & 16, 2005. Held annually during National Library Week, the festival is a two-day event.

Day 1 is devoted to schoolchildren. Children have the opportunity to meet their favorite authors including Newbery winner, Sharon Creech. Day 2 is the major book signing event featuring nearly 200 authors. Authors confirmed to appear at the 2005 Book Fest include: Sue Grafton, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Ann B. Ross, Gregory McDonald and Robert Morgan. Admission to the Southern Kentucky Book Fest is free.

Second Annual U.S. Bank Art Show Showcases Area Artists’ Talent

by Earlene Chelf

Artistic and creative talent abounds in South-Central Kentucky and can be showcased in the second annual USBank Celebration of the Arts 2005 Open Art Exhibition, scheduled for March 6 – April 10 at the Kentucky Library and Museum.

Last year’s event was very successful with about 120 entrants. Of those, 86 were from Warren County and 34 were from the designated region, which is an area within a 65-mile radius of Bowling Green. While last year’s participation was very good, the goal is to increase participation significantly, both by local artists and by artists throughout the region.

To increase participation, several changes have been made which, organizers believe, will entice more artists to participate. Specifically they are:

1. All entries – not just prize winners – will be exhibited for the entire exhibition period;
2. Size restrictions on flat works have been removed;
3. The awards ceremony/reception, scheduled for 5-7pm, March 5, will be open to the public, not just artists and sponsors, which should expand sales opportunities.

Beyond these changes, and one additional, an increase in the non-refundable entry fee from $5 to $10 an entry, event guidelines remain unchanged and are outlined fully in the prospectus. They are available at the Kentucky Library and Museum, at U. S. Banks in the competition region or at the website: www.wku.edu/Library/museum/artshow

As has been true in the past, two main awards will be given: the Purchase Award and Best of Show. In addition monetary awards will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category, with separate amounts for amateur and professional artists. Organizers are also very pleased to have secured an outstanding juror. John W. Streetman III, Director of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, will judge the 2005 exhibition.

The USBank Celebration of the Arts Open Art Exhibition is a wonderful regional collaboration among artists, arts organizations, the University community and the public. Organizers are indebted to U. S. Bank for the event’s title sponsorship. Other funding is provided by the Dorothy Grider Art Exhibit Fund in WKU’s College Heights Foundation, and the World’s Greatest Studio Tour.

For more information, contact Earlene Chelf (270) 745-5263 or earlene.chelf@wku.edu.

Kentucky Writers Conference Celebrates Its First Annual Event

by Roxanne Spencer

Members of the KWC at the reception desk during the first annual conference in DUC.

Join us at South Campus on Thursday, April 14, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Friday, April 15, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., for the second annual Kentucky Writers Conference!

The initial KWC, held April 15 & 16, 2004, featured award-winning authors Lynn Hightower and Silas House; USA Today best selling author, Teresa Medeiros, and Bob Summer of Publishers Weekly. In fact, it was such a success that WKU Libraries decided to do it again in 2005!

For the 2005 KWC, WKU students, staff, and faculty, members of the community, and local area high school students will be treated to sessions about writing by such talents as children’s book authors Jerrie Oughton (Music from a Place Called Half Moon, Perfect Family); illustrators Christopher and Jeannette Canyon (Stickeen, Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef); journalists Keith Runyon and Wade Hall (Louisville Courier-Journal); anthology editors Jane Olmstead, Elizabeth Oakes (Writing Who We Are: Poems by Kentucky Feminists), and Denise McKinney (Poetry as Prayer: Appalachian Women Speak), to name just a few of the guest speakers for this exciting conference.

The KWC came about as a collaboration between many departments at Western Kentucky University. The English Department, University Libraries, and WKU Bookstore have been instrumental in supporting the conference, spearheaded by Dean of Libraries, Dr. Michael Binder, and Assistant to the Dean for Community Outreach, Jayne Pelaski.

Teachers, students, members of the community: don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear well-known authors, songwriters, journalists, and editors speak candidly about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. All KWC 2005 events will be held at South Campus, and admission is free. Contact Jayne Pelaski, 270-745-5016, for more information. Visit the KWC website, www.sokybookfest.org.

The Kentucky Literary Awards

by Jonathan Jeffrey

From left to right: 2002 KY Literary Award winner, Silas House; 2003 KY Literary Award Winner for Poetry, Charles Semones; KY Literary Awards Chairman, Jonathan Jeffrey; and 2003 KY Literary Award Winner for Nonfiction, Fenton Johnson.

When the inaugural Kentucky Literary Awards were given in April 2003, Bobbie Ann Mason, who received the non-fiction award for her biography of Elvis Presley, noted: "It's a great idea for these awards to bring notice to writers in Kentucky, and I join in celebrating Kentucky literature." Mason captured the true intention of the awards which is the celebration of Kentucky's literary talent. Kentucky has a rich literary past, and the Kentucky Literary Awards are fast becoming a part of that tradition.

The Southern Kentucky Book Fest (SKBF), which began in 1999 and is now the Commonwealth's largest literary event, supported creation of the Kentucky Literary Awards. Three partners share administration of SKBF: Western Kentucky University Libraries, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and the Bowling Green Public Library. In 2002 the festival's board contemplated the implementation of a statewide, non-discipline specific literary award. Organizers determined that a cash prize would be the best method to insure that the award would be taken seriously. Today the award consists of a handsome commemorative plaque and a $1000 check in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. To enhance the award's integrity, the board decided to not charge an entry fee for nominated works.

Only books written by Kentuckians or which have a substantial Kentucky theme are considered for the awards. A Kentucky author is defined as a writer meeting one or more of the following qualifications: a native-born Kentuckian, an author living in the Commonwealth, or an author whose permanent address is Kentucky but who does not at present live in the state. Books cannot be self-published or publish-on-demand titles. For eligibility and other guidelines, you can go to the SKBF (www.sokybookfest.org) website for more information. On the website you will also find a nomination form that can be submitted electronically. Anyone may nominate books, but materials must be in hand by January 15, 2005.

Three judges in each category read the submitted titles and make their final decisions by March 15. The awards will be given at a luncheon on April 14, 2005 on WKU's campus. The nominees the 2004 Kentucky Literary Awards thus far are:

Poetry

Non-Fiction

Fiction

Black History Month @ Your Library
A Celebration of Kentucky African American Writers

by Jayne Pelaski

The celebration of Black History Month is attributed to Dr. Carter Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week later to become known at Black History Month because it marks the birthdays of two men who significantly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

The Southern Kentucky Book Fest partners will celebrate Black History Month by hosting two talented authors. On February 3, 2005, Dr. Nikky Finney will be appearing at the Western Kentucky University Glasgow campus at 3:00. That same evening, she will speaking and signing books at the Bowling Green Community College at 7:00. Finney began teaching and writing in California, but moved back to the south, where she is currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kentucky. She has published several collections, and she wrote the script for the 1995 PBS documentary For Posterity's Sake: The Story of Morgan and Marvin Smith, chronicling the African-American twins from Lexington who became noted photographers in New York in the 1930s and 1940s. Finney is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets.

On February 24, Pandora Sears will speak at the Bowling Green Public Library at 6:30 p.m. She is the author of Dipped In Milk: Conversations Between an African-American Son and His Mother. Ms. Sears writes about the challenges and struggles of the black male youth through her conversations with her own son. She focuses on peer pressure, absent fathers, gangs, drugs, race, stereotypes, school and the entertainment world.

These events are free and open to the public and are funded in part by the Provost’s Academic Excellence Initiatives. For more information, call 270-745-5016 or email: Jayne.Pelaski@wku.edu.

One Campus-One Community-One Book

by Jayne Pelaski

With the enormous success of the 2004 One Campus-One Community-One Book, we are gearing up for the 2005 One Book project. The Southern Kentucky Book Fest partners hope to encourage reading by bringing the WKU campus and the Bowling Green community together to read Coiled in the Heart by Kentucky native, Scott Elliott.

Our first kick off was held at Java City and the Bowling Green Public Library on January 27. Free books were given to the first one hundred people at both of these locations. Barnes and Noble hosted their kick off on January 28th. Scott Elliott will be in Bowling Green March 3 & 4 to meet those who participated. Not everyone is able to attend the public discussions, so we have an online discussion board on our website: www.Bgonebook.org

Coiled in the Heart was chosen because it is by a Kentucky author whose first novel has impressed the Kentucky Literary Awards judges as well as many in the literary world. “Far too wonderful and self-assured to be a first novel…Watch this guy,” says best selling author, Pat Conroy.

Google Scholar

by Haiwang Yuan and Mike Binder

The search engine giant Google has recently launched a new service called Google Scholar, which claims to allow its users to search for “scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.”

Search results in Google Scholar, as in its Web Search, are listed by their relevancy, determined by an article’s full text, author, and frequency of being cited in other scholarly literature. Google Scholar also yields results of cited documents not necessarily online. In that case, it will provide either a library link to refer its users to the library catalogs in their vicinity or a web link to book sellers so that users may purchase them.

Google Scholar is not a replacement of library resources, but instead a complement. In the first place, “What Google is offering is merely the tip of the ‘scholarly’ info iceberg.” As Peter Jacso from Thompson Gale puts it, “searching Google Scholar is easy, finding the gems is difficult.” In the second place, even if a researcher locates a full text of an article, Google Scholar admits, “users will either need to have a subscription to the database or pay for access to an individual article.” In many cases, Google Scholar directs its users to a full text provider that sells them. The problem is that often the articles they sell can be found in databases subscribed by the user’s library, only that he or she does not know it. No wonder critics like Shirl Kennedy and Gary Price proclaim, “Might this be a golden opportunity for the library community to tell people -- look, we have access to this stuff and MUCH MUCH MORE? We have better ways to search it, and you might not even have to pay for it?”

In a word, Google Scholar is neither a devil nor an angel. It is an additional useful tool to find citations and abstracts of scholarly materials. Robert L. Koenig, Publications and Public Affairs Manager of The Institute for Genomic Research in Maryland found Google Scholar useful, saying, “I tested Google Scholar by doing a search under my name and it returned just about every news story and feature that I wrote for Science from 1995-2002, as well as articles and books that cited those stories. I hear there are a few glitches, but it's a quick and useful tool.” The real effective research tool, however, remains your library.

Reference:

• About Google Scholar, http://scholar.google.com/scholar/about.html#about, 2004
• Peter Jacso, “Peter's Digital Reference Shelf,” http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/reference/peter/dec.htm#googleschola, 2004
• Shirl Kennedy and Gary Price, Web Search—Google Big News: "Google Scholar is Born” http://www.resourceshelf.com/2004/11/wow-its-google-scholar.html, 2004.