CUL NEWSLETTER

• The FLC browsing collection expanded as freestanding browsing shelves were removed, extending the space along the north and east walls of Fondren Library East's first floor. Room was also made in the northeast portion of FLE 1 for twenty new wireless PCs with flat-screen monitors, that were purchased with TIFB funds. Furnishings for these CPUs are on order and will be in use this fall.
• The Building Emergency Manual for FLC is nearing completion, anticipating the fall term project deadline. The document provides up to date emergency information for the facility, in conjunction with campus services. The libraries will be there to activate SMU PONI ID cards for library check out.
• 2002-2003 Faculty Guides should be ready for fall term release

In an effort to communicate more effectively to students that come into Central University Libraries seeking employment which departments have openings, a small form has been made and is being distributed to the departments. This form has fields for all pertinent information and can be filled out and posted on the free-standing reader board that is located at the west entrance to Fondren Library Center. The key is available at the Circulation Desk.

When a student makes an inquiry about possible job openings in CUL, please refer them to the reader board rather than sending them to inquire at other desks or the library offices. Also, remind them they can check on Monstertrak.com to see current openings for all SMU departments. Please instruct your student employees that cover a desk to make the same referrals.

Please contact Mary Ann Herbel if you have further questions.

Kit Goodwin, a rare map expert from the University of Texas at Arlington Special Collections, visited the Edwin J. Foscue Map Library on July 9th. She was very impressed by our facilities and map collections. Her knowledge of our rare and historic maps was greatly appreciated, as well as her advice on conservation and preservation. Carol Baker (FLC Public Services) joined Dawn Youngblood (Map Library) for part of the visit, and Joe Milazzo (GIRM) dropped by to meet Kit. One of the rare maps we have in our vault Kit deemed the "Rosetta Stone" of Texas mapping. Kit also offered some very interesting insights into how early maps were engraved and hand painted. She said copper engraving a single map might take eighteen months to two years via the intaglio process. The Dutch were the earliest great map makers in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, followed by the French in the 1700s, then the British in the early 1800s, then the Americans by around 1840. Although the Spanish were early master geographers, they did not print their maps, as they considered the information they conveyed top secret. We have excellent examples from each of the "great mapmaker" periods. A fine specimen of the French period is on display in Gillian's office. With the blessing of Gillian and Carol, our map library is joining the Texas Map Society, of which Kit is treasurer. This will help us to keep abreast of map-related developments in Texas as well as give us informal access via contacts to a number of well informed map "affectionados". (Submitted by Dawn Younglood, Map Specialist)

There has been nasty ant problem in parts of CUL, so make sure housekeeping takes the trash out on a regular basis.

PONI will be changing in the next few weeks to accommodate suggestions from the OPAC team members and from information taken from our usability tests this past spring. The final form of PONI will be released on August 13. New features and some changes include:

• In My Library Account: Includes My Bookbag, My Search Preferences and My Saved Searches
• New basic searches
• New color scheme
• Ability to combine searches

For an introduction to these changes, please join the OPAC team for a brief session on either of the dates listed in the Calendar. Please contact Beth Walker if you have questions.

Peter Ligon: The New York Drypoints, August 19 through December 15, 2002, Mildred Hawn Gallery, Hamon Arts Library

The Pollock Gallery, Division of Art, in conjunction with the Mildred Hawn Gallery, Hamon Arts Library will present over twenty drypoints etchings by Southern Methodist University alumnus Peter Ligon. The show brings together, for the first time, works the artist has executed during regular yearly sojourns to New York City over the last eight years. The drypoint process has allowed Ligon to intimately record on copper plates his personal and keenly felt observations of both the built and natural landscape of New York City. The exhibition is curated by Shannon Phillips, Assistant to the Director at the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art (Ms. Phillips served as the Pollock Curatorial Intern for 2001-2002) and Philip Van Keuren, Director of the Pollock Gallery and Assistant Professor of Art and Curatorials Studies, Division of Art, Meadows School of the Arts.

The Mildred Hawn Gallery, located inside the Hamon Arts Library, is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. For more information, please contact Sam Ratcliffe (x82303).

Folk and Fairy Tales from Around the World, curated by Sandra Setnick (Collection Development), available through the month of August

Collecting these books has been a continuing joy as I find books whose stories and illustrations appeal to me. I am especially interested in the way similar themes, such as honor, courage, respect, and love as well as trickery, cheating and foolishness are treated by each country or cultural area. As a Children's Librarian in public library storytelling programs, I've been privileged to share this wonderful genre and its capacity to enrich understanding of our own and other's lives . (from Sandra Setnick)

MEADOWS MUSEUM EXHIBITION

De Aqua y de Luna: Silver Sculptures from Mexico, June 30 through August 25, Meadows Museum

The exhibition features nearly 50 silver sculptures, as well as an elaborate silver table service and other decorative objects, from the collection of  Tane Orfebres of Mexico, a silversmith company founded in 1942. In the early 1970s, Tane Orfebres established the goal of creating a unique collection of works in silver by internationally renowned artists. Over the past 30 years, it has commissioned sculptures from leading painters, architects, designers and sculptors in Mexico and abroad, including Luis Barragan, Herbert Bayer, Leonora Carrington, Carlos Merida, Edgar Negret, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Juan Soriano, Fransisco Toledo and Victor Vasarely. The collection also features works by Tane Orfebres designers.

The exhibition is free for museum members, $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors and children aged 3-12. For more information, please contact the Meadows Museum at 214-768-2516.

Recently, Ellen Buie-Niewyk (Hamon), Joel Eatmon (FLC Collection Development) and Cammie Vitale-Shuman (DeGolyer) traveled to San Angelo, TX to try out a Minter Ultrasonic Welder. Suzanne Campbell, from the Dr. Ralph R. Chase West Texas Collection in the Porter Henderson Library at San Angelo State University, demonstrated the welder's usefulness for archival projects and allowed our SMU's guests a hands-on opportunity to try it out for themselves. Afterwards, Cammie and Ellen were spotted at the historic Miss Hattie's Parlor. For more information about Miss Hattie's Parlor, this article from the San Angelo Times offers a glimpse of it's recent revival.

Suzanne Campbell demonstrates the Minter Ultrasonic Welder for Cammie Vitale-Shuman and Joel Eatmon

A small book was recently sent to SMU by a man in Tyler, TX who bought it for $1 at a book sale. It was stamped SMU Fondren Library, so the man kindly returned it to us via FedEx. It dates back to 1796 and has a current market value of approximately $500.00! It is nice to know that there are still some good, honest people around.

Several staff members and regular patrons have know about it for years: withdrawn navigation maps make great table cloths, placemats, drawer liners and even gift wrap! Now the secret is out and the benefits open to all. Help yourself to the maps stamped Not for Navigation in the foyer outside the map library during the month of August.