Well done, Sensational SLISers!

Congratulations to UW-Madison's own Sensational SLISers book cart drill team, who returned triumphant from this year's WLA annual conference! The 2009 routine, based on an unlikely mashup of the Harry Potter theme and "I Put A Spell On You," worked its magic on the WLA judges, who awarded the SLISers first place honors. Swing by the SLIS library and check out the team's trophy-on-wheels: a slick new magenta book cart.

Explore the world of cartonera publishing!

In 2003, a group of progressive Argentinian artists and writers developed a new alternative to the paradigms of corporate publishing that have dominated the distribution of books for decades. Cartonera publishing uses salvaged cardboard, cheaply photocopied pages, and tempera paint to create one-of-a-kind works of art that can vastly undercut the often prohibitive prices of commercially published books. In the six years since its birth, cartonera publishing has caught fire, extending its fingers into Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and much of the rest of Latin America. It's a fascinating cultural phenomenon, and the issues of access and community addressed by cartonera should be of particular interest to us as librarians.

Hot on the heels of Banned Book Week, and in conjunction with the Wisconsin Book Fest, UW-Madison has organized a cartonera publishers conference, featuring presentations by eight cartonera editors and an exhibition of some of the fruits of this unique form. In addition, SLIS will host a Make Your Own Cartonera workshop, under the experienced guidance of Aldo Medinaceli of Yerba Mala Cartonera. All the materials are provided, so stop by the Commons between 10 and 12 on Friday, October 9th, and get acquainted with the iconoclastic, DIY aesthetic of cartonera!

Cartonera Conference
October 8-9
Full Schedule of Events

Cartonera Workshop
Friday, October 9th, 10AM-12PM
SLIS Commons

Welcome back SLISers.

Welcome SLIS students to Fall semester.

SLIS Library excitement does not end with the waning of Spring Semester!

In the coming weeks, your loyal SLIS Library attendants will be assembling course reserve materials for summer classes, making headway on reorganizing our stacks, and providing the first-class service that you have come to expect of us.

Firstly, your access to summer print and e-reserves will operate in the same fashion as during the normal fall and spring semesters. Look for them as the first day of your class approaches.

Secondly, one of our summer projects will be working to coordinate a reorganization of our collection. We will be integrating materials from our general collection into the our Newsletters and Annual Reports section to create a Historical Section, while the currently received Newsletters will be integrated into the Periodicals. In this way, we hope to minimize confusion and maximize simplified access to our materials.

Finally, if you plan on frequenting the SLIS Library this summer, please keep in mind that our summer hours will be changing more swiftly than James Patterson can churn out a book. Our schedule is based on the summer course timeline and when in-person classes will be meeting at our library. Summer hours are posted on the front door of the SLIS Library and on our website, accessible at here.

Louise's Retirement from SLIS

As you probably already know, our indefatigable School of Library and Information Studies Director, Louise Robbins, will be retiring this summer. What some of you may not know is that Louise first came to SLIS in 1991 as the faculty director of the SLIS Laboratory Library. After the previous Lab Library director retired in 1990, a search began for a replacement faculty member to serve as director. At the time, the Laboratory Library added to it's mission the role of teaching library and the library director replacement needed to be highly attuned to students' learning needs. So, in August of 1991, Louise, who was still a doctoral candidate at Texas Women's University, joined the faculty as director of the library with her job description including implementation of a brand new requirement for master's students -- the practicum. Louise's charge was to develop and supervise practicum experiences for all students and to design projects using the Laboratory Library. I think we all know how that new intiative turned out, don't we? Sadly, in 1997 the Laboratory Library lost Louise as the director, but luckily our school gained her as the department director, and ... the rest is history.

We are all very grateful for the work Louise has done for the SLIS Laboratory Library and the department overall. She is admired and loved and will be genuinely missed.

To honor Louise's legacy of learning and leadership, please consider joining us in a gathering for her in the SLIS Laboratory Library this Friday, April 17, 2009 from 4:30-7:00 p.m. (Program at 5:30 p.m.). We will celebrate and reminisce about Louise's many dedicated years as SLIS director, faculty and, last but not least, director of the Lab Library.

SLIS Laboratory Library Redesign

Do you have your fall housing lined up yet? Consider a sleeping pod in the new mixed use SLIS Library development, SLOOGLE (SLIS Library Out of the bOx Great Living Environment). All units will retain access to the comfy furniture by the lake windows. Outlet spots on the west side will also remain a “Commons” area, but with a new reservation system. The microforms area will be taken over by Food Fight and while details of the new restaurant are still in the planning stages, the agreement does require 24/7 availability of good coffee. More retail and office space will also become available as we reduce the collection. Besant voiced some concerns but has been voted off the island.
Suggestions? More interested in distance services? Contact the SLOOGLE Team.

Seriously now, SLIS students are not around as much as has been true in the past. As we think about space use and services going forward, what would be helpful for you? Please email mbesant at library.wisc.edu if you’d like to be part of a planning effort.

Who celebrated their 20th birthday just two weeks ago?

- “Born” on March 13, 1989
- “Birthed” at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (aka CERN Laboratory)
- “Inception” by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, with his authorship of the paper "Information Management: A Proposal”

Do you think you know the answer? Email your guess to the SLIS Library (slislib@library.wisc.edu) and you will be entered for the chance to win a special library-related prize!

Certificate of Birth
___???____ was born to Sir Tim Berners-Lee
on this thirteenth day of March 1989
at CERNuropean Organisation for Nuclear Research.

Reply By: April 3rd.