January 2009 Archives

VCU Libraries and VCU Technology Services invite you to stop by to see preliminary furniture layouts for a Learning Commons in Cabell Library. The plans will be displayed on the library's second floor, the area for which the Commons is planned. Your feedback and reactions to the layouts is very valuable to us. Stop by and take a look. Even better, tell us what you think.

• When: Monday and Tuesday, February 2 and 3, 3-5 pm each day
• Where: James Branch Cabell Library, second floor
• Why: Review proposed improvements to space that will help bridge the gap to a new library building

The VCU Libraries presents Current VCU Libraries Exhibits on display, showcasing materials housed in the Cabell Library Special Collections and Archives. The exhibits feature the Bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe, rare editions of works by Andrea Palladio, artists' books from the Women's Studio Workshop, VCU's 40th Anniversary, published works of Edward Gorey, Tarzan of the Apes, Hispanic Heritage, Gay and Lesbian Collection, Richmond Zine Collection, Manga, and Will Eisner Award Collection. These exhibits can be viewed on the fourth floor of the James Branch Cabell Library.

The VCU Libraries' Website also includes Online Exhibits to highlight various collections from the Special Collections and Archives departments of James Branch Cabell and Tompkins-McCaw Libraries.

For questions with regards to setting up an exhibit, please contact Gay Acompanado (827-3573).

The VCU Libraries is pleased to announce, in conjunction with Black History Month, the release of a new addition to the VCU Libraries Digital Collections: the Jackson Ward Historic District. The collection documents the architecture of Richmond's historic Jackson Ward neighborhood through photographs and text from the book The Jackson Ward Historic District, published in 1978 by the City of Richmond's Department of Planning and Community Development, with photographs by John Zehmer and text by Robert P. Winthrop, Virginia architect and specialist in the architectural history of Richmond.

This project is much more than just a straight digitization of the book. In addition to presenting the book in its entirety, there are high-quality scans of each photograph appearing in the book, digitized from the original prints. Additional information has been provided about the architectural features of Jackson Ward. We have created a Google Maps interface showing the locations of all buildings documented in the book, with links to the photographs. Finally, we have made available for download the GIS data, in KML and CSV formats, as well as all of the metadata associated with the book in XML.

VCU Libraries is pleased to announce the availability of Anatomy.TV, an interactive 3D model of human anatomy online. This unique database provides detailed views of anatomy at various levels from bone to surface structure. Models can be rotated and layers can be peeled away to view medically accurate representations of anatomical structures. Clicking on different sections of an image will pull up labels and descriptive text, along with links to videos and radiological images.

Anatomy.TV images can be saved for use in papers, presentations, and lectures. Interactive quizzes and multiple-choice questions help test your knowledge of human anatomy. This visually stunning and unique database is produced by UK-based Primal Pictures. Anatomy.TV can be accessed from the list of Databases A-Z on the VCU Libraries homepage.

President of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
5:00 p.m.
Hermes A. Medical Sciences Building Auditorium
1217 E. Marshall Street

Dr. Tadataka (Tachi) Yamada leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's efforts to reduce global health inequities by investing in affordable new vaccines, therapies, and diagnostics for diseases that most gravely burden the world's poor, and by developing new partnerships to shape the future of global public health. In his presentation, Dr. Yamada will speak to his vision of the foundation's current and future role, and more broadly, to the shared priorities and approaches most important to securing major public health successes in the future.

Dr. Tadataka Yamada is president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program and was a previous intern and resident at MCV. He was formerly Chairman, Research and Development and a Member of the Board of Directors of GlaxoSmithKline. A scientist and scholar in gastroenterology, Dr. Yamada is the author of more than 150 original manuscripts on the subject and is the editor of The Textbook of Gastroenterology. The studies undertaken by Dr. Yamada and his collaborators led to basic discoveries in the post-translational processing and biological activation of peptide hormones, the structure and function of receptors for hormones regulating gastric acid secretion, and the regulation of genes involved in the acid secretory process.

Free and open to the public. Parking is available for a fee in the MCV Hospital parking deck. If special accommodations are needed, please contact the VCU Libraries at (804) 828-4640 or (804) 827-1165 prior to February 13.

Co-sponsored by the VCU Libraries and the MCV Campus Programs Office of the University Student Commons & Activities.

A Reading and Discussion with Lucy Anne Hurston
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
7:30 p.m.
University Student Commons, Richmond Salons I and II
907 Floyd Avenue

Lucy Anne Hurston, niece of major 20th century writer Zora Neale Hurston and Professor of Sociology at Manchester Community College in Manchester, Connecticut, is the author of the remarkable multimedia biography, Speak, So You Can Speak Again: A Life of Zora Neale Hurston. The work consists of text, photographs, a CD of Zora herself speaking and singing, and various pieces of removable memorabilia, including letters, maps, vintage magazine articles, and rough drafts of Zora's poems. A book signing and reception will follow the reading and discussion.

Free and open to the public. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. If special accommodations are needed, please contact the VCU Libraries at (804) 828-4640 or (804) 827-1165 prior to February 13.

Co-sponsored by the VCU Libraries and the English, African American Studies, and Women's Studies departments.

The VCU Libraries is hosting a viewing of the live broadcast of the presidential inauguration for President-elect Barack Obama on January 20, 2009. All are invited to stop by the library to view this historic event! The swearing-in ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. This event is free and open to the VCU community and the public. Seating is limited, so come early.

MCV Campus: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Tompkins-McCaw Library

• Distance Education Rm., 2-010

Hunton Student Center

• Learning Center, Rm. 209
• 1st floor TV lounge
• 2nd floor Alumni Association Lounge

Monroe Park Campus: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Cabell Library

• Distance Education Classroom, Rm. B-35
• Lounge adjacent to the Computer Lab, Rm. B-8
• Group Viewing Room, Rm. 310
• 1st floor, SE corner International Newsroom (perspectives from other countries)

For more information or special accommodations, please contact Shannon Jones at 828-0626.

The Physical Presence of Slavery in Richmond, Virginia
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
7:30 p.m.
W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
922 Park Avenue

Richmond's slaves, and the Richmond slave trade, left an indelible but often unrecognized footprint on the City. That history remains vibrantly alive today in the passionate dialog surrounding the Slave Burial Ground, Lumpkin's Jail, and other historical sites. Join us for a panel discussion with Jeffrey Ruggles, PhD, curator of prints and photographs Virginia Historical Society, Maureen G. Elgersman Lee, PhD, executive director Black History Museum and Cultural Center, and Delegate Delores McQuinn, 70th District representative to the Virginia House of Delegates, as we examine slavery in Richmond and recent archaeological discoveries.

Free and open to the public. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. If special accommodations are needed, please contact the VCU Libraries at (804) 828-4640 or (804) 827-1165 prior to February 6.

The seventh annual VCU Libraries Black History Month Lecture is sponsored by the VCU Friends of the Library. Visit our Website to learn more about other Black History Month activities sponsored by the VCU Libraries.

The C3 Project: Looking Forward, Looking Black - A multi-media presentation of music performed with video, poetry and dance
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
8:00 p.m.
W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
922 Park Avenue

Admission is $5.00 for the general public; free with VCU student ID.

Co-sponsored by VCU Libraries, Music, Multicultural Affairs, Jazz Studies, English, African American Studies, Activities Programming Board, and the Provost's Office for Diversity. If special accommodations are needed, please contact the VCU Libraries at (804) 828-4640 or (804) 827-1165 prior to February 2.

For more information on the C3 project, visit http://www.darrylharperjazz.com/.

Become familiar with Cabell Library early and save on hassles later in the semester. Orientation Tours meet inside the first-floor main entrance and last 30 minutes. Participants will learn more about the facility, how to use computing and print resources, as well as how library services and staff can assist visitors in completing their work.

For additional information about other VCU Libraries events and workshops, visit the events page.

Thursday, January 15th

• 10:00 a.m.
• 2:00 p.m.

Friday, January 16th

• 9:00 a.m.
• 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 20th

• 12:30 p.m.
• 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, January 21st

• 1:30 p.m.
• 4:30 p.m.