Victor Gorodinsky with his beloved cat, Asya

Our staff spotlight this month is Victor Gorodinsky, Memorial Library’s Slavic Languages Cataloger. Although his work keeps him very busy, Victor participates in a diverse array of unique activities and hobbies. Read on to learn more about Victor and the many roles he plays within and outside of the library.

News: Let’s start with the University of Wisconsin Russian Folk Orchestra, since you just recently had a concert. Can you speak a little about your involvement with founding and conducting the group?

VG: I am a professional musician—I was born in Russia and got my Master’s Degree in Music there. When I moved to the United States in 1982, I first settled in Chicago where I lived for three years. I was happily surprised to discover that there was a Russian Folk Orchestra at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I certainly did not expect to find something like that in the United States, but it was there! So I started traveling to Champaign to perform with the orchestra, which was founded and directed by one of the music professors at the University. In 1985 I moved to Champaign to be closer to the orchestra and ended up becoming sort of the “unofficial assistant conductor,” until the current conductor retired and I took his place. We did concerts and traveled a bit—it was fun. And that is how my “library life” began: I received my MLS there and worked as the Slavic Languages Cataloger at the University for ten years.

In 1995, I followed the job market to Madison where I was hired as the Slavic Languages Cataloger here at Memorial Library. I had this ambitious idea to start a Russian ensemble here but had to kind of settle in first and learn the music scene in Madison, which is incredibly rich! About a year later, I started talking with CREECA (Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia at UW—Madison); I introduced my idea and although I had no experience whatsoever with starting a group from scratch and didn’t know much about finding money for such an endeavor, somehow the plan began taking shape.

The first thing was to find instruments. Russian instruments, such as balalaikas and domras aren’t like guitars or pianos that you can simply purchase at the local music store. I luckily had some connections for obtaining the instruments and with CREECA’s help was able to get a grant to purchase them. Once we got the instruments, we of course needed to find players. We distributed flyers around campus and about eight people showed up (better than nothing!). I brought a boom box and a few instruments so I could introduce the musicians to them, and most seemed genuinely interested. So now we needed a place to rehearse. The Slavic Department offered their conference room at 1418 Van Hise for practice after hours, and we’ve been rehearsing there ever since. During the first rehearsal, I had to basically teach the musicians how to play their instruments. I’m not an expert on all the instruments, but was able to instruct them somewhat. The musicians were very talented and some of them were able to pick it up very quickly.

In 1997 we had our first public performance, which was very short with a “whopping” repertoire of about five pieces and only eight people making up the “orchestra” (it was more of an ensemble at that point). But we did it, and it seemed to get a good reception. Sometimes I look back and can’t believe I actually pulled it off! The orchestra grew each year and is now at 37 members, four of whom are original members. The orchestra is mostly made up of students, but we are not exclusive to UW—anyone is welcome! Madison residents and retired UW professors are also among the players. We have some truly dedicated members; one of them travels from Milwaukee for rehearsals every Tuesday. We just released our fourth CD and are doing another recording session this Saturday (May 11). In the past, we used to only record live performances but we are now recording in a professional studio, which is a great accomplishment.

Victor and the Russian Folk Orchestra

The Russian Folk Orchestra takes up a lot of my time and energy. It’s become a really big part of my life. I don’t just direct; I do almost everything. I arrange the music and organize the concerts. Last summer, we did a big Russian music festival, and I got a lot of help from my orchestra members, but with them being primarily students, they are very busy so I end up doing most of the day-to-day work on my own. In June we are traveling to Stratford, WI to perform at their annual festival, and we have concerts booked already for next fall. We were also recently invited to play in Germany! The only thing standing in our way is the funds. Hopefully someday we’ll be able to go there. I love traveling with this group. The farthest we’ve traveled together is Minneapolis, which was a lot of fun. So to be able to fly to Germany together would be fantastic! We have an incredible group… It’s like a family. We love each other, have parties during the year, and we share lots of laughs.

News: Can you tell me a little bit about the work you do as a Slavic Languages Librarian?

VG: I do a lot… My official title when I started here in 1995 was Slavic, Eastern European, and Central Asian languages Cataloger; among other things, I’m a language specialist. But over the years, my duties have expanded. Cataloging is my primary thing but I also perform other duties related to cataloging and technical services. The adoption of RDA has generated a lot of work that has to do with converting pre-RDA records to the new format. You would not believe how busy we are right now! I love doing this, though. We strive to keep our database perfectly clean and up-to-date, and I’m very proud of it, but it is exhausting. At the end of the day I’m dead—not physically, of course, but… brain dead! When I get home, I collapse onto my couch, to the delight of my cat; she loves cuddling with me (and vice versa). The work is never done. I love doing it—it’s fascinating work, but it is brain-tiring.

News: What is your favorite part of your job?

VG: Cataloging is all about organizing materials in a way that makes them accessible to the people who need the information. It’s funny because I’m not the most organized person (if you see my living room you’ll know what I’m talking about), but I really enjoy the work. It’s what I love. Although computers have become an integral part of all our lives and I use them every day, I still get excited about using them. I just really enjoy working with computers—organizing the materials, making sure people can find what they’re looking for… Not just the people like me, but those who probably couldn’t care less about the cataloging side of it, who just need the materials! I’ve been doing it for such a long time and I still love it.

I also love working for the University. My first job in this country was in a business in downtown Chicago, and I have learned to appreciate the benefits of working in an academic environment. Plus, UW really is a first class University!

News: It’s hard to believe with the work you do at the library and with the orchestra that you have time for hobbies, but I hear you are quite the magician!

VG: Yes, magic has been a big part of my life since I was probably five. I don’t have the time for it much lately, but I have done a few small shows for the library in the past for Halloween and things like that. At this point I’m kind of a “passive magician.” Once or twice a year, I go to International Magic Conventions. I might go to one in Michigan this year. I have a lot of magic at home that I get from these conventions, but just don’t have time to do it much lately. I’m not a professional magician by any means, but it has always been a big hobby for me. Most people think of magic as a form of entertainment, which it is, but it is also a very ancient art. Magic is mentioned in Egyptian papyruses from way back before Christ. I know a lot about the history of magic, and have attended lectures at magic conventions discussing magic history and theory, which is fascinating. I also love to watch magic being performed—magicians usually don’t like the word “tricks”. I consider it to be a very unique and beautiful art. It’s a different art, not like painting or music or sculpture, of course, but it is still an art. It requires a lot of practice, so I don’t have much time for it now, but I guess you could say I’m the resident magician at Memorial Library. I have this sign in my office in CTS that says “Magician’s parking only—all others will disappear.”

Another passion of mine is traveling. I have been all over the United States, Canada, and Europe, and even Japan and Kazakhstan. My most favorite place? Probably Montréal, Québec; I have been madly in love with that city for years! Since I moved to the U.S. I’ve only ever lived in the Midwest, so it is nice to be able to travel and see other parts of the States as well. Sometimes I think it would be nice to live on the coast—California or Oregon, or the New England area. It is beautiful out there. But I truly love Madison. It’s a great city, there’s always something going on—I love the farmer’s market… It’s been seventeen years and I still discover new neighborhoods, new restaurants. So I am grateful to fate for putting me here.

News: So between the orchestra, your work at the library, your hobby as a magician, and traveling… I don’t suppose you still have time for reading, do you?

VG: I do somehow manage to make time for reading still, although these days I read less, but I watch a lot of movies; over the years I have become a real movie-buff. I read and speak several languages, but when I read for pleasure I mostly enjoy reading in Russian, particularly the well-established classics.

As for movies, I usually stick to serious movies, often foreign. I subscribe to Netflix and I probably watch two to three films a week. I haven’t been out to the movie theater in probably seven or eight years, though. I prefer to watch them at home because I can cuddle up with my cat and also I don’t have to deal with the guy next to me laughing loudly during the most inappropriate moments, it happens all the time! Oh, and I hate the smell of popcorn!

Want more?

• Visit the University of Wisconsin Russian Folk Orchestra website
• Listen to some sample clips of the orchestra or download their latest CD, Candlelight 
• Check out this sneak peek from the May 11th recording session
• Take a look at this video of the magician in action!

Know a librarian or library staff member with a cool skill or interest? They belong in the spotlight! Submit your suggestions to news@library.wisc.edu.  We’d love to learn more about you!

Click the screenshot to watch the whole video on Vimeo

Though the Census Bureau ultimately dropped this title, citing budgetary reasons, students, researchers, journalists and lovers of trivia can rest easy: commercial publisher ProQuest has taken up the challenge of continuing this venerable work.  In the process, ProQuest has created a more versatile online product than the Census Bureau was able to provide.  (Bernan Press has also published a print version based on the ProQuest product.)

In creating this new edition, ProQuest updated nearly all the tables in the 2012 edition (a few tables couldn’t be updated because new data had not been published), and plans to update selected tables throughout the year.  ProQuest used the same sources that the Census Bureau did to create tables.  These sources include national and international governmental agencies, as well as many private associations.  As in the Census Bureau’s version, the ProQuest version points users to these sources, so users can see if more detailed data is available from those original sources.

In recent years, the Census Bureau had maintained electronic versions of the Abstract, but users had to decide whether to search a PDF version OR an Excel spreadsheet one.  ProQuest’s interface allows users to search the entire publication, then choose whether to view a table in PDF or Excel format.  Users can also break down results by time period covered, source of data, geographic level the data is presented at, or whether the tables break down data by such factors as age, race, or gender.  Every table includes a citation in APA and MLA formats.

And what content will you find in this Statistical Abstract?  The same eclectic mix as in the preceding versions:  over 1,400 tables on 30 broad topics, from health and nutrition, to arts, travel, and recreation; education to transportation.  A sampling of tables available:

• Percent Of Adults Who Own Electronic Devices By Age
• Persons With And Without Health Insurance Coverage By State
• Households And Persons Having Problems With Access To Food
• Top States And Cities Visited By Overseas Travelers
• U.S. Firms–Ownership By Gender, Ethnicity, Race, And Veteran Status
• Vote Cast For U.S. Representatives By Major Political Party–Congressional Districts
• Sales And Household Participation In Lawn And Garden Activities

Many thanks to Government Documents and Reference Librarian Beth Harper for providing this write-up! 

If you have library news, press releases, event announcements, or resource profiles to share, please send an e-mail to news@library.wisc.edu.

One title included in Steenbock Library’s Seed Saving collection

Librarians at Steenbock Memorial Library are participating in this year’s UW Family Gardening Day on May 11 on the UW-Madison campus.  The annual showcase of gardening ideas runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the university’s D.C. Smith Instructional Greenhouses and Allen Centennial Gardens.

Steenbock Library, which is located between the two gardens, invites visitors to explore the library’s extensive gardening collections.

Librarian Karen Dunn outlined some of the exciting ways Steenbock will participate in this event: “In addition to staffing a library information table highlighting library access, gardening collections, and Cooperative Extension publications,” she says, “we will also have a book display and  play host to an information table staffed by Master Gardener volunteers.”

The social media crew at Steenbock also pulled together a series of Pinterest boards to show off the broad range of gardening-related collections at the library, from seed-saving resources to books on therapy gardens.

You can check out the boards at the UWMadLibraries Pinterest account, or click on the links below:

Seed Saving | Enabling Gardens | Community Gardens

Directions & Parking: The D.C. Smith Greenhouse is located at 465 Babcock Dr., across the street from Babcock Hall. Allen Centennial Gardens is a block north at 620 Babcock Dr. Free parking is available in Lot 40 behind Babcock Hall and in Lot 36 just west of Steenbock Library.

More events: Check out the lineup for all of the UW-Gardening Day events HERE.

Dr. He then screened the top 62 university libraries’ Chinese collections in the United States.  The University of Wisconsin—Madison Chinese Collection is delighted to announce that they came in fifth place. What an honor!

Here’s how the top-ranked Chinese Collections stacked up:

The success of the collection can be attributed to the dedication and effort of the four China studies librarians who have worked to build the collection over the years. Congratulations to Chester Wang (1965 to 1997), Thomas Hahn (1998 to 2001), Victoria Chu (2002 to 2005), and Dianna Xu (2006 to present). Thank you for all your hard work!

Dr. He’s article can be accessed at http://www.bookdao.com/article/46574

Andrea Rolich

Our staff spotlight this month is Andrea Rolich, Preservation Librarian at Memorial Library. Although the nature of her work does not typically put her in the spotlight, Andrea was happy to share a wealth of knowledge about the Preservation Department and had some fascinating items to show off. Read on to learn more about Andrea and the vital role preservation plays in the libraries.

News: Can you tell me a little bit about what goes on here in the Preservation Department?

Andrea Rolich (AR): Preservation should be taken into account in every aspect of library and archives operations. Materials in disrepair, mostly from circulation, come to us for treatment. In other cases, materials are chosen for treatment based on their subject matter or their rarity.

When an item enters the department, the first order of business generally consists of sorting in order to determine what type of treatment the material needs and bibliographic and physical control in which the Preservation location of all items are entered into Voyager so that they may be easily located should a patron place a request. Depending on each individual case, the activities we engage in can include commercial binding, hand repair, microfilming, creation of paper facsimiles, replacement with out-of-print copies, mass de-acidification, and digitizing.

We also received a lot of items to “stabilize” for the Google Books initiative, which kept all Preservation-related staff very busy.

In addition to these “behind-the-scenes” activities, preservation staff are also involved with outreach activities like conducting education sessions and workshops for other University staff and libraries of all kinds, acting as guest lecturers for courses at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), and setting up exhibits to spread awareness of preservation activities.

Overall, our goal is similar to that of other library departments, which is to maintain and enhance access to all of the great research materials available through the University Libraries.

News: As you are well aware, this week is Preservation Week (April 21-27)! Can you tell me more about that?

AR: Libraries use Preservation Week to connect with their communities through events, activities, and resources that promote awareness of the importance of preservation activities.

There are three free webinars going on this week through ALCTS:

• Tuesday, April 23: The Preservation of Family Photographs—Debra Hess Norris
• Wednesday, April 24: Personal Digital Archiving—Mike Ashenfelder
• Thursday, April 25: Archival 101: Dealing with Suppliers of Archival Products—Peter D. Verheyen

Each of these webinars can be accessed after the fact, too, so if you can’t make it for the live webinar, you can feel free to register and watch it at your leisure.

In the past, we’ve been able to be much more active during Preservation Week by creating local exhibits, setting up group showings of webinars, etc., but this year won’t be quite as eventful simply because our daily operations have kept us very busy lately.

News: What is your favorite part of your job?

AR: I would have to say that working with other staff members who have similar interests is one of the best parts. But also, the type of work we do is quite satisfying. To know that something that is incomplete or fragile and virtually unusable in its current form can be made fully accessible to users is very fulfilling. For example, there was this brittle Chinese book that came to us– it practically crumbled if you touched it.   We were able to restore it by creating a facsimile copy. The new version is now perfectly useable on beautiful, creamy, acid-free paper.

One downside to the work is that there are sometimes instances in which nothing can be done for a book. For instance, we had an item with the imprinting from another page on top of the text. It looked like the ink was still wet and it was laid on top of the already-printed page. Our first option would normally be to get an ILL copy and just photocopy the undamaged page from it and replace the damaged page with that copy. Unfortunately, in this case there were no other copies available as we owned the sole copy registered in OCLC, so we were unable to fix it.

News: Since it was just National Library Week, I have to ask… What is your favorite library?

AR: Well, I of course have to go with the obvious answer, Memorial Library. I have used and loved it from the time I first came here for grad school in the late-1960s. I worked here as a student and later as a half-time cataloger of Slavic and Baltic materials, from 1983-1991. I was lucky to be at SLIS in the later eighties at a time when there was a Preservation track, which is one of the reasons I’m in my current position (since 1991).

Other than Memorial, I also frequent Middleton Public Library from time to time, since I live in Middleton.

News: What are you reading right now?

AR: My favorite authors are Russian and French authors—I have a background in Slavic Languages/Literatures, and actually got my PhD in that before attending library school.

Want more?

Just inside the Preservation Department office doors, display cases feature terribly damaged books and humorously and horrifically botched “home repairs” that have made their way to the Preservation Department over the years. Amongst signs proclaiming quips like “Books are not candle holders” you’ll find books that have been devoured by insects, covered in highlighting, and bandaged with band-aids and electrical tape, to name only a few of the delightfully atrocious specimens. The banner above the display appropriately sums up the Preservation Department’s mission, stating “Great collections deserve great care. You can help!”

• Check out the ALCTS page on ALA’s website for ways you can get involved with Preservation Week
• Look for Preservation Week printouts in the lobby of Memorial Library
• Visit the UW-Madison Preservation Department website
• Attend a preservation webinar!

One of MERIT’s group study areas

The Library of the Month for April is MERIT Library, the library for the school of education! “MERIT” stands for Media, Education Resources, and Information Technology. The library provides services and resources to the faculty, staff, and students of the School of Education, UW-Madison, the Wisconsin education community, and beyond.

MERIT is the result of a collaboration between three well-established units within the School of Education—the Center on Instructional materials and Computing (CIMC), the Instructional Media Development Center (IMDC), and the School of Education’s Information Technology office (SoEIT). In 2005, Jo Ann Carr assumed the dual role as director of both the CIMC and the IMDC. In an effort to streamline services to faculty, staff, and students, CIMC and IMDC merged with SoEIT to create MERIT in 2008, under Jo Ann Carr’s direction.

MERIT’s mission is to provide “creative and personalized solutions that make your work possible.” MERIT’s librarians train future educators to use and incorporate the latest technology, like iPads and SMART boards, into their classrooms. Access to education databases and subject/resource guides are among the multitude of resources available through MERIT. The library also offers a variety of technology workshops from “Using Google for Academic Research” to “Designing and Printing Posters with PowerPoint.”

The library collection supports the School of Education’s Teacher Certification Programs and includes scholarly and PreK-12 print, media, and electronic information sources. MERIT is composed of the following collections:

• MERIT Library Professional Collection
• PreK-12 Collection
• MERIT Library Journals Collection
• MERIT Library Reference Collection
• Testing Resources, which includes hundreds of standardized education and psychological tests related to PreK-12 education.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar puppet and book

With over 33 spaces, including classrooms, teaching and open labs, study spaces, and meeting rooms, MERIT is a great spot for studying or working on group projects. Its work spaces are nearly as important as the collection itself, because they create a social and interactive learning area. Plus, the 60 staff members are always friendly and eager to help. Everyone at MERIT says their favorite part of working there is the people. What’s not to love?

A cheerful laminator user

The shelves are full of fun picture books, but MERIT carries more than just books–you’ll find games (including bean bag toss!), puppets, xylophones (yes, you read that correctly!), and a laminator. There is even a special area for toys you’d find in a kindergarten or pre-K classroom. As you can imagine, being a center for Media, Education Resources, and Information Technology, MERIT also has all sorts of techie toys to play with and check out. The circulating equipment includes iPads, projectors, and digital voice recorders.

As if these features aren’t reason enough, if you visit MERIT Library, you might even stumble upon one of the 35 M&Ms dispensers or one of the 12 Mr. Potato Head dolls hidden amongst the stacks.

Some of the friendly MERIT staff members

Want More?

• Follow MERIT Library on Twitter (@MERIT_Library)
• Like MERIT Library on Facebook (MERIT Library)
• Find great pictures of Bucky goofing around on the School of Education’s photostream on Flickr

Susan delighted attendees of the Collectors’ Forum with her descriptions of the history, coverage, and impact of the Little Magazine Collection at UW-Madison, which is held in the Special Collections Department at Memorial Library. Susan’s presentation included examples from early publications in the collections holdings, as well as contemporary publications like Esopus and Forklift, Ohio: A journal of poetry, cooking, & light industrial safety.

Susan also spoke to the vital collection development work done by her predecessors Yvonne Schofer and Felix Pollak and highlighted related collections and programs at UW-Madison.  She also noted the work of renowned institutions involved with the history of print culture in Wisconsin.  The resources she touched on included:

• Dobbertin Collection of Campus Humor Magazines and Library of Amateur Journalism, both of which are held in the Special Collections Department
• Silver Buckle Press at Memorial Library
• Artists’ Book Collection, held at Kohler Art Library
• Center for the History of Print & Digital Culture at UW-Madison’s School of Library and Information Studies
• Tandem Press in Madison, WI
• Philosopher Press in Wausau, WI
• Walter Hamady’s Perishable Press Limited in Mt. Horeb, WI
• Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee, WI
• Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, WI

The Little Magazine Collection at UW-Madison is one of the largest in the U.S. and continues to expand with new issues arriving each week. To learn more about the ever-growing collection, follow the Little Magazine Collection blog and watch the Library News & Events site for a forthcoming resource profile about the collection.

Many thanks to Robin Rider, who was at the event, and has written a great blog post on Susan’s talk at the Special Collections Blog.

Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). Portrait by Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Le Brun, [1783] (oil on canvas)

The original ECCO includes materials that had been scanned up until the end of 2002. Since the release of ECCO in 2003, Gale has slowly continued to discover new materials relevant to the database, spurring the creation of ECCO II.

ECCO II covers the same subject areas as the original collection (History and Geography; Social Sciences and Fine Arts; Literature and Language; Religion and Philosophy; Law; General Reference; and Medicine, Science and Technology), with a special emphasis on titles pertaining to Literature, Social Science and Religion. Like its predecessor, ECCO II features full-text search capabilities, canonical titles of the period as well as contemporary works that analyze and debate those titles, and works by both well-known and lesser-known authors. But unlike the original collection, ECCO II carries materials that were previously unavailable or inaccessible, items that were still in the scanning process in 2003, and new items in the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC).

Eighteenth Century Collections Online features a wealth of materials, including books and directories, bibles and sheet music, and sermons and pamphlets, adding up to one invaluable resource

Data Day is a one day symposium is intended to cover topics surrounding the use of data in humanities and social sciences research.  The event is organized by Research Data Services and the Humanities Research Bridge and sponsored by the UW CIO and Vice Provost for IT and the General Library System.