UMaine Libraries Newsletter — October 15, 2024

UMaine Libraries Newsletter — October 15, 2024

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UMaine Libraries is composed of Raymond H. Fogler Library, Merrill Library in Machias, Maine InfoNet, and the University of Maine Press.

In this issue:

  • Open Scholarship Forum
  • Salon Series: Gender and Women in Higher Education in Comparative Perspective
  • University of Maine Press supports public library collections
  • Introducing Fogler’s new GIS Analyst
  • New from Special Collections and Projects: Dinsmore Archive now online
  • Looking for election background information?
  • Featured resource: American Periodical Series Online

Open Scholarship Forum


Join us for a catered event in the Library Salon on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. to meet UMaine Libraries’ Open Scholarship Librarian, Casey Koons, and engage in a conversation about the challenges of publishing open scholarship. This is an opportunity to share experiences, ask questions, and explore solutions for making research more openly accessible. Connect with fellow faculty in a relaxed setting and enjoy refreshments as we discuss these important issues.

Please click on this link for more information, to complete a poll and to RSVP for the event.

University of Maine Fogler Library Salon Series logo

Salon Series: Gender and Women in Higher Education in Comparative Perspective 


The second event in Fogler Library’s exciting Salon Series, Gender and Women in Higher Education in Comparative Perspective, takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 23 from 6—7:30 p.m. This event is available both in person at The Salon at Fogler Library, and via Zoom.


This salon discussion will explore the gender dynamics and significant changes in student enrollment and faculty membership in higher education in the United States and Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Discussants will highlight both progress and ongoing challenges related to gendering curriculum, research, and higher education policy. Through a comparative perspective, the panelists will discuss factors driving these changes within institutions as well as governmental and grassroots initiatives.


Please click here to view the event flyer.

University of Maine Press supports public library collections


During the summer of 2024, in an effort to get its books into the hands of new readers in Maine, the University of Maine Press initiated an outreach program to provide public libraries around the state with new books from their backlist. 


Betsy Rose, Assistant Director of the press, was aided in matching books with libraries by Deb Rollins, UMaine Libraries’ Head of Collection Services, who provided resources for contacting librarians, and Lisa Shaw of the Maine State Library, who posted the offer of UMP books on one of the listservs used by librarians around the state. The response was immediate and enthusiastic, even though some of the librarians thought there must have been a misstatement in Shaw’s post — it’s not often that libraries are offered new books at no cost. 


Rose recalls that while all the librarians expressed gratitude for the books, some were especially thankful because they were actively rebuilding collections that had been destroyed by water damage or fire. For example, because their original library building became structurally unsafe and books were damaged, Veterans Library in Patten is temporarily being housed in one room at the back of the Patten Lumbermen’s Museum; a new library will be built eventually, and the books donated by the press are now a valuable part of their new collection. In all, more than fifty libraries in Maine — from York to Fort Kent, and Fryeburg to Lubec — responded and received a total of 670 books. 



The press plans to continue its efforts during this academic year to reach more libraries in Maine and throughout New England. For more information or to request books for your local library, please contact Betsy at betsy.rose@maine.edu.

Introducing Fogler’s new GIS Analyst


Former Library Specialist Paul Smitherman is now GIS Analyst for UMaine Libraries. 

In this role, Smitherman will assist users with creating GIS files and digitizing paper maps and photographs for use in GIS related research activities. Smitherman may be reached at paul.smitherman@maine.edu if you would like assistance with your GIS research project.

Sepia photograph of three members of the Dinsmore family

New from Special Collections and Projects: Dinsmore Archive Now Online


Donated in 1997 by Dr. Paul Rich Dinsmore, BS ’54 (1932–2016), the Dinsmore Family Archive (MF072) is now digitally available. The archive includes approximately 320 photographs and documents Maine architecture, outdoor life, and family life from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also included is an oral history interview between Dr. Dinsmore and Elizabeth Hedler with a 140-page interview transcript and copies of family papers.


Pictured: Alice Perkins, Gertrude Perkins, and Eda Lue Dinsmore (l–r) pose together on a sunny porch. Milo, Maine. 1899. (p07894)

Looking for election background information?


Fogler Library’s Hot Topics: Elections guide provides links to news coverage, analysis, information on current races, and information on voter registration.

Image of the word Vote in blue text.

Featured resource: American Periodicals Series Online


American Periodicals Series Online (APS Online) includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin’s General Magazine and America’s first scientific journal, Medical Repository; popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladies’ Home Journal; regional and niche publications; and groundbreaking journals like The Dial, Puck, and McClure’s.

Coverage: 1741–1940

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