October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Some Resources

The month of October has a few observances. For instance, October  is American Archives Month (see our note on the excellent program our Archivist put together here) and National Hispanic Month overlaps into October (September 15 to October 15; see notes on our programs on that here and here). October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month (link to President Obama’s proclamation for the observance). On October 13 (last Tuesday), there was a campus vigil in rememberance of domestic violence victims and those who work with them. The event took place here in the library.

Here is a small list of resources on the topic freely available on the World Wide Web:

• Here on campus, C.A.R.E. (Campus Assault Response Effort) is an excellent resource.
• For Smith County and East Texas, you can find help at the East Texas Crisis Center.
• Also in Texas, the Texas Council on Family Violence has put together a very good resource kit. You can find statistics, a media kit, sample op-ed letters in case you wish to write to your local newspapers (or maybe you need a little inspiration if you have a blog), and other items. They also provided the image I am using for this post (see below).
• Nationally there is a National Domestic Violence Hotline if you need help. The number is 1−800−799−SAFE (7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224. The website has some additional resources. I will emphasize that if you are in imminent and present danger to dial 911.
• The U.S. Department of Justice has an Office on Violence Against Women. If you need information, facts, statistics, so on, this is a good resource on the issue.
• The Domestic Violence Awareness Project. These are the folks who promote and maintain activities for the observance. On their site, you can learn about campaigns, find educational materials, and get links, and phone numbers if you need help.

This is not a comprehensive list, but these links should give readers a place to get started if they are researching the topic as well as provide folks who may need help more information and places to get help.

In addition, you can visit the library where a reference librarian will be happy to help you find books, articles, and other materials related to the domestic violence or other topics in our holdings.

If you are at home, and you are affiliated with the university (currently enrolled student, currently employed faculty, currently employed staff), you can use our databases to do research on this and other topics. Just remember you will need your Patriots log-in and password to access our databases from home. You can also find other resources on our website.

“Honk if You Like Ike”: Panel Discussion Highlights new UT Tyler Political Ephemera Collection

Deirdre Joyce, University Archivist, informs us of a new event and exhibit at the library in honor of American Archives Month:

The University Archives and Department of Special Collections (UASC) at The University of Texas at Tyler will be hosting a panel discussion entitled “Honk if You Like Ike: American Political Campaigning in the Twentieth Century” on October 14, 2009 at 6:00pm.  The event will be held on the fourth floor of the Robert R. Muntz Library and will feature a discussion that complements the UASC’s most recent acquisition, the Tim Anthony Jackson Collection of Presidential Campaign Memorabilia. The discussion is being held in conjunction with American Archives Month, which takes place during the entire month of October.

The panel will feature three UT Tyler faculty members:  Dr. Courtney Cullison (Asst. Professor, Political Science), Dr. Marsha Matthews (Asst. Professor, Communication), and Dr. James Newsom (Lecturer, History) each of whom will discuss the nature of American political campaigns and the salient points of analysis that political ephemera lend to their respective disciplines.  The discussion will be moderated by Vanessa Curry, advisor to UT Tyler’s student newspaper, the Patriot Talon. Numerous items of political ephemera from the collection will be on display, including campaign buttons dating back to President William J. McKinley, bumper stickers dating from the 1950s, campaign literature for both winning and losing candidates, and political novelty items, including an actual voting booth from the disputed Florida presidential election in 2000.

In addition to materials from the Tim Anthony Jackson Collection, visitors to the library will also be able to view records and ephemera from other manuscript collections that highlight the political campaign theme.  Pieces from the Sarah McClendon papers, the Bill Ratliff papers, the William M. Steger papers, the E.F. Jarrel papers and the University Archives will be on display during the entire month of October in locations throughout the library.

American Archives Month is a collaborative effort by professional organizations and repositories around the nation to highlight the importance of records of enduring value. Archivists are professionals who assess, collect, organize, preserve, maintain control of, and provide access to information that has lasting value, and they help people find and understand the information they need in those records.

The University Archives and Department of Special Collections (UASC), located on the ground floor of the Robert R. Muntz Library, handles materials of historical and/or archival interest to The University of Texas at Tyler and the surrounding community.

Introducing…Health and Psychosocial Instruments

Need a survey or questionnaire for your research?  Why reinvent the wheel?  The Robert R. Muntz Library is pleased to announce a new subscription to Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI).

Health and Psychosocial Instruments provides ready access to information on measurement instruments (i.e., questionnaires, interview schedules, checklists, index measures, coding schemes/ manuals, rating scales, projective techniques, vignettes/scenarios, tests) in the health fields, psychosocial sciences, organizational behavior, and library and information science.

HaPI does not contain the actual instrument but gives you information on how to obtain the article.  The information in HaPI is maintained by Behavioral Measurement Database Services (BMDS).  BMDS provides copies of selected instruments cited in the HaPI database for a small fee.  If you are having trouble finding an instrument, BMDS also provides free Assistance and Consulting.  For more information about BMDS please see their brochure.

The University of Washington Health Science Libraries has created a really useful Searching HaPI guide which goes through some of the database’s advanced search techniques.  Ovid has created a Field Guide which also provides details for taking advantage of HaPI’s advanced search capabilities.

Health and Psychosocial Instruments can be accessed through the alphabetical list on the Find an Article (Databases) page and through related Research/Subject Guides.  Please note that our subscription to HaPI is limited to 5 concurrent users.  For help using Health and Psychosocial Instruments, please take a look at one of the resources above, or contact a librarian.

Library to Close at 5PM For Tuesday January 27 Due to Weather

Due to the strong possibility of hazardous weather conditions later this evening, UT Tyler has cancelled all classes in Tyler, Longview and Palestine that are scheduled after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Thus, the UT Tyler Robert R. Muntz Library will close at 5pm today.

Please note that all classes held prior to 5 pm today will continue as scheduled.

Please monitor the Web site and local radio and television stations for information regarding the status of classes on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

Muntz Library Holiday Break Schedule

The UT Tyler Robert R. Muntz Library has the following schedule for the Holiday Break.

December 22: 8:00am-5:00pm

December 23: 8:00am-1:30pm

The library will be closed from December 24, 2008 to January 4, 2009.

We will reopen on January 5th. Hours then:

January 5 to January 9: 8:00am-5:00pm

The library is closed January 10 and January 11.

We will resume regular school schedule on January 12.

Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Library Features Display for Native American Heritage Month

The UT Tyler Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a display to honor Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month, which is observed in November. The display can be viewed on the third floor of the library. In addition, we will be featuring a series of facts about Native Americans, their contributions and achievements in the library’s announcements system (the monitor display in the second floor).

As part of the display, the library is featuring the following books in the display case. All books in the case belong to the library and are available for checkout. If you wish to check out an book from the display, simply stop by Circulation or Reference, and we will be happy to open the case for you to get the book.

The list includes call numbers, and the books are usually located in the General Collection (third floor stacks) unless otherwise indicated:

• Adams, David Wallace, Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience 1875-1928 (E97.5 .A35 1995).
• Browner, Tara, Heartbeat of the People: Music and Dance of the Northern Pow-Wow (E98 .P86 B76 2004).
• Caduto, Michael J. and Joseph Bruchac, Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children (E98 .F6 C12 1997).
• Calloway, Colin G., First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History (E 77 .C14 1999).
• Connell Szasz, Margaret, Education and the American Indian: The Road to Self-Determination since 1928 (E 97 .S92 1999).
• Mary Crow Dog, Lakota Woman (E 99 .D1 C833 1991).
• Deloria, Philip J. and Neal Salisbury, eds., A Companion to American Indian History (E 77 .C74 2004).
• Ehle, John, Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (E99 .C5 E55 1989).
• Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, American Indian Myths and Legends (E98 .F6 A47 1984).
• Hoxie, Frederick E., Parading Through History: The Making of the Crow Nation in America 1805-1935 (E99 .C92 H69 1997).
• Jacobs, Sue-Ellen et.al., eds., Two Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality (E98 .S48 T86 1997).
• Klein, Laura F. and Lillian A. Ackerman, Women and Power in Native North America (E 98 .W8 W657 1995).
• McClure, Tony Mack, Cherokee Proud: A Guide for Tracing and Honoring Your Cherokee Ancestors (E99 .C5 M382 1998).
• McMaster, Gerald, ed., Reservation X: The Power of Place in Aboriginal Contemporary Art (E98 .A7 R47 1998).
• Nabokov, Peter, Native American Testimony: a Chronicle of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy to the Present, 1492-2000 (E 93 .N3 1999).
• Newcomb, Jr., W.W., The Indians of Texas:From Prehistoric to Modern Times (E 78 .T4 N4).
• Nichols, Roger L., Indians in the United States and Canada: A Comparative History (E 77 .N554 1999).
• Prucha, Francis Paul, The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians (E 93 .P9654 1995).
• Smith, Paul Chaat and Robert Allen Warrior, Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee (E93 .S65 1996).
• Tippeconnic Fox, Mary Jo et. al., eds., Serving Native American Students (E 97 .S47 2005).
• Utley, Robert M., The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull (E99 .D1 S625 1994).
• Weeks, Philip, ed., “They Made Us Many Promises”: The American Indian Experience 1524 to the Present (E 77 .T44 2002).

University Archives Presents Exhibit on History of UT Tyler

In recognition of Archives Month (October), the University Archives and Department of Special Collections (UASC) at the Robert R. Muntz Library is pleased to present an exhibit on the history of The University of Texas at Tyler.  Chartered in 1971 as Tyler State College (an upper-level baccalaureate and master’s level institution),  The University of Texas at Tyler now offers undergraduate education at all levels and post-graduate studies at both the master’s and doctoral level. The six panels of the exhibit trace the growth of the University as it has moved through its various iterations as an institution for higher education in East Texas.  For more information on the history of the University, please visit the University Archives and Department of Special Collections.

This exhibit was created by University Archives Assistant, Brandy Monts, under the supervision of the University Archivist, Déirdre Joyce.  The UT-Tyler Office of Alumni Affairs assisted the Robert R. Muntz Library in the production of this display. Patrons may view the exhibit in the hallway outside the UASC; it will be displayed indefinitely.