The Challenge - Stanford University Libraries & Academic ...

Improving K-12 Education /Reinventing Graduate
Education /Extending the Renaissance in
Undergraduate Education
The Stanford Challenge addresses teaching methods and results, both as a way of ensuring
an exceptional student experience at Stanford and as a pressing social issue throughout
society. By developing education leadership and policy, as well as by designing and
testing model learning environments, Stanford’s “Improving K-12 Education” programs
confront challenges faced by the public education system in the United States. On campus,
programs for “Extending the Renaissance in Undergraduate Education” and “Reinventing
Graduate Education” strive to assure unparalleled opportunities for Stanford
students to become effective leaders in a complex global society. The Libraries are essential
in providing materials and support to ensure educational success at all levels.
Above
A traditional tool, an
unabridged dictionary,
remains in frequent
use in the Cubberley
Education Library.
Opposite Top
The Stanford University
Press publishes a
lively list of scholarly
and policy-related
works in many
disciplines, including
education.
Opposite Bottom
Joachim von Sandrart,
Iconologia Deorum, oder
Abbildung der Götter…
Nürnberg: Gedruckt
durch C.S. Froberger,
in Verlegung des Authoris,
1680. Acquired
through the Stanford
University Bookstore
Fund.
Library Information Center as Hub for Information Literacy
As Stanford seeks to produce graduates who are independent
thinkers and problem solvers, the Information Center plays
a crucial role through its emphasis on lifelong information
literacy. A vital point of first contact for many visitors to Green
Library, the Center provides answers to research questions in
person, by telephone, by email and by Instant Messaging. The
Information Center’s Instruction Program also provides students
with the skills necessary to discover, evaluate, and use
information from a variety of sources and in multiple formats.
All freshmen attend information literacy workshops as part
of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, as well as the Structured
Liberal Education Program. Honors students also attend
advanced information literacy workshops as they prepare to
write their Honors theses.
Chris Bourg
Head, Information Center
Student Discoveries in Special Collections Access to rare and
unique materials is a defining feature of both undergraduate
and graduate education at Stanford. In most cases, Special
Collections acquisitions are made with teaching and research
value in mind. Subject specialists conducted more than 100
class sessions this year using prior collaborative sessions with
faculty to tailor material selection to precise course content.
Students examined a wide array of antiquarian and modern
materials and received expert assistance with research
papers. Separately, a group of students, on their own initiative,
organized and attended the Green Teas presentations by faculty,
subject specialists and collectors on bibliophilic topics.
Combined, these programs helped highly motivated students
navigate their first research experiences with Special Collections
materials.
John E. Mustain
Rare Book Librarian and Classics
Bibliographer, Special Collections
Curriculum Resources for Teachers Cubberley Library serves the
School of Education, a leading center of educational research,
to improve K-12 education in the United States. The continually
expanding Cubberley Curriculum Collection includes
hands-on science kits, newly published textbooks, and a wide
range of the best in children’s literature to support language
arts instruction. The Library recently revised its Web pages,
using an open source content management system known as
Drupal, to give better access to library resources. Additionally,
new pages were created to serve the Stanford Teacher Education
Program, a nationally renowned, innovative program
leading to a Master of Arts in Education and a preliminary
California teaching credential. Electronic resources, in addition
to on-site books and journals on educational reform
and teaching methods, are frequently consulted by members
of the Stanford community as well as by local elementary and
secondary teachers.
Kathryn M. Kerns
Head, Cubberley Education Library
Advances in Information Technology Through Academic Computing,
Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information
Resources provides faculty and students with technology,
expertise and resources to support learning, research and
teaching. The Student Computing unit provides technology
enhanced labs and classrooms in Stanford’s 77 student residences,
Meyer, Green and the branch libraries, and Tresidder
Student Union, as well as consulting, technology help, and
training for Stanford’s students. The Faculty Services unit
hosts Academic Technology Specialists to work with faculty on
their use of technology in teaching and research, an Academic
Technology Lab, and provides CourseWork, the campus
course management system. The Digital Library Systems
and Services unit operates technology services, systems and
infrastructure for the Stanford University Libraries, including
the library management system and component parts, Web
and access systems, digitization lab software, and the core
server, database, storage, backup and Web infrastructure. As
the Libraries move to an increasingly digital profile, Academic
Computing provides and manages digital resources
for the Libraries through their complete lifecycle, including
digitization, metadata design, specification and generation,
digital preservation, online discovery and access, and overall
management of digital materials.
Lois Brooks
Director, Academic Computing
University Publishing Promotes Educational Research
In line with its ongoing efforts to develop a publishing program
that supports and complements the academic strengths
and intellectual mission of the University, Stanford University
Press has published a core list of titles covering the breadth of
education research, from pre-school and K-12 through higher
education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The
Press has published prominent authors from the Stanford
School of Education and sought cutting-edge research that
will improve our nation’s public education system, inform
scholars and students, and educate our future leaders. Our
commitment to education research will continue and grow in
coming years, with education now being a major focus of our
acquisitions.
Geoffrey R. H. Burn
Managing Director,
Stanford University Press
Clarifying Copyright for Books Copyright law has become a pressing
issue as libraries and businesses develop plans to digitize
materials and make works in the public domain widely available.
In April, the Stanford University Libraries released the
Copyright Renewal Database, dubbed the “Copyright Determinator,”
which was developed under a grant from the Hewlett
Foundation. Available on the Libraries’ public Web site, the
Determinator brings all 1923-1963 U.S. book-renewal records
together in a single database and, more significantly, makes
searchable renewal records that had previously been distributed
only in print. The Stanford Libraries are pleased to be
able to offer this service to the scholarly community and are
working with national partners to integrate this data into a
much broader system for the analysis of copyright status.
Mimi Calter
Executive Assistant to
the University Librarian
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