Join us as we applaud Kevin Bocek, and Emma Post, the 2012 winners and Stanley Fonseca, the 2012 honorable mention, at a reception in their honor Nov 28, at 4:30 pm in Watzek's Pamplin Room. This award was created to highlight the value of good research techniques, reward scholarly research that develops a thoughtful and methodical approach to the research process, and demonstrate how scholarly research develops the critical thinking, reading, writing and speaking skills that are an integral part of a liberal arts education. The awards are given in memory of Dr. James J. Kopp, who was the director of Watzek Library from 1999 until his death in 2010. Questions or comments regarding the James J. Kopp First-year Research Award may be directed to Dan Kelley (dkelley@lclark.edu).

Maley Sullivan (LC 2012) has been awarded one of twelve undergraduate history prizes by the North American Conference on British Studies (NACBS). Her winning essay, titled "'England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity': Irish nationalism and mobilization during the Second Boer War, 1896-1902," is based on her seminar thesis in HIST 450 last semester and was also presented during a poster session in Watzek Library.

The NACBS is the largest interdisciplinary academic organization devoted to British and imperial studies. The undergraduate essay contest is open all to colleges and universities in the US and Canada and is highly competitive. This is a great honor for Maley!

Image: Sullivan's HIST 450 poster (view full-size poster)

Paul Merchant, William Stafford Archivist and Special Collections Associate, will retire this month after 14 years of service to the Lewis & Clark community. Paul has served the College as a teacher, writer, and archivist, as well as a mentor and friend to many.

Paul was born in Wales and studied at Cambridge, the Shakespeare Institute, and the University of Athens. Paul taught for many years at the University of Warwick and the University of Tennessee, before moving to Portland with his wife Grace and his son Luke. In Portland Paul worked with IRCO (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization), Breitenbush Press, Mountain Writers, and in the mid 1990s he became the archivist for the Estate of William Stafford. When the Stafford Archives were donated to Lewis & Clark in 2008, Paul continued to work as the Stafford Archivist at the Watzek Library Special Collections, and as an instructor for the Lewis & Clark English Department and the Northwest Writing Institute. As a member of the Special Collections staff, Paul has had a vital role as an author, editor, bibliographer, and exhibit curator. These projects have included work on William Stafford, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, western exploration, modern literature, Oregon poetry, pacifism, utopian studies, Charles Dickens, and early publications of classical literature. In 2010 Paul gifted his own Charles Dickens collection to the College, and in 2011 he gifted his extensive collection of rare British literature and classics.

As a creative writer and literary scholar, Paul is the editor and translator of Modern Poetry In Translation 4 (1968), which included the first selection of Greek poet Yannis Ritsos published in England. He is also the translator of Eleni Vakalo’s Genealogy (1971), Ritsos’ Monochords (2007), and Constantine P. Cavafy’s Twelve Poems (2010). His collection of poems Bone from a Stag’s Heart was a 1988 British Poetry Book Society Recommendation. His fourth collection of poems, Some Business of Affinity (2006), was a finalist for an Oregon Book Award. Paul also co-edited with Vince Wixon The Answers Are Inside the Mountains, Meditations on the Writing Life, and Crossing Unmarked Snow: Further Views on the Writer's Vocation for the University of Michigan Press.

Paul’s last day with us will be August 31. Please join with us in thanking him for his outstanding service and wishing him and his family all the very best.

Mark D. Dahl has been appointed the Director of Aubrey R. Watzek Library at Lewis & Clark College. Prior to being named Interim Director in 2010, Mark served as Associate Director for Digital Initiatives and Collection Management Services. He joined Watzek Library in 2001 as Library Technology Coordinator, and also served as Assistant Director for Systems and Access Services. He has been the college liaison to the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE) since 2007.

During Mark’s tenure Watzek Library has distinguished itself amongst liberal arts libraries by developing a robust program in digital initiatives and collections in partnership with students, faculty, and staff. The library received special commendation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities for the innovative use of technologies to enrich library collections and improve services to users in the College’s 2008 accreditation report. Mark has played major roles in securing grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and Institute for Museums and Library Services (IMLS), which have helped support expanding faculty research, access to the arts, and library preservation. He regularly blogs at liberalartslibrary.blogspot.com and has published and presented widely, including a chapter on digital scholarship in a forthcoming volume from ACRL Press on Interdisciplinarity and academic libraries. In 2006, he co-authored Digital Libraries : Integrating Content and Systems (Oxford: Chandos).

Mark received a B.A. in History and Journalism, and master’s degrees in History and Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to arriving at Lewis & Clark he was the Systems and Technical Services Librarian at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. Mark enjoys commuting to Palatine Hill on his bike or in his running shoes 12 months per year. On the weekends, he can be found running trail ultra marathons, listening to classic country music, and spending time with his three year old son, Rowan.

The relationship between LC and the family of College Archivist, Doug Erickson, dates back to the first graduating class in 1873. This weekend Erickson and his family will celebrate their latest family member’s graduation from Lewis & Clark. Doug’s son Nick Erickson, who will graduate on Sunday, is the great-great-great-grandson of Cora Jean Irvine Stewart, a member of the first graduating class in 1873. Doug’s wife, Stacy Johnson Erickson—who graduated with her M.A.T. from Lewis & Clark in 1998—is Cora’s great-great-granddaughter.
The Source caught up with Doug to find out more about his family’s legacy.

"Like" Watzek Library on facebook for a chance to win one of these finals survival packs full of goodies! Survival packs (including food, caffeine, toys, candy, gift cards, and more) will go to 3 lucky students who are fans of our facebook page. "Like" us now to be entered. Stop by the Circulation Desk to check out the bounty in person.

So how IS that E&D final project coming along? AS IF you need more pressure right now, right? Well, you should know that your project really NEEDS to be good. And the library is here to provide you with a little motivation of the cha-ching variety.

That’s right, we are proud to announce the James J. Kopp First-year Research Awards. Two first-year students who submit research projects produced in the spring 2012 semester of Exploration and Discovery, which exemplify excellence in the discovery and use of library and scholarly resources, will win this award. I know what you’re thinking– WHAT fantastic thing will they win? Well, do you see that owl holding a check for two hundred smackers? So big deal, you say, they get an owl holding a check? I think you are missing the point. Forget about the owl for a second, and concentrate on the check. That’s right, a check for $200 could be yours if you will stop procrastinating and get back to work on that research project. And when you are finished, submit an application here. Who knows, if your project is extra specially good, we may even throw in the owl.

Check out Lewis & Clark Around the World for a window into the cultural encounters and explorations of LC students studying in Ecuador this semester.

Students in this year’s program include majors in psychology, art, English, biochemistry and biology. Though based in Cuenca for most of the semester here, the program also includes academic travel to the southern Amazon Basin, the Oriente, an exploration of the capital Quito and surrounding areas, and a visit to the famous Ingapirca ruins and an indigenous Cañari community in the highlands. Check in on their cultural observations as they post to the Lewis & Clark Around the World site.

On Monday, January 16, Watzek Library will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The library will re-open Tuesday, January 17, at 9 am.

Flickr art by Luiz Fernando/Sonia Maria (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7477245@N05/5222817610/in/photostream/)

Watzek Library is getting a server upgrade on Friday, December 23rd. Our site will be unavailable for all or part of the day. We'll do our best to keep this interruption to a minimum. Thanks for your patience and understanding!