A new award for U of A students is forthcoming, thanks to a gift from Amy and Michael Malone. The Malone Family Endowed Award is the first of its kind to be established through the University Libraries and will support diverse undergraduate students with financial need.

"Our children went to the library to study and used it as a resource, all of them, throughout their time at the university," Michael said. "When we would check in with them in the evening and call, they would be at the library."

The Malones are parents of two U of A alumni and also have a current sophomore on campus.

"It meant a lot to us that the facility was there and that they could take advantage of it," Michael said. "They were very good students, and it was important that they had a place they could go that felt like a secure and supportive environment."

Another unique aspect of the award's purpose is to support recipients in becoming familiar with the University Libraries' resources and materials and to enhance their ability in using them. Michael stressed the significance of the libraries' physical and digital resources.

"I'd like to make sure that other people understand just how important libraries are, especially to a university setting, and understand it's a worthwhile place to provide resources if you have them," he said.

It was important to Amy and Michael to give financially to the U of A, as they are both graduates of state institutions, and all four of their children have attended state universities.

"That idea of giving back is something that has really mattered to us," Michael said. "We wouldn't have any of these opportunities without people who were like us who previously, either through their tax dollars or gifts or donations, made those institutions possible."

Jason Battles, dean of University Libraries, expressed his appreciation for the endowed award.

"We are so grateful for Amy and Michael's gift and their recognition of the libraries' importance to students," Battles said. "Their generosity gives the University Libraries the opportunity to provide an endowed award to deserving students through the years ahead."

The University of Arkansas has had a library for as long as it has had buildings. What began as one room with 137 books in a wood-frame building in 1872 has evolved into the five University Libraries on campus today. "The History of the University of Arkansas Library," an exhibit on the lobby level of Mullins Library, includes photos and artifacts from Special Collections documenting how the library has transformed over the university's 150-year history. It will be on display through January 2022.

"The library has been at the center of campus literally and symbolically from the U of A's first days, and it's always served the whole community," said Catherine Wallack, architectural records archivist and curator of the exhibit. "A glimpse at the history of the library, on one hand, gives an encapsulated view of the evolving character of the university. On the other hand, there are some very esoteric things that were once wonderfully unique to the library experience: the necessity of rubber due-date stamps, the heft of a card catalog drawer and librarians' seemingly eternal efforts to maintain a quiet environment. This exhibit captures both those aspects, even as the library continues to transform to better meet the needs of everyone who uses it."

Photos in the exhibit provide glimpses into the library's previous locations, including Old Main and Vol Walker Hall. Other items include a carousel of due date stamps, newspaper clippings, a leaflet from the 1940s for faculty with "An Invitation to Get Acquainted," catalog cards and more.

Special Collections supports the research, teaching and learning mission of the University of Arkansas by collecting, preserving and providing access to unique and rare materials.

In celebration of Older Americans Month in May, the University Libraries invite the campus community to listen to interviews with centenarians from the Roy Edwin Thomas Collection.

"Roy Edwin Thomas made it his life's mission to interview those he called 'old timers' of the Ozarks and Appalachia," said Katrina Windon, collections management and processing unit head for the University Libraries Special Collections. "Well into his 80s, he traveled the region asking people to tell him their stories — about everything from courtship to war to folklore — and collecting and retelling them in various forms. Ultimately he conducted more than 1,000 interviews that now reside in Special Collections and offer rich firsthand insight into life and culture dating back to the late 19th century."

Thomas was a folklorist, oral historian and writer from Conway. Born Jan. 21, 1917, he grew up on a farm at Bee Branch. Thomas graduated from the U of A with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1941. He enlisted in the military in 1943 and served during World War II before being honorably discharged in 1945. In September 1970, he began interviewing "old-timers" in Arkansas, and he later expanded his scope to cover the broader Ozarks region and the Appalachians. His oral history interviews provided the basis for most of his writings over the next several decades, which focused primarily on regional dialect and culture. Thomas' publications include Popular Folk Dictionary of Ozarks Talk (1972), Authentic Ozarks Stories (1972) and Come Go with Me: Old-Timer Stories from the Southern Mountains (1994). Thomas passed away Oct. 25, 1999, at the age of 82. His sister, Zelda E. Thomas, donated his materials to Special Collections on March 30, 2000.

The collection consists primarily of Thomas' oral history interview projects, writings and research materials. From 1970-1994, Thomas conducted more than 1,000 oral history interviews across Arkansas, the Ozarks and Appalachia, primarily with those born from 1870-1910. Notably among these interviewees is musician Jimmy Driftwood. The collection includes audiocassette tapes with recordings of these interviews, as well as Thomas' transcriptions, indexes and writings based on them. The majority of Thomas' writings revolve around stories of Ozarks and Appalachian culture and folklore, most of which were derived from his interviews.

"For all the retrospective offered from people with a century or more of life to reflect on, though, there are also continuous promises of more to come," Windon said, "Like from Eva Boone Hight, who started writing a book age 95, and when interviewed at age 100 was still determined to finish it."

The Special Collections division, located on the first floor of Mullins Library, is currently open to U of A students, faculty and staff by appointment only.

Twice per year, the University Libraries and Global Campus offer incentives for faculty who adopt, adapt or create open educational resources for their courses. This semester's recipients are Cash Acrey, Jim Gigantino, Justin Hunter and Matthew Mihalka.

According to the Hewlett Foundation, "Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium — digital or otherwise — that reside in the public domain or have released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions."

Acrey is a clinical assistant professor of finance within the Sam M. Walton College of Business. He will be adapting the open textbook International Finance: Theory and Policy for FINN 3703: International Finance, a required course for all finance students. Acrey will update the text and add emphasis and clarity to areas where students struggle, based on his experience teaching the course. The textbook currently being used in the course, which sells for $240 new and $180 used, inadequately addresses these concepts. The conversion to an open textbook is anticipated to impact over 70 students each semester. The award for adaptation of open educational resources is $4,500.

Gigantino is an associate professor of history within the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. He will be adopting open educational resources for HIST 2003: History of the American People to 1877, which is a university core elective. The cost of the textbook currently being used is $72 new. Gigantino anticipates that at least 155 students will be impacted by this decrease in textbook costs per semester. The award for adoption of open educational materials is $3,000.

Mihalka is an instructor of musicology within Fulbright College, and Hunter is an administrative specialist and lecturer within the department of music. Together, they will create an open educational resource for MUSY 2003: Music in World Cultures, a university core elective in humanities with a potential enrollment of over 200 students per semester. The cost of the textbook currently used is $93 new, and it does not adequately meet the needs of the course. Mihalka and Hunter will create introductory text and listening guides based on their teaching approach, which focuses on topical rather than geographical explorations of world music. Their work will benefit other U of A music courses, as well as a broad audience of open educational resource adopters. Few open resources for teaching topical concepts in music currently exist. The award for creation of open educational resources is $7,500.

"I've been encouraged by this round of applications, along with conversations I've had with campus faculty this semester," said Elaine Thornton, distance education librarian. "U of A faculty members care about our students and want to see them succeed. They also realize what a significant financial burden costly textbooks can be. I am hopeful that the number of teaching faculty exploring OER as a viable choice will continue to grow. This option decreases the costs associated with attending university, and it also gives the instructor more control and flexibility over the content they assign."

In addition to providing these awards, the University Libraries and Global Campus are partnering to offer the Open Education Southern Symposium this fall. The symposium, set for Oct. 1-2, will connect supporters of open education for presentations, lightning talks and panel discussions. Registration is limited to 100 participants. To submit a proposal, register or learn more, visit the symposium website.

Questions regarding the Open Educational Resources Incentive Program may be sent to oer@uark.edu.

The University Libraries' and Graduate School and International Education's Graduate Student Speaker Series continues this semester with Airic Hughes, a doctoral candidate and graduate assistant in the Department of History.

Hughes will present "Through the Heart of the City: I-630 and the Re-segregation of Little Rock" at 5 p.m. this Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Walton Reading Room. This event is free and open to the public.

"I am very appreciative to the Special Collections staff for their tireless support," said Hughes. "Items used in this research include public reports and documents which were widely distributed throughout the era of urban renewal and I-630's construction. Official narratives for I-630 were meticulously crafted by civic and state auspices, hence it is evident the true history of modern Little Rock was hidden in plain sight."

In his research, Hughes utilized documents from the Arkansas Collection, which comprises more than 70,000 titles of Arkansas print material.

The Graduate Student Speaker Series debuted in fall 2018 as a platform for students to share the research they have conducted using Special Collections materials. Graduate students from all majors who are interested in presenting on the research they have done using Special Collections materials are encouraged to visit the speaker series webpage.

When Marianne Williams first set foot in the Dickson Street Bookstore, she knew Fayetteville was her kind of place. Originally from Canada, Williams was appointed Librarian-in-Residence for University Libraries July 10.

"I bought so many books, I actually had to buy another suitcase just to bring them all home," said Williams.

The purpose of the Librarian-in-Residence program is to increase the diversity of professional staff at the University Libraries and to encourage the involvement of underrepresented groups in academic librarianship.

As Librarian-in-Residence, Williams will work with the Multicultural Center on campus, as well as community organizations, to promote diversity and inclusion.

"A big personal interest of mine has been Indigenous activism and LGBTQ-plus activism, and incorporating that inclusion into the Libraries," she said.

One of her goals is to publish and do research on visual and information literacy.

"I'd like to work with primary sources, like Special Collections or archival material, and figure out creative and innovative ways of making those collections more accessible and more interesting to students, researchers and the campus community," said Williams.

Williams thinks of herself as a "librarian and cultural consultant," having worked on various cultural research projects in many different capacities, from curatorial responsibilities to grant writing. In her spare time, she is an avid gardener (though "not a very good one"), enjoys live music, and fosters rabbits from problem homes.

"We are delighted to bring Marianne on board and see how she takes this position and makes it her own," said Carolyn Henderson Allen, dean of Libraries.

Williams' appointment will last 12 months and is renewable for up to three years.