The art collection at The Mona Library at the University of the West Indies

Author: Amitabh Sharma

Title: UWI's Treasure Trove
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
Date published: September 8, 2013 1
URL: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130908/arts/arts1.html

Abstract:
The article briefly introduces the art collection at The Mona Library at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus. Information is given about some of the items or works in the collection as well as to the collection development over the years. Frances Salmon, head, West Indies and Special Collection, is interviewed. Salmon in the interview discusses the range of art featured, how some of the items were acquired as well as the purpose for the collection.


Excerpt:

What would you call a space that houses more than 170 pieces of art? A gallery? A museum? Or an art aficionado's sprawling villa? The answer: none of the above. What if one said that these artefacts sit in a library?

Visitors would rarely notice - as they lug their journals, laptops and reading material to study or sift through catalogues and books to research - that a library is more than a book bank.
The Mona Library at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, is the abode of pieces of art that are both steeped in history and a convergence of cultures from across the world.

E-book and tablet programme for UWI Mona Medical students

Author: Andrea Braham
Title: Medical Students Saving Big through eBooks
Source: Jamaica Information Service
Date published: Wednesday, 14 November 2012
URL: http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/leads/32280

Abstract:

The article  reports on a programme bringing e-books and tablet devices to medical students. This e-books programme is said to deliver to approximately 350 medical students all their required text books.

The article reports on a speech delivered by Acting Dean in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Professor Horace Fletcher, explaining the programme. Prof. Fletcher reports that the book programme involves students paying a fee to access 18 books at the cost of one physical book from the UWI bookshop.
Also reported is the Deputy Principal at the UWI, Prof. Archibald McDaniel, stating that the initiative to begin the tablet programme emerged from the issue of the Medical Faculty increasing its student enrollment and using technology to enhance the learning experience. Prof. McDaniel adds that lecturers and associate lecturers will also receive the tablet device, SmartTab, to utilise as teaching aids.

Plans are mentioned to do the same with primary and high schools and even persons with disabilities (primarily the visually impaired). Minister for Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson  reports that the Government is looking to provide tablets for primary schools. Mentioned is made that supplying computers for the Government's current e-learning programme cost US$1, 200 per computer and lasts on average three years. Robinson reports that the tablet programme would cost lest.


Excerpt:

"Students in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI) can now access electronic medical texts at a fraction of the cost for the printed material, saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. 

The move has been facilitated through partnership between the Mona campus and local technology company, JL Mobile, makers of the SmartTab.  

For a one-time fee of US$200, the students will receive the tablet and have access to all their required texts for an additional US$200 per year. The one-time charge covers a seven-month warranty and technical support for the duration of the course."

UWI Mona DLIS 40th Anniversary Conference & Gathering of Graduates

Conference Name:  The University of the West Indies, Mona  Department of Library and Information Studies 40th Anniversary  Conference & Gathering of Graduates


Sponsoring Institution:

The University of the West Indies, Mona
Department of Library and Information Studies


Title: "From Search to Discovery: Reimagining the Library and Information Landscape"


Location: Mona Visitors’ Lodge & Conference Centre, 
UWI, Mona Campus, Kingston 7

Date: October 4-6, 2012 


URL: http://myspot.mona.uwi.edu/dlis/sites/drupal-dev.uwimona.edu.jm.dlis/files/uploads/CALL%20FOR%20PAPER%20&%20POSTER%20PROPOSALS[1].pdf

Abstract:
The University of the West Indies, Mona Department of Library and Information Studies puts on its 40th anniversary conference and gathering of the graduates. The call for papers and poster presentations is out and the deadline closes July 31, 2012. The conference calls for presentations on the library and information landscape but also asks for researchers to relate the topic to the Caribbean.


Excerpt:

"The theme asks participants to envision how the changing information
environment is impacting the role and functions of libraries, librarians, as
well as library and information science education and research and
information users. Further, persons are asked to relate this change to the
current situation in the Caribbean."

UWI St. Augustine library acquires Eastern Caribbean Folk Recordings

Author: DAVID CUFFY

Title: UWI receives Alan Lomax and JD Elder Collection
Date Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012
URL: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-06-20/uwi-receives-alan-lomax-and-jd-elder-collection

Abstract:

The article records the acquisition of the Alan Lomax and Jacob D Elder Collection of Folk Recordings by the Alma Jordan Library of the University of the West Indies (UWI). The acquisition of these materials comes at the 50th anniversary of when the field recordings were made in 1962 by Alan Lomax, with assistance from JD Elder. The contents of the acquisitions are described and some background information on Lomax and Elder (the collectors) are provided.

Details of the ceremony celebrating the handover to the institution are described including the location of the event. Also mentioned is a concurrent event, the Caribbean and Latin America three-day 57th annual Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials  (SALALM) hosted by the UWI campus libraries, National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) and the Library Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT). A few details about the conference are provided including the mission of SALALM. 



Excerpt:

A symbolic handing over of The Alan Lomax and Jacob D Elder Collection of Folk Recordings to the Alma Jordan Library of the University of the West Indies (UWI) took place at Theatre 1, National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain, on Monday evening.

The event, A Cultural Journey—An Evening of History, Music and Dance, was in honour of participants from the Caribbean and Latin America attending the three-day 57th annual Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials  (SALALM) hosted by the UWI campus libraries, National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) and the Library Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT), which began at Hilton Trinidad and Conference on June 17.

SALALM’s primary missions are the control and dissemination of bibliographic information about all types of Latin American publications, and the development of library collections of Latin America in support of educational research. This year is the 50th anniversary of the field recordings made in 1962 by Alan Lomax, with assistance from JD Elder and according to Dr Rosita Sands of the Lomax Archive, it is a sweeping survey of the music of 12 islands, inclusive of Grenada, Anguilla, St Lucia, St Kitts/Nevis, Carriacou, Dominica, Martinique, St Barthelemey, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago.

UWI Press launches e-books for Kindle readers

Author: The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Title: The UWI Press launches five e-books for Kindle customers
Date:  FEBRUARY 1, 2012
Source: The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Campus News
URL: http://sta.uwi.edu/news/releases/release.asp?id=907


Abstract:

This news release from the University of the West Indies Press highlights one of the main Caribbean scholarly book publisher launching e-books for Kindle readers. Background information on the publisher is also provided and the titles that will be available in e-book format are announced. In addition, the publisher's goal of publishing more than 60 more titles in e-book format is also stated.


Excerpt:

January 2012 marked a new beginning for the UWI Press in the global book industry as it launches five e-books for its Kindle customers.

According to Linda Speth, the Director of the UWI Press: “Our goal is to provide superb Caribbean scholarship in a variety of formats.  During the next year, we will make more than 60 books available in electronic forms for a variety of tablets, readers and devices.  Our customers want a choice in how they gain access to our content and these and other initiatives will allow our customers greater access to and usability of our peer-reviewed books.”

The five e-books being launched are Cascade by Barbara Lalla, Inna di Dance Hall: Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica by Donna P. Hope, In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica, 1750-86 by Douglas Hall,Jamaican Folk Medicine: A Source of Healing by Arvilla Payne-Jackson and Mervyn Alleyne and Abandoning Dead Metaphors: The Caribbean Phase of Derek Walcott’s Poetry by the late Patricia Ismond.

UWI libraries gets BBC Caribbean archives

Photographer: Garfield Robinson
Title: UWI gets BBC Caribbean archives
Source: Jamaican Observer
Date Published: Sunday, November 06, 2011
URL: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/career/UWI-gets-BBC-Caribbean-archives_10097323

Abstract:
The article is actually just a caption to a photograph, that captures or documents the official handing over ceremony for the BBC Caribbean Service 1988 to 2011 archives .

Excerpt:

University of the West Indies (UWI) librarian Jennifer Josephs and UWI vice chancellor E Nigel Harris show off the BBC Caribbean 1988 to 2011...The occasion was the official handover ceremony for the archives, held Friday at the universities multifunction room.

UWI acquires and provides access to BBC Caribbean Archive 1988-2011

Title: BBC Caribbean Archive 1988-2011

Source: DSpace development team at the The Alma Jordan Library of The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
tel. 1 (868) 662 2002
URL: http://uwispace.sta.uwi.edu/dspace/handle/2139/11134

Abstract:
The University of West Indies has acquired the holdings of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Caribbean Service archives of recordings for the period 1988-2011. The context behind the acquisition is provided. Information is also provided about the scope of the collection and the types of subjects and content it covers. Information is also provided about how to access the archived recordings.

Excerpt:

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Caribbean Service donated its archive of recordings to The University of the West Indies (UWI) after it ceased broadcasting on March 25, 2011. This archive of audio recordings covers the period 1988-2011, when the BBC Caribbean Service operated mainly as a news and current affairs department. During this period, the flagship programmes of the department were the BBC Caribbean Report (morning and evening drivetime editions) and Caribbean Magazine, a programme that reflected the human face of the news agenda as well as reporting on the Caribbean region's music, literature, and other cultural issues. The BBC Caribbean Archive at The UWI provides a unique contemporary record of the political, social cultural and economic issues pertaining to the Caribbean, and will therefore serve an a very important facility for research regionally and extra-regionally.

UWI St. Augustine campus launches single virtual library space

Author: Charles Kong Soo

Title: UWI leads ‘by miles’ with virtual library
Source: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian Online
Date Published: October 18, 2011
URL: http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/10/17/uwi-leads-miles-virtual-library

Abstract: 
The article reports on a speech by Professor Clement Sankat, PVC and St Augustine campus principal at the launch of The UWI Libraries’ Information Connexion (UWIlinC): single virtual library space at the campus’ Alma Jordan Library on October 4. In this speech, Sankat reveals how the library positions the university globally, regionally and locally revealing how a university library can contribute to the enhanced status of a university. The article also reports on Sankat's perception of the mission of the single virtual library space.

Excerpt:

The University of the West Indies’ (UWI) new single virtual library space is a major milestone as the university continues to lead “by miles” in competitive higher education, says Professor Clement Sankat, PVC and St Augustine campus principal. He was speaking at the launch of The UWI Libraries’ Information Connexion (UWIlinC): single virtual library space at the campus’ Alma Jordan Library on October 4. “This is a very big day for the university. It is a major milestone as the university continues to evolve and make itself known to the world,” Sankat said. “To bring all the UWI subscribed resources and the intellectual output from our various library collections and to make these available to users locally, regionally and internationally is truly phenomenal. 

UWI Cave Hill students protest reduced library hours

Title: Students protest library hours

Author: ES/MM
Source: Barbados Nation News
Date: Sat, October 15, 2011

URL: http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/students-protest-library-hours/

Summary:

The article reports on a protest staged by students at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). It indicates the protest comes as a result of a decision to close the main library at 6 p.m. on Fridays instead of 11 p.m as a 'cost cutting measure' for the university administration. The article mentions the president of the Students Guild, Odwin Trenton, as the organiser of the protest. Trenton reports that the university’s administrators did not involve the student body in talks regarding the reduced hours, but assumed low library usage on weekends.

Excerpt:

DOZENS OF STUDENTS staged a protest at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday because of a decision to close the main library at 6 p.m. on Fridays instead of 11 p.m.
The early closure is a cost cutting measure because of the institution’s “dire financial situation,” a press release from the university’s office of Public Information said yesterday.

University of West Indies Mona library installs new library security system

Author: LUKE DOUGLAS Career & Education writer editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Title: US$90,000 UWI library security system could save millions
Source: Jamaica Observer
Date published: Sunday, January 23, 2011


URL: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/career/US-90-000-UWI-library-security-system-could-save-millions_8307297


Abstract:
Article reports on the security system recently installed at the University of the West Indies' (UWI's) main library. The purpose of the system and a brief overview of how it works is also reported. The article also gives a report on the company behind the library security system, 3M.

Excerpt:
A state-of-the-art security system recently installed at the University of the West Indies' (UWI's) main library is expected to prevent millions of dollars in losses while preserving the institution's rare and important scholarly works.

A feature of the new system is that the library's doors are automatically locked if an attempt is made to take a book out of the facility without it being properly checked out.

UWI, Mona Main Library Implements New Security System

Title: UWI, Mona Main Library To Implement New Security System
Source: The University of the West Indies, Mona, Public Relations Office Press Release
Date Posted: January 18, 2011
URL: http://myspot.mona.uwi.edu/proffice/newsroom/entry/4067

Abstract:
The press release announces the ceremonial launch of the new 3M Library Security System implemented by University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Proposed benefits of the system is also discussed. plus a brief announcement the scholarship to be made available for a student to pursue studies at the Department of Library and Information Studies in the campus.


Excerpt:

The 3M Library Security System will offer an improved experience to the UWI, Mona student population and other users. The System will secure the Main Library’s valuable and significant collections and paves the way for the introduction of self check machines which will allow users to check items out themselves at their own pace thereby transforming the Library’s operations.

Letter to Newspaper calls for a Rex Nettleford museum at UWI

Author: Patrick A. Gallimore
Title: Rex Nettleford museum for UWI?
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
Date Published: Saturday, February 20, 2010
URL: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100220/letters/letters5.html

Abstract:
This letter to the editor of the Jamaican Gleaner, calls for a museum to honour the late Rex Nettleford. The author gives his justification why a musuem and initiative of this nature is important.

Excerpt:

I THINK it would be a most befitting and beneficial tribute and symbol to the life and works of the late Prof Rex Nettleford if a museum in his honour were established by the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Such a museum could be placed at a suitable location on his beloved campus and become the permanent home and intellectual/cultural showpiece of Prof Nettleford's numerous speeches, interviews, books, photographs, awards, achievements, etc. This museum would serve to symbolically and meaningfully celebrate and showcase the life of one of Jamaica's and the Caribbean's greatest sons and would, in no small measure, help to motivate and instill a deeper sense of pride in persons of all ages and from all walks of life, particularly the youth.

The Seaga Collection Preview at UWI Mona

Author: Kimone Thompson
Title: The wait is still on for the tantalising Seaga collection
Source: Jamaica Observer
Date published: Sunday, May 03, 2009
URL: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20090502T220000-0500_150667_OBS_THE_WAIT_IS_STILL_ON_FOR_THE_TANTALISING_SEAGA_COLLECTION_.asp
Abstract:

Article provides information about a special collection being established at the Main Library of the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). The collection will contain information about Jamaica's social and political history compiled by Seaga based on his experiences and involvement in Jamaica's politics and society. The article also makes mention of perceptions of several dignitaries of the contribution that Seaga has made to Jamaica, as one of the longest serving politician and public figure and their reaction to the preview of the collection.

Excerpt:

The University of the West Indies (UWI) which houses the collection, staged a whet-the-appetite launch last Thursday at the Main Library on the Mona Campus at which benefactors like Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, Maurice Facey, and government ministers Mike Henry and Andrew Holness, among other dignitaries, came to give their blessing.

Already described as the "most extensive" collection of Jamaica's social and political history in one location, the body of works comprises a compilation of 27 speeches made by Seaga in the past four years titled Revelations: beyond Political Boundaries; a book titled The Grenada Intervention: the Inside Story; Seaga's autobiography in two volumes; a digitised collection of papers and recordings and a compilation of macroeconomic data from 1950 to 2007.

The collection - catalogued under the UWI's West Indian Collection, and undertaken with funds raised by the institution's development and endowment fund - was put together by Seaga who was made a Distinguished Fellow in the UWI School of Graduate Studies and Research in 2005.

UWI Mona Campus Opens New Postgraduate Learning Commons

Notice:
The following is a record of an event that took place on Thursday February 5, 2009. While I was present at the event, and am capable of providing further information/details, seeing that I have no formal training in journalism, I prefer to report the facts that have been documented elsewhere. My personal belief is that journalism is a profession and that those who are trained to report events should do the job. However, news will not always be discovered by the journalist. As such, as a citizen journalist I provide the sources of information, whereby the real journalists and researchers can investigate the actual facts.

Event: The Opening of the New Postgraduate Learning Commons at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Main Library.

Location:The Mezzanine Floor of the Main Library of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica, W.I.

Source: University of the West Indies, Mona Campus

URL: http://www.mona.uwi.edu/notices/2009/pglc.pdf

Abstract:
The Principal Prof. Gordon Shirley, opened the Library's new
Postgraduate Learning Commons (PGLC) on Thursday February 5, 2009. The ribbon was cut by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Nigel Harris and one of the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, now Honorary Distinguished Fellow, Hon. Edward Seaga.

The PGLC room will be open to postgraduates from Friday February 6, 2009.

Trinidad & Tobago participates in UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme

AUTHOR: Maharaj, Sateesh
TITLE: Keepers of the World
DATE: Wednesday, July 16, 2008

SOURCE: Trinidad & Tobago Express
URL: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article?id=161352690

ABSTRACT:

The article briefly introduces the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO's) Memory of the World Programme. The article then moves on to discuss how the Trinindad and Tobago's campus of the University of the West Indies became an early participant in this programme. Out of this participation, the campus has three collections that are registed in the programme:

• CLR James,
  
• Dr. Eric Williams and
  
• Derek Wlacott collection.
  

A brief description of each collection is given.

The information is taken mainly from a speech made by Professor Margaret Rouse-Jones. Additionally, there is a synopsis of the speech by the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Trinidad and Tobago's Education Ministry, Marlene Felix , about the local benefits of the Memory of the World Programme to local citizens.

The University of the West Indies honours Library Professor

The University had a week long celebration in which Professor Emeritus Daphne Douglas, former professor and Head of the Department of Library and Information Studies was honoured.

Professor Emeritus Daphne Douglas is Jamaica's first female professor. She was also Head of Department for the Library and Information Studies School from 1976 -1980 and 1982 – 1993.