This Month in the Agenda – March 2003

DIY Courseware

Congratulations to Ronald Jantz of the Scholarly Communication Center and Rutgers history Professor Rudy Bell, who wrote the article “Do it Yourself Courseware: How We Built A Reusable Web Platform for Studying World Cultures,” published in the February 2003 issue of Syllabus magazine.

In the article, Ron and Professor Bell explain that they created an online platform that allows the professor to engage students in locating and evaluating the usefulness of websites to aid their students in an “Italy’s Peoples” course. Students submit their selections for inclusion in a class database, with the professor reviewing and modifying entries as necessary before they are incorporated into the database.

The authors state that they modified the technology framework developed for the course so it may be used by others courses that focus on studying distinct groups of people. The article invites readers to download the generic platform, free of charge, from the SCC website and provides a narrative of how it was developed.

The Agenda 24, no. 23 (March 16, 2003)

All that Jazz

The Institute of Jazz Studies has added three new programs to the Jazz Research Roundtables schedule. These programs are:

  • May 8: Julia Scott: Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Jeff Lovell: Joe Henderson (students in Rutgers Masters Program in Jazz History present their research)
  • June 12: Dan Morgenstern: “Just Jazz” Rediscovered
  • July 17: Christopher Meeder: Cecil Taylor

All programs are free and open to the public and take place Thursday evenings from 7:00 – 9:00 pm in the Dana Room, on the 4th floor of the John Cotton Dana Library. Refreshments will be served. For more information, please call the Institute of Jazz Studies at 973-353-5595.

The Agenda 24, no. 23 (March 16, 2003)

Everyday I’m Publishin’

We are pleased to announce the following publications, by librarians at the Paul Robeson Library.

Vibiana Bowman and Donna Wertheimer wrote “Stacks in the City: A Case Study of an Urban Library Cooperative,” published in Urban Library Journal, vol. 12, #1, Fall 2002. The article discusses the cooperative library agreement among the Camden campuses of Rutgers University, Rowan University, and Camden County College.

The Accidental Webmaster, a new book by Julie Still, is designed for those who manage websites as a volunteer or as only a small part of their job. The focus is on nonprofit, community-based, or small business sites. The book covers the process from setting up and designing the site to maintenance, policy, content, and legal issues. Specialized sites, such as advocacy, political, school and educational, and church or religious sites, are also included.

Congratulations to Vibiana, Julie, and Donna, for finding suitable platforms to share your worthwhile experiences and perspectives with others in the field.

The Agenda 24, no. 24 (March 30, 2003)

Where Is He Now?

Congratulations to Neera Sondhi of Alexander Library collection services, whose son Puneet was part of the winning team of students that participated in the Second Fed Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on March 3rd.

Puneet Sondhi was one of two first year students on the seven person team, representing the Rutgers University department of economics against six other schools from the New York/New Jersey area. Other schools represented in the competition included Barnard/Columbia, Stern School of Business at NYU, and Pace University. The focus of the competition was to test each team’s “ability to assess current economic conditions and offer an opinion on the appropriate interest rate policy for the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee to pursue.” Judges from the Federal Reserve Bank assessed the teams’ presentations.

The Agenda 24, no. 24 (March 30, 2003)

Matt Badessa