News from the KU Libraries

Ted Kooser to read at KU April 12
Former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser will read from his works at a University of Kansas Libraries event on Monday, April 12. The reading, celebrating National Poetry Month, will be held at the Oread Inn at 7 p.m.; a special meet-and-greet reception for Vosper Society members will precede the reading at 5:30 p.m.

Kooser served as the U. S. Poet Laureate from 2004-2006, and his book “Delights & Shadows” won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. His writing is known for its clarity, precision and accessibility, and is often inspired by the people and landscape of the American Midwest. His memoir “Lights on a Ground of Darkness” was named one of the top 20 indie publications of fall 2009 by Publishers Weekly. Kooser makes his home in Nebraska, where he is a Presidential Professor of English at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

To learn more and RSVP for the reading or reception, visit: www.lib.ku.edu/kooser

To learn about other events at KU Libraries this spring, visit: www.lib.ku.edu/events

Watson Library offers new destinations for scholars
Now researchers on campus have new reasons to go to a familiar destination: Watson Library, the new home of the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis (CRMDA) and the Center for Digital Scholarship (CDS).

KU Libraries and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences brought the two centers together as a strategic collaboration that supports KU scholars more efficiently and effectively.

These new centers, located on Watson’s fourth floor, provide expertise and consulting, formal and informal meeting spaces, equipment, workshops, and educational opportunities for researchers and students engaged in developing research and producing scholarship at KU.

A primary aim of the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis (CRMDA) is to support social and behavioral scientists in their research, helping them compete for grants and publish in top journals. The CRMDA also helps KU undergraduates working on honors theses or guided research projects, graduate students working on masters theses, dissertations, or guided research projects, students and staff participating in research labs, as well as faculty who need support for their program of research.

“The CRMDA affiliates are internationally recognized and renowned methodologists and quantitative specialists,” says Todd Little, CRMDA director. “We will attempt to address any research methods or data analysis question, regardless of simplicity or complexity.” The CRMDA offers consultation to walk-ins from 10 to 5 Monday through Thursday and 10 to 1 on Friday; you can also e-mail your initial query to quant@ku.edu, or request an appointment.

The purpose of the Center for Digital Scholarship (CDS) is to advance research at KU by helping researchers design and publish digital research and produce unique digital content. The Center provides training in digital production by appointment, consultation in digital publishing, assistance in developing scholarly journals through Journals@KU (http://journals.ku.edu) and support for KU ScholarWorks (http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu). We work with faculty, departments, and other cultural heritage centers to produce and organize visual image collections (www.lib.ku.edu/imagegateway). The CDS also offers statistical computing consultation (SPSS and SAS), and assistance with projects utilizing geographic information systems consultation (GIS) in conjunction with the GIS and Numeric Data Lab in Anschutz Library.

“KU Libraries advance university research through organizing and making scholarship available and by enabling the creation and use of new knowledge.” says Deborah Ludwig, Assistant Dean. “The KU Center for Digital Scholarship in Watson Library extends our traditional role to the digital realm.”