News

The University of Maryland Libraries has joined a pioneering open access initiative that will make scholarly books openly available for researchers across the globe. Along with all member libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), UMD is now part of a three-year collective action agreement with the MIT Press. The agreement provides Direct to Open (D20) access to all new titles published by the MIT press on the MIT Press Direct platform. 

Library users have a new space to block out distractions and get their work done this fall. The Focus Room, located near the public computers on the 1st floor of McKeldin Library, provides relative privacy and soundproofing making it an ideal location for phone and video calls. The room features a height-adjustable desk, task light with embedded wireless charging, built-in power with outlets and USB ports, and a whiteboard.

The UMD Libraries is now accepting applications for the Open Access Publishing Fund for 2022-2023. Established as a recommendation of the 2013 Report of the Joint Provost/Senate Open Access Task Force, the fund helps UMD researchers cover article-processing charges levied by peer-reviewed open access journals. Eligibility requirements and guidelines, along with a link to the application form, are available online. Please note that for 2022-2023, the Libraries will fund 50% of the fee for a single article.

Upon learning of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the University of Maryland Libraries recall the Queen's once-in-a-lifetime 1957 visit to campus, as documented in the University Archives.

The Libraries has released important guidance about a new copyright law, called the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020” (known as the “CASE Act”), to raise awareness about the law and the possible impact it may have on students, faculty, and staff at the University of Maryland. The Libraries’ guidance provides information about the new law, explains what it means if you receive a small-claims notice, and summarizes your options for responding to the notice. 

UMD Libraries is pleased to announce Michelle Wilson as our inaugural Head of Open Scholarship Services (OSS). Michelle comes to the Libraries from Columbia University, where she served as the Digital Publishing Librarian. Prior to joining Columbia Libraries, Michelle was an Associate Editor in the Reference department at Oxford University Press.

UMD Libraries is pleased to announce Catherine Mayfield as our new Associate Director in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA). Mayfield comes to UMD from the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore where, as the France-Merrick Director of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library, she oversaw a large special collections program and major projects that enhanced access to collections.

COLLEGE PARK – University of Maryland alumnus John A. Jenkins ’72, an accomplished publisher, journalist, author and entrepreneur, has donated a collection of historic papers to UMD Libraries documenting his remarkable career.

Stated simply and factually, the US Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively shifts the authority for reproductive decisions from individual women and people who can become pregnant, to state governments.

We at the University of Maryland Libraries are pleased to announce the release of our newly designed website, now available at: http://lib.umd.edu/. The new site was developed after months of usability studies and interview sessions with faculty members and students. Along with creating a dynamic, virtual environment that was more aesthetically pleasing, the site was designed to make it easier for library users to discover and leverage the myriad of programs, services and resources that the UMD Libraries offer.