News

The Libraries’ latest progress report highlights significant achievements in the four major strategic goal areas of the “Living Our Values, Leading the Field” strategic plan: user-centered excellence and innovation, social justice, partnerships, and organizational capacity.

The influence of marching bands, specifically those from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), on American pop culture is undeniable. Even more undeniable is the influence Dr. William Patrick Foster had on shaping the style of HBCU bands and elevating them to the national and international stage. Having been discouraged from a career in conducting because of a lack of jobs for Black conductors, Dr. Foster resolved to “develop a band that would be better than any white band in the country.”

McKeldin Library is throwing it back this Halloween to the nostalgic days of the classic video rental store Blockbuster. The first-floor service desk is masquerading as “MckBuster” and renting out (er, lending) movies from the Libraries’ physical and streaming collections you can watch at home with friends and family. The helpful MckBuster staff has even curated a Movie Guide to help you find something to suit your movie-viewing sensibilities.

On August 25, 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a memorandum regarding the open sharing of government-funded research. The memo, Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research, issues guidance to all federal agencies to develop plans ensuring that publicly funded research outputs will be openly available.

On Saturday, October 8, nearly 150 Terp family investigators gathered at McKeldin Library to help Shellock Holmes defeat his arch nemesis Profesor Pestudo. There were some strange occurrences happening in McKeldin - librarians were missing and fake resources were popping up everywhere. Thankfully, Professor Pestudo was no match for our clever families. 

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.

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.