2018 Charleston Library Conference

Charles V|R is a virtual reality reconstruction of the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in Bologna, Italy, in February of 1530. The details of his coronation reflect the social and political turmoil of the times. Charles V|R is a recreation of the sights and sounds of this religious and political ceremony using contemporaneous accounts, artwork, and music as source material. Complete with direct access to the scholarly and archival sources that informed our choices, Charles V|R offers enthusiasts of art, architecture, history, music, religion, and virtual reality as well as students and scholars of those disciplines a multi-modal window into an event of world-historical importance.

Experience the event from multiple perspectives — that of member of the imperial/papal court, a basilica official, or a Bolognese citizen. Hear music performed during the ceremony. Call up scholarly annotations to explore the layers of meaning embedded in the art, architecture, and various ceremonial objects present.
The event itself was very significant. This was the last time an emperor was crowned by a sitting pope in the manner of Charlemagne’s coronation by Leo III in the year 800 — a ritual that had been emulated for 730 years. Amid increasing power of the Ottoman Empire to the east, the subjugation of the New World to the west, and the rise of Protestantism within Europe itself, the political situation was delicate: Charles could not be crowned in Rome, because Protestant German mercenaries he employed had sacked the Eternal City three years earlier. This context informed the planning and execution of the ceremony, which had to conform to tradition but also reflect the political realities of the day. The result is a product that conveys for the user much more than reading a prose narrative could: a visual, aural, and spatial experience of the event itself.

How do you manage your electronic resources? It's a question libraries have been struggling with for more than a decade, and if you ask a dozen e-resources librarians this question, you'll likely get a dozen different answers. The presenters recently participated in a statewide ERM Working Group, tasked with developing an electronic resource management system as part of the Florida Academic Library Services Cooperative's implementation of the Sierra ILS and Encore Duet discovery platform for the 40 Florida state colleges and universities. While the implementation project ultimately dissolved, the two years put into development were well served. As a group, we were able to design a tool around a diverse set of needs and priorities that could serve local and consortial acquisitions models. We were also able to identify a specific list of needs that lacked currently available solutions. This presentation provides an overview of the Working Group process, from brainstorming through (almost!) implementation, and presents how three university libraries are using the lessons learned from this experience to implement local solutions.

When taking over subject areas from one librarian to another, the new specialist, if they are lucky, may receive a folder and/or a thumb drive of some files. If they are very lucky, the interim or outgoing specialist may be available for consultation or leave some type of written narrative to help the new person in learning their duties. The information may be well organized (or not), but thumb drives of individual files and/or paper folders can be cumbersome and lacking in clarity. Organizing things through Microsoft OneNote may be the answer. OneNote lets you organize and share your notes and images as well as embed various Microsoft file formats like Word and Excel. With OneNote, transitions between liaisons can become more transparent because it lets a user demonstrate the thought processes behind decisions well as the final decision itself.