Category: Collections

The 2014 Sundance doc on Viktor Bout’s life and crimes

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If you are interested, this film is available via OBIS at obis.oberlin.edu/record=b8438866~S4

From Film Movement –

Viktor Bout—convicted Russian arms-dealer—has returned to news headlines recently as a key figure in a potential prisoner swap between the US and Russia that could bring imprisoned WNBA star Brittany Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan home.

Though this is a developing story, the 2014 documentary The Notorious Mr. Bout can provide some context for Bout’s life and crimes during this complex geopolitical moment.

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The Notorious Mr. Bout
Dir. Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin
2014 / Documentary / 90 min. / Russia, USA / Russian and English (w/ English subtitles)
Topics: Politics, Russian/Slavic Studies, Economics, Ethics, Human Rights, Media Studies
Viktor Bout—popularly referred to as “Lord of War,” and “the Merchant of Death” for his role as an international arms dealer— was in 2012 convicted of conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to a terrorist organization. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s documentary, The Notorious Mr. Bout offers an alternative to this “super- villain” narrative most often used in reference to Bout’s case.

Tracking his “spectacular rise and fall ” (The Hollywood Reporter) Gerber and Pozdorovkin’s documentary examines how Bout built his empire under the shadows of the fall of Communism and how a series of governments willingly looked the other way. Contrasting his personal home movies with the DEA surveillance footage from the sting operation that led to his arrest, this carefully crafted documentary depicts Bout as a businessman rather than an ideologically-motivated terrorist and challenges what was once a clear-cut depiction of character, crime, country and the Constitution. 

The film is recommended for College and University studies in Criminology, Economics, International Policy, Journalism, Media Studies, Political Science, and Russian Studies, and can provide context for the current geopolitical moment.

Archives collection items in AMAM exhibit

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The Allen Art Museum borrowed two photo albums and a journal kept by a student in an ecology class in 1915 for the current exhibit “Objects of Encounter: American Myths of Place.” The exhibit will be up until December 23.

Enid Bancroft Sutton was in the first ecology trip out west for credit with Professor Lynds Jones. He was one of the first professors in the U.S. to offer ecology and ornithology classes. Jones hired Native Americans from the Quileute tribe to bring the group to rocky islets in Northwest Washington to study bird nesting sites. The albums contain many photos of tribal members.

The students were trained to make detailed observations of flora, fauna,  geographical features and climatic conditions to describe ecological zones they encountered on the long trip, in photographs and journals. For more description of the collection materials see the finding guide to the Enid Sutton Swan collection from our home page.

Missing-status item removal planning – call for stakeholders

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After reviewing the project plan to purge items with status missing (last seen no later than 2019) with Paul, Tracy, LLT, et al, I am calling for any additional stakeholders to identify themselves. The project document, “Missing Item Cleanup Plan” contains comments with names for several meetings/consults that need to be held before proceeding with any deletions. If you think this will affect your work, users, or collection but don’t see yourself listed or sufficiently represented by a supervisor/colleague, OR if you notice I missed anyone, please add a comment to the document before the end of Monday June 13. (Conversely, please comment if you see your name but don’t think you need to be there.)

This is the same document–updated–that is linked from the Library Leadership Notes: 5/4/22,  so if you are an avid Lowdown reader, this should not be a surprise.

Thank you! -Rebecca

Marshal Breeding’s Annual Library Systems Report

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Published by American Libraries: Marshal Breeding’s annual Library Systems Report
https://lnkd.in/e-5nchPQ

Events of the last year have reshaped the library technology industry. Previous rounds of acquisitions pale in comparison to the acquisition of ProQuest by Clarivate, which has propelled the leading library technology provider into the broader commercial sector of scholarly communications. This deal signals that the gap in size among vendors is widening, as ProQuest businesses Ex Libris and Innovative Interfaces also join Clarivate.

The emergence of such a large business at the top of the industry has accelerated consolidation among mid-level players that aim to increase scale and efficiency to remain competitive. This was a banner year for consolidation of midsize competitors, with more acquisitions than any prior year.

These deals raise concerns about weakened competition, but they may also enable new industry dynamics that will spark innovation and synergy within the broader research and education landscape. Small companies with visions for innovation often lack the resources to deliver, which larger companies can provide. Increased investor and stockholder involvement, however, translates into pressure to maximize profits and growth. The way these competing dynamics play out has important implications for libraries.

OCL Strategic Directions

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Here it is….the work of many minds and many hands. Thanks to Elizabeth Sullivan, the architect of assessment, to all of you as participants in the surveys and focus groups, to the Drafting Committee, and the alphabet soup of reviewers (LLT, LLC, SLAB, FOCL, and GF Lib Comm, and Lib Staff).

It’s a good document that speaks to our values. It is future- and user-oriented. And it is ready for each department to begin to use in planning as you think about goals and projects.  It is also ready for me to ‘take on the road’ as you an advocate for the great libraries that make up the Oberlin College Libraries.

Congratulations!

Marlene Merrill Papers re: Black and Women’s rights

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As Ken mentioned, the Marlene Merrill Papers are available for research. The collection is a rich source for historical materials on Oberlin’s Black and women leaders. She also did work in England on Oberlin’s early fundraising efforts there to get the college on solid footing in its very early years, particularly with antislavery organizations and patrons. And as Ken mentioned, Merrill did work on two geological surveys of Yellowstone, one led in 1871 by an Oberlin graduate, F. V. Hayden, with an Oberlin faculty member as botanist. Here is the link to the finding guide! Come utilize this collection and steer students and faculty this way.