Fondren’s world-class collection of materials supports internal and external researchers and raises awareness of the library’s collections, facilities, and programs.
Fondren’s Committee on the Library
The University Committee on the Library serves to (a) Advise the University Librarian, the President, and the Provost on matters related to general policy regarding the university library. In addition, the Committee acts as a sounding board for proposed major changes and new services, and serves as a communication link between the library and the university community.
(b) Review and make recommendations with regard to policies and objectives of the university for the proper use of library resources by faculty, students, and staff; the enhancement of the faculty and student academic environment through effective use and support of the library; appropriate library support for research; and the enhancement of library resources and staff.
(c) Prepare a brief, written report on the activities of the committee at the end of each academic year and to submit copies of this report to the president of the university, the provost, and the Faculty Senate.
The FY23 Committee worked on strategic planning and goals of the library, and raising awareness of library activities to the Rice Community.
Lisa Spiro leads discussion on research platforms and tools in Fondren’s Kyle Morrow Room.
Fondren Library’s Civic Engagement Efforts
In a remarkable achievement for Rice University, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) recognized our institution on November 16, 2022, as one of the 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting. This distinction is awarded to colleges and universities across the country that demonstrate a committed and deliberate effort to increase student participation in the voting process. Fondren Library, a staunch advocate for civic engagement and a pivotal partner of the campus-wide RiceVotes Collective (formerly known as anna RicEngaged Coalition), played a crucial role in earning this esteemed recognition.
Representing Fondren Library, Anna Xiong, government information coordinator, along with Amanda Thomas, user experience/public service librarian, and Hannah Edlund, government information/patent librarian, were integral members of the Executive Committee of Rice Votes Collective. They worked closely with the Center for Civic Leadership and other coalition leaders at Rice from for example Civic Duty Rice, Campus Vote Project, Rice Student Association, Graduate Student Association, and so forth, contributing to the strategic planning and action plan of campus-wide civic engagement activities and actively participating in their execution.
August 2022 marked an important milestone when Anna Xiong established vdvr@rice.edu. This dedicated email platform played a pivotal role in the recruitment and coordination of Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars (VDVRs) not only on campus but also within the broader community. The number of VDVRs who joined the listserv grew rapidly, now totaling approximately 40 VDVRs, including Rice faculty, staff, students, Friends of Fondren board members, Harris County election office staff, VDVRs from the League of Women Voters, and community members. Thanks to their dedication and collaborative efforts, voter registration at Rice saw a significant surge.
Collectively, during the fall semester of 2022, a remarkable 522 students were successfully registered through a series of 16 voter registration events held at six different locations on campus. These events spanned 12 days and involved nearly 49.5 hours of engagement. In addition to these events, daily voter registration sessions during OWeek were held at Rice's 11 residential colleges, further promoting civic participation. This significant accomplishment was made possible thanks to the dedication of our large pool of VDVRs.
Numerous library departments and committees, including the Kelley Center, UX Office, C-MACS, Access Services, DMC, and the Woodson Research Center, played integral roles throughout the voter registration, promotion, and education processes. Their contributions were multifaceted, enhancing various aspects of the initiative.
In addition to voter registration, the Kelley Center led efforts to educate and empower voters through an online library research guide on Voting and Election, a convenient on-site 24/7 self-service table, engaging exhibits, special events, information handouts, popular homemade promotional buttons, and more. Moreover, the Kelley Center established a new partnership with the Harris County Election Office to offer official VDVR training sessions on campus in January and February. This initiative aimed to make the VDVR certification process more accessible to Rice faculty, staff, and students who wished to become engaged and certified as VDVRs.
Rice University's dedication to civic engagement is unwavering, and this honor is a testament to our commitment to nurturing an informed and active electorate. We are immensely proud of the accomplishments of our Fondren Library team, their partners, and the entire Rice community in making this achievement possible. Together, we continue to foster civic engagement and democratic participation on our campus and beyond.
Submitted by Anna Xiong
Practicum Students
Fall 2022
- Amanda Rawls, MLS student at Texas Woman's University, worked with Debra Kolah, completing her internship which began in Summer 2022. Fondren Library has a firm commitment to Student Success Initiatives at Rice, which extends to a research guide, funds available for collection development in the area of student success, as well as, meetings with representatives from the office to stimulate ideas and new ways that Fondren Library can be a support system for our first-gen, low-income students. Amanda Rawls' practicum experience built on this existing relationship, and looked at ways to build the collection, especially around areas of nutrition, food insecurity, and identification of government agencies and publications that support nutrition security.
Debra Kolah works with practicum student Amanda Rawls on a presentation to Rice’s SSI Office
- Matt Furman, MLS student at UNT, worked with Norie Guthrie primarily on arrangement and description of archives related to folk music.
- Ryan Gottlieb, MLS student at NYU Syracuse, worked with Mario Norton on low cost options for data visualization, creating an animated graph using html canvas.
- Christoforos Gentzis, MLS student at UNT, worked with Nicolas Castellanos, at the Business Information Center. He learned about reference and participated in a monographs project based on the BIC's recent move.
Spring 2023
- Alondra Morillon, Public History student at Texas State University, worked with Traci Patterson in the Woodson Research Center. She learned about archival research and collection management, which will assist her future work in public history.
Non-library school intern, Fall 2022
- Crescencio Gonzales, high school student at Houston Academy for International Studies (HAIS), is interested in a career in literature and preservation. He worked on his senior capstone experience with Literature Librarian, Joe Goetz, with support from Rebecca Russell, for rare books. Crescencio focused on outreach methods and research guide creation.
Submitted by Amanda Focke and Debra Kolah
Focus on Woodson Events
Fondren Library and the Rice Memorial Center contain nine spaces for exhibits, used by Rice faculty, staff, students, and community members. In fiscal year 2023 there were 42 exhibits highlighting Woodson Research Center collections, Rice community activities and history, and scholarly activities of Rice students, faculty, and alumni. Highlights include:
- Exhibits celebrating the inauguration of Rice University’s eighth president, Dr. Reginald DesRoches, and honoring past Rice presidents’ inaugurations.
- Exhibits highlighting the expanding Hip Hop collections which have been donated by the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning, who partner with the University of Houston Libraries to preserve the history of Houston hip hop.
- The Black Houston(s) Symposium exhibit, in conjunction with the inaugural event providing a platform for community members and scholars to gather to draw attention to Black Houston(s) rich past.
- An exhibit honoring Black women storytellers in the Woodson’s collections, including the Carroll Parrott Blue art and storytelling collection, and the Community Artist’s Collective records.
- Exhibits of the Society of Latino Alumni of Rice (SOLAR) highlighting the scholarship and works of Latinx alumni.
- Exhibits of the poet William Blake’s Star Wheel Printing Press replica and facsimiles of Blake’s books printed on the press, which have been used in open studio events for the Rice community and in scholarly classes.
- An exhibit of comic art from the Comic Art Teaching and Study Workshop, or CATS, based in the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts at Rice University, curated by Christopher Sperandio, CATS founding director.
- An exhibit on activities of Rice researchers in the Antarctic.
Fondren Hosts Numerous Student Events
- WOW Table event: Aug. 31, 2022
- Halloween at Fondren: Oct. 31, 2022
The Kyle Morrow Room was open and hosted some crafts, a costume contest, and then students were invited to visit different departments in the library to trick or treat, an activity, and learn about the area.
First place costume contest winner, Brandon
Second place costume winner, Noemi
Third place costume winner, Jack
- Fondren Study Break: Dec. 7, 2023
- Valentine Crafting & Candy Grams: Feb. 13
Students crafted Valentines to send to their friends and loved ones on campus. On Valentine’s Day they picked up their Valentine and a Candy Gram from the Circulation Desk.
Fondren’s Green Team Pilots Improved Recycling
The Green Team launched a Recycling pilot program on the 1st floor of the library. The pilot was guided by green team members Julia Kress and Fondren’s Eco-Representative Rice student, Hong-Ye Wang. Testing this program on the first floor helped ensure that recycled items and trash end up in the correct bin. All first floor bin locations were consolidated so that a recycling and trash bin were located next to each other with new signage that should help patrons properly dispose of items. Improvements were noted and the pilot was a success, so this method and signage will be put into place on all floors of Fondren.
Challenges of Communicating Climate Risk
“The Challenges of Communicating Climate Risk” was a virtual event held on Sept. 29, 2022 and involved Fondren’s Green Team collaborating with Rice professor Lacy Johnson, Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library and Communities Responding to Extreme Weather. More than 220 people watched this virtual event live.