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Merrill Library Newsletter | | |
America 250: History professor to deliver webinar on the USA’s Semiquincentennial
On Thursday, July 2 at 1 p.m., Liam Riordan, Department Chair and Adelaide and Alan Bird Professor of History at the University of Maine, will explore the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in historical and contemporary context during a presentation on Zoom.
Presented in partnership with the Maine Semiquincentennial Commission, the Maine Humanities Council and the Maine Historical Society, this illustrated lecture will cover how the Declaration of Independence was created, what it meant in 1776, and, just as importantly, what should it mean today.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
Liam Riordan, a partner and strong supporter of Fogler Library’s Special Collections Department, is the co-editor of “What We Know, What We Wish: Maine Statehood, Historical Commemoration, and the Urgency of Public History (UMass Press, 2025).”
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NEWS
Stay updated on events, resources, and projects at Merrill Library and across UMaine Libraries. Discover what’s new and exciting in our library community!
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UMaine Libraries launches new platforms for Open Scholarship and Special Collections
UMaine Libraries is preparing to transition from the Digital Commons institutional repository to a new suite of purpose-built platforms designed to improve discovery, usability, and long-term support for the University’s scholarly and cultural output.These new platforms will better support a wide range of content, streamline editorial and curatorial workflows, and offer a more intuitive and engaging experience for readers, researchers, and creators across the University of Maine System
Special Collections Integration
Large digital collections from Special Collections will be migrated into the Libraries’ integrated library system through Specto. Once complete, these materials will appear alongside the Libraries’ other collections in a unified, modern interface. This integration will make it easier to discover and explore distinctive UMaine materials, support a broader range of formats and data types, and enable the creation of new online exhibits that showcase the depth and richness of the Libraries’ unique holdings.
Maine Open Journals
Journals currently hosted in Digital Commons will move to a new publishing platform, Maine Open Journals. This transition will modernize both the public-facing design and the editorial workflows behind the scenes, providing editors with improved tools and greater flexibility while offering readers a more accessible and engaging experience.
Maine Open Books
A third platform, Maine Open Books, will support the publication of open access books and long-form digital works. It will host Open Educational Resources (OER), scholarly monographs, and evolving “living documents,” creating a sustainable and flexible home for long-form digital scholarship.
Together, these new platforms represent a significant investment in open access, digital preservation, and user-centered design. They will ensure that UMaine’s scholarship and collections remain accessible, discoverable, and adaptable well into the future. The new services will begin coming online in Summer 2026.
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Open Access article processing charge waivers for UM/UMM and UMS
UMaine Libraries has a small number of publisher licensing agreements that enable UMaine and University of Maine at Machias faculty, staff, and students to publish their research as open access (OA) journal articles, without the need to pay an article processing charge (APC). The publishers listed here do not charge the library any additional fees for OA publishing on top of the library’s existing subscription cost. As indicated on this page, some are available only to UMaine and UMM authors, while some are available to the entire University of Maine System. Two additional publishers have been added for 2024–2026: Company of Biologists, and Royal Society of Chemistry.
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New Web Accessibility Guide for faculty and staff
UMaine Libraries has launched Library Accessibility, a new online guide to support faculty and staff in creating accessible digital content.
Beginning on April 24, 2026, new federal regulations will require public universities to ensure that digital materials meet recognized accessibility standards. These requirements apply broadly to websites, Brightspace content, course materials, documents, videos, and other online resources used in teaching and communication.
This guide was developed to help the UMaine community understand what these changes mean in practice. It introduces the WCAG 2.1 standards, outlines concrete steps for improving accessibility in course materials, and points to tools, training opportunities, and campus support.
Designed as a living resource, the guide will continue to be updated as new tools, guidance, and best practices emerge.
Digital accessibility is not only a matter of compliance. It is a core component of inclusive teaching. Accessible materials support students with disabilities, as well as multilingual learners, students accessing content on mobile devices, and anyone who benefits from flexible ways of engaging with course materials.
This guide is intended for faculty, instructors, teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and staff who create or share digital content with students.
For questions or support, please contact UMaine Libraries Accessibility Coordinator Lindsay Decker.
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Thoughts on the AUP Annual Meeting and UBPF Summit in Seattle
In mid-June University of Maine Press Director Betsy Rose had the privilege of traveling to Seattle to attend the Association of University Presses (AUP) Annual Meeting and the University-Based Publishing Futures (UBPF) Summit.
The first event was held at the Seattle Westin and included workshops on topics such as the many publishing issues affected by AI; finding ways for university presses to thrive during stressful times for their parent institutions; and partnering with our local communities of booksellers and interested organizations to expand readership. Speakers included University of Washington (UW) emeritus professor Shawn Wong discussing the role played by the UW Press in bringing to light the important work of Asian American novelist John Okada, and UW professor Kate Starbird, whose presentation on the sources and effects of online disinformation was both fascinating and terrifying.
The UBPF Summit, a one-day event held at the UW campus, brought together representatives of university presses and university libraries for a thoughtful discussion about common challenges and goals. A relatively new organization, UBPF hopes to provide concrete guidance for presses and libraries navigating through fluctuating budgets and outside pressures. Following the summit, we had a tour of the beautiful Suzzallo and Allen Libraries as well as the UW Press offices.
The opportunity to meet and talk with so many university press directors, librarians, and other specialists from all over the world at these events was very helpful to Rose. The annual meeting especially was a great reminder that no matter how small our staff, we who work at university presses are not alone, and we serve an important role by keeping truthful information in print.
Note: In observance of the Semiquincentennial, the AUP asked its members to forward titles they’ve published that relate to the Revolutionary War and other aspects of US History, and has curated this selection for bookshop.org.
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New from Special Collections and Projects: Northeast Archives offers new online collection
Special Collections and Projects is pleased to announce the availability of a new oral history collection from the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History. The Discovery Research program (MF161) was funded by the Maine Arts Commission from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s. The program was created to document artists and cultural institutions across Maine and laid the foundation for the creation of several cultural tourism trails promoting the state's ethnic, occupational, and arts history. The collection includes descriptions of contemporary and traditional artists, and local cultural organizations, including the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. The collection contains 181 series and more than 1,900 images, including over 400 images from the Save Outdoor Sculpture! project documenting public art by more than 50 artists from Richard W. Bock to William Zorach. The Discovery Research collection provides primary documentation of the impetus of Heritage Tourism in Maine in the late 20th century.
| Color photograph of members of the University of Maine Alumni Band performing in the parade opening the 13th Annual La Kermesse Franco-Américaine, held June 23-25, 1995, in Biddeford, Maine. Spectators stand along the curb, watching the procession pass on a tree-lined street. Photograph taken June 23, 1995, by Julien Olivier. (See NA4640.) | |
FEATURED RESOURCE
Find unique databases and online resources available through the UMaine Catalog to enhance your research, teaching, and learning. Explore something new each week!
| | American State Papers, 1789-1838 | | | |
The American State Papers constitute rich primary source material on many aspects of early American history from 1789 to 1838. A retrospective republication of approximately 6280 numbered publications, largely Congressional but also containing Executive Department materials, the American State Paper volumes, issued from 1832-1861, were published in ten classes in a total of 38 folio volumes.
The classes into which the publications were assembled and printed and the number of volumes they occupy are: I: Foreign Relations in six volumes; II: Indian Affairs in two volumes; III: Finance in five volumes; IV: Commerce and Navigation in two volumes; V: Military Affairs in seven volumes; VI: Naval Affairs in four volumes; VII: Post-office Department in one volume; VIII: Public Lands in eight volumes; IX: Claims in one volume; and X: Miscellaneous in two volumes. Unlike the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, the publications in the American State Papers are not divided into reports and documents and do not include House and Senate journals. Approximately two-thirds of the publications cover the first 14 Congresses (1789-1817), whereas the remaining third chronologically overlap with the Serial Set from 1817-1838.
| | | In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 5703 Alumni Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System) |
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