We completed the search for the inaugural Augusta Baker Chair
in Childhood Literacy. Dr. Michelle Martin will forsake Clemson
(Now, now. No gloating.) for USC, joining our School of Library
and Information Science faculty for the fall semester. We think
Dean Tom McNally and his search committee have found us a stellar
chair. The bonus is that Dr. Martin, having grown up in Columbia,
can recount her own experiences with the much admired Augusta
Baker. So, the protracted search is over. Here’s our
announcement:
Three alumni of the J-school are taking part in the Columbia
Chamber of Commerce Leadership class of 2012. 
National
Award for Journalism Alumnus
New
Position for J-school Graduate 
Broadcast alumna Lindsay Carter-Tidwell, ’00, has been
appointed Director of Gift Planning for the USC Development
Office.
Linda Waskow, MLIS ’10, had an article published in
the June issue of Teacher Librarian, a school media specialist
trade journal.
Public
Relations Professor Receives International Honor
Spending a summer immersed in gardening and horticulture is
not typical for most library and information studies students.
However, I was able to do just that as an intern for the Archives
of the American Gardens (AAG) at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, DC. This was among several
internships available to choose from at the Smithsonian. I
chose to apply for AAG because, though I didn’t have
any prior experience with horticulture, I knew I wanted to
learn more about archival work. 
Not only was the work experience extremely helpful, but the
Smithsonian provides a great deal of professional development
for its interns, including grant writing lessons, career fairs,
resume workshops and field trips. One of my standout experiences
was being able to tour the Smithsonian’s museum support
center (MSC), which is not open to the public. The MSC is the
size of five football fields and stores oversized items, plant
and animal specimens, along with items from a variety of departments.
It was amazing to realize how many items the Smithsonian truly
has and how it is connected to research and conservation.
Four years is a long time to wait. But for Dr. Elise Lewis, the School of Library and Information Studies, and the McKissick Museum, it was worth it now that the Arius 3D scanner has finally arrived. The Arius 3D scanner was delivered to the school in June. The wait began in 2007 when the school was approached by Arius 3D, a Canadian company, to establish an imaging center. Arius was looking for several universities that would have access to historical or valuable collections. Ours would be the first of its kind in the U.S. With the ability to work with McKissick, South Caroliniana Library and other archives and museums throughout the state, SLIS’s response was an enthusiastic “yes.” Surprisingly small at two feet square plus the actual camera, the scanner uses laser technology along with proprietary software to create 3-dimensional images of objects. All components, including a week of on site training for Dr. Lewis and her team, are a part of the $1 million donation to our program. |
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One of the challenges for Dr. Lewis was finding space for the scanner, plus technician, and keeping the space adequately cooled. While scanning, the laser puts off a tremendous amount of heat which can interfere with the scanning procedure. The unique value of the scanner is its ability to create digital records of artifacts that can be used for archiving and research by the collection owners. “Any images become the property of the collection owner. We’re more of a digitization shop,” is how Dr. Lewis describes the imaging center located in the North gallery of McKissick. |
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Dr. Lewis, in conjunction with staff from McKissick and the College of Arts and Sciences, will lead the ongoing project of scanning items from museum collections. Chess Schmidt, MLIS ’10, is the lab technician for the Arius scanner. Scanning an object is a painstaking process involving multiple steps. “It’s like putting pieces of a puzzle together,” Schmidt says.
The imaging center’s first project is scanning the museum’s Catawba pottery collection, which involves 300 pieces that will likely take months to finish. Dr. Lewis is in the preliminary stages of identifying the next collection to be scanned. In addition to the ongoing scanning, the Arius will also be part of a new exhibit at McKissick, starting Aug. 12, titled “Imaging the Invisible.” As Jill Koverman, Chief Curator of Collections and Research, describes, “It will take us from microscopes to nanotechnology.” Exhibit visitors will be able to watch Schmidt scan items that will become three-dimensional items for the exhibit. |
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Using proprietary software from Arius,
separate images from a single object are pieced together
using markers that guide where each part should fit.
After that, software is used to edit the image, which
can include color correcting and filling in spaces to
better represent the object. Update your contact Info
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PHOTO GALLERIES
LOST
A Time Capsule. Last seen in the Carolina Coliseum a few decades ago. If you have any information leading to the recovery of our time capsule, please contact Elaine Taylor (taylorem@mailbox.sc.edu)