A plan for returning the Apollo 009 space capsule to public display was announced by officials at UNL and Duncan Aviation.
"We're pleased to enter a partnership with Duncan Aviation," said Interim Chancellor Joan Leitzel. "The generosity of an anonymous donor has made restoration of the exterior of the Apollo 009 capsule possible and Duncan will provide the expertise for this project. We met with criticism for putting the capsule into storage, but it was just sustaining too much damage by sitting out in the elements year after year. We want to preserve this piece of history and are working to make that happen."
Donated to UNL by NASA in 1973, the capsule rested outside Morrill Hall before being moved to a warehouse on UNL's East Campus in 1991. In order to begin the restoration and the analysis of possible display options, the capsule will be moved from Agricultural Warehouse No. 1 on East Campus to Duncan Aviation at 9 a.m. Oct. 11.
"The Apollo 009 space capsule is an important piece of history," said Lori Johnson, Duncan Aviation's marketing communications coordinator. "We're excited to have the opportunity to help UNL restore the capsule and return it to public display in Nebraska."
Several options for public display sites are still being explored, according to Herb Howe, associate to the chancellor. "Until the analysis by Duncan Aviation is complete, we won't know the structural integrity of the capsule. That will have a bearing on whether it can be suspended from a ceiling somewhere, or whether we'll need a large floor space to house it."
Howe said he hopes to have confirmation of a new permanent display
site in the next three to four months.
UNL has been engaged in a continuous process of planning that is organized in two-year cycles, and following last year's completion of budget planning for the 1995-97 biennium, the university is now ready to concentrate on program planning for 1997 and beyond.
According to Interim Chancellor Joan Leitzel, consultation with the vice chancellors and academic deans has helped her establish an approach to this year's planning activities. In an Oct. 4 memo to vice chancellors, deans and directors, Leitzel pledged to:
According to Leitzel, as a result of these planning efforts, the academic and support/service units of UNL should be able to articulate plans for the future that are compatible with the institutional goals set forth in UNL's revised vision statement and strategic agenda, and respond to program specific issues that are of the highest priority.
Leitzel added that she believes "that we must plan for a future that is not going to be a continuation of today's context. This will require vision, creativity, a commitment to listen and serve, and a willingness to explore alternatives."
The time-line for UNL's Long Range and 1997-99 Biennial Planning Cycle is as follows:
By Kim Hachiya, News & Information
Two new services that allow users to get the full text of articles online debuted in UNL Libraries last week.
Dean Waddel, chair of library branch services, said the two indexes search general academic periodical titles and business periodicals. The two databases are maintained by Information Access Co. and UNL has contracted with this company for the online service.
The Expanded Academic Index provides abstracts for articles in more than 1,500 titles of general academic nature, Waddel said. Full-text capability is available for about 600 of those titles. The Business and Company Profiles index scans more than 600 business periodicals, 350 of which have full-text capability. It also contains profiles of more than 170,000 companies and specializes in privately held companies. The company indices are updated at least every two years and sometimes more often, Waddel said.
Information Access studied which periodicals are most heavily used and also used information from libraries nationwide to set up the titles it offers, Waddel said. It contracts with the publications to secure copyright clearances and the contract with UNL and other libraries allows users to make computer printouts of the articles free of charge.
Waddel said some of the periodicals, such as Time, Newsweek and Forbes, would be available in a general public library. But others, such as the Journal of Sociology, are academic in nature and less available. The list of engineering journals is particularly significant, he said.
The full-text listings index articles from 1992 to the present but the indices go back further than 1992. The articles are listed in reverse chronological order - most recent article is listed first. The software is powerful and helpful. For instance, if a user makes a typo in searching a keyword, such as typing "chruch" instead of "church," it will search for a similar word, and find "church." It will also search by topic, author and title.
The software currently displays text only but indicates where graphics or photos are omitted. Users can get copies of the graphics, for a fee, by using a special service and work station, Waddel said.
Currently the online full-text service is free to users but Waddel said the Libraries are concerned about the costs of computer printer paper.
Waddel predicts the service will be heavily used by undergraduates because of the nature of the types of titles available and the less complex nature of undergraduate research needs. The indexes are much more convenient, he said, because users will be able to see if the material they have found is useful before they trot all over the library to see if a copy is on the shelf.
Anyone with an authorized UNL computer account can use the material, whether they are logged on at a library workstation, an office computer or a computer in a residence hall or home, he said.
"This will be exceptionally helpful for distance-learning students," he said. UNO and UNK also are using these databases.
To access the new databases, a user logs into the Libraries' IRIS system. At the main menu, choose E> E-Journals & Full Text Materials.
Waddel said the indexes are easy to use and most users will not need special training to use them. The Library Instruction course will offer instruction and a series of handouts have been prepared. In addition, Library staff will try to answer questions, he said.
Waddel said he anticipates the new system will be heavily used.
"Full-text capability isn't the wave of the future," he said. "The future is now. I have several proposals from other vendors offering full-text databases on my desk right now."
The Library also has services such as Uncover, which lists 17,000 periodicals that can be delivered by fax within a day or so, and a specialized database network that will send articles by e-mail, Waddel said.
As the libraries become squeezed for cash and space, online access could replace some printed subscriptions, Waddel said.
"But print is not dead," he said. "It's still around but how we do
business is changing."
Back to menu
For questions regarding these Scarlet pages, contact:
dtaurins@unlinfo.unl.edu
(402) 472-8518, Fax: (402) 472-7825