Founders' Day celebration to focus on place of humanities

Alpha of Oklahoma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa will hold its annual celebration of Founders' Day 4 p.m. Monday.

The event will feature a roundtable discussion titled "The Place of the Humanities in the 21st Century." Members of the roundtable will include Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Paul Bell, Associate Vice President for Research and Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages Dr. Pamela Genova, Chair of the Department of History Dr. Robert Griswold and Vice Provost and Director of the K20 Center Dr. Mary O'Hair.

The Founders' Day roundtable will be in the Heritage Room of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. The event is open to the public, and all who come are encouraged to participate in the discussion. Light refreshments will precede and follow the roundtable.

Founders' Day celebrates the establishment of Phi Beta Kappa by five students at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., Dec. 5, 1776. The founders of Phi Beta Kappa were determined to create a student society that would be a serious-minded academic organization, one devoted to the pursuit of liberal education and intellectual fellowship.

Libraries conference to explore digital age

"Redefining Relevance: Exceeding User Expectations in a Digital Age" will be the theme of the 2009 national librarians' conference sponsored by the University of Oklahoma Libraries.

The conference, featuring presentations by nationally recognized librarians, is scheduled for March 5 and 6 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Oklahoma City.

OU Libraries has sponsored a national conference on current issues facing libraries since 1982, said Sul H. Lee, dean and Peggy V. Helmerich Chair.

"Past conferences have been very successful in bringing together librarians from across the United States and Canada to discuss such issues as reference service, fund raising, electronic formats and vendor evaluation," Lee said.

Registration deadline for the conference is Feb. 13. Full details about the conference can be found at http://libraries.ou.edu/conference. For more information and/or accommodations on the basis of disability, contact Rhonda Cannon at rhondacannon@ou.edu or 325-2611.

The Embassy Suites Hotel is reserving a number of rooms at a special conference rate if reserved by Feb. 18. For more information and to make reservations, call the hotel at 682-6000 or go to www.oklahomacity.embassysuites.com.

-- Transcript Staff