3 RAPS SHEET n SEPTEMBER 2023 PDXScholar: A repository of history and academic resources FOR THOSE RAPS MEMBERS who have retired in the last several years, Portland State Library’s repository of scholarship, PDXScholar, may sound familiar and, in fact, be actively employed by some RAPS faculty. However, this addition to the Library’s research resources is worth knowing about for all of us fans of Portland State. In addition to providing global access to faculty and staff scholarship, the PDXScholar repository holds open access textbooks, journals, conference proceedings and course materials; student projects, theses and dissertations; and other creative works including webinars and interviews. Taking a look at the home page, https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu, the range of content origin is evident: Selected works and faculty profiles; Schools and Colleges; Centers & Institutes; Special Collections & University Archives; Dissertations & Theses; PDX Open Textbooks; Conferences; and Journals. Be sure to check out the interactive Digital Commons Readership Activity Map located at the bottom of the Home Page. The map shows PDXScholar’s activity in real time: where in the world a reader is located and what has been accessed. You will see that over 13 million downloads have been transacted since PDXScholar’s inception, and over 2 million in the last year. Of special interest to RAPS members is a PDXScholar collection entitled Historical Reflections and Personal Perspectives on Portland State. According to the description on the homepage of the collection, “This collection gathers articles, essays, personal remembrances, oral histories, and commemorative events that contribute to the collective history of Portland State University. It includes collaborative projects between University Archives and the Retirement Association of Portland State (RAPS).” The collection and its contents can be found at https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/rememberpsu/ The first link to contents of the collection reveals Historical Articles and Essays including several written by Clarence Hein, who retired in 2001 having served as public communications director for the University, among other positions. He continued to assist the University Archives as a volunteer in retirement. His contributions cover Judith Ramaley’s presidency of PSU, the GE College Bowl, and more. An article on the Division of Continuing Education/School of Extended Studies was authored by several PSU retirees, including Nancy Goldman and Robert Mercer, and RAPS members Sherwin Davidson and Cheryl Livneh. For direct access to the articles, link to https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/rememberpsu_essays/ The collection’s second link includes columns, entitled Past Tense, devoted specifically to notable developments in Portland State’s history that were incorporated in the RAPS monthly publication. The Past Tense columns from the fall of 2007 through 2013 are available in PDXScholar. Examples of topics addressed are the establishment of the School of Social Work, The Florestan Trio, the beginning of Geology at PSU, Speech and Hearing, the early years of Engineering, and so much more! These fascinating snapshots of PSU’s beginnings are accessible at https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/rememberpsu_past/ The third, and final, section of the Historical Reflections and Personal Perspectives on Portland State collection is dedicated to oral histories. There are interviews of two past presidents: Judith Ramaley and Wim Wiewel; administrators and faculty: Michael Reardon, W.T. “Bill” Lemman (2010 and 2019), Margaret Dobson, Charles Le Guin; and an interview of five faculty about the School of Health and Physical Education conducted by University Archivist Cris Paschild. These University Archives and RAPS collaborative interviews with past faculty and administrators are streaming videos which have been transcribed. As mentioned above, PDXScholar includes the scholarship of faculty, staff, and students. Currently employed faculty and staff, and emeriti faculty, are encouraged to add their publications and presentations to the repository. Emeriti faculty who have contributed to PDXScholar after retirement may have noted a resurgence of interest in their work. For more information on PDXScholar, its goals and how to contribute your research and/or join the expert gallery, please see https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/about.html On a personal note, I started contributing to PDXScholar in the fall of 2013 by setting up an account and submitting my publications. Since then I receive a readership report nearly every month detailing the number of downloads of my papers and the cumulative total of downloads. I am able to discover where readers are located, what type of institution they represent, commercial or educational, and the number of total downloads for a particular paper. PDXScholar has demonstrated that the institution’s historic, creative, and scholarly achievements can remain accessible and available worldwide, reinforcing the University’s mission to pursue collaborative learning, innovative research, sustainability and community engagement. University Archives also welcomes comments, questions and suggestions from RAPS members: specialcollections@pdx.edu. —Kris Kern, History Preservation Committee ;
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