Daily Archives: August 17, 2015

Events: August 17

August 26, noon – 1 p.m.: Travel Research Award presentation by Albert M. Petska Eighth Air Force Archives winner David Cain, of the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library and the University of East Anglia, England, Mann Assembly Room. Cain will highlight his research on the social interaction of the 8th USAAF with local people in the East of England between 1942 – 1945. For more information see https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls/travel.html

August 27, noon – 1 p.m.: Travel Research Award presentations by Helen F. Faust Women Writers award winner Amanda Stuckey, from the College of William & Mary, and Dorothy Foehr Huck award winner Bob Hodges, of the University of Washington, Mann Assembly Room. Stuckey will talk about her research on bodily behavior in the nineteenth-century boy book. Hodges will talk about his use of the library’s collection of 19th and 20th century utopian literature for his dissertation “Figurations of Modernity in Antebellum U. S. Romances.” For more information see https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls/travel.html

September 1, 3-4:30 p.m.:  “Student Voices: Sharing the Experience of Learning through the Ojibwe Ways of Knowing,” (indigenous knowledge seminar), Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. The presentation can also be viewed live online.

Website migration update: changes coming!

There are exciting changes coming to the Libraries website! As we change platforms from Adobe CQ to Drupal, we’ll also be making some design upgrades and content changes that will provide major improvements for our users. The first two goals of our website strategy are below. We are thrilled to be working towards these goals with updates to both the site look and feel and to the way our valuable content is organized. We’ll be sharing more details and previews in the weeks to come! As always, feel free to get in touch with the team with your questions and comments! (ul-wimt@lists.psu.edu).

Thanks,
The Web Implementation and Management Team (WIMT)

Goal 1: Website
The Libraries website will meet the needs of current and future users – whoever or wherever they may be and on whatever device they use.

Strategies:

  • Site will be organized based on Libraries services rather than institutional organization
  • Site will be user-centered, personalized and interactive
  • Site will be updated incrementally to remain contemporary
  • Site will maintain consistent terminology and branding between virtual and physical spaces.
  • Site will be friendly, warm and welcoming
  • Site will reflect the diversity of the Penn State community and contribute to the Libraries’ environment of respect and inclusion

Goal 2: Content

The content of the Libraries website will be discoverable and current. Content reuse and integration with other content sources will be a guiding principle.

Strategies:

  • Content will be modular and portable (not bound by format)
  • Content will be organized thematically in alignment with organizational goals and objectives
  • Content will use a consistent voice that is jargon-free and comprehensible to all users
  • Content will be created once and shared and used in multiple places
  • Obsolete information will be weeded on a regular basis
  • Content will conform to established best practices and writing for the web
  • All content will have a designated owner

LionSearch (Summon) update August 18

On August 18, Summon will be releasing an update to its relevance ranking algorithm. Only the ranking of search results will be affected; the number of search results returned for any given query will not be change. The new algorithm is expected to improve mainly the relevance of exploratory search cases, complementing the known item search improvements released earlier this year.

Summary of the improvements:

Two primary improvements in the new ranking algorithm are:

* Improved balance between dynamic and static rank: Summon’s relevance ranking algorithm uses two types of relevance factors: the dynamic rank and the static rank. The dynamic rank factors describe how well a given query matches each record. The static rank factors represent the importance or value of each record. One common type of relevance issues we have observed in the past involve cases where the influence of the dynamic rank is too strong, such that records with low static ranks, such as old publications and less important content types, appear among the top search results. The new algorithm has a better balance of the dynamic rank and the static rank, and it should reduce the number of such issues.

* Improved balance of short titles and long titles in the top results: Previously, Summon’s ranking algorithm tended to emphasize records with short titles, especially those that closely match the query string. The new algorithm reduces the influence of the field length normalization and the exact match boost, and as a result, top search results include a better mix of short and long titles that are relevant to the query.

One noteworthy property of the new algorithm is that short and general topical queries (e.g., linguistics, global warming) tend to return more books, eBooks, references and journals among the top results. And long and specific topical queries (e.g., linguistics universal grammar, global warming Kyoto protocol) tend to return more journal articles among the top results.

Examples
Here are a few examples that demonstrate the improvements. Please note that the search results depend on the content, so these examples may not apply to our instance of Summon.

  • dog law => The top results returned by the old algorithm are mostly items titled “Dog Law” and included very old journal and magazine articles. The top results returned by the new algorithm are more balanced, and include more recent titles than the original algorithm, such as “Dangerous dogs law updated” (Journal Article, 2007) and “Animal law and dog behavior” (Book, 1999).
  • autism aba therapy for young children => The top results returned by the old algorithm contained many books and other items titled just “Autism”. The top results returned by the new algorithm include longer titles, such as “A step-by-step ABA curriculum for young learners with autism spectrum disorders (age 3-10)” (eBook, 2013).

If you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please send them to the Discovery and Access Working Team (ul-dawt@lists.psu.edu).— Binky Lush

What is the loan period for an Interlibrary Loan?

by Barb Woods, Interlibrary Loan Manager

A frequent question asked by our Interlibrary Loan users is how long can I keep my ILL book? The answer: It depends on what library or ILL system the book is borrowed from. For instance, a book borrowed through the PALCI E-ZBorrow system will have a 12-week loan period starting from the time the book is actually checked out to the user through WorkFlows. However, E-ZBorrow books are not renewable.

A book borrowed from one of our CIC “Big Ten” consortia partners will also have a 12-week loan period and usually can be renewed for an additional 4 weeks. Some materials (such as DVD, CD, microfilm, special collections, etc.) have a shorter loan period.

Other lending libraries set their own loan period. The average loan period is four weeks with a two week renewal. Restrictions on the use of Interlibrary Loan materials are also placed by the lending library. Some restrictions may include: In Library Use Only, No Copying, No Renewals or Rare Books Room Use Only.

What about Recalls? Interlibrary Loan books are subject to recall if needed by another user or for a course reserve at the owning library. If borrowed through PALCI E-ZBorrow it will only be recalled if needed for a course reserve.

For more information on loan periods and renewals visit our website at https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/ill/ill_borrowing/ill_borrowing_priv.html#loanperiods

Latest from LibGuides

by Helen Smith

As of August 13 we have over 70 published libguides! We also have over 3,500 links added to the system already. One of the great things that LibGuides will allow us to do is to see statistics on our assets. If all guides use the same version of a link, then statistics for that link will be all in one place. Won’t it be great to be able to see that link X has been clicked on XX times? So rather than assuming no one else has used the link you are inputting, take a moment to search in the “reuse existing link” option to double check.

Subject and Campus librarians should make sure they have updated their profiles. Your profile is a great way to connect with your users, and are also another way that users will be able to find guides, since the guides you own will be listed in your profile! Even if they don’t edit the guide, the subject expert should be listed as the owner of the guide — this can be changed during the review process, just add a note to the guide to the effect of ‘change guide ownership to XXXXX’ when you submit it for review (the subject expert must have an account and profile in LibGuides).

Contact the LibGuides Expert Team (ul-lget@psu.edu) if you have any questions!

LHR News: August 17

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
8/17/15 Christina Riehman-Murphy – reference and instruction librarian, Penn State Abington
8/17/15 Jennifer Hunter – reference and instruction librarian, Abington College Library
8/17/15 Carmen Cole – reference and instruction librarian, Knowledge Commons
8/17/15 Karen Estlund – associate dean for technology and digital strategies

Part-time:
Oluwafisayo Olashore – Earth and Mineral Sciences Library
John Roxburgh – Arts and Humanities Library
Estella Obi-Tabot – Arts and Humanities Library
Leena Elsaid –Life Sciences Library
Tatiana Paiva – Worthington Scranton Library

Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:
Dawn Childress – Arts and Humanities Library
Susan Hamburger – Cataloging and Metadata Services
Claudia Peterson – Fayette Campus Library

Tech Tip: Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac available

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

macoffice10JPGOffice 2016 for Mac is now available for Penn State Libraries staff Machines running OS X, 10.10 Yosemite and the forthcoming El Capitan. This is the first new release for Office on a MAC since Office 11. The biggest change you will notice is the redesigned Ribbon across the different applications that looks more like its Windows counterpart with the new flat look that was introduced in Office 13 on a PC.

Below are some changes you will see in Word, PowerPoint and Excel (click to enlarge image)

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‘Getting to know you’: Stephanie Diaz

Submitted by Andrea Pritt, information resources and services support specialist, Penn State Mont Alto Library

10390086_10102136126088200_2817891089953099234_nOriginally from the small town of Fremont, Ohio, Stephanie Diaz joined the University Libraries in August 2013. After completing her Masters in Library Science degree at the University of South Carolina she was hired as the Reference and Instruction Librarian at Penn State York. Stephanie spent two years at the York campus where her duties included bibliographic instruction as well as collection development. She recently moved to Erie, Pa., and is now the reference and instruction librarian at Penn State Erie. Stephanie’s new opportunity at the John M. Lilley Library is a welcomed relocation for her, her family and friends, and her cat, Libby.

During her time at York, Stephanie served on the Diversity Committee and helped to coordinate
events for Black History Month. She is also a new member of the University Libraries Innovation
Microgrant Program Review Committee. Outside of the university, Stephanie sits on the PaLA
Conference Planning Committee and has helped plan the upcoming PaLA poster session events.

Stephanie is a film enthusiast and, in her spare time, can often be found at the movie theater. A
few of her favorites include “Thelma & Louise,” “Forrest Gump” and “Good Will Hunting.”

Open House t-shirt order

There’s still time to submit your order for the United Way Committee’s  fall apparel sale! Submit your orders by August 19.

This sale will be your opportunity  to order an Open House t-shirt. We are selling navy blue polo shirts, navy blue t-shirts and blue tie-dye shirts. To view shirts and prices, please click this link: https://surveys.libraries.psu.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=n642m64

All items will be delivered by September 7 for University Park, and later for campuses.

All proceeds from the sale benefit the Centre County United Way. — Heather Ross

Penn State Abington in full bloom

Summer is looking gorgeous at Penn State Abington thanks to the hard work of three library staff members who have been tending a garden on campus during their free time. Information and resource service specialists Linda Kinter and Lil Hansberry planted the garden and were joined later in the season by Delia Tash.  Over the past several months they have grown tomatoes, peppers, sunflowers and zinnias, with some impressive results to show for it—take a look at these photos:

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Hansberry staking a giant sunflower

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Sunflowers in full glory

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Tash picking a tomato

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Looking good…the tomatoes are ready for picking

Students to share stories of life among Ojibwe

The latest indigenous knowledge seminar, “Student Voices: Sharing the Experience of Learning through the Ojibwe Ways of Knowing,” will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m., on Tuesday, September 1, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. The presentation can also be viewed live online.

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Students on a previous trip posing with Ojibwe community members

This talk will highlight a Maymester trip made by 19 Penn State students to Northern Minnesota, where they visited the Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth nations as part of a two-course sequence exploring indigenous ways of knowing. The students participated in daily life with host families, took part in traditional ceremonies with medicine men and learned about the history and culture of the Ojibwe from local teachers.

Instructors Bruce Martin, who has been bringing Penn State students to Indian Country for more than a decade, and Danna Seballos will share highlights from the program, while students will talk about their experiences living among the Ojibwe.

This seminar is part of a series organized by the Interinstitutional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and the Penn State University Libraries. For more information, see icik.libraries.psu.edu. If you anticipate needing accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, contact Helen Sheehy, hms2@psu.edu/814-863-1347 in advance of your visit.