Category Archives: News

A note to readers

Please note: As of Aug. 15, 2022, the Library News blog has been decommissioned. All future internal communications are encouraged to be posted to the Staff Site via self-service Staff Site Posts. To submit a Post, find the Add Content menu on the Staff Site, then select Post at the bottom of that dropdown menu.  

DeskTracker migration

By: Heather Ross

DeskTracker will be upgrading and migrating to new servers on Aug. 15-16.

We will be pausing account creation until 8/16.

What does that mean for you?
– The url will change. We will update links from the DT page.
New url will be: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpsu.desktracker.net%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cul-itservicerequest%40lists.psu.edu%7C27e8b791115f4bbe47ae08da76eea89f%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637953064783785084%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oICqGA5O18J2BYQUhrP8tUfFuM6ap9qIzhs%2BdYxk%2Fa8%3D&reserved=0
– Your DT userID will be your PSU userID (e.g. abc123)
– You will need a new password. DON’T use your PSU password!
– You will have your PSU email address associated with the account so you can reset your own passwords in the future

What can you do now?
If you use your browser to remember your password and you don’t know your password, please ask for a password reset now.

The functionality of DeskTracker will remain the same, but the look will be updated. I do not have any screen captures to show you at this point.

Maps and Geospatial: New topical blog posts

By: Tara Anthony

The following posts were created recently to highlight relevant maps and geospatial topics. 

Introduction to the Esri Academy (by August Paterno) 
This post introduces the users to experiences with three tutorials from the Esri Academy related to “Creating and Sharing GIS Content Using ArcGIS Online,” “Build an interactive dashboard,” and “Identify retail gaps with void analysis” using ArcGIS Business Analyst.  

Tutorial on the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer: Exploring Symbology Options (by Mac Caughey) 
This introduction and tutorial to the new ArcGIS Online map viewer provides users with examples of how to work with layers and symbology options within the map viewer.  

How to plan an enticing first ArcGIS StoryMap (by Ben Brosius) 
This post shares about the process to prepare, plan, and reflect on content to use in creating your first StoryMap. 

Customer Service Tip: Three pieces of customer service advice we need to update

By: Jeff Toister (submitted by Carmen Gass)

We’ve all had a mentor give us customer service advice.

Some advice has withstood the test of time. My first boss stressed the importance of greeting every customer. A warm, friendly greeting sets the tone for a positive interaction.

That advice still rings true today.

Other advice hasn’t aged so well. Like the old idea that companies should respond to customer emails within one business day. Today, the standard is one hour.

Concepts go out of style, customer preferences change, or we discover a better answer. Yet some leaders still cling to the same worn out, pithy platitudes.

Here are three pieces of advice that we need to update. Read more here.

PA Forward Information Literacy

By: Lauren Reiter

Throughout the year, the Informed Consumer committee has coordinated programs for students, staff, and faculty aligned with PA Forward’s five literacies: basic, information,
civic/social, health, and financial.

In the final post of this series, we will discuss information literacy, which is perhaps the PA Forward literacy most familiar to academic library employees. PA Forward “envision[s] a
Pennsylvania where citizens know how to use online resources and current technology to improve their education, to enhance their job skills, and to fully participate in a digital society.”

To help students develop the skills needed to evaluate information found online, Emily Reed, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Penn State Harrisburg, presented “Don’t Let Fake News Fool You” as part of the Informed Consumer series in February. In the presentation, Emily guided students through how to identify fake news, distinguish misinformation and disinformation, and manages biases. Attendance included students from three Penn State campuses, as well as many library employees.

If you are interested in PA Forward literacies or the Informed Consumer series and want to talk more, please reach out to Informed Consumer committee chair Lauren Reiter at  lmr29@psu.edu.

PA Forward Health Literacy

By: Lauren Reiter

Throughout the year, the Informed Consumer committee has coordinated programs for students, staff, and faculty aligned with PA Forward’s five literacies: basic, information, civic/social, health, and financial.

According to PA Forward, Health literacy means “having the ability to make informed decisions in relation to an individual’s physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health.”

This year the Informed Consumer series featured the CAPS program “Mental Health and You.” This session was designed as a safe space to both provide information and answers to attendees. Participants learned about the stress and burnout students can face as a semester comes to an end, or a deadline of a major project approaches. The talk discussed both visible and invisible signs of stress and burnout, providing a variety of recommendations for coping with either as a complement to the initial discussion. Participants learned about the various services our university specifically has to offer, such as Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). The second half of the session was designed as a question-and-answer space, where
the speaker fielded questions from attendees. Questions ranged from what external clinics or resources the institution partners with to asking about the specifics of what takes place if a student is in crisis. The latter half of the session could have easily stretched well beyond the scheduled time as the information was well articulated, kind, and empowering. -Kat Phillps

PA Forward Financial Literacy

By: Lauren Reiter

Throughout the year, the Informed Consumer committee has coordinated programs for students, staff, and faculty aligned with PA Forward’s five literacies: basic, information,
civic/social, health, and financial.

Financial literacy means “having the knowledge and understanding necessary to make informed fiscal/economic decisions for personal life planning and business interests, including responsible budgeting, spending, and saving skills,” according to PA Forward.

This year, the Informed Consumer Committee hosted the Financial Fridays Book Club to help students develop financial literacy skills, including setting financial goals, exploring individual
financial priorities, and budgeting basics.

Each Friday for one month, a member of the committee led a one-hour workshop via Zoom covering one week of content from The 30 Day Money Cleanse by Ashley Feinstein Gerstley. Participants engaged in discussions via Padlet and polls via PollEverywhere to collaborate remotely. Session moderators also curated free financial literacy readings and tools from trustworthy sources such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau so students could further explore the topic of the week.

Want to build your own financial literacy skills? Access the book club activities and resources as well as a free e-book of The 30-Day Money Cleanse (available through the University Libraries)
at the LibGuide here: https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/financialfridays/moneycleanse.

—Emily Mross

PA Forward Civic and Social Literacy

By: Lauren Reiter

Throughout the year, the Informed Consumer committee has coordinated programs for students, staff, and faculty aligned with PA Forward’s five literacies: basic, information, civic/social, health, and financial.

PA Forward defines civic and social literacy as “engaging in discourse while remaining respectful of other individuals of varying opinions.” Learn more here.

This year the Informed Consumer series provided an opportunity for students to practice this skill by hosting “Renter-Landlord Rights and Responsibilities Trivia,” a lively and engaging discussion led by Daniel McKenrick, the Assistant Director of Student Legal Services at Penn State. Students living off campus and those preparing to rent were able to test their knowledge of their rights and responsibilities as a tenant. Participants learned the answers to questions ranging from “Can your landlord make you pay for your roommate’s share of the rent?” to “Can I move out of my apartment if the heating system breaks down and the temperature drops below zero?” The speaker covered important topics such as joint-leases, security deposits, insurance policies for renters, habitability, and more. An important theme throughout was the importance of documentation.    -Diane Zabel

Customer Service Tip: 3 ways to immediately improve your customer experience

By: Jeff Toister (submitted by Carmen Gass)

Today’s customers are increasingly unhappy.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index has steadily declined for the past four years. By the end of 2021, it had reached its lowest point since 2005.

What’s causing the decline?

A survey conducted by Toister Performance Solutions in April 2022 aimed to find out. Over 1,500 consumers across the United States were asked about their experiences with companies.

The results point to three ways that companies can immediately improve their customer experience. Read more here.

PA Forward Basic Literacy

By: Lauren Reiter

Throughout the year, the Informed Consumer committee has coordinated programs for students, staff, and faculty aligned with PA Forward’s five literacies: basic, information,
civic/social, health, and financial.

PA Forward defines basic literacy as ‘’developing foundational competency including reading, writing, math, job application assistance, and overall life-skill development.” Examples of basic literacy programs in other libraries include everything from adult literacy classes that cover filling out job applications to story hours for children.

This year the Informed Consumer series provided Book Club Kits to encourage reading as a way to connect and engage with others. Kits include copies of the book, reader’s guides and book discussion prompts, as well as some fun goodies to get students started. Titles include: The Girl With the Louding Voice, I Am Malala, and Where the Crawdads Sing. -Megan Gilpin

PA Forward and Informed Consumer Programs

By: Lauren Reiter

Throughout the year, the Informed Consumer committee has coordinated programs for students, staff, and faculty aligned with PA Forward’s five literacies: basic, information, civic/social, health, and financial. PA Forward is a Pennsylvania Library Association initiative that showcases how libraries of all types support and enrich an informed citizenry.

Many Pennsylvania libraries have participated in PA Forward, earning Bronze, Silver, or Gold stars for their efforts. At University Park, through the Informed Consumer series, we have worked our way up to the Bronze Star level and are looking toward Silver and Gold to join our PSUL colleagues at Penn State Fayette and Penn State Harrisburg who have already earned these respective distinctions for their campuses (If we are missing anyone at other campuses,
please get in touch!)

Over the next few weeks, we will share posts about the five PA Forward Literacies and the Informed Consumer programs we offered this year. If you are interested in PA Forward or the Informed Consumer series, feel free to reach out to Informed Consumer chair, Lauren Reiter, lmr29@psu.edu.

Many thanks from the Informed Consumer committee!
Sara Hess, Megan Gilpin, Emily Mross, Kat Phillips, Lauren Reiter, Diane Zabel

Tech Tip: Penn State WikiSpaces to be retired on Dec. 16, 2022

By: Ryan Johnson

Penn State IT will retire the Penn State WikiSpaces service on December 16, 2022. If you content owner of a WikiSpace, you will start receiving email reminders to delete your space.

Moving forward, you should now use other collaboration platforms and applications such as SharePoint, OneDrive, Sites at Penn State, Google Workspace, and Canvas as an alternative to WikiSpaces to store and manage your work (Note: use of Canvas for course materials is for faculty and learning designers only). If your WikiSpace(s) is no longer needed, please delete it now.

Please refer to the following Knowledge Base articles for more information and instructions for transferring content to other collaboration platforms or for deleting your WikiSpace(s):

Several factors contributed to the decision to retire the Penn State WikiSpaces service, including the increase in the cost of the contract, costly required upgrades to the platform, as well as the availability of alternative collaboration and learning management tools that are included in the University’s existing contracts and at no charge to students, faculty, and staff.

You may continue to receive email reminders until your WikiSpace(s) is deleted by you or upon the retirement of the Penn State WikiSpaces service on December 16.

For questions or concerns about the Penn State WikiSpaces retirement or to report a unique use case, email the Penn State WikiSpaces Retirement Team.

For assistance with exporting or deleting your WikiSpace(s), contact the IT Service Desk via chat, phone, or email by visiting Get Support.

“Libraries are the Great Equalizers”

Jeff Knapp and Torrie Raish have been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s new publication, “The Library of the Future,” and they are featured in this Chronicle article, “Libraries are the Great Equalizers,” too — from among the 160 librarians who are included in the report! (The Chronicle of Higher Ed is accessible to everyone at Penn State for free.)

You can read the article at https://www.chronicle.com/chronicle-intelligence/report/libraries-are-the-great-equalizers

Customer Service Tip: Creating positive conversations with challenging customers

By: Myra Golden (submitted by Carmen Gass)

What do you do when faced with a customer who’s fuming over a delay, cancellation, or objection to a policy? How can you adequately address their issue when your interaction
starts off on such a sour note? In this course, Myra Golden shares approaches that can help you reframe such conversations, and use your words and actions to put a positive slant on an
otherwise negative situation. Learn more here.

Adaptive Technology and Services Lab serves a record number in fall 2021

By: Jamilyn Houser & Anne Behler

The Adaptive Technology and Services Lab (ATS), based in the Pattee Library, had a record-breaking Fall 2021 semester. Jamilyn Houser, Adaptive Technologies Coordinator, explains,
“We provide alternative formats of academic materials to persons with disabilities. We need to provide these services because it is very rare that a textbook or article is fully accessible as is.” Complicated textbooks and readings often require that a level of description is provided that will help a visually impaired student understand the content.

ATS staff process material into many different formats, making them able to be read and used by students who are visually impaired, as well as those who are challenged by learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

During the Fall semester, ATS served five visually impaired students – more than any semester before. This required converting 40 textbooks and nearly 500 class readings to accessible formats. About a quarter of these readings were also converted into electronic Braille, and ten exams were printed out in physical Braille.

Many textbooks are processed in Kurzweil, which is a type of screen reader. ATS staff have to download every chapter into the software and zone every page to ensure that all text featured on the page will be read aloud and in the correct order. They process around five chapters at a time and completed chapters are then sent to the student. Novels can be processed more quickly than a textbook that contains heavy technical content.

During the fall semester, there were a total of 34 students who required this format, and ATS processed over 60 books in Kurzweil. In addition, 25 books from ATS archives of previously
scanned material were requested.

ATS staff also process material in Microsoft Word for the visually impaired students. This includes not only textbooks, but any readings/articles, handouts, syllabi and sometimes
PowerPoints that are needed throughout the course. Each file starts as a raw text document. Staff then have to add page numbers, headings, insert tables and equations, and describe any
images or graphics. If the student requests Braille documents, we have access to Duxbury software which translates the converted Word documents into electronic Braille. Of the work that ATS does, Houser says, “It is rewarding work that contributes toward the students’ academic achievements.” Thank you, ATS, for all that you do!