Daily Archives: February 18, 2013

Indigenous Knowledge and Surfer Identity in Nicaragua

“Riding the Waves of Change: Indigenous Knowledge and Identity of Local Surfers on Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast,” a presentation by Lindsay Usher, PhD. candidate in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 20, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library.

The event is free and open to the public, and can also be viewed live online.

This presentation is based on an ethnographic study conducted in Las Salinas, an indigenous community partially sustaining itself through surf tourism, on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua.   It will explore the relationship between indigenous identity and surfer identity, and it will examine how indigenous surfers use local knowledge to negotiate the surf space as they find themselves having to share it with more tourists each year. Read the full story on Penn State Live.

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Accessibility: What Everyone in the Library Needs to Know

Thursday, February 28, 10:30am-12pm, Foster Aud. and Mediasite Live (and recorded for later viewing)

LFO forensic, “Accessibility: What Everyone in the Library Needs to Know”

Presented by: Ann Snowman (introductions), Dawn Amsberry, Susan Hayya, Linda Klimczyk, Binky Lush, Emily Rimland of University Libraries

Attend this LFO Forensic to learn about several facets of providing service, in physical and virtual settings, to individuals with disabilities. This session will cover the Office for Disability Services’ process for identifying students and providing requested accommodations; the role of the librarian in instructional, public, and web services to people who are disabled; library history on accessibility and usability; Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 overview; and provide tips on the use of inclusive language, interpersonal communication, and tools and resources for library faculty and staff.

Silence for Android

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

silence_android1.jpg
Silence is a free utility for Android that will change your ringer, notification and other alert sounds automatically based on a schedule you provide. Once installed, just add as many actions as you choose, select the days of the week and the times of day you want to use as triggers, and what actions you want the app to take. Silence can toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, and ringer settings. Just set your schedule, tell the app whether you want the settings changed back to default at the end of the time period you set, and enable it. If you want a simple, free and easy to use app to control these settings, give it a try at the link below.

 

Discovery Day Program to Focus on Disability Stereotypes

By Susan Hayya, Coordinator Adaptive Technology and Services

Adaptive Technology and Services is very happy to participate again in the Libraries’ Discovery Day on March 1, 2013. This year we decided to repeat last year’s presentation, a video viewing of an episode of the acclaimed television series Glee. The episode is called “Wheels” and it is from Glee’s first season. It is about stereotyping people with disabilities. Last year the video inspired a lot of discussion about how we stereotype people and how damaging it is to do this. Not only was the discussion interesting but it made all of us aware that people with disabilities are unique, not because they are disabled, but because, like everyone else, they are uniquely individual. It is worth repeating this year.

Blog Migration Coming Soon

On March 11, the InterView blog will migrate to a new platform, using sites.psu.edu. Although still in beta mode, sites.psu.edu is being used widely by Penn State staff, students and faculty. The links to the blog will be updated on the Libraries’ Public Relations and Marketing pages.

NOTE: There will not be an issue on Monday, March 4, Spring Break Week.

We’re also taking the opportunity to make a long overdue name change from “Interview” to “Library News.”  This will be less confusing to readers who are visiting the blog for the first time. (This change has been approved by the Library Management Council.)As with this current blog platform, comments are enabled, and we welcome them.

 

Events: Feb. 18 – 24

Introduction to Mendeley
Tues. Feb. 19, 1-2:30 p.m., 211 Davey
Register online

Film:Libby, Montana – Part 2 (58 min)
Wed., Feb. 20, 12:15 p.m., 105 Deike
A small logging and mining town affected by asbestos contamination from vermiculite mining.

Riding the Waves of Change
Wed., Feb. 20, noon-1 p.m., Foster Aud.
Lindsay Usher, PhD candidate in Dept of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management presents a lecture exploring the relationship between indigenous identity and surfer identity in Las Salinas, Nicaragua.

Preparing All Teachers to Educate English Language Learners/Bilingual Learners
Thurs., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Foster Aud.
Presented by Dr. Rebecca Freeman Field

Save the Date: next week and beyond

LFO Colloquium
February 26, 2013, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., Foster Auditorium (and via Media Site Live)

LFO forensic, “Accessibility: What Everyone in the Library Needs to Know”
Thurs., Feb. 28, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Foster Aud. and Mediasite Live (and recorded for later viewing)
Presented by: Ann Snowman (introduction), Dawn Amsberry, Susan Hayya, Linda Klimczyk, Binky Lush, Emily Rimland of University Libraries

Discovery Day Registration: ends Feb. 27

Coming up in March: Special presentations on March 8 and 13,  in George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, Penn State Hershey, in conjunction with “Life and Limb” exhibition. 

Speed Networking at Discovery Day

By Amber Hatch

During the four years that I have worked at the University Libraries the following type of scenario has played out countless times. I am sitting at my desk working. I get a phone call or an e-mail from a librarian or staff member with a question or request. I get her the information she needs and we both get back to work. I’ve never met the person I just talked; we could walk past each other in the hallway without recognizing each other. I don’t know much about what she does and I am sure she doesn’t know much about what I do. Yet our jobs are interconnected, and we interact over the phone or through e-mail on a regular basis.

Don’t we all have these kinds of experiences? Combined, the University Libraries has more than 600 employees and on a daily basis we work together and depend on each other to be able to do our jobs and ensure our libraries operate successfully, but do we actually understand the value of every job and the roles we all play in getting the job done? Haven’t we all wondered why it took another employee so long to respond to our e-mail or felt overwhelmed by the requests of a co-worker who does not seem to understand the demands on our time?

As the Civility Sub-Committee of the Libraries Diversity Committee we feel like we would all work together with more civility and respect if we knew each other and understood and appreciated the critical roles that we all fill in the University Libraries. As part of Discovery Day 2013, we will be hosting a Speed Networking event. Based on the popular phenomenon of speed dating, this event will allow us speed a few minutes with a wide range of our colleagues; meet them, learn about the work that they do, and share the exciting aspects of our own jobs with them. We can make new friends, expand out networks and next time we send an e-mail to a colleague in another area we will know who they are, what they do, and how we can work together.

We are excited to announce that once again this year our associate deans, Lisa German, Mike Furlough, and Jack Sultzer, will all be joining us at Speed Networking and invite everyone to take the time learn more about someone else’s contributions to the University Libraries.

When: Discovery Day – Friday, March 1, 3:30pm
Where: Foster Auditorium Register at Tech Smart

LionSearch Update!

By Binky Lush

The following content is newly indexed in LionSearch:

McGill eScholarship: eScholarship @ McGill is an OA Ranked collection that includes full text documents of research articles, electronic theses, working papers, conference papers, books and research reports. There are 27,817 records, metadata with abstracts.

You can find the full list of resources indexed in LionSearch here: http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/services/summon/content-and-coverage/

You can also see coverage lists in the following areas:

Afro-Americana Imprints, 1535-1922, now searchable in The CAT

More than 400 titles from the online collection of Afro-Americana Imprints, 1535-1922, are now searchable through The CAT. A “Keywords Anywhere” search of “afamer” will retrieve the records. The collections can also be searched in LionSearch.

Spanning almost 400 years of African American history, the collection contains books, pamphlets, and broadsides, including many lesser-known imprints, presenting a record of Afro-American history, literature and culture. It was created from the Library Company of Philadelphia’s Afro-Americana Collection–an accumulation that began with Benjamin Franklin. A critical resource for scholars and students, the digital edition will create new opportunities for research and teaching.

Questions can be directed to the Libraries’ Bibload Working Group at ul-bibload@lists.psu.edu

Discovery Day at University Park

Registration deadline: Wednesday, February 27
Discovery Day:             Friday, March 1, 2013

Registration for Discovery Day, the University Park Libraries’ annual in-service day, ends February 27. To see the schedule and descriptions of activities being offered this year, go to: https://www.libraries.psu.edu/content/psul/groups/discovery/2013.html

To register for activities, go to TechSmart and click on “List All Classes”. TechSmart can be found at: https://techsmart.libraries.psu.edu/

Food: The Libraries United Way Committee is partnering with Discovery Day to offer Homan’s Hoagies and pizzas for lunch. Food can be picked up near Mann Assembly Room between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm on Friday, March 1. Make checks payable to Amy Miller and send cash or checks to Donna Dean (126 Paterno). Deadline to order is February 22. See https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/groups/discovery/orders.html for more information.

If you would like to volunteer to help during Discovery Day, please sign up here:
http://vols.pt/NrPaWf.

All full- and part-time employees are invited to attend Discovery Day. Please check with your supervisor before registering.