Daily Archives: April 8, 2013

Take the LionSearch assessment survey

By Alan Shay, data analyst

The LionSearch Assessment Team is in the process of gathering data regarding the use of LionSearch within the Libraries and we are asking for your input. With assistance from the Office of Planning and Institutional Assessment (OPIA), the LionSearch Assessment Team invites you to participate in the LionSearch Assessment Survey.

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To renew or not to renew…. that is the question!

Help answer this question by participating in the Elsevier E-Journal Forum to be held on Tuesday, April 30, 10-11 a.m., Foster Auditorium (and MediaSite).

Penn State’s current contract with Elsevier for e-journals ends in 2013. To inform the decision about whether and what to renew, a small group has been gathering data on usage of Elsevier titles, our costs and other factors. Some of the highlights of these data will be shared at the forum but a primary goal is to get input from you. Should we do another “big deal” with Elsevier? What other factors ought to be considered? Please join us as we share thoughts and considerations, or simply come and be dazzled by data! — Linda Musser

(Elsevier E-Journals Evaluation Team — David Brennan, Nan Butkovich and Linda Musser)

Tech Expo: See what’s new for 2013

This year’s Technology Expo will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., on April 22, in the Dean’s Hall, Penn Stater Conference Center, University Park.

Organized by Media and Technology Support Services (MediaTech), the event will bring together more than 20 vendors under one roof, and feature the latest in plasma and LCD flat-panel displays, projectors, touch-screen control systems, whole-house sound systems, digital cameras, podiums and more.

Product vendors and MediaTech staff will be on hand to answer questions and demo the use of the equipment. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 814-865-5400.

CMS upgrade

By Binky Lush

We are pleased to announce that the CMS Development Team will be upgrading the CMS to the newest version, CQ5.6, after the spring semester. The latest release of the CMS Software will provide the following benefits for our users and for our authors: Continue reading

LHR News April 8

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
4/8/13 Claudia Peterson – Reference and Instruction Librarian, Fayette Campus Library.

Part-time:
Jeffrey Farber, Department for Information Technologies
Delia Tash, Great Valley Library

Internal Moves:
4/8/13 Amber Hatch – Information Resources and Services Specialist, Serials and Acquisitions Services

New reference librarian at Fayette

Claudia Peterson has just joined the faculty of the University Libraries. Claudia will be the new reference and instruction librarian at Penn State Fayette. She will begin her new job on April 8, 2013.

Claudia earned her MSLS from Florida State University and her BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Virginia. She was most recently a Reference Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin. — Christine Avery

Extra copies of the Guide to the Libraries needed

If you have copies of the Guide to the Libraries that you will not need before the updated copies arrive in August, please:
—label with your name or unit’s name and
—send to:
Penn State University
Lending and Reserve Services
attn: Wertney Cox
107 Pattee Library
University Park, Pa 16802

Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks added to Penn State collections

The University Libraries is pleased to announce that the complete back-file of the Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks has been added to the collection. This is a collection of nearly 1,100 high quality titles in all areas of chemistry, plus a wide range of related disciplines. The earliest titles included in the collection were published in 1968 and continues through 2013.

Links to the individual titles have been added to the CAT and are searchable by title, author, keywords, and subject headings. To see a full list of titles, do a keyword search on the following character string: 10.1039 — Nan Butkovich

Rachel Simon’s powerful writing challenges preconceptions

Film Screening: “Riding the Bus with My Sister,” April 9, Foster Aud., 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Rachel Simon presentation: “Perspectives on Intellectual Disabilities,” April 11, Katz Auditorium, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

By Susan Hayya, coordinator, Adaptive Technology and Services

Every time I see “Riding the Bus with My Sister,” based on Rachel Simon’s award-winning book of the same title, I am always reminded to never make presumptions about people. Much of what goes on in the movie is about how people tend to presume things about each other. For example, some characters in the movie presume that, because of Beth’s disability, she has no feelings or talents. This is, of course, not true. Continue reading

Events: April 8 – 14

Tech Update
Tuesday, April 9, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library.
Topics include:
DeskTracker – Cheryl McCallips
Training Update (with focus on Cloud Services) – Ryan Johnson
DAWS – responsive design, Course and research guides in LionSearch
I-Tech Sys and Apps group – Who we are and what we do
Also on MediaSite Live. Login information here. Continue reading