Monthly Archives: July 2013

Digital signage in the Libraries

Submitted by Binky Lush

We are pleased to announce the formation of the Digital Signage Steering Team. The team grew out of a group of people interested in adding digital signage throughout the Libraries as well as those who recognized the need to address some display issues with the existing digital signage. The group is working hard to come up with templates and guidelines for digital signage content that will allow for flexibility, while maintaining a consistent and high quality display.

The Libraries use Four Winds software to manage the content of the digital signage. This software allows us to share content with other digital signage across the University and to display emergency alerts.

In the first phase of the project, we’ll be able to display slides, video and online content. Next steps will include integrating relevant content from other University sources and using “regions” of the screen for multiple types of content display. Continue reading →

Mushroom talk and campus plant tour

The public is invited to join John Pecchia, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, for a presentation, “Mushroom Production: From Art to Science,” on July 20, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., in  Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Pecchia will discuss the history of mushroom production and detail the important contributions scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have made and continue to make to mushroom production as well as Pennsylvania’s role as the major producer of fresh market mushrooms in North America.

Following the talk, from 2:30–3:30 p.m., members of the plant pathology and environmental microbiology department will lead a walking tour of campus, highlighting the common diseases of trees, shrubs, and ground covers, what causes them, and how they can be managed.

Two additional dates for campus tours include:

• July 17, 5:30–6:30 p.m., Campus plant tour, meet in exhibit area, The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library

• July 24, 5:30–6:30 p.m., Campus plant tour, meet in exhibit area, The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library

The presentation and tours are special events of the 50th anniversary of the beginnings of the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, being celebrated with an exhibit, “Healthy Plants for a Healthy World: 50 Years of Plant Pathology at Penn State,” on display through Sept. 17, in The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, Penn State University Park.

For more information or for questions about the physical access provided, contact Jackie Esposito at jxe2@psu.edu or 814-863-3791 or Gary Moorman at gmoorman@psu.edu or 814-863-7401.

Annual Libraries picnic on August 20

Please join us for the 23rd Annual University Libraries’ Faculty/Staff Family Picnic:

WHEN: Tuesday, August 20, 2013, 5:00 p.m. – sunset

WHERE: Sunset Park, Pavilions #1 and #2 (Buffet dinner service to begin at 5:30 p.m.)

MENU: Hamburgers & Hot Dogs with rolls, potato salad, grilled vegetables, freshly cut fruits, and desserts

Please RSVP (by Tue., 8/06/13) using the online form at http://bit.ly/18aUWPp, by visiting the University Libraries’ Picnic page (http://bit.ly/176TOJi), or by printing and sending the form via campus mail to Sandy Confer, 510 Paterno.
 
Sorry, we cannot fund travel expenses for those coming from other campuses, but we promise good fun and fun! We hope to see you there!

What’s new for UCS upgrade on July 20?

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

On Saturday, July 20, 2013 , during an extended maintenance window (4:30-7:30 a.m.), Information Technology Services (ITS) will upgrade University Collaboration Suite (UCS) to version 8.0.4.

New Features in this update include:

  • Sent messages can be sorted by the To: field
  • Enhanced search capabilities
  • Read More button scrolls through selected email them moves to the next unread message
  • Color coding of emails and calendar appointments

Version 8 also has changes to the interface including:

  • Redesigned search capabilities
  • The removal of the schedule view button
  • Mail toolbar has been redesigned

To learn more about these changes, I have started a new Training page to highlight many of these changes in Version 8.

During the UCS software upgrade, users will not be able to send or receive e-mail or calendar appointments. No messages will be lost during the upgrade. When complete, all queued messages will be processed.

LHR News for July 15

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:

7/15/13 Lily Huang – Special Projects Cataloging Librarian, Cataloging and Metadata Services

Part-time:

Meet Parikh – Penn State Worthington Scranton Campus Library

The 3rd Annual UPLEA ArtsFest is coming soon

Submitted by Lisa Morgan, on behalf of the UPLEA ArtsFest Committee

After spending last week perusing the many artistic creations of the Arts Fest downtown, it’s now time to think about how you can contribute to the 3rd Annual UPLEA Arts Fest this fall. We would love to see and hear the products of your artistic passions.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 25, 11am-3pm, in the Mann Assembly Room, and consider reserving a space to display your artistic creations. Registration details coming soon. Even if you have presented in former shows, please consider participating again.

Artists needed in photography, painting, needlecrafts, fiber arts, ceramics and sculpture, wood crafts, jewelry making, culinary arts, performing arts, music and much more. Demonstrations are also welcome and encouraged. So start planning which of your works of art, literature and music you would like to share with your colleagues and friends in the libraries.

Added attractions: Welcome literary giants! This year’s Arts Fest will include a category for literary creations. So if you’re an aspiring writer and you would like to share your works with your colleagues, please consider reserving a space. Time slots will be reserved in Foster Auditorium for you if you would like to present a short piece of your work.

Remote artists: Once again, we are inviting our colleagues at the Commonwealth campuses to submit their art. Faculty and staff of the campuses are encouraged to submit text, photos or audio/video clips of their art which will be presented in a slide show in our virtual artist category.

Mark the date:
Wednesday, September 25, 11am-3pm, in the Mann Assembly Room. We hope you will share your talents with us.

Panel presentation on Knowledge Commons

There will be a panel presentation on the Knowledge Commons July 10, starting at 9:30 a.m. in Foster Auditorium. It will also be broadcast on MediaSite Live.

The presentation will highlight accomplishments of the past academic year and will also provide an opportunity to discuss activities and services planned for the coming year.

Joining Joe Fennewald will be:
Henry Moeller, Manager ITS Lab Consulting
Mark Warren, Manager IT Service Desk @ the KC
Nathan Culmer, Tech Tutor Coordinator
Ryan Wetzel, Media Commons UP Coordinator
Neill Johnson, Director, Penn State Learning

Behrend’s survey of graduating seniors

By Richard Hart, director, Lilley Library, Penn State Erie

For more than 20 years, Penn State Behrend has conducted a survey of its graduating seniors in order to measure their attitudes toward their college education. Originally administered through the Chancellor’s Office, in recent years the survey has been conducted by the College’s Institutional Research Committee. Among other things, the survey seeks information about the students’ satisfaction with their education, their post-graduation plans, and the degree to which they were challenged as students at Behrend.

Although it has been revised over the years, certain basic elements of the survey have remained relatively constant. Measuring student satisfaction with various campus offices, facilities, and services constitutes one of the central goals of the survey. Satisfaction is measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale. Included are the library, computing services, athletic facilities, the bursar, tutoring services, the bookstore, the registrar, residence life, food services, housing, and more, for a total of 26 items on the most recent survey. Continue reading →

Instant RSS search

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

Previously, I discussed some good alternatives to Google Reader now that it’s been discontinued as of July 1. You may also want to find some good RSS feeds to use with your new RSS reader. Instant RSS Search is a web application that allows you to search for blogs, podcasts, news and more.

instant rss search

Just type in what you are looking for and the web application will show you all the feeds that match the criteria you provide. A unique feature of this tool is that you can preview the most recently published items of any RSS feed in the search results page itself.

New service request system

From I-Tech announcement :

On July 9, at 10 a.m., a new Service Request System, Jira, will replace the current libraries helpdesk. The current libraries helpdesk link ( http://helpdesk.libraries.psu.edu ) will redirect to a new CMS page.

On this page, contact information for support will be provided along with a new IT and Facilities Request Form. Select this link and enter your information for your request or issue.

All you need to do is to fill out the form regarding your request or issue and select submit . When submitted, all future correspondence for the ticket will be done by email. This is the major difference between the current helpdesk and the new system.

As always, you can also reach us by phone (814)-863-0647 or in person as well for your support needs. Additional correspondence will be sent out next week letting everyone know when the new system is live.

LHR News: July 1

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:

7/1/13 Jennifer Cywinski – Information Resources & Services Support Specialist, Penn State Great Valley Library
Matt Francis – Archivist for Collection Management, Special Collections
Ann Passmore – Digital Processing Specialist, Digitization & Preservation
Glenn Rudy – Information Resources & Services Support Specialist, Penn State Harrisburg Library

23rd Annual Faculty/Staff Family Picnic on Aug. 20

Join us for the 23rd Annual University Libraries’ Faculty/Staff Family Picnic:

WHEN: Tuesday, August 20, 2013, 5:00 p.m. – sunset

WHERE: Sunset Park, Pavilions #1 and #2 (Buffet dinner service to begin at 5:30 p.m.)

MENU: Hamburgers & Hot Dogs with rolls, potato salad, grilled vegetables, freshly cut fruits, and desserts

Please RSVP (by Tue., 8/06/13) using the online form at http://bit.ly/18aUWPp, by visiting the University Libraries’ Picnic page (http://bit.ly/176TOJi), or by printing and sending the form via campus mail to Sandy Confer, 510 Paterno.
 
Sorry, we cannot fund travel expenses for those coming from other campuses, but we promise good fun and fun! We hope to see you there!

Events: Week of July 1

Ongoing:
Register for free citation management seminars offered by Library Learning Services:
Introduction to Zotero: July 10
Introduction to EndNote: July 11
Introduction to Mendeley: July 17

July 20, 1:30–2:30 p.m., Dr. John Pecchia, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, will present, “Mushroom production: from art to science,” in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Pecchia will discuss the history of mushroom production and detail the important contributions Penn State scientists have made and continue to make to mushroom production as well as Pennsylvania’s role as the major producer of fresh market mushrooms in North America. Following the talk, from 2:30–3:30 p.m., members of the Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology Department will lead a walking tour of campus, highlighting the common diseases of trees, shrubs, and ground covers, what causes them, and how they can be managed.

The presentation and tours are special events of the 50th anniversary of the beginnings of the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, being celebrated with an exhibit, “Healthy Plants for a Healthy World: 50 Years of Plant Pathology at Penn State,” on display through September 17, in The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, Penn State University Park. For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Jackie Esposito at jxe2@psu.edu or 814-863-3791 or Gary Moorman at gmoorman@psu.edu or 814-863-7401.

July 17, 5:30–6:30 p.m., Campus plant tour, meet in exhibit area, The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library
July 24, 5:30–6:30 p.m., Campus plant tour, meet in exhibit area, The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library

** Reminder **
Library Clean-Up Day has been scheduled for August 20, so mark your calendars! Take some time in the quieter summer months to look around your office and start collecting unused items to donate to Clean-Up Day. Start your gathering early and make your space cleaner and greener. If you have things you’d like to get rid of before Clean-Up Day, you can post items Libraries’ Green Exchange, a Free-cycle type exchange for workplace items that are no longer used.