By Barbara I. Dewey
I am pleased to announce that sabbatical leaves for the following University Libraries faculty have been approved:
Heidi N. Abbey, association librarian, archivist and humanities reference librarian, Penn State Harrisburg
To conduct research on the use of photo crowdsourcing best practices and platforms among cultural heritage institutions worldwide.
Dates of sabbatical leave: July 1 – August 31, 2014 and March 1 – June 30, 2015
John C. Attig, Distinguished Librarian, monograph cataloging librarian
To continue research on John Locke. Projected work includes creation of a web-accessible guide, creation of additional descriptions based on examination of manuscripts in other research institutions, and enhancement of the John Locke Chronology.
Dates of sabbatical leave: August 1, 2014 – January 31, 2015
John J. Meier, associate librarian, science librarian
To investigate the current organizational structure of American research libraries and the future plans of their directors to change librarian roles and the organization of their library units.
Dates of sabbatical leave: January 1 – June 30, 2015
Emily Rimland, associate librarian, Kalin Librarian for Learning Innovations, and information literacy librarian
To assess and enhance the information literacy skill digital badge system that is currently under development at Penn State.
Dates of sabbatical leave: September 1, 2014 – April 1, 2015
Karla M. Schmit, associate librarian, education librarian, and assistant director of the Pennsylvania Center For The Book
To conduct textual linguistics research using the A Few Good Women (AFGW) Oral History Transcripts housing the Penn State University Libraries Special Collections.
Dates of sabbatical leave: March 1 – August 31, 2014
Christopher H. Walker, associate librarian, serials cataloging librarian
To continue research already in progress on the publishing trade in 16th century France through travel to rare book collections in New York and Chicago.
Dates of sabbatical leave: September 3, 2014 – March 2, 2015
Congratulations and I know we all are looking forward to hearing more about your research in the future.
On January 23, at 2 p.m.: Visiting scholar Ellen Gruber Garvey will give a presentation, “Hidden Histories: African American Scrapbooks Talk Back to the White Press in the 19th Century,” on Thursday, January 30, 2–3 p.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Garvey is the author of “Writing with Scissors: American Scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance,” a recent book from Oxford University Press that breaks new ground analyzing and discussing scrapbooking as an historical and cultural practice. A book signing in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, will follow the presentation and books will be available for sale.
Garvey’s talk is jointly sponsored by the Penn State University Libraries and the Richards Civil War Era Center. It is held in conjunction with a research grant funded by the Penn State Africana Research Center that is supporting Penn State Libraries Digitization and Preservation Department’s condition assessment of the monumental William Dorsey Scrapbook Collection, currently on loan from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.
The Libraries will reduce operating hours over the break. Pattee and Paterno Libraries at University Park will be closed from Tuesday, December 24 through Saturday, December 28, and on Wednesday, January 1. Additional operating hours can be reviewed online or by calling 814-865-3063.
Penn State University Libraries and the Interinstitutional Consortium for Indigenous Knowledge (ICIK) announce a call for proposals for the 2nd annual Student Indigenous Knowledge Research Awards. Application deadline is March 1, 2014. Two awards of up to $2000 will be presented. All full-time Penn State students, undergraduate and graduate at any Penn State campus, including Penn State World Campus, are eligible to apply. Research, to be conducted between April 2014 and January 2015, must be related to approved undergraduate coursework (e.g. capstone courses) or honors, masters or doctoral thesis topics. This is a competitive award process and proposal requirements are available at icik.psu.edu/psul/icik/IKGrants.html.
The awards are funded by the University Libraries’ Marjorie Grant Whiting Endowment for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge. The endowment was created in 2008 with a gift from the California-based Marjorie Grant Whiting Center for Humanity, Arts and the Environment, established after Whiting’s death in 1995 as a way of preserving the scientific and humanistic legacy of a woman whose long and successful career as a nutritional anthropologist contributed to an understanding of the cultural interface between diet and health among people around the world.
For more information, please contact Helen Sheehy, head of the Social Sciences and Maps Libraries, at hms2@psu.edu or 814-863-1347 and Amy Paster, head of the Life Sciences Library, at alp4@psu.edu or 814-865-3708.
In a recent survey, Penn State’s University Libraries ranked 16th among other academic libraries. “100 Most Social Media Friendly College and University Libraries for 2013,” is a survey by LibraryScienceList.com, a new social community for librarians worldwide. It measured Penn State’s Libraries use of Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Google Plus and Flickr to interest student in the Libraries’ collections and services. Continue reading
Penn State’s University Libraries announce an “Award for Undergraduate Research in Sustainability and the Environment,” open to Penn State students at all campus locations, including the World Campus. Penn State’s Social Sciences Library, Cengage Learning and the Penn State’s Sustainability Institute have partnered to award a total of $4000 to Penn State undergraduates to be presented on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, 2014.
Deadline for submitting application, paper or project and supporting materials is March 31. Two $1,000 prizes and four $500 prizes will be awarded. Award money was provided by Cengage Learning and the Penn State’s Sustainability Institute.
Both traditional papers (text) submissions and multimedia projects are eligible. In addition to the research project, students are required to submit a nominating letter from a faculty member, an essay outlining their research methods, plus a bibliography of works consulted. Librarians and other appropriate faculty and staff will judge the submissions based on the research strategy essay, nominating letter, and technical criteria. Full details are available at www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/socialsciences/sustainability_award.html#about. Continue reading
Barbara I. Dewey, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, has announced the new class of the Penn State Library Leaders Program to include Russ Hall, reference librarian, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; Patricia Hswe, digital contents strategist and head, ScholarSphere User Services, Penn State University Park; and Valerie Lynn, head librarian, Penn State Hazleton.
The program, which began in 2011, seeks to create learning opportunities and experiences for faculty who aspire to leadership positions within and beyond the University Libraries. Dewey initially had proposed the program noting the challenge faced by faculty members in academic libraries to gain the experiences and knowledge needed to advance. Library Leaders helps to bridge the gap and builds a pool of Penn State librarians who are prepared to fill leadership roles as they arise, both here at Penn State and at other institutions across the nation. Participants work with their respective associate dean and the manager of human resources to construct a development plan to meet their unique needs and interests. The two-year program includes attendance at a nationally recognized leadership development program.
The program is open to all full-time librarians at Penn State. The selection committee reviewed nominations/applications from eleven Libraries faculty members this year. Dewey notes, “All were well qualified in various ways, and it was a pleasure to have so many excellent candidates to consider.”
For more information, contact Robert Harris, manager of human resources, University Libraries, at 814-863-4275.
Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:
Part-time:
Punam Gurung – Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library
Brittany Kline – Robert E. Eiche Library, Penn State Altoona
Veronica Nargi – Knowledge Commons, Research Hub
Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:
12/18/13 Peggy Angelovich, Penn State Mont Alto Campus Library
12/19/13 Elaine Dean, George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, Penn State Hershey
12/20/13 Mike Jessup, Media and Technology Support Services
12/31/13 Deena Morganti, Penn State Berks Thun Library
Submitted by Alan Shay, data analyst
The Library Assessment and Metrics Council (LAMC) is pleased to announce the creation of a working group to assist the LAMC with the assessment of the recent LibQUAL survey comment responses. Members of this group will assist in the categorization and analysis of our patrons’ responses to the open-ended question regarding library services. Results of this analysis will assist the libraries assessment of currently provided services, while also providing analysis of our users’ service needs compared to the results of our previous LibQUAL surveys.
If you would like to be a part of this working group, please submit a brief statement of interest via email to the LAMC (ul-assessment-council@lists.psu.edu) by Wednesday, January 8, 2014. The first meeting of this working group will occur in late January or early February of next year. The categorization and analysis done by the group should be completed within one month’s time. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the continual assessment initiatives of the University Libraries. Please consider expressing your interest.
Thank you,
The Library Assessment and Metrics Council
https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/groups/assessmentcouncil.html
By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator
To set an away message:
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By Barbara I. Dewey
Colleagues, we are headed into one of the busiest couple of weeks of the year at all of our locations. Thank you in advance for your fantastic work supporting students who need you so much. Everyone in our wonderful library system contributes to their success as the clock ticks down. I am very proud of your efforts now and every day.
This is also the time to see friends and family. Whether you stay close to home or travel far please be safe and have a very wonderful holiday season. I know 2014 is going to be rewarding and fun. Best wishes for a very Happy New Year!!
Title: Sustainability and Strategic Planning
Presenters: Jeremy Bean and Rob Andrejewski, Penn State Sustainability Institute
Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2:00 p.m., Foster Auditorium, UP / Media Site Live
By Mike Furlough
As part of our strategic planning efforts this year, the University has asked that the Libraries and all units address sustainability planning. The Libraries have taken environmental sustainability very seriously in recent years, expanding our recycling efforts and forming “green teams” to help us reduce our environmental impacts. But how should the Libraries think about Sustainability as a strategic issue? What are the unique contributions we can make to the University’s sustainability efforts?
For finals week, Penn State University Libraries are hosting a De-stress Fest, beginning Saturday, December 14 through Wednesday, December 18. Activities in the Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, include:
Plus De-stress stations set up near the Welcome Desks at the entrances to Pattee and Paterno Libraries, offer crafts and a Wii playstation, Saturday–Wednesday, 1–8 p.m.
The De-stress Fest is sponsored by the University Libraries. For more information or for questions regarding special needs or physical access, contact Joe Fennewald at jaf23@psu.edu or 814-865-0666.
** NOTE: December 10 Tech Update has been cancelled **
December 10, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Penn State Press Holiday Book Sale, Kern Building Lobby
December 11, 1 p.m.: LFO Forensic presented by Courtney Young, Foster Aud. Presentation title: “Diversity, Development, and Engagement: Penn State University Libraries and the Presidential Initiatives of ALA President-elect Courtney L. Young”
December 11, 12:15 p.m.: Polar Bear Fever (film), EMS Library, 105 Deike. Looks at the plight of polar bears. (44 min)
Save the Date:
January 23, 2 p.m.: Visiting scholar Ellen Gruber Garvey will give a presentation, “Hidden Histories: African American Scrapbooks Talk Back to the White Press in the 19th Century,” on Thursday, January 30, 2–3 p.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Garvey is the author of “Writing with Scissors: American Scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance,” a recent book from Oxford University Press that breaks new ground analyzing and discussing scrapbooking as an historical and cultural practice. A book signing in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, will follow the presentation and books will be available for sale.
Garvey’s talk is jointly sponsored by the Penn State University Libraries and the Richards Civil War Era Center. It is held in conjunction with a research grant funded by the Penn State Africana Research Center that is supporting Penn State Libraries Digitization and Preservation Department’s condition assessment of the monumental William Dorsey Scrapbook Collection, currently on loan from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.
By Lisa Moyer
In February of 2013, as a result of renewed discussions regarding collection retention practices, a subgroup for the Access Services Council (ASC) was formed and charged to evaluate and recommend revisions to the Libraries missing items procedures. During initial subgroup meetings, members determined that in order to successfully meet the expectations set, items marked lost would also be added to the group’s original charge. The goal of the subgroup is to create uniform procedures for all libraries to follow concerning the complete processing of items marked missing and lost.
At the September 27th ASC meeting, the subgroup presented the following recommendations to the Council:
Thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and a matching donation from the King Family Foundation, the Libraries were able to create a new full-time position for a senior book conservator to be based in the Department of Digitization and Preservation.
We are pleased that Bill Minter has accepted the position of senior book conservator. With more than 30 years of experience in fine bookbinding and conservation, Bill will provide the leadership to expand the current conservation program to include enhanced conservation treatments; planning and implementing conservation policies; and training and outreach services to the campus, the region and to the public. Bill will start his Penn State career on January 6, 2014. — Mike Furlough