Monthly Archives: February 2014

UPLEA seeks many items for House of Care food drive

During the month of February, UPLEA is sponsoring a Food and Product drive to benefit the House of Care. We need your support! You can help by donating items from the below list. Donation baskets can be found in the 1st and 5th floor Paterno staff lounges or at any of the branch libraries.

They are in need of canned fruits and vegetables, soups and stews, sauces, dried goods (noodles, etc), paper and cleaning products, office supplies and personal care items.

Items needed include:

  • Canned Fruit: Peaches, mandarin oranges, pears, fruit cocktail
  • Pie Fillings: Cherry, pumpkin
  • Canned Vegetables: Butter beans,three bean salad, green beans, wax beans, beets, corn, carrots
  • Soups/Stews:Chicken noodle, chicken and rice, chicken broth, chicken Pot Pie soup, beef stew, chili, tomato, broccoli and cheese,cream of potato
  • Sauces: Gravy (chicken, turkey, beef), spaghetti
  • Other: 1 gallon vinegar
  • Dried Goods: egg noodles, jumbo pasta shells, spaghetti noodles, oatmeal (quick), raisin bran cereal, sugar, sugar-free Jell-O, boxed stuffing mix, Rice-A-Roni, Mrs. Dash, Black pepper
  • Paper & Cleaning Products: Napkins, toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags (tall kitchen), Clorox wipes, dishwashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, dishwasher descaler, h.e. laundry detergent, hand soap refill, Brill-O pads, Windex,Vinyl floor cleaner, Wood floor cleaner
    Office Supplies: Copier/printer paper, Canon Cartridge 131 laser printer toner: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, postage stamps,business envelopes
  • Personal care/toiletries: Shampoo,body wash, shaving cream, disposable razors, denture cleaner

The House of Care is a small personal care home in State Collge. For more information about the House of Care, visit their website at: http://www.houseofcare.org/

Thank you,
Barb Woods and Karen McCulley

Dean’s News

By Barbara I. Dewey, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications

I recently returned from the American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting in Philadelphia. Many Penn Staters were active participants in the meetings, boards, and committee work. I chaired the ACRL New Publications Committee. This committee is actively seeking book proposals of interest to ACRL constituents. Lisa German and I also attended the ARL January 23 regional design meeting hosted by Temple University. The regional design meetings are part of ARL’s strategic planning process and are being held to create a collaborative space for discussion about the future of the academic library and its place in higher education. This was a timely meeting given Penn State’s active engagement in strategic planning. I also attended the ARL Diversity and Leadership Program lunch and reception. Participants in the 2014 ARL Leadership Symposium included the Diversity Scholars, fellows from the 2014 Career Enhancement Program, and the ARL/SAA Mosaic Program. Mark Puente, director of ARL’s Diversity and Leadership Programs was the event host. Mark will be our Dean’s Diversity Forum speaker on February 24, at 1:30 p.m., in Foster Auditorium and on Media Site. I hope you can attend!

I also wanted you to know that Michael Adewumi, vice president for Penn State Global Programs and I have invited Barbara Ford, director of the Mortenson Center for International Librarianship and professor, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, to Penn State to help us develop strategies to support Penn State’s Global Engagement Network and global initiatives in general. Professor Ford will be meeting on February 3rd with Penn State Global Programs staff and a number of our faculty.

Libraries appoint William Minter as new senior book conservator

Minter, Bill

Minter

The Penn State University Libraries recently appointed William Minter as its first senior book conservator, a move that will greatly enhance the Libraries’ existing preservation program for rare and historical collections. Minter, who has more than 35 years of experience in fine bookbinding and conservation, began his appointment this semester in the University Libraries’ Digitization and Preservation Department. The position is funded by a challenge grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a matching donation from Jeffery L. and Cynthia King that established the King Family Conservation Endowment in the University Libraries.

“Bill Minter is a true leader in the field of conservation,” said Barbara Dewey, Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications. “He brings a wealth of experience and exceptional skill. Penn State is fortunate to have him join us.” Minter will provide leadership to expand the current conservation program to include enhanced conservation treatments, plan and implement conservation policies and provide training and outreach services to the Libraries, the Penn State community, and beyond. “My goal is to build a meaningful conservation program, which not only preserves the collections for future generations, but also reaches out to other Pennsylvania institutions and helps them care for their collections,” he says.

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Program helps military prepare financially for deployment

“Military Financial Challenges and Benefits” will be presented Wednesday, February 5, 5:30–7 p.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Presenters Dr. Daad Rizk, a Penn State financial literacy coordinator, and Matthew Heckman, a military admissions counselor, will offer practical information to help military personnel prepare financially for deployment, protect investment, minimize taxes, hold down insurance cost, avoid financial schemes that target military families, make the most of new GI Bill opportunities and education benefits decisions and transition into civilian life with informed decisions.

The presentation is part of the Money Counts: a Financial Literacy Series, a collaborative effort of the Penn State Commission for Adult Learners and the University Libraries.

Registration and additional details are available at www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/business/financialliteracy.html For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Lauren Reiter at lmr29@psu.edu or 814-865-4414.

Behler and Meier to present on information literacy

Information Literacy Librarian Anne Behler and Science Librarian John Meier have had a proposal accepted for presentation at LOEX 2014 Conference, “Creative Visualization: The Art of Information Literacy,” to be held in Michigan, May 2014. Along with Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Ellysa Cahoy and Instructional Design Librarian John Shank, they completed a comprehensive review of the Penn State University Libraries’ information literacy program and made recommendations for a more unified and consistent approach to teaching. Based on new professional theory and current internal practice, they outlined a vision for the next steps in a report, “Moving Forward: Envisioning Instructional Services for the Future.”  Their presentation will include how best practices were used to create an efficient timeline, organize quickly, and work collaboratively with online tools.

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Events: Week of Feb. 3

February 4, noon – 1 p.m.: Data Management Workshop, 211 Davey

February 5, 12:15 p.m.: What is the World Made of? (film) EMS Museum, Deike Bldg.

February 5, 2-3:30 p.m.: Introduction to EndNote, 001 Sparks

February 5, 5:30 – 7 p.m.: Military Financial Challenges and Benefits, Foster Aud.

February 6, 11 a.m.: Strategic Planning Forum: Teaching, Discovery, and Research. Foster Aud.

February 11, 1-2:30 p.m.: Introduction to Mendeley, 211 Davey

February 11,3:00-4:00 p.m.: Tech Update, Foster Auditorium and on MediaSite Live.

February 12, noon–1:30 p.m., “Penn State: Breaking the Color Barrier in Sports,” a panel discussion, in conjunction with Black History Month, featuring Mark Dyreson, professor of kinesiology, and Sara Roser-Jones, academic adviser, The Eberly College of Science. Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library.

February 12, 12:15 p.m.: 20,000 Cables Under the Sea (film) EMS Museum, Deike Bldg.

** Save the Date** Annual Dean’s Diversity Forum, Monday, February 24, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Foster Auditorium (and on Media Site). Mark Puente, director of Diversity and Leadership Programs at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) will be the speaker. More information will be forthcoming.

Tech Update on Feb. 11: Details

Tech Update: Tuesday, February 11, 3 – 4 p.m.
Foster Auditorium

Topics include:

  1. Computer Security: Patrick McDaniel from the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Penn State and co-director of the Systems and Internet Infrastructure Security Laboratory, will provide a discussion on computer security and how to remain safe online. The discussion will provide personal and organizational techniques that can be used to defend against social engineering.
  2. Web Usability: Bonnie Imler will discuss the ongoing use of usability studies and analytics data in determining changes to the design and functionality of the University Libraries’ website.

LHR News: Feb. 3

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
2/3/14 Amber Lawrence – Information Resources and Services Support Specialist, Fayette Campus Library

Part-time:
Rebekah Anderson (intern) – Special Collections Library
Lindelle George – Fletcher L. Byrom Earth and Mineral Sciences Library
Jordyn Gottshall (intern) – Special Collections Library

PDF of upcoming SRDP training program: SRDPTraining 2014-1

New this year for Discovery Day – Morningstar solar home tour

solar houseHave you heard about the MorningStar Solar Home on east campus? It is a net-zero home, producing as much (and even more) energy than it consumes. You will have the opportunity to take a tour of this house on Discovery Day, as Dr. Lisa Brown explains its use in sustainable housing education efforts and research.

Also offered, “Turning Darkness into Light: Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA.” The Sight-Loss Support Group staff will present information on the various stages of sight loss and showcase seeing-eye puppies that are being trained for life as Dog Guides. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to experience what a low vision person sees by wearing specially-designed glasses that simulate different types of sight loss.

You can sign up for these and other classes in TechSmart at https://techsmart.libraries.psu.edu/cgi-bin/techSmart.cgi?caseAct=1 — Submitted by the Discovery Day Project Team

Type faster with the iPad’s split keyboard

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

ipad keyboardDid you know that you can split the iPad Keyboard in two? The iPad Keyboard can be split to provide easier typing with the thumbs, with one half of the keyboard going to one side of the screen and the other half going to the other side of the screen. This is great for typing with your thumbs in landscape mode, when many of the keys would simply be out of your thumb’s reach otherwise.

You can split the iPad keyboard two ways:

  1. Hold Down the Keyboard Key – The Keyboard key in the lower right corner of the on-screen keyboard normally makes the keyboard disappear. But if you hold your finger down on it, a menu pops up (as shown in the image above). This menu will let you undock the keyboard (which puts it in the middle of the screen) and/or split the keyboard into two pieces.
  2. Pull the Keyboard Apart – A quicker way of getting to the split keyboard is to simply pull the keyboard apart with your fingers. Putting your fingers in the middle of the keyboard and then moving them to either side will put the iPad into split keyboard mode.

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