Construction Projects Summary, Pattee and Paterno Libraries, interior and exterior schedule to begin May 12 (dates are tentative)

CLOSED
May 12–July 2—Knowledge Commons, floor 1 Pattee Library, west
Closed for repair work.
SERVICES RELOCATED:
• The group studies rooms, multimedia instruction room, One Button Studio and production rooms will be closed.
• Reference help, room reservations, and the IT Service Desk will temporarily move to the Research HUB, floor 2 Paterno Library.
• ITS Lab Consultants to assist with computers and printers will be available in Sidewater Commons, 102 Pattee Library.
• Users needing help with media projects should either consult the Media Commons web site at http://mediacommons.psu.edu/ or go to 11 Sparks Bl.

May 12–August 21—Music and Media Center, floor 2, Pattee Library, west
Closed for repair work.
• Music and Media Center service desk, including the Arts and Humanities reference service, temporarily relocated to the Arts and Humanities Reference Foyer, W202 Pattee Library.
• DVD collections and viewing stations temporarily relocated to W203 Pattee Library (next to the Reference Foyer).

LIMITED ACCESS
May 12–August 21—installation of sprinkler system
Areas noted below (excluding floor 2 Pattee Library, west, which is closed) will remain partially open to allow emergency egress and passage between buildings.
The New Student Orientation (NSO), May 21 through July, will be held in the Paterno Humanities Reading Room, W201 Pattee Library, using half of the room.

Pattee Library, central

• floor 1: Franklin Atrium, Weltman Lobby, the grand stairwell, main entrance lobby, Leisure Reading Room
• floor 2: Arts and Humanities Reference Foyer, Paterno Family Humanities Reading Room, Henisch Room, PA Center for the Book, grand stairwell
• floors 3 and 4, the Tower

Pattee Library, west

• ground and floors 2 and 3

Approximately May 12—Pattee Library, west and central (excluding floor 1 west), and Paterno Library (Special Collections should be minimally affected)
HVAC system component replacements that may result in colder than normal temperatures and less humidity control in some locations.

EXTERIOR PROJECTS IMPACTING LIBRARY ACCESS, MAY–JULY (tentative dates)
Roof replacement on central and west Pattee Library. While this should have minimal impact on the faculty, staff and users, there may be some noise, and it will require vehicles and equipment outside the building. This work is also scheduled to begin and will extend into July.

• Installation of a natural gas line along Curtin Road will impact traffic and will for a period of time block vehicular access to the Paterno Library, including the Receiving Dock. Beginning on Curtin and Allen Road intersection and proceed both ways on Curtin Road. (Vehicles will have access to the Paterno Receiving Dock from the east, then as that access closes off, access will be provided from the west. Pull off in front of Paterno Library closed May 12–26 (tentative).

• Approximately May 12–August—Mall walkway CLOSED: Pattee Library mall entrance will be closed; west entrance will remain open. (Work on water line and utilities, steam line, and steam tunnel.)

• Beginning May 12—Paterno Library plaza concrete will be replaced, the donor pavers reset, and drain replaced. About one half of the plaza will be closed at a time to perform this work.

For more information, contact Ron Servello at rbs9@psu.edu of 814-865-9551.

April 23, 1:30 p.m.: Dean’s Forum: Life Beyond Sirsi and Summon …
What will the Library Management System of the future look like? Will it be a monolithic, but multi-faceted solution, or an ever-changing mix of interconnecting (and sometimes not interconnecting) parts? Foster Auditorium and Mediasite Live.
Members of the Library Management Systems Requirements Working Group will present their work and outline their recommendations.

• They will address the current library management landscape, forces driving the perceived need for change, feedback from Libraries stakeholders, and the challenges of discovery and access.
• They will also report on progress made since the submission of their final report to Libraries Administration in October 2013, and give a sneak peek at the next version of LionSearch.

LMSRWG’s report is available at: https://www.libraries.psu.edu/content/dam/psul/up/admin/intranet/documents/LMSRWG/lmsrwg%20final%20report%2010312013.pdf

April 23, 5:30 – 7 p.m.: Spring Clean Financial Clutter Foster Aud. Presented by Penn State financial literacy coordinator Daad Rizk.

April 24, 7-8:30 p.m.: No Superheroes: Creating Underground Comics, Foster Aud. Presented by Joyce Farmer, co-creator of “Tits & Clits Comix.”

April 28, 3:00-4:00 p.m.: UPLEA meeting,  Mann Assembly room .

April 29, 3-4:30 p.m.: Cultural and Economic Perspectives of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,” Foster Aud. Presented by Kyunghwa Lee, University of Georgia.

May 1,11-4pm: Arts and Craft Sale benefiting the Centre County United Way, Mann Assembly room.

May 6, noon to 2 p.m.: Film Fest to Celebrate 100 Years of Cooperative Extension, Foster Auditorium.

May 9, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: MediaTech Expo: This year’s Technology Expo will feature showcase what’s new for 2014, President’s Hall, Penn Stater Conference Center, University Park campus.

Film producers and fans of film history as well as educators and historians of early rural farm life will want to see the “Film Fest to Celebrate 100 Years of Cooperative Extension,” on Tuesday, May 6, noon to 2:00 p.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, Penn State University Park. The event is open to the public, and visitors may attend any part of the program.

Selected silent and black and white films and film clips display early cinematic techniques and demonstrate how humor was incorporated with the content to note the “new” technology on the farm and in the home. The films were shown to rural families in the early part of the twentieth century and today they give an unforgettable glimpse of life in the early 20th century.

Following the films from 2:00–3:00 p.m., Jan F. Scholl, Ph.D. and CFCS, an extension specialist and associate professor in the Department of Agricultural, Economics, Sociology and Education (AESE), will lead a short presentation and question and answer period that discusses how Cooperative Extension began as an outreach initiative of the University that continues today. Scholl has published many refereed articles on cooperative extension history, and she was the first American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Centennial Scholar.

The event is part of the AESE M.E. John Seminar Series in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education and is co-sponsored by the Penn State University Archives.

For more information about the program, please contact Jan Scholl at jscholl@psu.edu or 814-863-7444. 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.

See what’s new for 2014 at this year’s Technology Expo on May 9, 2014, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in the President’s Hall, Penn Stater Conference Center, University Park. Organized by Media and Technology Support Services (MediaTech), the event will bring together more than 16 vendors under one roof to demonstrate the latest LCD flat-panel displays, projectors, touch-screen control systems, 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.

Cahoy…project builds on her earlier research

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a grant of $440,000 to Penn State. The two-year project in collaboration with George Mason University will build upon the 2012-2013 research led by Ellysa Stern Cahoy, education librarian, studying how faculty managed and archived their scholarly information collections. Over the next two years, Stern Cahoy, in collaboration with Dr. Sean Takats, associate professor of History at George Mason University and director of research projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, will direct software development to enhance how faculty organize and archive information, including their own scholarly publications.

The software development will center on Zotero, an open source citation manager (zotero.org) overseen by Takats and commonly used for scholarly research management, storage and bibliographic citation generation. Stern Cahoy, Takats and developers at Penn State and George Mason will enhance Zotero’s archiving capabilities by linking to ScholarSphere, Penn State’s institutional repository service, available at scholarsphere.psu.edu. This will allow Penn State faculty, students and staff to claim and deposit self-authored works securely in ScholarSphere via Zotero.

Continue reading →

Individuals can check out a watt meter from the University Libraries to use at home or office to determine how much electricity an electronic device uses. The electricity used by everyday objects can be surprising. For example, using a small space heater for an eight-hour workday uses the same amount of electricity as leaving a small flat screen television on for three straight days (about 9 KWh). Even when electronics and appliances aren’t in use, many still draw electricity just from being plugged in. The purpose of a watt meter is to measure exactly how much electricity an appliance uses, when it is in use, versus not in use. It is a valuable tool in identifying opportunities for electricity savings through reducing the time appliances are used as well as unplugging appliances and electronics altogether.

This service is part of the University’s green initiative to help consumers become more energy smart. By knowing consumption patterns, individuals can reduce their electric footprint and save money.

Watt meter availability is listed in the CAT, the Libraries online catalog, at http://tinyurl.com/PSULwattmeters. Locations with watt meters include, the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library, 111 Stuckeman Family Building; the Earth and Mineral Sciences Library, 105 Deike Library; and the Life Sciences Library, 401 Paterno Library.

For questions, call the Earth and Mineral Science Library at 814-865-9517.

For more information on the initiative, go to: www.green.psu.edu/youCanDo/wattmeters.asp

• Dean’s News
• How games fit your library
• Teaching about American Indians in K-12
• Event examines sovereignty of American Indian communities
• Ancestry database available
• Events
• Which survey tool is best for you?
• Collection Maintenance sea change
• Notes (new column for staff members to highlight library-related professional activities (conference or poster presentations, works published, etc.)
• LHR News
• Faculty News
• Sustainability in Engineering open house
• LMC meeting minutes

Librarians, library staff and library advocates are invited to “Finding the Missing Piece: How Games Fit Your Library,” on Thursday, May 15, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in the Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, Penn State University Park. The program is the PALA Juniata-Conemaugh Chapter Spring Workshop.

More than light entertainment, games have grown to become a dominant form of media today. Gaming helps to shape library programs, and games have a positive, transformative impact on the patrons and communities that libraries serve. Brian Mayer, author, game designer and council member of ALA’s Games and Gaming Round Table, will present a fun, hands-on exploration of some of the ways that games and gaming programs may fit into library programs. He will discuss game design and maker opportunities, curricular support for students, gamification, and gaming events.

The registration deadline is May 3, 2014. The cost is $45 for PaLA members (log-in for member discount) and $65 for nonmembers and includes morning refreshments and lunch. Please note there are no refunds, but a substitute may be sent. More details and a registration form are available online.

This program has been partially funded with Federal Library Services and Technology (LSTA) funds administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Juniata-Conemaugh Chapter Chair Lori Lysiak at lal29@psu.edu or 814-867-4924.

“Teaching about American Indians in Your K-12 Classroom: How to Select Children’s Books and Talk about Native People” will be held on April 22, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., in 108 Chambers, on Penn State’s University Park campus. This informative session for educators will be conducted by education specialist Susan Chavez Cameron and Vine Deloria Jr. Librarian Elayne Silversmith, from the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

This presentation will provide suggestions on how to select children’s books and how to effectively teach about American Indians, and will be of interest to teachers, students majoring in elementary education and graduate students in education. The goal is to help educators consider the complexities of teaching about this topic and delivering sensitive and accurate information. Read the full story on Penn State News

“Transformation from Violence, Disease, and Abuse to Self-Determination and Sovereignty in American Indian Communities” will be presented by Susan Chavez Cameron and Elayne Silversmith, on Wednesday, April 23, 10:30–11:30 a.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, Penn State University Park. The event will be followed by a reception in the Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library. The program will also be broadcast online. Read the full story on Penn State News.

Penn State students, faculty and staff with an access ID can now search Ancestry Library Edition from the Databases A-Z list or the University Libraries’ homepage (http://www.libraries.psu.edu). While best known as the premiere genealogy database, Ancestry also offers scholars rich primary sources for advanced biographical research. Original census records from the United States, United Kingdom and Canadian censuses, beginning in the 18th and 19th century; military records; court, land and probate records; vital and church records; directories; passenger lists and more are digitized and supported by a powerful search engine. These collections are continuously updated with new content every business day.

For more information about database content and search features, please contact Dolores Fidishun at dxf19@psu.edu or Susan Ware at saw4@psu.edu. If you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Susan Ware at saw4@psu.edu or 610-892-1380.