Daily Archives: October 6, 2014

Fact Sheet highlights Knowledge Commons resources

A new fact sheet on the Tombros and McWhirter Knowledge Commons is available at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/kc/facts_figures.html and demonstrates why this area in Pattee Library is so popular with students.

Since the Knowledge Commons opened January 9, 2012, it has become the go-to place for undergraduates needing media production rooms for movie editing, the One Button Studio for presentation practice, help with software and hardware issues, laptop charging lockers, storage lockers, scanning equipment and printers, group study rooms, comfortable seating and more.

Head Joe Fennewald notes, “Anytime 24/7, we are always busy. During fall semester 2013, the Knowledge Commons was open 2,384 hours and gave in-person help to 9,783 people.
In the first five weeks of classes this fall, we have seen a 3 percent increase in our gate count and a 39 percent increase in the number of requests made at our library desk in the Knowledge Commons. With this increased usage, in these first five weeks of classes, we’ve actually had to turn away 271 groups due lack of space in our group study rooms.”

Fennewald continues, “ It’s good to know that students value the space and services, but this information will drive our next steps to see how we can expand our space to accommodate their needs.”

For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Joe Fennewald at jaf23@psu.edu or 814-865-0666.

Charging stations installed in the Libraries

Charging stations for phones and mobile devices have been installed in Pattee Library, in the Leisure Reading Room, News and Microforms Library, and three wall-mounted stations in the Knowledge Commons; in Paterno Library, in student lounges floors 2, 3 and 4: the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library, 111 Stuckeman Family Building; and the Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library, 201 Davey Laboratory. The Engineering Library, 325 Hammond Building, also provides charging stations.

Each station includes adapters for up to 8 devices, including iPhone 4 and 5, and both micro and mini USB powered devices.

For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Commons Services desk at 814-865-5429.

University Park Faculty/Staff Office Delivery—One year later

By Barb Woods, Interlibrary Loan manager

An Interlibrary Loan staff recently commented, “It is interesting to see how quickly office delivery spreads. You’ll see one person from a department request the service and soon you are sending to several people in that same department.”

The Libraries University Park Faculty/Staff Office Delivery is reaching far and wide throughout the University Park campus. Faculty and staff who did not come to the libraries in person because it was not convenient, are now able to have library materials delivered to their departmental addresses.

The number of library materials sent out since the start of the service has steadily risen, doubling within six months. We expect numbers to increase this Fall Semester. Faculty/Staff Offices statistics can be found here https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/access/intranet/officedelivery.html. The statistics show what was requested from the Libraries’ collection (the “I Want It” on LionSearch or The CAT) and from other libraries via E-Zborrow or ILL.

Read last year’s news story about the launch of this service here

University Libraries Innovation Microgrants awarded

The University Libraries Innovation Microgrant Program saw a strong response this year, with five proposals identified for funding. These proposals are listed below:

  • “Developing a Collaboratory at Penn State Harrisburg: Helping the Creative and Design Process,” Gregory Crawford, director, Capital College Libraries
  • “Tutorial Tropes and Traps,” Amanda Clossen, learning design librarian
  • “Open Source Tool for Text Analysis,” James O’Sullivan, digital humanities research designer
  • “Mapping Modern French and Francophone Literature: a Literary Cartography Project,” Dawn Childress, Sally W. Kalin Librarian for Technological Innovations and humanities librarian
  • “Throwback Geek Week,” Sherry Roth, information resources and services supervisor-manager

Check the status of key Penn State services quickly

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

A quick easy way to check and see if a key Penn State or Library service is experiencing issues is the ITS Alerts Page. On this page you can view alerts by Services such as TSM and E-mail on the left-hand side of the page (including key library services) and ITS Alerts by location.Capture(22)

The middle of the page will display the most recent alerts or the current status of alerts based on the service displayed. Also, you will see any future alerts for services such as scheduled maintenance and disruptions. When an issue is resolved the alert will turn green to let you know the issue has been resolved.

Finally, on the right-hand side of the web page is an updated list of the latest virus threats.

Keep this page bookmarked the next time you are experiencing issues on your computer to see if it’s a system-wide disruption. You can also keep checking back to see when the issue has been resolved.

LHR News: October 6

Part-time

Altinay Ahmatova, Interlibrary Loan
Alexandrea Lettieri, Commons Services
Esther Jin, Commons Services

Internal Moves (10/1/14)

Paul Baughman, IT Support Specialist IT Services and Solutions to Department for Information Technologies (I-Tech)

Jeff Shawver, IT Support Specialist IT Services and Solutions to Department for Information Technologies (I-Tech)

Mark Webster, IT Support Specialist IT Services and Solutions to Department for Information Technologies (I-Tech)

Events: October 6

October 6, 1:30–3 p.m.: Introduction to Mendeley, 203 Paterno. Registration and more information here.

October (multiple dates): “Queering Penn State History”: Penn State Archivist Doris Malkmus will be traveling to Penn State campuses this fall to present “Queering Penn State History.” Using a game setting and primary sources from The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, she will help attendees discover the tumultuous history of Penn State’s first gay student organization, circa 1968–1974. The presentations are free and open to the public. Full schedule here.

October 8, 12:15 p.m.: Peak Oil Blues (film), EMS Museum, 18 Deike. How oil affects us personally and as a community. See schedule

October 8, noon–4 p.m.: Computing Fundamentals for Humanities Scholars
140 Pattee Library (Knowledge Commons). Instructors: James O’Sullivan and Andrew Gearhart, Publishing Services web developer. To register, visit the Humanities Lab website.

October 8, 1–2 p.m.: So HELP Me: Improving Customer Service workshop. Part 1. Register in TechSmart.

October 8, 5:30 p.m.: Student Loan Repayment workshop, Foster Aud. More details online

October 9, 4 p.m.: Gallery talk: “Food Will Win the War: The U.S. Food Administration and ‘Conspicuous Conservation,’ 1917-1919,” by professor Justin Nordstrom, Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Nordstrom is an associate professor of history at Penn State Hazleton.

October 9, 10–11 a.m. So HELP Me: Improving Customer Service workshop. Part 1. Register in TechSmart.

Note: The Oct. 9, 7 p.m. presentation by Civil rights leader the Rev. Jim Lawson on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will now be held in Room 101, Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building. Full story on Penn State News

October 14, 7:30–8:30 p.m.: Meet Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of ‘Americanah,’ in an interview conducted by Ellysa Cahoy, librarian and assistant director, Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Days Inn Penn State, 240 South Pugh Street, State College. Open to the public.

October 15, 12:15 p.m.: The Price of Sand (film), EMS Museum, 18 Deike. The impact of silicon mining on the local economies of Minnesota and Wisconsin.See schedule

October 15, 1-2 p.m.: So HELP Me: Improving Customer Service workshop. Part 2. Register in TechSmart.

October 16, 9-10 a.m. and 3-4 p.m.: So HELP Me: Improving Customer Service. Part 2. Register in TechSmart.

October 16, 7 p.m.: “Walking Straight: Transcending Disability and Embracing Sexual Identity,” presented by actress Geri Jewel, Foster Auditorium.

October 16, noon–2:00 p.m.: Introduction to Digital Humanities, 23 Pattee Library (News and Microforms Library) Instructors: James O’Sullivan, Digital Humanities research designer, and Dawn Childress, Kalin Librarian for Technological Innovations in the Humanities and humanities librarian. To register, visit the Humanities Lab website.

October 21, 3 p.m.: “How to Put Your Brain on the Internet,” presentation by author Michael Chorost, Foster Auditorium.

October 22, 12:15 p.m.: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises (Peak Moments TV episode 192) and Collapse of the Titans (Peak Moments TV episode 202), 18 Deike Bldg. EMSL Film Series. Interviews with Daniel Lerch and Dmitry Orlov about the future of America’s energy instabilities. (56 min. total)

October 23, 3-4 p.m: Getting to Know International Patrons, Mann Assembly Room and Adobe Connect. There are over 7,000 international students from around the world enrolled at Penn State. These students bring with them a broad range of cultures, languages, backgrounds, and expectations. This discussion-based workshop will present effective strategies for communicating with our international patrons.

October 23, 2014, 7:30 p.m.: The Emily Dickinson Lectureship in American Poetry presents Marilyn Nelson, Foster Auditorium. Marilyn Nelson is a three-time finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Newbery and Coretta Scott King awards. She is the author or translator of 15 poetry books for adults and children and five chapbooks. In 2013 she published a memoir entitled “How I Discovered Poetry”—a series of 50 poems about growing up in the 1950’s in a military family. Part of the 2014-2015 Mary E. Rolling Reading Series.

October 29, 12:15 p.m.: Ocean Frontiers: The Dawn of a New Era in Ocean StewardshipSeries of three short episodes on the ocean and sustainability, 18 Deike Bldg. EMSL Film Series. Featuring:

  • Ocean Blueprint in the Florida Keys (11 min.)
  • Saving Whales at Stellwagen Bank (27 min.)
  • Iowa Farmers & Gulf of Mexico (22 min.)

October 30, noon–3:00 p.m.: Digital Literary Studies Seminar Series Part I. Computational Stylistics, 23 Pattee Library (News and Microforms Library). Instructor: James O’Sullivan. To register, visit the Humanities Lab website.

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