Daily Archives: November 3, 2014

Exhibit explores diversity through jazz

“Jazz Riffs: Breaking Boundaries and Crossing Borders,” an exhibit, is on display through April 12, in the Diversity Studies Room, 203 Pattee Library. The exhibit speaks like a riff in jazz—a short simple melody used for creating more complicated musical patterns. It makes no claim to being all-inclusive; just a one-toe dip in the river of jazz, its music and the lives of a few of its artists.

Jazz Riffs looks at three major story elements in the history of jazz—gender, race and world—focusing on a few musicians or groups from each of these categories.

sax player

“Girls in the Band” features untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists.

For gender, it looks at the 2011 film, “The Girls in the Band,” and at The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an all-female racially diverse band that emerged from The Piney Woods School in rural Georgia.

For race, it looks at bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman and concert promoter/record producer Norman Granz, both of whom were influential in the integration of jazz bands and jazz audiences.

For world, it looks at Japanese jazz pianist, composer and conductor Toshiko Akiyoshi, one of the first female jazz musicians to conduct an all-male band, and at Belgian and Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, one of the most recognized early European jazz innovators.

Each of the three themes in the exhibit include musicians’ stories and their music and go deeper into the history, music, biography, film and fiction of jazz found within the rich resources of the University Libraries.

The exhibition is open during regular library hours, available at 814-865-3063.
For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Jenna Gill at jmk441@psu.edu and 814-865-9406 or Jacqueline Dillon-Fast at jud18@psu.edu and 814-865-9407.

Financial literacy workshop

“What is financial literacy?,” a workshop, will be presented on Wednesday, November 12, 5:30–7 p.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. Penn State’s Financial Literacy mission is to provide students the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being. In this workshop, Penn State Financial Literacy Coordinator Dr. Daad Rizk will discuss the skills that students need to acquire. She will present an overview of financial literacy and give specific steps and tips to examine and alter core attitudes and beliefs about money management as a prelude to reaching a successful financial life.

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.

Additional details are online at http://bit.ly/1rzz1Jw. Registration is requested at http://bit.ly/1sQ0Zkp

The presentations are available in the MoneyCounts: A Financial Literacy Series online (select series from column on left).

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.

Talk to explore history of military training at Penn State

In honor of Veteran’s Day, Penn State University Archivist Jackie Esposito will present a talk on the “History of Military Training at Penn State,” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 11, in the Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park. World War I rations — in the form of hardtack biscuits — and coffee will be provided, and attendees are welcome to bring their lunches.

The public is welcome and also is encouraged to visit “Over There … and Here” an expeditionary exhibition on World War I,” which is on display in 104 Paterno Library. Jim Quigel, head of Historical Collections and Labor Archives, will offer comments on this exhibition.

For more information, or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Doris Malkmus at djm51@psu.edu or 814-863-4338.

Events: Nov. 3

November 4 – 10–11 a.m. So HELP Me: Improving Customer Service. Part 1. Register in TechSmart.

November 5, 1 p.m.: Introduction to EndNote, W315 Pattee.

November 5, 12:15 p.m. : The Creek Runs Red (film) 18 Deike. How lead and zinc mining has impacted the 100-year old town of Picher, Oklahoma. See schedule

November 5, 9:00 am – Noon: Preparing and Planning for Change. Organized by LHR. Presenter: Cheryl Johnson, Mann Assembly Room. Register: http://portal.outreach.psu.edu/search/publicCourseSectionDetails.do?method=load&sectionId=1117727

November 6, 10-11 a.m.: So HELP Me, Part 2. Register in TechSmart.

November 6, 2014, 7:30pm: 2014-2015 Mary E. Rolling Reading Series presents Chinelo Okparanta, the author of Happiness, Like Water, a 2013 New York Times Sunday Book Review Editors’ Choice. Foster Auditorium. Okparanta’s writing has appeared in GRANTA, The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, and Tin House, among others. Her story “America” was selected as a notable story for Best American Short Stories 2013. She earned her undergraduate degree from Penn State.

November 11, 10 a.m.: Introduction to Mendeley, 302 Paterno

November 11, 11:30 a.m.: “History of Military Training at Penn State,” Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library

November 12, 5:30–7 p.m.: “What is financial literacy?,” a workshop, Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library.

November 12,12:15 p.m.: Extreme by Design (film). A cross disciplinary approach to find ways to help solve health issues amongst the world’s poorest populations. 18 Deike. See schedule

November 13, 2–4 p.m.: Content Management Systems for the Humanities, 140 Pattee Library (Knowledge Commons). Instructors: Kate Miffitt, director of Digital Pedagogy and Scholarship, and James O’Sullivan. To register, visit the Humanities Lab website.

November 13 – 3–4 p.m. So HELP Me: Improving Customer Service. Part 1. Register in TechSmart.

November 14, 4 p.m.: “Moving the Chains,” archival footage of great moments in Penn State football, Foster Aud. and MediaSite Live.

November 18, 10 a.m.: Dean’s Diversity Forum with Janice Welburn. Foster Aud. and MediaSite Live. Welburn has a very distinguished career in research librarianship including holding the designation of ACRL Librarian of the Year. She has written and presented extensively on diversity and a number of other topics.

November 19, 12:15 p.m.: Asbestos Connection (film). The discovery, production, and health effects of asbestos. 18 Deike. See schedule

November 19: GIS Day. The University Libraries is co-sponsoring an event with the Department of Geography to raise awareness of geospatial information and the many possibilities and opportunities of geographic information systems (GIS). Check out the GIS Day webpage for more information: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchhub/gis-day.html
Information Fair: 1-4 p.m., Mann Assembly Room, Paterno Library
Poster Display: The Atrium of Pattee Library
GIS Networking Reception: 4–5 p.m., 208 Paterno Library
Please encourage students, staff, and faculty to attend to learn about what is GIS and its many application areas.

November 19, 4 p.m.: Presentation by graphic novelist Jim Woodring, Foster Aud. Woodring won the Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year for 2014 for “Fran,” published by Fantagraphics Books. Read the full story on Penn State News.

November 20, noon–2 p.m.: Digital Literary Studies Seminar Series Part II. Network Analysis, 23 Pattee Library (News and Microforms Library). Instructors: Dawn Childress and James O’Sullivan. To register, visit the Humanities Lab website.

Continue reading

How to change the default font in Microsoft Word

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

Start with a blank document, or if your document already contains text that is formatted with the properties that you want to use, select that text.

1. On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Font tab.

font finder2. Select the options that you want to apply to the default font, such as font style and font size. If you selected text in step 1, the properties of the selected text are set in the dialog box.

3. Click Set As Default, and then click OK.

font changer

LHR News: Nov. 3

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
11/3/14: Nathan Piekielek, Geospatial Services Librarian, Social Sciences Library
11/3/14: Suzanne Shamrock, Information Resources & Services Support Specialist, Life Sciences Library

Part-time:
Josh Critelli, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library
Carly Day, Library Annex

Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:
10/31/14: Jeanette Eisenhart

Upcoming Holidays

Thanksgiving Day: The Thanksgiving holiday will be on Thursday, November 27. The University is also closed on Friday, November 28, and this day is considered an Official Campus Closure.

Human Resources Guideline HRG10, “Handling ‘Weather Day’ Absences or Official University Closedowns Due to Weather Conditions,” provides the needed guidance for staff and technical-service employees. Therefore, in general, the following will apply:

  • Employees who normally work Fridays and are not required to work, including wage payroll employees who are eligible for earned time, will receive pay for the day as if they had worked. Employees who had previously scheduled a vacation day or other paid time off will not have such time charged.
  • Employees who are required to work Thanksgiving Friday, including wage payroll employees who are eligible for earned time, will receive time off equivalent to the number of hours worked.
  • Full-time staff and technical-service employees whose regular day off falls on Thanksgiving Friday will receive an additional day of equivalent time off to be scheduled at another time mutually agreeable to the employee and the supervisor. Although this represents an expansion of the benefit provided for in the guideline, it is in keeping with the intention of the provision of this unique benefit.

LHR Note: Full time employees who usually work Fridays should mark this time as “Official Campus Closure” in ESSIC. Employees whose normal day off is Friday will add the equivalent time in “Campus Closure Compensatory hours earned,” found on the Paid Time Off Earned page, during the submit process at the end of the month. Compensatory time balances must be used prior to vacation.

December/January Holidays

This year, December 25 will fall on a Thursday, as will January 1, 2015. The official University holiday period begins Wednesday, December 24 and ends Thursday, January 1. Weekdays during that period are official University holidays.

In order to provide a generally more desirable and efficient application of time off, University offices and facilities, except for essential services, will be closed Friday, January 2, as well. Since January 2 is not a University holiday, employees will need to account for the time appropriately, e.g., with vacation or no pay. Any employee choosing to work on January 2 will be permitted to do so; however, temperature conditions in the work area may be less than ideal. Employees planning to work should discuss this with their supervisor, in advance. The University will be closed from the end of normal operations on Wednesday, December 24, and will reopen on Monday, January 5.

Full-time employees who are asked to work on an official University holiday must be given compensatory time and/or additional compensation according to the Holidays section of HR-34. Part-time employees with Earned Time status who are required to work would be paid time and a half for working on a holiday, per HR05. Supervisors should carefully plan and budget for the staff needed for minimum coverage on these dates, and employees may only work if required.

ESSIC Attendance Record Instructions for Official University Holidays:

  • For an employee who normally works on the day a holiday falls, who is not required to work: Select “Holiday” from the list of reasons. If an employee normally works more than his/her allowed holiday time (e.g. a 75% HR-88 employee who has a prorated 6-hour holiday, but his/her shift during this time period would normally be 8 hours), he/she should account for the remaining hours that day with vacation time, or must make arrangements to make up the remaining time during that same work week.
  • For an employee who is required to work on an official University holiday: If non-exempt, mark the actual hours worked (exempt employees mark nothing). Then, when submitting the attendance record at the end of the month, add the compensatory time earned in “Holiday Compensatory Time Earned” on the Paid Time Off Earned page, where vacation is added each month. As a reminder, this time must be used before vacation.
  • If a holiday falls on an employee’s regularly scheduled day off: The employee should add Holiday Compensatory Time when the record is submitted at the end of the month, according to the instructions in the above scenario. Nothing is marked on the actual holiday.
  • Employees who have HR-88 positions should follow the guidance outlined in the policy.
  • For guidance on other scenarios, please contact our office.

Note: Dickinson School of Law Libraries and George T. Harrell Library employees are provided with this information as employees of the University Libraries; however, day-to-day operational practices are guided by their respective Colleges. Dickinson and College of Medicine Library employees should speak to their immediate supervisor or local HR Representative for guidance, as necessary. Conditions of employment for Technical-service employees are further described in the “Agreement between The Pennsylvania State University and Teamsters Local Union No. 8.” Technical-service employees should refer to the Agreement for information related to the above topics.

Professor Zelinsky’s books to be offered during GIS Day reception

Submitted by Tara LaLonde, GIS Specialist

The family of Professor Emeritus Wilbur Zelinsky (Department of Geography) has donated many of his maps and books to the University Libraries. Many of his books (over 400) will be offered to interested takers. These books will be available on November 19, 2014, at the GIS networking reception from 4-5 p.m., in 208 Paterno Library. These books span many geography topics from culture, physical geography, urban studies and more. Zelinsky had a profound impact on Penn State’s Geography Department, as he was head of the department form 1970-1976. More information on his many contributions and his scholarship in the field of geography can be found on the Department of Geography’s website.

Libraries hold professional development opportunity

By Megan Gilpin, Library Learning Services outreach coordinator

On Wednesday, October 29, around 30 staff and faculty from University Park gathered in Foster Auditorium for a professional development presentation entitled, “What Penn State Libraries Can Do For You.” Dawn Amsberry, Barbara Coopey, Joe Fennewald, Chris Holobar, Amanda Maple, Linda Musser and Eric Novotny presented on a variety of Libraries-related topics designed to educate the staff and faculty working closely with students on what the Libraries has to offer. The session ended with a brief presentation by Jackie Esposito on Records Management. The presentation was recorded and will be available on Media Site Live for the next month. If you have any questions, please contact Megan Gilpin (mcg13).

Ubot who?

By Tracie Wickersham, Interlibrary Loan

ubot on nittany lionGreetings! I’m Ubot! I am a representative for Uborrow! Did you know that I have been touring your library? Maybe you have seen me around hanging out with Nittany? Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I originally came from the University of Maryland, as a representative for the Uborrow system.

What is Uborrow you ask? Uborrow is a shared catalog of the Big Ten libraries where you can search and directly request circulating material. Uborrow is located on the Interlibrary Loan web page https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/ill.html

As I was saying, my journey began at the University of Maryland and I will be making stops at every Big Ten institution! You can follow my journey through Twitter by using #wheresubot to see where I have been and where I will be going next! By the time my mission is complete, I will be at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I have enjoyed my time here at Penn State, and please do not forget, keep an eye out for my adventures on Twitter! ubot2

Staff and faculty enjoy Halloween Party

Thanks to the Libraries’ Health and Safety Committee, UPLEA (University Park Libraries Employee Association) and the Welcome Desk Morale group for organizing this year’s Halloween party! Photos submitted by Pembroke Childs.

halloween costumeoriginalfranklin

halloweenpartyparty3

For more photos, see Amy Miller’s gallery: https://plus.google.com/photos/101645241877941321478/albums/6076433753166798929?authkey=CJX7sOru-6CYvgE

Meanwhile, Penn State Beaver Library posted this great shot on Instagram for Halloween:

beaverlibistangramand Penn State Mont Alto posted this photo of their Halloween-themed display:

montaltohalloween