Thursday, May 21 2:00-3:30 pm: The University Libraries Diversity Committee presents the 2015 Diversity Research and Programming Colloquium on and on MediaSite Live in Foster Auditorium . Faculty and staff from throughout the Libraries will discuss their diversity related projects. Please join us!
** Also see “Training and Enrichment Opportunities” for additional staff events.
100 Digital Discoveries is pleased to announce its latest blog post announcing the addition of a new digital collection, the Brent Wilson Papers: 1950- 2013, as well as the special exhibit that is currently on display in the Special Collections Library (104 Paterno Library), entitled “Brent Wilson, Journals and Journeys, Too”.
submitted by Wendy Stodart
Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:
Part-time:
Maria Landschoot Bednar Intern, Social Sciences Library
Access Services held its 12th Annual Service Awards and Luncheon on May 14.
Staff recognized for reaching library service milestones were:
30 Years: Nadine Deitrich
25 Years: Mark Leskovansky
20 Years: Robin Waltz
15 Years: Wertney Cox, Amy Miller, Barb Woods
10 Years: Hyma Bhat, Melanie Rinker
5 Years: Suzanne Sadler, Gerald Wion
Following the luncheon, Brandy Karl, copyright officer, presented “Copyright Law Developments Affecting Research Libraries.”
Courtney Young, Penn State Greater Allegheny head librarian and 2014-15 ALA president recently attended the White House launch of the ConnectED: Library Challenge Initiative. Young met President Barack Obama and several of the president’s team who are leading the project. The initiative seeks to transform teaching and learning through digital connectivity and content. For more information ConnectED, see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/30/fact-sheet-spreading-joy-reading-more-children-and-young-adults.
For more on the launch of the initiative, see http://www.districtdispatch.org/2015/04/ala-welcomes-white-houses-connected-library-challenge/
The University Libraries Diversity Committee will present the 2015 Diversity Research and Programming Colloquium on Thursday May 21 2:00-3:30 pm in Foster Auditorium and on MediaSite Live
To turn Track Changes on or off in a Word document, switch to the Review toolbar and click the Track Changes button (or press Ctrl+Shift+E). When it’s turned on, Word automatically marks all of the changes made to the document. Formatting changes are noted in balloon text in the right column.
When multiple people work on a document with Track Changes turned on, different peoples’ changes are marked in different colors so it’s easier to tell who did what. To find out which person made the change, just hold the pointer above a change for a moment to display a popup showing the author, date, and type of the change. All changes in the document (including formatting changes) are also marked with a vertical bar outside the left margin to make it easier to scan for changes.
At some point, you’ll need to review changes and decide whether to accept or reject them. Word provides a couple of ways to do this:
You can also accept or reject multiple changes at once by selecting text and using the buttons on the toolbar. For example, you might prefer reading a whole paragraph at a time, selecting that paragraph, and then accepting all the changes that has several changes throughout it and then deciding to accept (or reject) all the changes in the paragraph. Unfortunately, you can’t use the context menus this way because, for some reason, the reviewing options do not appear if any of the selected text is not a marked change.
submitted by Ryan Johnson
May 15, 2:30 p.m.: University Libraries Award Presentation, Foster Auditorium. Followed by a reception in Mann Assembly Room. All are are invited to attend.
You can still register for sessions including:
Get Walking
Did you know that on average, every minute of walking can extend your life by 1.5 to 2 minutes?
Join Pam Glanert from Health Matters as she discusses the benefits of walking and shares some valuable information on walking shoes and pedometers. Also learn about the walking program that the campus locations participate in and what the plans are to start one at UP Libraries.
Roller Derby
What do you know about the fastest-growing sport in America? In this session, you’ll find out how roller derby has evolved, how a roller derby bout works and how to become a derby player or just train like one. Wear something comfortable, because you’ll get an opportunity to work out derby style and “play derby” in a low-contact, no-skates simulated bout. Observers welcome, too! Join Nicole Hendrix in this session.
Library Storage for Patrons- Carrels vs Lockers
Join Pembroke Childs to discover more about the temporary and long-term storage options in Pattee and Paterno Libraries. Who can help me with this locker? What are my storage space options? When does the locker auto UN-lock? Where are the locations of these helpful tools? Why didn’t I apply for a carrel sooner? All these questions and more will be answered. Included in this session: hands on training with some equipment and a “mini- field trip” to the Central Stacks!
What is a micro-site and how are they related to the libraries?
The libraries micro-sites are a collaboration between the libraries and another organization, college, or department to create a web presence for that entity. Sites like the People’s Contest, PA Center for the Book, the Alumni library, Hershey, ICIK, and ASEE use the libraries CMS for that presence. Come find out more, meet the web authors, and hear more about their migration to Drupal.
submitted by Rita Buhite
University Park, PA–Penn State’s University Libraries and the Pennsylvania Center for the Book are pleased to announce that “This One Summer ” by Mariko Tamaki (writer) and Jillian Tamaki (artist), published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, has won the 2015 Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year.
“It’s an honor to have this book recognized and we are thrilled to accept,” said co-creators Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. “Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki are major talents, and it’s wonderful that the power of their work is resonating across the whole literary landscape,” says Mark Siegel, editorial director of First Second.
“This One Summer,” says the jury, “is a beautifully drawn, keenly observed story. It is told with a fluid line and a sensitive eye to the emblematic moments that convey character, time, and place—the surf at night, the sound of flip-flops, a guarded sigh—all at the meandering pace of a summer’s vacation. The Tamakis astutely orchestrate the formal complexities of the graphic novel in the service of an evocative, immersive story. At first blush a coming of age story centered on two young girls, the book belongs equally to all its cast of characters, any of whom feel realized enough to have supported a narrative in their own right. Striking, relatable, and poignant, this graphic novel lingers with readers long after their eyes have left the pages.”
The Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize honors Ward’s influence in the development of the graphic novel and celebrates the gift of an extensive collection of Ward’s wood engravings, original book illustrations and other graphic art donated to Penn State’s University Libraries by his daughters Robin Ward Savage and Nanda Weedon Ward. Between 1929 and 1937, Ward published his six groundbreaking wordless novels: “Gods’ Man,” “Madman’s Drum,” “Wild Pilgrimage,” “Prelude to a Million Years,” “Song without Words” and “Vertigo.”
Sponsored by Penn State’s University Libraries and administered by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize is presented annually to the best graphic novel, fiction or non-fiction, published in the previous calendar year by a living U.S. or Canadian citizen or resident. Mariko and Jillian Tamaki will share a cash prize of $2,500, and will each receive a two-volume set of Ward’s six novels published by The Library of America and a framed commemorative presented at a ceremony at Penn State University in the fall.
The jury also awarded one honor book: “Here,” by Richard McGuire and published by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House. Of “Here” the jury says, “Making literal the idiom ‘if these walls could talk…’ McGuire’s ‘Here’ curates the long history of events transpiring in one location. Through the subtle transposition of objects and individuals in a room, the book teaches us that space is defined over time. … Evoking our longing for place, the book performs this cumulative effect for the reader, by layering people, experiences, and events in the context of a single environment. …”
The selection jury had representatives from various Penn State academic departments who use the graphic novel in their teaching or research, as well as representatives with graphic novel expertise from among Penn State’s alumni and students.
The selection jury for the 2015 prize included Chair, Brandon Hyde, an undergraduate student majoring in English with a longstanding interest in comics and graphic novels; Joel D. Priddy, an associate professor of Graphic Design; Veronica Hicks, a dual PhD candidate in Art Education and Women’s Studies; Brent Book, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Boalsburg, PA, who received his Liberal Arts baccalaureate degree from Penn State, and maintains a strong interest in the art and structure of storytelling through graphic novels; and Jonathan E. Abel, an assistant professor of Comparative Literature and Japanese.
For more information about the selection criteria and how to submit books for consideration for the 2016 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, contact Ellysa Cahoy at ellysa@psu.edu or 814-865-9696 or visit the Pennsylvania Center for the Book website.
Editor’s contact: Lana Munip, assistant editor, Public Relations and Marketing, Penn State University Libraries. 814-863-4265.
Starting this week, the Web Implementation and Management Team (WIMT) will field questions about the team and the website, including questions about how the new site will look, the migration timeline for specific units, training and other topics. This week, the focus is on the site’s goals.
Q. What are the goals of the Libraries’ site?
A. WIMT has gathered information and input from stakeholders and Libraries employees to finalize our website goals. We will use these as guiding principles as we work towards delivering an optimal web experience to our users.
Goal 1: Website
The Libraries website will meet the needs of current and future users – whoever or wherever they may be and on whatever device they use.
Strategies:
• Site will be organized based on Libraries services rather than institutional organization
• Site will be user-centered, personalized and interactive
• Deliver customized content based on user (personalization)
• Site will be updated incrementally to remain contemporary
• Site will maintain consistent terminology and branding between virtual and physical spaces.
• Site will be friendly, warm and welcoming
• Site will reflect the diversity of the Penn State community and contribute to the Libraries’ environment of respect and inclusion
Goal 2: Content
The content of the Libraries website will be discoverable and current. Content reuse and integration with other content sources will be a guiding principle.
Strategies:
• Content will be modular and portable (not bound by format)
• Content will be organized thematically
• Content will use a consistent voice that is jargon-free and comprehensible to all users
• Content will be created once and shared and used in multiple places
• Obsolete information will be weeded on a regular basis
Goal 3: Technology
The content management system will be optimized to meet web and accessibility standards, to integrate with other library systems, to support ease of authoring and to promote creativity and flexibility.
Strategies:
• System will employ leading edge web technologies and features and will integrate with social networks
• System will be reliable, lightweight and based on standards and open source principles
• System will be easily integrated into learning management systems, and will provide direct linking through to Libraries’ resources
• System will be accessible to users of all abilities
Goal 4: People
The leadership, management, developers and authors for the Libraries Web Presence will be strategic, accessible, agile, creative, collaborative and responsive.
Strategies:
• Decisions will be informed from usability studies, assessment and metrics and based on user needs
• Libraries’ personnel will have skills and confidence to contribute to CMS for content optimization
• Changes in web strategy and direction and author and user functionality will be clearly communicated to all authors, faculty and staff
Goal 5: Discovery
Website, content and technology will be optimized to facilitate ease of discovery, access and use
Strategies:
• Libraries’ resources will be easy to use, easy to find and easy to access
• Libraries’ discovery tools will be integrated into the website to promote seamless search, discovery and access throughout the Libraries’ web pages
Next week, we will highlight the migration timeline for different libraries and departments. Currently, WIMT is working on what are called “microsites” (for example, ICIK and the People’s Contest sites). Once these are completed, we will start work on other units. More on this next week! For more information, e-mail UL-WIMT@LISTS.PSU.EDU
To read previous WIMT blog entries, see https://sites.psu.edu/librarynews/category/website-migration-updates/
Award winners…(from left) Myers, Henrici, and Durham. — photo by Wilson Hutton
The Penn State University Libraries announce the results of the 2015 Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award. Top winner of the $1, 250 award is Ryan Henrici, biochemistry and molecular biology, for his thesis “Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Chromatin Enzymes.”
Jessica Myers, English, was awarded $750 for her thesis “Transcending Body: Lucretius, Whitman, and the Atoms in Between.” Brooke Durham, history and international politics, was awarded $500 for her thesis “‘What Society Refused You, Books Gave You: Self-Identification and French Education in the Written Works of Mouloud Feraoun, Yasmina Khadra, Mariama Bâ and Ken Bugul.”
The annual competition, coordinated by Endowed/Distinguished Chairs/Librarians, includes a review of the submitted theses by a faculty jury and a public oral presentation by the students chosen as finalists. It provides an opportunity to fully appreciate the academic quality of Penn State students and the depth of their undergraduate research.
This year’s panel of judges included Diane Zabel, chair and the Louis and Virginia Benzak Business Librarian; Deryck Holdsworth, professor of geography; Charles E. Jones, Tombros Librarian for Classics and Humanities; Vandana Kalia, assistant professor of immunology; Jeffrey A. Knapp, the Larry and Ellen Foster Communications Librarian and Linda Musser, Distinguished Librarian.
Barbara I. Dewey, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, explains, “The Libraries initiated this award as a way to emphasize the importance of utilizing quality research methods and employing a thorough understanding of the legal and ethical issues related to the use of information—both key components of academic excellence. Through this award, the University Libraries and the Schreyer Honors College seek to encourage excellence in the research process of locating, evaluating, and utilizing appropriate scholarly resources.”
For more about the award and last year’s winners, see http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/admin/thesisaward.html.
For more information, contact Sandy Confer at slb3@psu.edu or 814-863-4723.
submitted by Ryan Johnson
A style is just a collection of formatting information that you can apply all at once. Styles are hands-down the most powerful way of keeping your formatting consistent and easy to apply, especially if you can convince other people working on the document to use your styles instead of applying formatting directly.
Word’s Home menu shows a simple style menu where you can choose from the built-in Word styles. To show the real thing, click the Change Styles button to the right of those built-in styles.
Word offers two types of styles:
Here’s an example. Let’s say you’ve created a paragraph style that you use for block quotes. It’s indented, single-spaced, and italicized. You have a character style you’ve created for book titles that is bold and not italicized. If you apply that character style to some words within your paragraph, the words will take on the character formatting (bold and not italicized).
You can modify the existing styles to suit your needs, but if you really want better control go ahead and create your own. I like to name mine with “a_” at the beginning so they all show up at the top of the list. As you can see, you have a lot of power when creating styles.
You can control things like:
submitted by Wendy Stodart
Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:
Full-time:
5/11/15 Ellsworth Fessler – Audio-Visual Technician A, Media and Technology Support Services
Part-time:
Ben Maclay – Welcome Desk
Brian Kothe – University Archives
Nancy Loker – John M. Lilley Library, Behrend College
Art professor’s journals chronicling four decades of journeys featured in new exhibit
Penn State Faculty Senate passes open access resolution
Penn State Wilkes-Barre holds Undergraduate Research Day
Discovery Day Session Registration Underway
Web Archiving in Libraries and Archives (and at Penn State)
By Barbara I. Dewey, dean, University Libraries and Scholarly Communications
I was at the Association for Research Libraries last week and Penn State was recognized and congratulated because the Penn State Faculty Senate passed the Resolution for Open Access to Scholarly Publications submitted by Galen Grimes, associate professor, Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State Greater Allegheny, and chair, Faculty Senate Library, Information Systems, and Technology (LIST) Committee, on April 28, 2015. This is an important milestone for Penn State and it would not have happened without leadership from the Libraries. Congratulations to everyone who worked on this and especially for the leadership of Linda Friend, Patricia Hswe and Tom Reinsfelder at the LIST meetings during this past year. Many thanks also to Mike Furlough who began the discussions and wrote a forensic report on open access for the Senate in 2013. Other work done by many of you has happened as well to support this effort over the years.
Tim Pyatt was recognized at the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) Meeting last week as a graduate of the ARL Fellows Program. Congratulations to Tim.
Alexia Hudson-Ward completed the CIC Academic Leadership Program (ALP) which is designed to develop the leadership and managerial skills of faculty on the 15 CIC campuses who have demonstrated exceptional ability and administrative promise. Congratulations to Alexia.
Binh P. Le has been selected to participate in Penn State’s Administrative Fellows Program. The Fellows Program provides professional development opportunities for faculty and staff. Fellows serve under the mentorship of a senior level administrator. Binh’s mentor will be Provost Nick Jones.
All of you know that Lisa German has accepted the position of Dean of Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair for the University Libraries at the University of Houston. Fortunately she will be with us until near the end of July and Anne Langley will begin around that time. I will be discussing Lisa’s portfolio with administrators, DLC, key department heads and others soon to determine next steps and timelines.
We have an additional candidate interviewing for the position of Associate Dean for Technology and Digital Strategies. He is Michael Winkler, Director of Strategic Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Winkler will be giving a forum on Monday, May 11, 2015, at 9 a.m. in Foster Auditorium and via Media Site Live. Please participate if you can.
Part-time:
Candice Miller – Cataloging and Metadata Services
Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:
Darryl Hill Collection Maintenance
submitted by Wendy Stodart