Monthly Archives: September 2015

LHR News: Sept. 14

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
9/14/15 – Rachael Dreyer – Head of Research Services, Special Collections Library

Part-time:
Gaelle Duffault – Penn State Schuylkill
Sabrina Charles – Penn State Schuylkill
Jonathan Santos – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Papa Adams – Penn State York
Makayla Tamborra – Penn State Berks
Smitkumar Patel – Commons Services
Sarah Mallon – Commons Services
Mark Hammond – Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library

Internal moves:
Nichole Corrigan – information resources and services support specialist, Collection Maintenance
Glenn McGuigan – head librarian, Penn State Harrisburg

LHR News: Child abuse clearance update

Pennsylvania enacted requirements at the end of 2014 to strengthen child abuse prevention efforts. At that time the University determined that all employees would need the three required background clearances in order to comply with the law. In June 2015 the state amended the law and clarified the coverage and definitions. The Office of Ethics and Compliance quickly identified some areas of the University for which the background clearances were no longer required.

The University Libraries is one of several areas where the compliance requirements were less clear, and the Office of Ethics and Compliance required that we continue to obtain clearances until further direction is given. We have been working with them to help them understand the nature of our services and potential interaction with minors and hope to receive clear long-term direction soon.

In the meantime, clearances are required for all new employees to begin working in the Libraries. There will be no follow up with current employees about compliance until we receive clarification from Ethics and Compliance. Current employees may wish to wait for further direction.

If you have questions about the Child Abuse Clearance requirements or process, please contact Libraries Human Resources at 814-863-4949.

Registering and canceling a training session in LRN

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

In last week’s tech tip, we discussed how to located training in the Learning Resource Network (LRN). Once you have located the training for which you would like to register, you can request the training and have it added to your transcript. Once the training is added to your transcript, you may complete the registration for the live course or make the online course, materials, tests, etc. available for you to complete.
1. Search for the training you would like to request using any of the methods reviewed in the previous section.
2. Select the name of the training within a search results list or the events calendar to view training details.
3. Click the Request button within the Training Details screen to add the training to your transcript.

4. For training with a fee, fill out the budget form provided with your department’s information, if applicable.
5. Within your transcript, click the Register button next to an event previously added to complete registration.
Note: not all training programs will require this step. If your transcript shows a View Training Details button, your registration is already complete.
6. Within your transcript, click the Launch button to view online courses, if applicable.

Canceling a Registration (Withdraw)
If you have registered for a training course offered at your campus or online via Adobe Connect, you can cancel your registration if you are within the cancellation time frame for the course. Different providers will have varying policies on cancellations.
1. Select View Your Transcript from the Learning menu.
2. Locate the training within your transcript.
3. Click the arrow next to the View Training Details button.
4. Select Withdraw from the drop-down menu.

5. Select a reason for your withdraw from the drop-down menu.
6. Type additional comments in the Comments textbox, if desired.
7. Click the Submit button.

Events: Sept. 14

Wed., Sept. 16, 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Getting Student Loans, Mann Assembly Room, Paterno Library. Informative and important workshop for students, presented by Daad Rizk, financial literacy coordinator. Food and beverages will be provided. Find more information about this event at https://financialliteracy.psu.edu/moneycounts/

Thurs., Sept. 17, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: From Garden to Fork: Serving Locally Grown Fruits and Vegetables in Johannesburg, S.A. Schools, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library and MediaSite Live.

Mon., Sept. 21, 10:00-11:30 a.m.: EndNote, 403 Paterno. EndNote can be used to search online bibliographic databases, organize references, images and PDFs in any language and create bibliographies and figure lists instantly. Learn how to get the most out of EndNote. Register online: Survey

Wed., Sept. 23, 2:00-3:30 p.m.: Mendeley, 302 Paterno. Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research library, collaborate with others online and discover other relevant papers based on what you are reading. Register online: Survey

Tues., Sept. 29, 1:00-2:00 p.m.: Dean’s Forum, Foster Auditorium and Media Site Live. Karen Estlund, associate dean for Technology and Digital Strategies will be introduced and talk to you about her recent activities and plans as she transitions into her new job at Penn State. More information will be shared in the near future.

Wed., Sept. 30, noon-1:30 p.m.: United Way Committee’s Tailgate Cook-off. Bring us your favorite appetizer or dessert tailgate foods and you can vote to crown a winner! On September 30, buy your tickets (5 for $5) to vote on your favorite dishes. Stay for lunch. Sign up with your dish here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4ba8ab28a64-united2

Thurs., Oct. 1, 4 p.m.: Kwame Alexander to accept the 2015 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Children’s Poetry for his book, The Crossover, which also won him the 2015 Newbery Award. A book sale and signing will follow. Foster Auditorium.

Fri., Oct. 2, 3:30 p.m.: “Marching Down Field: Preserving Penn State Football Memories II, Foster Auditorium and online. Featuring clips of historic games from the University Archives.

Tues., Oct. 13, 2:00–3:30 p.m.: Focus on ArcGIS Online: Web Mapping Tool for Interdisciplinary Applications, W211A Pattee Library and online at https://meeting.psu.edu/ssltraining/ More details to come.http://live.libraries.psu.edu/Mediasite/Play/8f10591a3c334f669ebc112bb876f3931d?catalog=8376d4b2-4dd1-457e-a3bf-e4cf9163feda

Tues., Oct. 13, 7:30–8:30 p.m.: Penn State Reads presents “Meet Russell Gold, author of ‘The Boom’” in an interview by Katie O’Toole, Days Inn Penn State, 240 South Pugh Street. Open to the public. The event is sponsored by Penn State’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH), the Penn State Reads Program, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, the University Libraries, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and Schlow Centre Region Library.

Thurs., Oct. 22, 4 p.m.: Mariko Tamaki to accept the 2015 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize for “This One Summer.” Mariko and her cousin, artist Jillian Tamaki, also won a Printz Honor (for outstanding young adult literature) and a Caldecott Honor (for exceptional picture book art) for this book. A book sale and signing will follow. More details to come.

Thurs., Oct. 22, 10:00-11:30 a.m.: Mendeley, 302 Paterno Register online: Survey

Mon., Nov. 16, 1-2:30 p.m.: Mapping Applications: Getting to know SimplyMap, PolicyMap, and Social Explorer, 302, Paterno Library, and online at https://meeting.psu.edu/ssltraining/ More details to come.

Library News: Sept. 8

Updated look for Libraries website!

We are excited to unveil the new look for the Libraries website! As we migrate the site from Adobe CQ to Drupal, we are making color and font changes that will help us align more closely with the Penn State brand. In doing so, we will also be making the site more contemporary, modern and simplified. You will notice that the links on the home page as well as the global navigation will initially remain the same. The changes we are making are based on analytics and usability studies as well as recommendations from the Penn State Office of Strategic Communications. We will continue to make iterative changes based on our ongoing usabillity studies.

The home page and top level pages of the web site will go live in the new look in early January, over the Holiday Break. The rest of the site will roll out unit by unit as we complete the migration.

Please contact WIMT (ul-wimt@lists.psu.edu) with any comments or questions! — Binky Lush, chair, Web Implementation and Management Team

New associate director of development appointed

Hurley

Please join us in welcoming Brent Hurley, our new associate director of development and alumni relations for the University Libraries. Brent comes to us with more than 13 years of Penn State experience, over half of which has been in alumni and development-oriented roles. He has served as assistant director of alumni and development for the College of Education, as well as associate director of travel and education for the Penn State Alumni Association. Most recently, Brent managed alumni and industry relations for the Department of Geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Prior to his work in alumni relations, Brent was a counselor and academic adviser at the University.

A native of Huntingdon County, Brent is a graduate of Juniata College where he studied communications and arts. In 1998, he earned his master’s degree in counselor education at Penn State and subsequently worked in two public elementary schools before returning to the University. Brent is a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in State College. He’s an avid runner who enjoys working out, travel, photography, reading self-improvement and psychology books, dabbling in the kitchen, and sampling good wines. — Nicki Hendrix

Locating training (and Libraries training sessions) in the Learning Resource Network

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

There are several ways in which a user can locate available training within the Learning Resource Network: browsing, searching, and the events calendar.

Browsing for Training
1. Click the Browse for Training button on the LRN homepage or select Browse for Training from the Learning menu.
2. Select one or more filter types:
a. Training: filter the results by popular or newest training.
b. Subject: filter the results by subject such as Business Skills, Compliance, or Technology
c. Type: filter the results by training type including online classes, events, curricula, material, etc. by using the Type icons provided. In-person, Instructor led sessions will be Events.

Training type icons used for filtering results

d. Date Range: filter the results by entering a start and end date in the fields provided.
Location: filter the results by selecting a location from the list provided.
TIP! To search for trainings offered in I-Tech, enter I-Tech in the search field and you will see the I-Tech Training room. Select E001 (I-Tech Training Room) and you will see sessions held in this location.

Searching for Specific Training
3. Type a keyword for the training you are looking for in the Search bar in the top right corner of the screen.

Global search bar

Viewing Training via the Events Calendar
6. Click the Events Calendar button on the LRN homepage or select Events Calendar from the Learning menu.
7. Select a view for the calendar by using the Day, Week, Month, or Agenda options in the upper-right hand corner of the Events Calendar. Agenda view will display training in a list by day for the current month.

Calendar viewing options

8. Select a month for which you would like to view training by using the left and right arrows next to the currently displayed month above the calendar or by selecting a month using the mini calendar on the left-hand side of the screen.

9. Select the All Events or My Events radio button above the events calendar to view all training events or only the event in which you are registered, respectively.

Filtering options

10. Filter the events calendar by entering a title, session ID, session contact, session instructor, or subject in the left-hand column, if desired.

TIP! If looking for sessions by a specific instructor or contact (like yours truly) enter my name in the search field by clicking on the search arrow.

11. Click the Print icon above the events calendar to print the calendar as currently displayed, if desired.

Events: Sept. 8

Wed.–Thurs., Sept. 9–10: Open House at University Park. Sign up to volunteer: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b4cada929a13-open2

Fri., Sept. 11, 1–3 p.m.: Basic Statistics in Microsoft Excel. W211A Pattee Library and online at https://meeting.psu.edu/ul-dlc. This session will highlight the various options available for performing basic statistical procedures in Excel. This session will also explore and compare free add-ins available for statistical analysis. An overview of the various tools and examples of how to use them will be provided, while limitations will also be discussed. Sample data will be provided, but participants may bring data of their own. Participants will need a basic working knowledge of Excel and an understanding of elementary statistics.
Registration:
Faculty and staff: Please register using the Learning Resource Network (LRN) system: lrn.psu.edu
Students and others: Please RSVP by emailing datalearning@psu.edu. Please indicate whether you will be joining us remotely or in-person.

Thurs., Sept. 17, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: From Garden to Fork: Serving Locally Grown Fruits and Vegetables in Johannesburg, S.A. Schools, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library and MediaSite Live.

Wed., Sept. 23, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.: Mendeley, 302 Paterno. Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research library, collaborate with others online and discover other relevant papers based on what you are reading. Register online: Survey

Tues., Sept. 29, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.: Dean’s Forum, Foster Auditorium and Media Site Live. Karen Estlund, associate dean for Technology and Digital Strategies will be introduced and talk to you about her recent activities and plans as she transitions into her new job at Penn State. More information will be shared in the near future.

Fri., Oct. 2, 3:30 p.m.: “Marching Down Field: Preserving Penn State Football Memories II, Foster Aud and online. Featuring clips of historic games from the University Archives.

Save the Date:

Thurs., Oct. 22, 10:00-11:30 a.m.: Mendeley, 302 Paterno Register online: Survey

LHR News: Sept. 8

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
9/8/15 Jeff Doane – information resources and services support specialist, Acquisitions Services
9/8/15 Margaret Beckner – information resources and services support specialist, Acquisitions Services

Part-time:
Jake Pelini – intern, Penn State Press
Sarah Williams – Research Hub, EBSL, Maps, and Knowledge Commons
Megan Fletcher – News and Microforms Library
Roshni Patel – Commons Services
Raza Chaudhry – Commons Services
Shaquira Tramell – Commons Services
Sarah Adsit – Engineering Library
Stefan Horgas – Welcome Desk, Knowledge Commons
Alexis Reed – Penn State Lehigh Valley
Monique LeBrun – John M. Lilley Library, Behrend College
Joshua Davis – John M. Lilley Library, Behrend College
Kimberly Cunningham – Penn State Mont Alto
Jaiden Larizzio – Penn State Hazleton
Hemali Vaishnav – Penn State Harrisburg

Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:
Jan Markle, Business Office
Alexa Spigelmyer, ITech
Jordan Finkenbinder, Penn State Press

Labor Day Holiday

The University observed the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 7. Classes were not in session, but the Libraries were open to the public.

Employees who normally work Mondays and were not required to work on the holiday will mark their hours for the day as “Holiday.” Employees in less-than-100% FTE positions will need to account for the difference between their FTE holiday amount (e.g. 75% FTE employees have a 6-hour holiday) and their typical hours worked for this day by either making up the time during that work week (requires prior approval from supervisor) or recording vacation.

Employees who normally work on Mondays and were required to work on the holiday will receive their regular pay and will earn holiday compensatory time, as outlined in HR-34. Non-exempt employees should mark “time worked (on a holiday)” in ESSIC.

Employees who do not normally work Mondays and did not work on the holiday will earn up to 8 hours of Holiday Compensatory time (based on their FTE) for the day. They will mark nothing on the actual holiday, and then should add the Holiday Compensatory time in their Paid Time Off Earned section (during the submit process) in ESSIC.

As always, please consult HR-34 regarding holidays for full-time Staff and HR-88 for full-time positions that are less than 100%. If you have any questions concerning holiday pay or questions regarding part-time employees eligible for holiday pay, please contact Libraries Human Resources.

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.

Library Management Council minutes

July and August LMC minutes:
https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/groups/library_management/intranet/2015minutes.html#060915

Latest ICIK talk to focus on South African school vegetable gardens.

Kesa’s area of focus is community nutrition.

“From Garden to Fork: Serving Locally Grown Fruits and Vegetables in Johannesburg, S.A. Schools” will be presented from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on September 17, in Foster Auditorium and MediaSite Live. This seminar is part of an ongoing series organized by the Interinstitutional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and the University Libraries. It will be presented by Hema Kesa, of the University of Johannesburg and Amit Sharma, of Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management.

The School Food Gardens Program is a pillar of the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) in South Africa. Its purpose is to develop students’ skills in producing food for their schools and serve as a resource for teaching and learning. Schools participating in NSNP are required to implement food production initiatives, given available resources. In 2011, The South African Department of Basic Education purchased and distributed 16 vegetable tunnels and other agricultural resources to support schools in sustaining their vegetable gardens. A variety of vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, beetroot and onion were planted. This presentation will identify the various motivations for school gardens and discuss their whether current incentives would assure sustainability.