Daily Archives: October 12, 2015

PaLA 2015 Conference notes

At right, Barbara Dewey at podium holding framed award; at left, Cindy DeLuca standing; seated in center, David Schappert

Dean Barbara Dewey accepts the 2015 Support Staff Recognition Award on Monday evening, Oct. 5, at the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) conference, held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. The award recognizes our annual Discovery Day event. With her are Cindy DeLuca, Awards Committee chair, and David Schappert, PaLA president. Photo credit: Amy Deuink

The 2015 Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) conference, bearing the theme “Engage, Educate, Enrich,” was held Oct. 4-7 at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Conference Chair Amy Deuink, Penn State Beaver head librarian, was commended for coordinating an excellent event.

During the conference, Dean Barbara Dewey accepted the 2015 Support Staff Recognition Award on behalf of the University Libraries for our annual Discovery Day event. According to the PaLA website, the award “is presented to a library that has consistently encouraged and supported participation in career development activities, particularly those of PaLA for the support staff in Pennsylvania libraries.”

The University Libraries’ Discovery Day is “a model for other institutions”

— 2015 Support Staff Recognition Award citation, Pennsylvania Library Association

The award citation calls Discovery Day “a model for other institutions,” where support staff have “the opportunity to learn new technologies, become aware of current library initiatives, and enjoy the camaraderie of their peers across all library departments and levels of management.”

The citation concludes, “A long tradition of support for PaLA by Pennsylvania State University library leaders has been most recently maintained not only by Dean Emeritus Nancy Eaton and Dean Barbara Dewey, but down through the ranks by the library administrators, faculty, and staff who, in addition to nurturing a climate for professional development for others, provide role models and inspiration by their own participation and leadership which continues to strengthen our Association.”

The University Libraries sponsored the President’s Opening Keynote Luncheon on Sunday, Oct. 4, where Jack Sulzer, who retired from the University Libraries in August 2014 as senior associate dean for undergraduate and learning services and librarian emeritus, was honored with the 2015 Distinguished Service Award for more than 33 years of exceptional volunteerism to PaLA.

The University Libraries also was well represented by several presenters, noted below in italics:

Engaged Scholarship: Joining the Conversation
Jeffrey A. Knapp, Larry & Ellen Foster Communications Librarian, Penn State University Libraries
Nicholas J. Rowland, Associate Professor of Sociology and Science & Technology Studies, Penn State Altoona

Carolyne L. Smith Best Practices in Early Learning Breakfast
Ellysa Cahoy, Assistant Director, Pennsylvania Center for the Book

Seating Sweeps: A Data Collection Tool for Observing Patron Behavior
Joe Fennewald, Head of the Thomas McWhirter Knowledge Commons, Penn State University Libraries
Victoria Raish, PhD Student and Graduate Assistant, Penn State University Libraries

Cream of the Crop: PA Forward and Academic Librarians
Kelly Cannon, Outreach and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Muhlenberg College
Barb Eshbach, Head Librarian, Penn State York
Lauren Reiter, Assistant Librarian, Penn State University Libraries
Stephanie Riley, Library Instruction & Outreach Librarian, St. Joseph’s University
Josefine Smith, Instruction Coordinator, Shippensburg University

Bringing Some Cents to Collection Development in a Consortium Environment
Cathy Wilt, Executive Director, PALCI
Scott Anderson, Chair, PALCI eBooks Task Force, Millersville University
Robert Alan, Member, PALCI eBooks Task Force, Penn State University Libraries
Jeremy Garskof, Member, PALCI eBooks Task Force, Gettysburg College

Improving Students’ Information Literacy Skills: From Googlers to Researchers
Alessia Zanin-Yost, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Penn State Altoona
Kay Chick, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Penn State Altoona

Leading Into the Future — Interviews With Library Deans and Directors (poster session)
John Meier, Penn State University Libraries

One Library, Many Campuses: Using LibChat & LibAnswers at Penn State to Connect With Students Near & Far, Night & Day (poster session)
Tom Reinsfelder, Penn State University Libraries

Let Them Eat Cake! Connecting With Library Users (poster session)
Vanessa Eyer, Penn State University Libraries
Angela R. Davis, Penn State University Libraries

Plays Well With Others: Getting Your Digital Collections Metadata Ready for the World
Linda Ballinger, Metadata Strategist, Penn State University Libraries
Doreva Belfiore, Digital Projects Librarian, Temple University Libraries
William T. Fee, Library Development Advisor for IT, State Library of Pennsylvania
Kristen Yarmey, Associate Professor and Digital Services Librarian, University of Scranton

Connecting and Collaborating: Using PA Forward in an Academic Library
Barbara Eshbach, Head Librarian, Penn State York
Stephanie Diaz, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Penn State York

Geovisualizing Collections of Penn State University Libraries: A Geographic and Statistical Perspective of Use, Age and Relevancy to Our Patrons
Sherry Steele Roth, Supervisor, Life Sciences Library, Penn State University Libraries

Roll, Flatten, Scan and Store: The A.E. Bye Landscape Architectural Drawings Project at the Penn State University Libraries
Jackie Esposito, University Archivist, Penn State University Libraries
Paul Dzyak, University Archives Assistant, Penn State University Libraries
Bill Minter, Conservator, Digitization, Preservation and Conservation Department, Penn State University Libraries 
Ann Passmore, Digitization, Preservation and Conservation Department, Penn State University Libraries 
Cheri Banks, Digitization, Preservation and Conservation Department, Penn State University Libraries

Participants also were invited to visit the Knowledge Commons in Pattee Library as their schedules allowed.

Congratulations to everyone on the Libraries’ many wonderful examples of leadership!

 

Open Access 101 program available online

This morning’s “Open Access 101” program held in Foster Auditorium and on MediaSite Live — in advance of international Open Access Week Oct. 19-25 — is now available online for viewing. The morning’s agenda was shared earlier on Library News.

The information from this morning’s presentations aims to prepare Libraries faculty and staff for addressing questions about Open Access and related Penn State resources, such as Scholarsphere, Open Access Publishing, and our Open Access Research Guide, among others.

As a reminder, the University Libraries now has an Open Access Policy, approved Feb. 11, and the University Faculty Senate passed an Open Access resolution on April 28. openaccessbuttons

Finally, for those who would like them, “Ask Me about Open Access” buttons are now available by request from the Libraries’ Public Relations and Marketing office, to encourage faculty, staff, students, and other visitors to inquire about Open Access at Penn State and the Libraries.

Future events are already under discussion by the Libraries’ Open Educational Resources Task Force.

 

EMS Library celebrates 85 years

Sapphire_GemThe sapphire — a symbol of truth, sincerity, and faithfulness. It represents how we at the Fletcher L. Byrom Earth and Mineral Sciences Library want to express our gratitude toward our patrons for supporting our library for so many great and wonderful years. Because of all of you, we are delighted to invite you to celebrate with us on our 85th anniversary. Stop by anytime on October 15, 2–4 p.m. and enjoy some refreshments in 105 Deike Building. We hope to see you then and for many years to come.

Here’s to another 85 years!!

Website survey planned

by Alex Brown, web analytics specialist and Web Implementation Management Team (WIMT) member

Numerous library staff of various disciplines are currently hard at work migrating the current library website to Drupal, while ensuring that the final product accounts for and addresses current website flaws. Internally, we have a decent sense of current issues that have been informally raised by our patrons, but our internal sense should also take into account and analyze direct feedback from our patrons. In order to do so, we will be employing a survey that will allow for quantitative and qualitative analysis of our patrons’ views towards the current website. This provides a great opportunity to have the voice of our patrons be involved in data-driven decision making, ultimately working towards the goal of continual improvement and enhancement of the library website.

Drupal migration forum Oct. 13

The upcoming website migration will affect everyone. Do you want to know more about the overall migration plan, what’s going to change and what will stay the same? If so, don’t miss tomorrow’s forum, at 10:30 a.m. in Foster Auditorium and MediaSite Live. This will be the first in a series of forums planned this semester. This forum will focus on an overview of the entire migration, while subsequent events will focus on specific areas such as content strategy, content and authors, the process and other topics.

On the agenda for Oct. 13: Overall migration objectives, improvements that will be made, advantages of Drupal, usability testing, content strategy and much more. Come with your questions!

Contact the Web Implementation Management Team at ul-wimt@lists.psu.edu

Events: Oct. 12

Mon., Oct. 12: View this morning’s Open Access program on MediaSite Live

Tues., Oct. 13, 10:30-noon: Web forum general discussion: do you have questions about the impending migration? Get your answers at this forum. Foster Aud. and MediaSite Live.

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.

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.

Wed–Thurs, Oct. 14-15: Joan Chittister Symposium: Ancient Traditions, Contemporary Questions, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center and Foster Auditorium. Chittister is an internationally renowned writer and lecturer, a Penn State distinguished alumna and has been called one of the most articulate social analysts and influential religious leaders of this age.See details in news story.

lauver_nelson_080811 2Thurs., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m.: Nelson Lauver: The most unlikely to succeed, a story about dyslexia, Foster Auditorium and MediaSite Live. Lauver (right) is an award-winning author and inspirational speaker. His radio show, The American Storyteller Radio Journal, ran daily on more than 150 radio stations across the country, from 2001 to 2010. The presentation is free and open to the public. A book sale and signing will follow the talk.

Sat., Oct. 17, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.: Numerous events planned in Pattee and Paterno Libraries for Parents and Families Weekend. See blog post for details.

Tues., Oct. 20, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.: United Way Fall Book Sale, Mann Assembly room.
** Currently accepting new and used books, cds, dvds, magazines, puzzles (sorry, no cassettes or VHS). Please bring donations to Amy Miller (arm107) in Common Services, 107 Pattee **

Tues., Oct. 20, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.:Tech Update, Foster Aud.

Wed., Oct. 21, 6:00 p.m.: ‘A Wing and a Prayer” film screening, Foster Aud. The Libraries are co-sponsoring a screening of “A Wing and a Prayer” a documentary film by Boaz Dvir, a senior instructor in the College of Communications.

Mariko.Tamaki.currentThurs., Oct. 22, 4 p.m.: Mariko Tamaki to accept the 2015 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize for “This One Summer.” Mariko (left) 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.

Thurs., Oct. 22, noon-1 p.m.: Brown bag talk, “Rightsstatements.org,” led by Karen Estlund, associate dean for Technology and Digital Strategies, Mann Assembly Room. Estlund will present on rights metadata for digital collections and the work of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Europeana on a new project, Rightsstatements.org. The discussion will include legal issues about rights for digital collections, hurdles for aggregate collections and open linked data principles and SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) vocabularies.

Fri., Oct. 23, 1-2 p.m.: Gretchen Gueguen, DPLA Data Services Coordinator, will give a talk on metadata issues and the DPLA. Mann Assembly Rm. More details on this presentation to come.
(In Mann, we’ll be using a combination of AdobeConnect and a conference call phone line to make these talks available in real-time to the campuses: AdobeConnect Meeting Room URL: https://meeting.psu.edu/pcs
Call line: 888-259-9685. More information: Patricia Hswe)

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

Nov. 13, 9 a.m.: Web migration forum: Focus on content strategy. Foster Aud. and MediaSite Live.

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/

Mon, Nov. 16, 6-7 p.m., Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Keynote address: “What Entrepreneurs need to know about intellectual property and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,” Foster Auditorium. Presented by  Jeanne Clark, patent examination policy advisor with the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure.

Mon., Nov. 16:  Free Data!…Courtesy of Uncle Sam, 302 Paterno Library. Time TBA. GEW event. Librarian Jeff Knapp will introduce participants to methods for finding free demographic statistics and data that can help entrepreneurs locate their potential customers. Registration max is 34.

Tues., Nov. 17, 9:30-10:30am: I want to sell to the Acme Corporation, where do I begin? 302 Paterno Library. GEW event. Learn how to find out about specific companies and the industries in which they operate. Presented by librarian Kevin Harwell. Registration max is 34.

Tues., Nov. 17, 1–2 p.m.: Financial Research, 302 Paterno Library. GEW event. Financials are a key component of any entrepreneurial endeavor. Learn the research strategies and resources available to help you find financial benchmarks for your business. Presented by librarian Lauren Reiter. Registration max is 34.

Tues, Nov. 17, 3-4:15 p.m.: Basic Patents, 140 W. Pattee Library (in the Knowledge Commons)
GEW event. This short, hands-on workshop by librarian John Meier will focus on understanding what patents are, the basic process of obtaining a patents and online searching of prior art (previous inventions). Attendees should have an interest in patents and be prepared to do practice searching in Google Patents and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Registration max is 40.

Wed., Nov. 18: GIS Day Programming
10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.: Poster Display, Franklin Atrium, Pattee Library
10 a.m.–2 p.m.: Information Fair, Leisure Reading Room, Pattee Library
All day: Speaker and Lightning Talks: Location: Foster Aud., Paterno Library (able to view remotely via Media Site Live)
Morning Session:
11:15–11:45 a.m.: Joseph Kerski, 5 Converging Forces: Geoawareness, geotechnologies, geoenablement, citizen science, and storytelling are combining to make this the most exciting time ever for GIS in education and society. Find out about these forces, why they matter,how you can get involved, and what they mean for your career pathway.
11:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.: Lightning Talks
Afternoon Session
1:30–2:30 p.m.: HERE maps
2:30–3:00 p.m.: Joseph Kerski, Telling your story with Esri Storymaps: Combine audio, video, photographs, sketches, narratives, and other multimedia to present the results of your research, to teach, and to communicate your OWN story, using Esri’s easy-to-use yet powerful storymapping web applications.
3:00–3:30 p.m.: Lightning Talks
4:00–5:30 p.m.: Networking Reception, Mann Assembly Room
Drawing of a $75 Gift Certificate from Geographic Research, Inc. producer of SimplyMap. For more information, visit the GIS Day website

Wed., Nov. 18, Standards & Tech Reports for Inventors 302 Paterno Library, time TBA. GEW event. Learn what standards are and how they can aid you in developing a product that meets industry specifications. Also learn about technical reports and how they provide guidance for technical literature searching for patent applications. Presented by librarian Angela Davis. Registration max is 34.

Thurs., Nov. 19, 3-4:15pm, Advanced Patent Searching, 140 W. Pattee Library (in the Knowledge Commons). GEW event. This workshop will help inventors and entrepreneurs already familiar with patents to perform competitive intelligence, prior art searching (to find earlier inventions), and discover international patents. After a brief introduction to patents and the patent process, including international treaties, attendees will be guided in searching on the European Patent Office (EPO) website, the USPTO’s Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) public system, along with a brief overview of more powerful patent research tools. Presented by John Meier. Registration max is 40.

Fri., Nov. 20, 1:30-2:30pm: Marketing Resources,  302 Paterno Library. GEW event. Consumer Behavior and Retail Market Trends. Learn which databases tap into the latest market analysis. Presented by Kevin Harwell. Registration max is 34.

Save the date: Dean’s Diversity Forum, presented by Marcus A. Whitehurst, vice provost for Educational Equity, Thurs., Dec. 10, 2:00–3:00 p.m., Foster Auditorium and Media Site Live.

‘Getting to know you’: Megan Mac Gregor

by Andrea Pritt, Penn State Mont Alto Campus Library

Born in Alabama and raised in Pepperell, Massachusetts, Megan Mac Gregor now resides in
Wilkes-Barre, PA. She joined the Nesbitt Library in September 2010 and has been working at the Wilkes-Barre campus ever since. Megan started her new position as the student engagement and outreach librarian (the first of its kind) in August 2015 and has been busy coordinating library events and marketing the library services to the campus.

macGregor

Mac Gregor…started an informal study hall in the library

This year Megan created a campus wide initiative called Get It Done. Get It Done is an informal study hall that is held in the library every Wednesday and Thursday. These study halls are attended by both students and faculty, and offer a quiet space to promote learning. Megan has a very talkative black cat named Assam who is nine years old and, in her spare time, is an avid croquet player.

Megan began playing Six Wickets Croquet back in middle school with her family in Maine. In this version of croquet the mallets and balls are larger, but the wickets are narrower. A player is not allowed to stand on an opponent’s ball and knock it into oblivion so, with the disgruntled player’s ball still close at hand, one must be strategic in one’s efforts.

LHR News: Oct. 12

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Part-time:
Goral Patel – Penn State York
Matt Agboola – Penn State York
Nicole Humphrey – Penn State Altoona
Malik Turner – Penn State Altoona
Daniel Nash – Penn State Altoona
Carol Chen – Commons Services
Timothy Roell – Acquisitions Services
Haley Ryland – Life Sciences

Tech Update: Oct. 20

Please save the date!
Tech Update,  1:30 – 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 20, 2015, Foster Auditorium

Agenda

  • Two-Factor Authentication: I-Tech will give an overview of Two-Factor Authentication and how it will impact University Libraries employees.
  • Drupal Implementation: The Web Implementation Team will provide an update on Drupal Implementation.
  • Learning Resource Network: Ryan Johnson will give an introduction to the new Learning Resource Network at Penn State.
  • Libraries Integration with Canvas: Linda Klimczyk and Chris Holobar will provide an update on the Libraries Integration with Canvas and will highlight efforts of the University Libraries Learning Management Team charged with optimizing the libraries presence in Canvas.

If you cannot participate in person please join us via MediaSite Live: see login information here: https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/intranet/mediasite.html

Headings and accessibility

By Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator

headingsHTML headings have been part of the structure of an HTML document from the beginning.
The heading tags <h1> through <h6> are meant to give web documents structure. Therefore, headings should be properly nested to assign level of importance in the structure of the Web page. Main topics of a Web page should be represented by <h1> tags. Sub-topics should be represented by <h2> tags indicating a second level of importance in the structure of the document. The remaining tags, 3 through 6, are used to denote additional topics in descending order of importance.

Each level of HTML headings (<h1> through <h6>) has inherent CSS style rules applied by individual Web browsing software and which control the font size, font weight, padding and margins for each heading element. Appearance of headings controlled by the inherent browser CSS can be over-ridden by CSS styles chosen by the Web developer. This enables creation of web sites with specific design to the taste of the Web designer and the purpose of the Web site. However, a Web developer can add CSS style rules to heading tags so these headings fit his or her visual design.

Screen-reader users can discover document structure by creating lists of all the headings of each page of the Web site. The list of headings also enables screen-reader users to navigate around the Web page by selecting headings for topics in which they are interested. Screen-reader users commonly use keyboard commands to accomplish quick movement through a web site to desired content.

In summary, HTML Headings are a quick and easy way to improve the accessibility and navigability of a Web site for users of screen reading software, without impacting the visual design. For more information about Accessibility and Headings, please visit the Penn State Accessibility Website.

Parents and Families Open House

A number of events will be held in Pattee and Paterno Libraries on Saturday, Oct. 17, for the upcoming Parents and Families Weekend:

10 a.m.–1 p.m.: Open House, starts in Paterno Library, Mann Assembly Room (Room 103)
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.: “All Things Nittany,” Foster Auditorium. Presentation by Jackie Esposito
10 a.m.–1 p.m.: Refreshments and scavenger hunt, Mann Assembly Room (a family-friendly event for families with children)
noon–1 p.m.: “Financial Literacy for Students,” Foster Auditorium. Presentation by Lauren Reiter and Student Financial Education Center peer educators