Monthly Archives: April 2016

Dean’s News: April 25

by Barbara I. Dewey, dean, University Libraries and Scholarly Communications

I had the great pleasure of attending the Penn State retirees luncheon hosted by President Barron last week. Although not all attended I note that there were 10 staff retirees eligible to attend and all together they represent 230 years of service to Penn State and Penn State Libraries. Their work is greatly appreciated.

I hope some you could attend the many events great events surrounding Blue/White weekend. The Library Development Board met on April 15 and greatly enjoyed their time in the Pattee-Paterno Library complex. Thanks to all who helped with logistics, presented, or otherwise made our guests feel very welcome. Soon we should have additional information about the next Penn State fundraising campaign and the Libraries’ part in it.

A number of librarians and staff joined me for the Commission on Women Annual Awards Banquet recently. We are very proud of Sherry Lonsdale, I-Tech Database Specialist, who will be part of the Commission leadership team serving this coming year as co-chair elect, and also of Jackie Esposito, who was recognized at the event for being nominated for the Rosemary Schraer Mentoring award.

Countdown to 2FA: Two Weeks

submitted by Dace Freivalds, I-Tech

thermometer showing 82% Libraries enrollment in 2FA

As of April 21, the Libraries has reached 82% enrollment in two-factor authentication, or 2FA.

We’re getting close — 424 or 82% of the Libraries’ 519 employees have enrolled in 2FA as of April 21. Kudos to the following departments and campus libraries for achieving 100% enrollment by April 21: Digitization and Preservation, MTSS, Knowledge Commons, Publishing & Curation Services, I-Tech, Altoona, Berks, Brandywine, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Lehigh Valley, Shenango, and Wilkes Barre!

Not Enrolled Yet?

Identity Services will continue to send weekly email reminders to all individuals in the Libraries who have not yet enrolled. Remember that as of May 10 you will not be able to access anything protected by WebAccess until you enroll. This includes services such as UCS, ESSIC, the Libraries’ intranet, My Library Account, Angel, and Canvas.

Go to Get2FA.psu.edu to enroll and for answers to frequently asked questions. You can also stop by I-Tech during one of the four remaining drop-in sessions. The sessions are on Friday, April 29, and Friday, May 6, at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the I-Tech Training Room in Paterno Library, University Park; registration is not required. Bring your Penn State ID with you (or jot down the last four digits of your nine-digit Penn State ID) — you will need this information to enroll. If these times don’t work for you, contact Ryan Johnson (rxj15) to set up an individual session.

2FA Tip of the Day – What should I do If I Get Locked Out of 2FA?

As a security measure, you will be locked out of 2FA after ten consecutive attempts to log in to WebAccess using 2FA fail. This might be caused by not responding to multiple push notifications because the Duo Mobile app is not open, by selecting the wrong device (calling an office landline when at home or by selecting a device that’s not properly enrolled), or automatic log in attempts by a 2FA-protected system when a user isn’t expecting them. Regardless, once you’ve been locked out by 10 consecutive failed log in attempts, you will need to contact the IT Service Desk at 2FAsupport@psu.edu or 814-865-4357 for assistance.

 

Symphony is moving to Linux

Sirsi Expert Teams and various staff throughout the Libraries have been called on to test a major improvement in the Symphony Integrated Library System. On March 24 2016, a contract was finalized to migrate Symphony from its current server and operating system platform (Solaris) to its new virtualized Linux environment.

The move from the current Solaris hardware and operating system to a virtual environment using Linux will save the Library and ITS Services and Solutions (SaS) time and money. The cost of running Symphony on Linux is about one-sixth the cost of using Solaris. Both SaS and I-Tech have more extensive skill sets with Linux, and SirsiDynix promises that we will see efficiencies in reduced indexing times, reports running faster, the Cat running faster, etc.

The project will continue through June 30, 2016. If no showstoppers have been identified between now and then, the production service will migrate on June 20-21. Test and Development will be migrated shortly after.  We don’t anticipate significant down time, although we may need to be in read-only mode for a day or two. We will share specifics as soon as we know more.

The short timeline is a result of our effort to eliminate another year of costly support of Solaris hardware and operating systems. Members of the Sirsi Expert Teams have met, made plans and are testing as well as recruiting individuals from across the Libraries to perform additional testing of all features of Symphony.

This is a large, high-impact project with a short timeline, and all hands are on deck. The Sirsi Steering Committee and I-Tech appreciate the effort of everyone involved.

For more information, contact Linda Klimczyk  lgk1@psu.edu

 

Canvas transition training tips

Hello University Libraries Colleagues:

Although you probably already know me in other capacities, I’d like to introduce myself as your Canvas liaison.

What that means is essentially this: if you have any questions regarding the transition from Angel to Canvas, or Canvas itself, especially how it relates to the Libraries, I am the person to ask. If you teach a credit course through the Libraries, I will be reaching out to you about migrating your content. Feel free to contact me before then if you have questions.

Some faculty are happily using Canvas already. Some will opt to continue to use Angel until Angel no longer works in July 2017. My goal throughout this period is to equip Libraries colleagues to deal with the entire spectrum of issues that will come up during this transition. In the Libraries we have a rather unique relationship with the learning management system. We use it infrequently ourselves, but it also is an inroad to nearly every class we engage with, and our integrations (such as reserves) are some of the most important Canvas tools out there.

As such, knowledge of the basic elements of Canvas is valuable. For some, especially those who work at a service desk that is often approached by faculty (for example, those at Commonwealth Campuses), more advanced knowledge may be necessary, as questions might come up regarding how to build a course.

The University has provided extensive trainings via canvas.psu.edu. And while these trainings are well done, they are far beyond what we at the Libraries need, but simultaneously exclude some things important to us. Of course, you are welcome to complete these trainings if you wish, but there will be other Libraries-specific options provided over the next few months.

Because most of our integrations are still in development for Fall 2017, I cannot provide you a specific timeline; however, I can share what the Libraries-specific trainings will be. Obviously, anyone can view or attend whatever trainings they see fit, but these are my recommendations.

For all Libraries colleagues who interact with students or faculty (asynchronous video trainings):

  • Basic Canvas Overview
  • Course Reserves
  • Library Guides
  • Canvas Commons

For those at a service desk that sees faculty needing LMS help (online training):

  • Course development in Canvas

I also will be sending out anticipated release dates for our integrations (Course Reserves, Guides, etc.) when they are available.

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I’m happy to help!

– submitted by Amanda Clossen, learning design librarian

Events reminder: Customer service tips

The semester is coming to a close. The number of patrons in the Libraries will skyrocket.
Caffeinated beverages will be free flowing and let’s not even talk about the stress level! Now might be a good time for a refresher on keeping your cool and patiently serving all patrons.
Join Carmen Gass for reminders of simple and effective tips to provide great customer service:

Removing the iPhone’s microphone button

screen capture of iPhone keyboard with microphone button circled in red and crossed outHow to get rid of the microphone button on the iPhone keyboard you keep accidentally tapping:

Even if you have a newer, bigger iPhone, a lot of us still accidentally tap the little microphone icon when we’re trying to hit the space bar. Here is how you can simply get rid of it.

The microphone button starts up dictation, which is certainly a useful feature for some people, but it’s an annoyance to others. If you’re not a fan, getting rid of the button should make your life a little easier:

  1. Tap Settings -> General -> Keyboard
  2. Set the “Enable Dictation” toggle to off.

With that, the microphone will disappear.

 

LHR News: April 25

Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:

Stefanie Austin – Social Sciences Library
Melissa Foltz – Dickinson Law
Julie Schoelles – Penn State Press
Komal Shaikh – Penn State York

Events: April 25

Spring 2016

April 18-29: Libraries Training Assessment Survey via Qualtrics.

Monday, April 25, 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Penn State Shenango Undergraduate Research Fair, Lartz Memorial Library.

Monday, April 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m.: Tips for Providing Great Customer Service, with Carmen Gass, User Services Training Coordinator, Mann Assembly Room.

Thursday, April 28,10:00-11:00 a.m.: Tips for Providing Great Customer Service, with Carmen Gass, User Services Training Coordinator, Mann Assembly Room and Adobe Connect; available online at https://meeting.psu.edu/usersvcs.

UPDATE #2: event will be held: Thursday, April 28, 3:30-5:00 p.m.: “Maestra” Cuba film showing film screening and public talk, post-screening Q&A and reception with Director Catherine Murphy and Dr. Luisa Campos, visiting Cuban scholar, educator, and director of Cuba’s National Literacy Campaign Museum; co-sponsors include the University Libraries and the Penn State Adult Education Program, College of Education; Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

Friday, April 29: last day of spring classes.      

Sunday-Tuesday, May 1-3: Destress Fest, open house, Mann Assembly Room, Pattee/Paterno lobby areas, 4 branch libraries, University Park.

Monday-Thursday, May 2-5: Penn State Shenango De-stress Fest, open house, Lartz Memorial Library.

Friday-Sunday, May 6-8: Spring commencement weekend, most campuses. University Park commencement schedule is online.

Maymester / Summer 2016

Monday, May 9: first day of Maymester classes, University Park. Academic calendar information for all campuses is available online.

Monday, May 16: first day of classes, first six weeks summer session, University Park.

Monday, May 23, 2:00–3:30 p.m.; Libraries’ annual Diversity Research and Programming Colloquium, Foster Auditorium and MediaSite Live.

Wednesday, May 25, 9:30-10:30 a.m.: Coffee with Carmen, the Libraries’ User Services Training Coordinator, will present results from theLibraries Training Assessment Survey, Mann Assembly Room.

Monday, May 30: Memorial Day, no classes.

Thursday, June 2: Discovery Day, University Park library locations.

Wednesday, June 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.: MoneyCounts: Debt Management program, Mann Assembly Room, Paterno Library.

Wednesday, June 29: first day, second six weeks summer session, University Park.

Monday, July 4: Independence Day, no classes.

Wednesday-Sunday, July 13-17, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts 50th anniversary, Children’s Day July 13, BookFest July 16, State College and University Park campus.

Thursday, July 21, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.: PA Forward Information Literacy Summit, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

Wednesday, August 10: last day of summer classes, University Park.

Saturday, August 13: Summer commencement, University Park.

Please submit event information to Public Relations and Marketing via email.

Important Windows Login and Security Changes for Faculty/Staff Machines

screen capture of Windows computer login screen noting addition of @dce to a user's psu.edu I.D.

Beginning the week of April 18, all faculty/staff Windows machines will require users to log in with userid@dce.psu.edu instead of just their userID.

Beginning the week of April 18, two major changes will take effect on all faculty and staff Windows machines.

  • Authentication Changes – All Faculty/Staff Windows machines will require users to log in with userid@dce.psu.edu instead of just their userid. (See below.)

You will be required to use the @dce credentials when the Windows patches are applied to your computer, this will occur at different times for each individual during the week of April 18. Once your regular userid log in fails, you will then need to begin using the @dce credentials.

Recently, security patches released from Microsoft have caused login issues for users forcing a log in into faculty/staff machines with their full dce.psu.edu login until the patch was removed from their workstation.

Moving forward, The Office of Information Security (OIS) has determined that the risk of not installing these patches outweighs the inconvenience of the authentication changes. As a result, all library faculty and staff will be required to use this new login procedure and future security patches will continue to be installed.

Note: If prompted from a pop-up window you may need to add the same credentials when accessing a network drive. This should only be a one-time procedure.

  • Reboot once per week – All Faculty/Staff Windows machines will reboot every Sunday morning between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

To ensure all security updates are being installed in a timely matter, all Faculty and Staff Windows machines will be rebooted every Sunday morning between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.. If you take your machine home, your machine will be restarted after booting up your machine back at work. This change will take effect beginning April 24.

With this change, users should always save their data before leaving work, close all applications and log off their machines.

Dean’s Forum April 20 with Courtney Young

Please plan to join us at 2 p.m. this Wednesday, April 20, for a special Dean’s Forum in Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, and on MediaSite Live.

The featured speaker is Courtney Young, head librarian and professor of women’s studies, J. Clarence Kelly Library, Penn State Greater Allegheny, on the topic “#blacklivesmatter and #weneeddiversebooks: Libraries at the Center of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

Courtney served as president of the American Library Association in 2014-2015 and is completing her term as immediate past president. Her presidency was notable for the work of ALA’s Special Presidential Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and for a focus on career development for librarians.

Courtney’s talk will address her experience as president of ALA in general and the insights that she has gained on diversity in libraries in particular.

Information Literacy Award winners

five people posed, standing, two female students in center holding award certificates

Kira Doaks (left) and Kaytlyne Povlik won the John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Information Literacy Award Grand Prize of $500. Members of the Patishnock family — John Sr., Kimlyn and John Jr. — were on hand for the awards ceremony.

The University Libraries presented five awards at the Undergraduate Research Exhibition on April 6 to recognize scholarly work based on a foundation of careful background research and literature review.

The John Sr. and Kimlyn Patishnock Information Literacy Award Grand Prize of $500 was awarded to Kira Doaks and Kaytlyne Povlik for their poster, “Shining the Light on the Unspeakable: Giving a Voice to the Lonely World of Microagressions.”

The Information Literacy Awards were given as follows:

First Place, $250: Katrina Eckel, “An English Governess in the Great War: The Brussels Diary of Mary Thorp”

Second Place, $200: Sarah Kidder, “The Micronutrient Zinc in the Case of Diarrheal Disease”

Third Place, $150: Brianna Yates, “Gene-Environment Interactions between the Androgen Receptor Gene and Parent Spousal Status on Age at Menarche and Risky Sexual Behavior in College-Age Women”

Honorable Mention, $100: Phoebe Canagarajah, “Diabetes Perceptions and Management in Senegalese Patients and Family Caregivers”

Undergraduate-Research-Exhibition2016-Sarah-Kidder-Libraries01-_THS4583

Student Sarah Kidder, second place winner, also was on hand at the ceremony to receive her award from Rebecca Miller and with congratulations from Rob Pangborn, dean of Undergraduate Education, and Penn State President Eric Barron.

A special thank you to all the Libraries’ volunteer judges!

Carmen Cole
Vanessa Eyer
Janet Hughes
Lori Lysiak
Glenn Masuchika
John Meier
Rebecca Miller
Rebecca Peterson
Nathan Piekielek
Emily Rimland
Nonny Schlotzhauer
Amy White

Training Assessment Survey launches this week

Hello everyone,

My name is Carmen Gass and I am the User Services Training Coordinator for the University Libraries. I am responsible for developing, directing, coordinating, delivering, and assessing user services training for faculty and staff to ensure consistent, excellent customer service.

To be successful at accomplishing my job, I need to know what your thoughts are about training provided in the library. I have created a survey that will give you an opportunity to share your thoughts on this topic.  I value your feedback and view it as essential to our success in serving our patrons.  Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey.

  • The survey is available here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_02KliL7unINHfGl
    and will run April 18– April 29.
  • Survey results will be made available 9:30-10:30 a.m. on May 25 during “Coffee with Carmen,” Mann Assembly Room.I look forward to working with you all!– submitted by Carmen Gass, User Services Training Coordinator

Space Planning Update: University Park

108 Paterno Library

interior panoramic photo of office room of three cubicles

108 Paterno Library. Photo by Rick Riccardo.

Have you been curious about the work going on in 108 Paterno? This is the new home of Libraries’ Assessment faculty and staff. Stop in and say hi to Steve Borrelli, Lana Munip, and Zoe Chao as they begin to move into their new space.

Space Working Groups

In late 2015, the Libraries’ Space Planning Committee appointed six working groups to gather information and make preliminary recommendations for some of the key areas of Pattee/Paterno. The information gathered by the groups will help with the decision making for an overall plan for locations of services and groups within the Pattee/Paterno building. The groups have been hard at work and are now submitting their reports.

Check out the reports that have been submitted by the first three working groups, keeping in mind that final recommendations and decisions may change as we begin to address them as part of an overall plan:

More reports will be forthcoming in the new few months from the following working groups: Digital Scholarship (April 30), Learning Center (June 1) and Music and Media Center (August 1). Two new space working groups are about to be appointed. They are:

Beyond the Research Hub

  • Charge: Assess user needs, appropriate services, and technology support necessary to create advanced, disciplinary-based library research support services in the Libraries that take into consideration all of the related services. The group will review existing reference service desk points, conduct an assessment of the existing Research Hub, consider different models of staffing of reference service desks, and coordinate with the Digital Scholarship Working Group to describe where service points for affinity services might be best coordinated or included optimal referral mechanisms.
  • Sponsors: Anne Langley, Karen Estlund
  • Report Due: August 1

Science Research Hub

  • Charge: Assess user needs, appropriate services and technology support necessary to create a Science Research Hub in the Libraries that takes into consideration the four locations where materials and services for science tech already exist. As part of the charge, the group will review existing library staff and services that support science and technology users, no matter where they sit in the organization or location and report on how other libraries may be offering similar services in what types of spaces.
  • Sponsors: Anne Langley, Joe Salem, Rick Riccardo
  • Report Due: August 1

We Want Your Feedback!

Ask questions, share ideas, and give feedback: UL-SPACE-PLANNING@LISTS.PSU.EDU

– submitted by Dace Freivalds, Space Steering Committee

 

Countdown to 2FA: 3 Weeks

Thank you to everyone who has enrolled in 2FA. Identity Services did not release figures for the past week in time for this update, but given the number of individuals who mentioned to me last week that they had enrolled, we are making steady progress. If you have not yet enrolled, you will receive a second email reminder from Identity Services this week.

Do New Employees Need to Enroll in 2FA?

Yes. 2FA is mandatory for all Penn State faculty and staff. New employees will be required to enroll in 2FA the first time they use WebAccess to log in to a protected service or resource. WebAccess will check the primary affiliation of the user and if they have not enrolled yet, they will get prompted to do so after providing their user name and password on the WebAccess (thumbprint) screen.

Using Google Voice as a 2FA Device

If you have established a Google Voice number and have Gmail, you can use the Voice number as a backup number for Duo. Register the number with 2FA/Duo as a landline. Then for those times when you don’t have a second physical factor, you can have Duo call your Google Voice number. Note that you must have Gmail open for the call to show up. The nice thing about using Google Voice as a 2FA authentication method is that you do not need to have a second physical device on hand, but can access the call through your computer.

Per the Google Voice FAQ, you can use many of Google Voice’s features for free, including making most calls to the U.S. and Canada. However, using some features of Google Voice may impact your phone bill so be sure to read the Google Voice FAQ. Please note that this is not an official endorsement of Google Voice and it is up to you to verify rates, privacy and other terms. Thanks to Charlie Morris in I-Tech for this hint.

Where Can I get Help?

I-Tech has scheduled one hour drop-in sessions for every Friday through May 6. The sessions are at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the I-Tech Training Room on April 22, 29 and May 6; registration is not required. Bring your Penn State ID with you (or jot down the last four digits of your nine-digit Penn State ID) – you will need this information to enroll. If you cannot make these session, but would like help enrolling, contact Ryan Johnson (rxj15@psu.edu) to arrange a one-on-one session.

For instructions, enrollment tips, and answers to frequently asked questions, visit Get2FA.psu.edu. You can also refer to I-Tech’s 2FA FAQ for answers to your questions. And if you bump into a problem, submit a Service Desk request and we’ll provide assistance.

– Submitted by Dace Freivalds, I-Tech

Tips just in time for finals…

The semester is coming to a close.  The number of patrons in the Libraries will skyrocket.

Caffeinated beverages will be free flowing and let’s not even talk about the stress level! Now might be a good time for a refresher on keeping your cool and patiently serving all patrons.

Join Carmen Gass for reminders of simple and effective tips to provide great customer service:

3-4 p.m. Monday, April 25, Mann Assembly Room
10-11 a.m. Thursday, April 28, Mann Assembly Room

LHR News: April 18

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Full-time:
4/18/16  Steve Borrelli, Head of Library Assessment
4/18/16  Emily Mross, Business and Public Administration Liaison Librarian, Penn State Harrisburg

Events: April 18

Spring 2016

April 18-29: Libraries Training Assessment Survey via Qualtrics.

Wednesday, April 20, noon: Indigenous, Natural, Esoteric: The Presence of Indigenous Knowledge in Urban Colombia, presented by Richard Stoller, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

Wednesday, April 20, 2:00 p.m.: Dean’s Forum: #blacklivesmatter and #weneeddiversebooks: Libraries at the Center of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,”presented by Courtney Young, head librarian and professor of women’s studies, J. Clarence Kelly Library, Penn State Greater Allegheny; Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, and MediaSite Live.

Wednesday, April 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m.: MoneyCounts: What is Financial Literacy? seminar, Mann Assembly Room, Paterno Library.

Thursday, April 21, 7:30-8:30 p.m.: 2016 Public Poetry Contest winners public reading,Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

Friday, April 22: Earth Day, University Libraries Green Committee handing out marigolds potted in folded newspaper flower pots, University Park.

Monday, April 25, 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Penn State Shenango Undergraduate Research Fair, Lartz Memorial Library.

Monday, April 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m.: Tips for Providing Great Customer Service, with Carmen Gass, User Services Training Coordinator, Mann Assembly Room.

Thursday, April 28,10:00-11:00 a.m.: Tips for Providing Great Customer Service, with Carmen Gass, User Services Training Coordinator, Mann Assembly Room and Adobe Connect (details coming).

UPDATE: Canceled as of April 19: Thursday, April 28, 3:30-5:00 p.m.: “Maestra” Cuba film showing film screening and public talk, post-screening Q&A and reception with Director Catherine Murphy and Dr. Luisa Campos, visiting Cuban scholar, educator, and director of Cuba’s National Literacy Campaign Museum; co-sponsors include the University Libraries and the Penn State Adult Education Program, College of Education; Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

Friday, April 29: last day of spring classes.      

Sunday-Tuesday, May 1-3: Destress Fest, open house, Mann Assembly Room, Pattee/Paterno lobby areas, 4 branch libraries, University Park.

Monday-Thursday, May 2-5: Penn State Shenango De-stress Fest, open house, Lartz Memorial Library.

Friday-Sunday, May 6-8: Spring commencement weekend, most campuses. University Park commencement schedule is online.

Maymester / Summer 2016

Monday, May 9: first day of Maymester classes, University Park. Academic calendar information for all campuses is available online.

Monday, May 16: first day of classes, first six weeks summer session, University Park.

Monday, May 23, 2:00–3:30 p.m.; Libraries’ annual Diversity Research and Programming Colloquium, Foster Auditorium and MediaSite Live.

Wednesday, May 25, 9:30-10:30 a.m.: Coffee with Carmen, the Libraries’ User Services Training Coordinator, will present results from theLibraries Training Assessment Survey, Mann Assembly Room.

Monday, May 30: Memorial Day, no classes.

Thursday, June 2: Discovery Day, University Park library locations.

Wednesday, June 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.: MoneyCounts: Debt Management program, Mann Assembly Room, Paterno Library.

Wednesday, June 29: first day, second six weeks summer session, University Park.

Monday, July 4: Independence Day, no classes.

Wednesday-Sunday, July 13-17, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts 50th anniversary, Children’s Day July 13, BookFest July 16, State College and University Park campus.

Thursday, July 21, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.: PA Forward Information Literacy Summit, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

Wednesday, August 10: last day of summer classes, University Park.

Saturday, August 13: Summer commencement, University Park.

Please submit event information to Public Relations and Marketing via email.