Daily Archives: May 15, 2017

Reminder: Diversity Programming and Research Colloquium May 17

We hope you will be able to join us for the University Libraries’ Diversity Committee’s Annual Diversity Programing and Research Colloquium from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park, and Mediasite Live.

This event will share research, projects, and programs that build on the Libraries’ commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion. Our presenters will examine a number of approaches that include working with our colleagues, collections, and community.

Schedule:
Each presenter will deliver a 15-minute presentation followed by a brief question and answer session.

1. Carmen Gass, 2:30-2:50 p.m.
Team Library: What exactly was it all about?

2. Emily Mross & Christina Reihman-Murphy, 2:50-3:10 p.m.
Commonality of Prayer Spaces in Libraries

3. Megan Mac Gregor, 3:10-3:30 p.m.
Libraries, Community Outreach, and LGBTQ History

4. Kimberli Kelmor, 3:30-3:50 p.m.
Measuring Diversity in Academic Law Library Collections

5. Elizabeth Hobart, 3:50-4:10 p.m.
Researching Racial Privilege: The Role of Library of Congress Subject
Headings in Finding Materials

6. Mark Mattson, 4:10-4:30 p.m.
The Many Faces of Intercultural Dialogue: Working with Other Campus Groups

– submitted by Jose Guerrero, Diversity Resident Librarian

Global Accessibility Day, Upcoming Libraries’ events

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is Thursday, May 18, 2017. The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion. GAAD started in 2011 as a way for web developers to educate themselves and others about how to create web pages that are accessible to people with disabilities and has since become an
international initiative with events around the globe.

The Libraries Accessibility Committee invites you to take the opportunity to learn more about digital accessibility. The GAAD website encourages “designers, developers, usability professionals, and everyone else to take an hour to experience first-hand the impact of digital accessibility (or lack thereof).” A few suggested activities to raise awareness about

A few suggested activities to raise awareness about accessibility issues are:

  • Unplug your mouse. People who are not able to use a mouse rely on other input devices, such as their keyboard. Try unplugging your mouse and using only your keyboard (tab/shift tab, arrow keys, enter and spacebar) to navigate. If you’ve been involved in the creation of a web page, see if you can interact with all the elements on the page using the keyboard alone.
  • Browse the web with a screen reader. Screen readers read the text on a screen aloud for users with sight loss, or for any users who prefer hearing content rather than reading. Windows has a built-in screen reader, Narrator, or PC users can also try the free screen reader tool NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access). For Mac users, use the built-in screen reader VoiceOver.
  • Learn about other accessibility features on your devices. Both Windows and Mac operating systems have built-in accessibility features, as do iPhone and Android devices.

More activities and information are on the GAAD website participation page.

Also, mark your calendars for two upcoming events sponsored by the Libraries
Accessibility Committee:

  • June 6, 1:30-3:00 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park
    Panel discussion with the State College Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA
    and the Happy Valley Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind
  • July 18, 1:30-3:00 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park
    Presentation on the Summer Academy at Penn State, a program focused on enhancing independence skills for high-school students who are blind, vision impaired, deaf or hard of hearing and are transitioning to college.

For more information, contact the Libraries Accessibility Committee at
ul-disabilities-svcs-comm@lists.psu.edu

The Libraries Accessibility Committee (LAC) is seeking new members to join the committee beginning in fall 2017. All Libraries faculty and staff at all locations are eligible to serve. Contact Emily Rimland, LAC Chair, at elf113@psu.edu, for more information.

– submitted by Dawn Amsberry, Libraries Accessibility Committee

ICIK names 2017 Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Award winners

Penn State graduate students Lucy Harbor, Megan McDonie and Janet Purdy have been recognized with the 2017 Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Award to help fund their research pursuits. The award, now in its sixth year, is open to all full-time Penn State undergraduate and graduate students, and is funded by the Marjorie Grant Whiting Endowment for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge, and supported by Penn State’s University Libraries and the Interinstitutional Center for Indigenous Knowledge (ICIK).

Lucy Harbor

Harbor, from West Lafayette, Indiana, is a master’s degree candidate in Penn State’s Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management who plans investigating the ways that the market-driven capitalist enterprise of tourism influences knowledge, institutions and materiality in the Tz’utujil, Kaqchikel and K’iche villages surrounding Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.

 

Megan McDonie

McDonie, a doctoral candidate in Penn State’s Department of History, is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. McDonie’s research centers on the human-environmental interactions during Spain’s colonial project in Mesoamerica during the 16th through 18th centuries with a focus on volcanoes as sites of cultural and intellectual exchange among Nahuas, Kaqchikel Maya, and Spaniards.

Janet Purdy

A native of Bay Village, Ohio, and State College, Pennsylvania, Purdy is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Art History. Focusing on the role that symbols in woodcarvings and the definition of architectural space played in the lived experience of 19th-century Zanzibar in Tanzania, Purdy’s project examines the relationship between material objects and the formation of Swahili culture and identity.

Award applicants are evaluated based on their proposal’s intellectual merit; research potential; creativity; research design and evaluation; qualifications; and availability of resources to complete the work. Each recipient will present their research findings during the 2017-18 academic year and write an article highlighting the indigenous knowledge aspects of their projects for publication in Penn State’s open access indigenous knowledge journal IK: Other Ways of Knowing.

For more information about the Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Research Award or for details on how and when to submit an application for consideration for project funding for 2018, contact Mark Mattson, global partnerships and outreach librarian, at 814-863-2480 or mam1196@psu.edu .

Read the full Penn State News article on the 2017 winners online.

Curricular needs and research consultations in Patents and Trademarks continue to grow

This year Lori Lysiak and Carmen Cole attended the Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) Annual Training Seminar at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia. As part of the Penn State University Libraries commitment to the PTRC program, we agree to send representatives to training at the USPTO each year. During the seminar workshops on patent and trademark information are conducted as well as discussion and networking between PTRC representatives from around the country.

profile portrait of woman with glasses

Lori Lysiak

Lori reported to the assembled PTRC representatives and the USPTO program on the successes of the University Libraries in 2016. She learned of new programs at other schools including pop-up patent sessions for engineering courses, branding workshops for business and marketing courses, and the Co-Motion Incubator, a research space with commercialization funding to help start-ups get their ideas off the ground and into the marketplace. A second-time attendee, she also refreshed her knowledge of the patent information systems and websites that she promotes in the engineering design courses at Altoona. She was also able to network with seasoned USPTO members to identify strategies for continued collaborations with engineering and entrepreneurial faculty at Altoona.

Carmen, a first-time attendee, was oriented to the PTRC program by receiving instruction in the basics of intellectual property protection; searching patent and trademark information using PubEast, Espacenet, and TESS; and was introduced to general trademark registration requirements and processes. She was able to form connections with PTRC members that support disciplines similar to those found in the College of IST.

The entrepreneurial aspect of the PTRC Seminar coincides with the Invent Penn State initiative that is seeing remarkable growth across multiple Penn State campuses. Curricular needs and research consultations in patents and trademarks continue to grow as a result of Penn State Launch Boxes and increasing startups and intellectual property. The training information and hands-on skills acquired by Lori and Carmen are timely and valuable to support these initiatives.

– submitted by Lori Lysiak, Penn State Altoona

‘Painted Photograph’ exhibit reveals unique treatment of images

graphic illustration with exhibit title and examples of painted photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries

Long before Photoshop and Instagram filters, photographers in the 19th and early 20th centuries enhanced their work with water colors, oil paints, chalk, charcoal and crayon. A new exhibit, “The Painted Photograph: Selections from the B. & H. Henisch Photo-History Collection,” features a selection of these overpainted photographs, showing the rich variety and range of techniques and materials used.

The exhibition is located in the Henisch Room, 201A Pattee Library, University Park, and available for viewing through July 30, 2017 during the Pattee Library’s summer operating hours.

Eighty-five of the more than 300 overpaintings in the Henisch Collection are featured in the display, including early daguerreotypes and a memorial roundel from the early 20th century. While the overpainted photographs in this collection portrayed everyday life, each one is unique in that a colorist painted it by hand. One of the rarest items in the Henisch Collection is a photographer’s advertising scroll of overpainted samples from the 1890s. The scroll contains overpainted gelatin silver prints on canvas, charcoal and crayon-enhanced portraits, and advertisements for frames.

Curated by Candice Driver, Stelts/Filippelli intern in the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, the exhibit is staged in the Henisch Room, which presents educational information and examples of 19th-century photographic processes. Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, ivorytypes and imprinted enamel and glass are displayed in this exhibit, as well as large, framed gelatin silver prints and overpainted photographs on paper in the form of cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards.

The entire Penn State News article on this exhibit is available online.

For more information or for questions about accommodations provided for this exhibit, contact Julie Porterfield at 814-865-1793 or jmp48@psu.edu in advance of your visit. An 8.5×11 promotional poster PDF is available for download or sharing with colleagues.

Course collaboration with SoVA: Speed dating artists’ books

ART 411 Seminar in Contemporary Art, co-taught by Simone Osthoff, professor of art, and Henry Pisciotta, arts and architecture librarian, is structured in the form of an artists’ book club. The course explores the book form as a medium, a metaphor, and also conceptually—as a site which simultaneously holds and produces content through original visual and verbal narrative structures and materials—and thus forges alternative forms of writing, of seeing, and of thinking.

As part of the class, Osthoff and Pisciotta organized the event “Speed Dating Artists’ Books” in the Pattee Library. During the event, students and guests browsed through more than 200 artists’ books from the Penn State Libraries’ circulating collection, with participants checking out a number of them for later projects. This book party was followed up a week later by a visit to the artists’ books in the Eberly Family Special Collections Library.

Oral histories told by artists, curators, collectors and experts working in specialized bookstores, collectives, and art world institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are a central part of this course which took advantage of the almost 500 artists’ books in the University Libraries. Not only did students have hands-on experience with contemporary artworks—many of them printed in small editions—but they also helped to broaden Penn State’s collection by making recommendations for the library’s purchase of new artists’ books.

The book as an intermedia art form exists in an experimental terrain that challenges traditional disciplinary boundaries. It further speaks to our multimedia digital environment, by referencing systems and codes as well as themes such as mapping, delay, travel, utopia, obsolescence, emptiness and socially engaged art. The precedents, politics and formal explorations of artists’ books are largely rooted in 20th-century avant-garde art and poetry movements, from Dada and Russian constructivism to concrete, Fluxus, minimalism, and conceptual art.

The seminar also hosted a guest speaker series, which began with Andy Schulz, associate dean of research for the College of Arts and Architecture, who shared stories and experiences with the students. The class was surprised to learn that, as a graduate student at Columbia University, Schulz worked in the legendary Printed Matter bookstore in New York City, which specializes in artists’ books. While sharing anecdotes and showing samples from his personal collection of artists’ books, Schulz told students how he got that job and became involved with the New York art scene of the 1980s. Part of his duties during that time were to write brief descriptions of artists’ books for the Printed Matter catalogue, some of which he read in the seminar.

With the artists’ book speed dating and book party, Penn State’s School of Visual Arts and the Libraries collaborated to give students direct experiences with processes, methods and archives of contemporary art.

The video above was created by Alvaro Jordán with photos by Holley Veenis. Music by Astor Piazzola.

– written by Professor of Art Simone Osthoff and submitted by Arts and Architecture Librarian Henry Pisciotta

Registration open for May 26 Bystander Intervention Training

Have you ever witnessed an uncomfortable situation and you weren’t exactly sure what to do? Bystander Intervention Training will help you build skills to intervene and take action proactively through interactive activities. Training topics include:

• Identify warning signs to watch for
• Consider values in regards to personal responsibility to intervene
• Practice skills to intervene effectively when you see concerning behavior
• Learn how small choices can add up to create a safer campus

Watch a brief promotional video about Bystander Intervention Training here.

Bystander Intervention Training is scheduled from 2-5 p.m. on Friday, May 26, Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.

Register for Bystander Intervention Training here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1QW5VTrdKVqBTTf

Registration closes, Friday, May 19.

– submitted by Carmen Gass, User Training Services

Access Services recognizes employees at award event and luncheon

group of people who work for Access Services at Penn State University Libraries

Access Services held its annual Service Awards and Luncheon on Thursday, May 11.

Staff recognized for reaching library service milestones were:
15 years: Ed Armstrong, Pembroke Childs, Paula Contreras, Nicolle Nicastro, and Claudia Villafranca
10 Years: Shirley Langron
5 Years: Franklin Hall

New staff member, Brendan Berthold, was welcomed to Access Services.

Rick Riccardo, associate director of Facilities Planning and Construction, was the guest speaker.

– submitted by Barbara Coopey, Access Services

17 Days before Discovery Day on June 1

illustration with 17 days text on left and Discovery Day logo on right

The countdown has begun! There are 17 days until Discovery Day 2017!

Register for Discovery Day here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cAYKD1oBdGuYQC1

All sessions in Foster Auditorium will be available via Mediasite Live.
This includes:

Also, today, Monday, May 15, is the last day to sign up for tours. Contact the appropriate tour coordinator if you are interested in one of the following:

Planetarium tour, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Torrie Raish, (vrc112), coordinator

Dreamery tour, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Elise Gowen (edg16), coordinator

Sports Museum tour, 11 a.m. – Noon,
Angel Peterson (anb149), coordinator

Nuclear Reactor tour, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Shenetta Selden (szs7), coordinator

Discovery Day website: tinyurl.com/discoveryday17

– submitted by Angel Peterson, Discovery Day committee

Tech Tip: Zoom chosen as University web conferencing platform

Below is a message from Central IT Regarding the Video Conference Pilot:

video camera icon in blue circle with word zoom beneath

Penn State IT is pleased to announce that Zoom has been chosen as the cloud-based web conferencing platform. We thank you for your participation in the desktop video conferencing pilot. Your support these past eleven months helped us determine that Zoom best met all accessibility standards, the strategic needs of the University, and had comparable features to Adobe Connect and BlueJeans.

On Wednesday, May 31, the pilot-closing process will begin with announcements detailing the rollout of Zoom and next steps for pilot users. To coincide with those initial announcements, both the pilot website and Yammer group will be relaunched to better support the transition to Zoom as a centrally funded service available to all of Penn State. This pilot-closing process will conclude with the permanent shutdown of the pilot on Friday, June 30, 2017.

Again, we thank you for your participation. Additional information, guides, and FAQs will be made available to aid in BlueJeans users’ transition to Zoom via this Yammer group and email notifications in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Penn State Information Technology

As a reminder, Zoom documentation is already available on the Libraries Staff Site. Look for training sessions for Libraries Staff over the Summer and Fall as well.

– submitted by Ryan Johnson, I-Tech

Events: May 15

Spring 2017

Through Sunday, July 30, “The Painted Photograph: Selections from the B. & H. Henisch Photo-History Collection,” hours of operation, Paterno Family Reading Room, 201A Pattee Library, University Park.

Through Wednesday, August 9, 2017: “Plastics: Knowledge and Information Taking Shape” exhibit, Pattee Library operating hours, Sidewater Commons and central entrance, Pattee Library, University Park.

Through Friday, August 30, 2017: “100 Years of the Pulitzers: Celebrating Our Humanity,” exhibit, Arts and Humanities Library operating hours, Diversity Studies Room, 203 Patee Library, University Park.

Maymester 2017 / Summer 2017

Academic calendar information for all campuses is available online.

Monday, May 15: first day of classes, first six-week summer session, University Park.

Monday, May 15: Deadline for Discovery Day tours registration, University Park.

Wednesday, May 17: Dealing with Challenging Patrons webinar, 2–4:30 p.m., W 23 Pattee Library, University Park.

Wednesday, May 17: Libraries’ annual Diversity Research and Programming Colloquium, 2:30–4 p.m., Foster Auditorium and Mediasite Live.

Monday, May 22: Diversity and Inclusion discussion, 2:30 p.m., Zoom

Tuesday, May 23: Content Strategy conversation, 9-10 a.m., Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.

Tuesday, May 23: Dean’s Forum, 2-3 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park and Mediasite Live.

Wednesday, May 24: Connect with I-Tech Open House, 2-4 p.m., E1 Paterno Library (I-Tech Suite), University Park.

Monday, May 29: Memorial Day, no classes.

Thursday, June 1: Discovery Day, University Park library locations.

Monday, June 5: last day of classes, Maymester, University Park.

Tuesday, June 6: study day, Maymester, University Park.

Tuesday, June 6: Panel Discussion, answers and information about service dogs, with the Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA and Happy Valley Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, 1:30-3 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park and Mediasite Live archive recording with captions.

Wednesday, June 7: final exams, Maymester, University Park.

Wednesday, June 7: Docunight: Iran via Documentaries, documentary screening of a film about, around, or in Iran, or made by Iranians, 7 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park and Mont Alto Campus Library, first floor, Mont Alto.

Thursday, June 22: Tech Update, by I-Tech, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.

Friday, June 23: last day of classes, first six-week summer session, University Park.

Saturday-Sunday, June 24-25: study days, first six-week summer session, University Park.

Sunday, June 25: arrival day, second six-week summer session, University Park.

Monday, June 26: final exams, first six-week summer session, University Park.

Wednesday, June 28: first day of classes, second six-week summer session, University Park.

Tuesday, July 4: Independence Day, no classes.

Wednesday, July 5: Docunight: Iran via Documentaries, documentary screening of a film about, around, or in Iran, or made by Iranians, 7 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park and Mont Alto Campus Library, first floor, Mont Alto.

Wednesday-Sunday, July 13-16, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Children’s Day July 12, BookFest July 15, State College and University Park campus.

Monday, July 18: Summer Academy for the Blind at Penn State, 1-3:30 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park.

Tuesday, July 19: PA Forward Information Literacy Summit, Pattee Library and Paterno Library, University Park.

Wednesday, Aug. 2: Docunight: Iran via Documentaries, documentary screening of a film about, around, or in Iran, or made by Iranians, 7 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park and Mont Alto Campus Library, first floor, Mont Alto.

Wednesday, August 9: last day of classes, second six-week summer session, University Park.

Thursday, August 10: study day, second six-week summer session, University Park.

Friday, August 11: final exams, second six-week summer session, University Park.

Saturday, August 12: Summer commencement, University Park.

Tuesday, August 15: Tech Update, by I-Tech, 10-11 a.m., Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.

Please submit event information to Public Relations and Marketing via the Library News submission form.