Daily Archives: May 29, 2017

Miller named 2017 Big Ten Academic Alliance faculty fellow

Rebecca Miller, associate librarian and head of Library Learning Services, is one of five Penn State faculty to be named a 2017 Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer fellow. Approximately 65 faculty department heads and chairs from Big Ten universities are selected annually for the program.

“Rebecca arrived at Penn State less than 18 months ago, and in that time she has made a significant impact on teaching and learning in the University Libraries and throughout the University while pursuing an active research agenda and maintaining a national profile without our profession. In short, she is an ideal candidate to receive this recognition and opportunity,” Joe Salem, the Libraries’ associate dean for Learning, Undergraduate Services and Commonwealth Campuses, said.

The Department Executive Officers (DEO) program is one of two faculty leadership development programs offered by the Big Ten Academic Alliance. DEO fellows, who include both seasoned and newer department heads and chairs, meet during a three-day seminar at the Big Ten Center in Chicago to discuss topics focusing on departmental leadership skills, challenges and broader issues. This year’s seminar will be held Nov. 9-11.

Miller follows Karen Estlund, the University Libraries’ associate dean for technology and digital strategies, who was named a Big Ten Academic Alliance DEO fellow in 2016.

Penn State faculty interested in learning more about the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Department Executive Officers Program and its Academic Leadership Program are encouraged to visit http://vpaa.psu.edu/big-ten-academic-alliance.

Libraries acquiring Credo Information Literacy Modules

This January, one of the Libraries’ strategic action teams (The First-Year Instructional Model Delivery Pilot Team) conducted a small pilot using Credo’s Information Literacy modules. These online modules provide a way for students to asynchonously complete lessons which can provide librarians with benefits such as: supporting a flipped classroom model of instruction, embedding library resources into Canvas, and offering knowledge checks to gauge student understanding.

The modules are aligned with the ACRL standards and many elements within them are customizable. Using this sort of product will enable us to save our own content development time for creating products and learning objects that don’t already exist and that can support some of the more unique aspects of our teaching and learning program.

The University Libraries is in the process of acquiring the Credo modules for all locations and we hope to have a rollout with a larger pilot by fall 2017. Stay tuned for more information. For questions, contact Emily Rimland at erimland@psu.edu.

– submitted by Emily Rimland, Action Plan team

E-Book pilot for World Campus students shows tremendous promise

Increasing Library E-Book Collections AND Saving Students Money AND Providing Equivalent Access to World Campus Students

Since December 2016, a small group has been working hard at an E-Book pilot for World Campus students. This group consists of colleagues from World Campus, Filippelli Learning Design and the Libraries. Our charge and goal is to create a proactive approach to course reserves for World Campus students that can then be used for residential students.

The process is collaborative and requires a strong partnership between World Campus and the Libraries. We conducted a soft launch this summer with the inclusion of 23 E-Books in 18 World Campus courses. This is estimated to save students approximately $27,000. Students are informed of the availability of an E-Book in multiple ways including their course catalog, a page listing all available E-Books, their academic advisors, and an announcement from the instructor of record.

In fall 2017, we will be doing a complete launch of the program. Based on spring 2017 data, we could have licensed approximately $19,800 of E-Books and would have potentially saved students $417,000. It is estimated that the fall 2017 launch will have similar amounts.

We are very excited about this program, increasing affordability for students, engaging the libraries in Provost Jones’ focus on access and affordability in general, and Open Educational Resources. This initiative complements the much-anticipated debut of the Open Textbook Network.

If you have any questions about this program you can email me at victoria@psu.edu and I will either answer your question or direct you to the appropriate person. Look for a full press release closer to the start of fall 2017 semester.

– submitted by Victoria Raish, World Campus and Penn State Online

Reminder: June 6 panel discussion offers information on guide dogs, sight loss resources

The Penn State University Libraries, in partnership with the State College Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA and the Happy Valley Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, will host a panel discussion to answer questions and provide information about service dogs on Tuesday, June 6. The panel discussion, set for 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park, is free and open to the public. An American Sign Language interpreter will be provided for this event.

Members of regional and Centre County organizations and resource groups, University contacts and other advocates will participate in the panel discussion with an open question and answer session to follow initial comments and presentations.

The panel discussion also can be accessed for listening or viewing on Mediasite Live at live.libraries.psu.edu as it occurs. The recorded program, available soon afterward, will include captions.

The full Penn State News article on this event can be read online. For more information about the June 6 panel discussion at the University Libraries, including physical access and other special accommodations for this event, contact Emily Rimland at 814-863-7355 or elf113@psu.edu.

Pa. Center for the Book honors 2017 Letters About Literature contest winners

three girls wearing colorful outfits standing in front of a shrub with pink flowers

The Pennsylvania winners of the 2017 Letters About Literature Contest are, from left to right, Level II (grades seven to eight) winner Madison Kelleher, of Montoursville; Level III (grades nine to 12) winner Hailey Cross, of Scottdale; and Level I (grades four to six) winner Lydia Floreck, of Gettysburg.

The Pennsylvania Center for the Book recently recognized the Pennsylvania winners of the 2017 Letters About Literature Contest. A nationwide event sponsored by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, the contest invites students in three grade levels to write letters to authors — living or dead — about how an author’s words affected them or changed their worldview.

The Level I (grades four to six) winner, Lydia Floreck, of Gettysburg, was honored for her letter to Susan Cain about “Quiet Power.” The Level II (grades seven to eight) winner, Madison A. Kelleher, of Montoursville, wrote her letter to Robert Munsch about “Love You Forever.” And the Level III (grades nine to 12) winner, Hailey Cross, of Scottdale, was honored for her letter to James Hurst about “Scarlet Ibis.”

Winners receive $200 and were honored at a celebratory luncheon with their families on Saturday, May 20, at the Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State’s University Park campus.

The full Penn State News article may be read online.

For more information about the Letters About Literature Contest in Pennsylvania, contact editor Nicole Miyashiro at nmm16@psu.edu, or visit the Pennsylvania Center for the Book website at www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu.

Getting To Know You: Stephanie Jakle Movahedi-Lankarani

by Jennifer Cywinski and Tracy Reilly

Stephanie Jakle Movahedi-Lankarani is a pillar at the University Park campus, having worked there since the mid-80s. She began her PSU career as a part-time reference desk assistant at the Life Sciences Library in Pattee/Paterno where she spent 12 years. In 2000, she began working full time in the newly formed Schreyer Business Library as a library assistant and in the spring of 2003 moved over to the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library as the unit’s supervisor, which includes managing two architecture-related digital image collections.

During high school summers, Stephanie scooped ice cream at the local Baskin-Robbins and while going to the University of Illinois, she worked various retail jobs until getting a position shelving books. While it’s obvious that Stephanie has a passion for everything related to libraries, you may not know that as a child she spent almost a decade studying piano and in her late teens briefly studied at the National Academy of the Arts in Champaign, Illinois.

When Stephanie isn’t working she enjoys spending time with her husband and their three adult children. She also has a passion for traveling to cities in the U.S. and abroad where she takes pictures of cityscapes and urban areas. Stephanie says, “I’m interested in how different cultures arrange their urban and suburban spaces and in how these spaces relate to cultural belief systems and reflect a society’s priorities.” She added that she takes too many photos on these trips!

Stephanie is also a member of the Visual Recourses Association which is a “multidisciplinary organization dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of image and media management.”

Stephanie’s favorite thing about working for Penn State is that she gets to work with people from places all across the country and around the world!

Discovery Day 2017 is this week!

The committee is very excited to host Discovery Day on Thursday, June 1. We hope to see you there. There are 31 sessions to choose from, something for everyone!

Plan your day now: Discovery Day Schedule

Please register for the day. Individual session registration is not required.

Supervisors, please encourage your employees to attend this event.

We hope to see you all soon!

– submitted by Angel Peterson, Discovery Day committee

How to empathize with customers

The airline passenger was angry about missing her flight.

It was her fault. She had been sitting at the bar a short distance from the gate and lost track of time. Those things happen in Las Vegas.

Our emotions often rise up to protect our ego, so she looked for someone to blame. The first gate agent she talked to explained the airline’s boarding policies and maintained that he had made several boarding announcements. It was a perfectly rational and reasonable explanation, but it wasn’t the validation she wanted.

So the passenger exploded—ranting, raving and cursing.

Jeff Toister of Toister Performance Solutions, Inc. writes more about empathy, a core skill in customer service at http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?e=19c9d795c1&u=5807a192a714bb01025f1d318&id=9f555c7abe

– submitted by Carmen Gass, User Training Services

Tech Tip: Watching Mediasite presentations on Chrome

by Ryan Johnson, I-Tech

The newer version of Chrome doesn’t allow Flash to run automatically by default, so here is how to turn it back on:

1. Click on the three dots on the top right and click Settings.
2. Click the Show advanced settings link at the bottom.
3. Under the Privacy section, click the Content settings… button.
4. In the box that pops up, scroll down to the Flash section and select Allow sites to run Flash.
5. Click Done and close Settings.

At this point, websites (including Mediasite) should load normally again.

LHR News: May 30

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:

Part-time:
Sanchit Goel – Bednar Intern, Digital Scholarship and Repository Development
Keri Mongelluzzo – Center for Humanities and Information
Zhiyue Xia – Maps Library

Events: May 30

Spring 2017

Through Sunday, July 30, “The Painted Photograph: Selections from the B. & H. Henisch Photo-History Collection,” Pattee Library operating hours, 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.

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

Monday, June 5 through Sunday, September 10, 2017: An Abecedarium from the 15th to the 21st Century” exhibit, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, Paterno Library operating hours, University Park.

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.

Wednesday, August 16: University Libraries Picnic, 5-8 p.m., Holmes-Foster Park, State College. All University Libraries current and retired employees and their families invited. RSVP details to come.

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