Daily Archives: November 5, 2018

Tech Tip: Office 365 (Outlook on the web) – Respond to a meeting request

By: Ryan Johnson

Office 365 meeting screen shot

Even if you don’t organize meetings and send invitations in Office 365, you may get invited to meetings now and then, so it’s a good idea to know how to respond to a meeting request if you get one.

When you’ve been invited to a meeting, you get a special e-mail message that offers these buttons:

  • Accept: Outlook on the web automatically adds the meeting to your schedule and creates a new e-mail message to the person who organized the meeting, telling that person your decision.
  • Tentative: The meeting’s automatically added to your schedule. A new e-mail message goes to the person who organized the meeting.
  • Decline: Just can’t make it? If you click Decline, Outlook sends a message to the meeting organizer to convey the bad news.  The meeting invite will disappear from your calendar.
  • Propose New Time: If the meeting organizer chose an inconvenient time, you can suggest another by clicking Propose New Time.

Important: If you do not send your response back to the organizer, they will not be able to track your response. In other words, it will appear as though you have not responded even though you had accepted or declined the meeting request.

Office 365 Meeting accept screen shot

Arrivals and Departures

By: Rob Harris

Starting this semester we will try to provide monthly updates of full-time employees who have joined or left the University Libraries.

In October we welcomed the following new employees:
Curtis Hill – Records Management
Brenda Witmer – Receiving Room

We said good-bye to:
Michelle Criley – Greater Allegheny

Customer Service Tip: Acknowledge and refocus

By: Jeff Toister (submitted by Carmen Gass)

Taking ownership is sometimes confused with being blamed, but it’s really about accepting responsibility for solving a problem.

A great way to take ownership (and diffuse any anger) is through the Acknowledge and Refocus technique. * Acknowledge the problem or service failure. This conveys empathy and helps the customer feel valued. * Refocus on a solution. Being solution-oriented prevents you from getting stuck on discussing blame and will give your customer the confidence that you are here to help.

Sound too easy? Here’s two ways it can go wrong if you aren’t careful:
1. You say, “I’m sorry” but your customer doesn’t feel acknowledged. Be sure your tone and body language convey just as much empathy as your words.

2. You get stuck playing the ‘blame game’. It’s easier than you think. Phrases like “Who told you that?” or “Well, I didn’t do that!” are good signs that you are playing the ‘blame game’ rather than focusing on a solution!

Events: November 5

Fall 2018
Academic calendar information for all campuses is available online.

Into the Woods exhibit logo

 

Sept. 5-Feb. 11, Exhibit: “Into the Woods: Nature in Your Library” Diversity Studies Room, 203 Pattee Library, Explore the Eastern Forest, its wildlife and botanical wealth. Libraries’ resources, services, unique collections and course materials will guide you on the trails of nature education and exploration. Discover local environmental programs. Be inspired by the instrumental work of women conservationists. Check out the related books, maps, movies and more, and get … Into the Woods.

 

A Full Course: Encounters with Food exhibit flyer

Sept. 10-Jan. 13, 2019, Exhibit: “A Full Course: Encounters with Food” Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 102 Paterno Library, and Sidewater Commons, first floor Pattee Library. To survive and thrive, we must all consume food every day; eating is, therefore, one of the few universal human experiences. The exhibition will consider the more contested and continuing questions surrounding food: where does it come from, what and how do we cook and eat, and what role does food play in our collective imaginations? The books, manuscripts, posters, and ephemera on view will offer a feast for the eyes and food for thought!

 

Wednesday, Nov. 7: Docunight: Iran Via Documentaries. November’s film, “Mother of the Earth” (2017), from the “Karestan” Documentary Film series, directed by Mahnaz Afzali. On the first Wednesday of every month, featuring a documentary film about, around, or in Iran, or made Iranians. Docunight events are open to everyone, and all films have English subtitles. Co-sponsored by the Iranian Student Association and the University Libraries. 7 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park.

Friday, Nov. 9: Football Friday Library Tour. Enjoy a tour through the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps & Geospatial Information, with hands-on exhibits, interactive presentations and Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. Reserve your spot at sac210@psu.edu or 814-863-7718 Tours meet at the Paterno Library Welcome Desk. 3:30-5 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 13: Penn State GIS Day. A one-day seminar for individuals working with GIS, geospatial technologies, remote sensing, maps, and location-based research on campus to foster greater geospatial awareness on campus, within the community, and beyond. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library and Franklin Atrium, Pattee Library, University Park campus.

Friday, Nov. 16: Ithaka Faculty Survey brown bag on data management. Cynthia Vitale, Digital Scholarship and Data Services head, will present on findings related to questions on data management from the spring 2018 library survey of Penn State faculty. Noon – 1 p.m., Dean’s Conference Room, 510 Paterno Library, University Park campus.

Wednesday, Dec. 5: Docunight: Iran Via Documentaries. On the first Wednesday of every month, featuring a documentary film about, around, or in Iran, or made Iranians. Docunight events are open to everyone, and all films have English subtitles. Co-sponsored by the Iranian Student Association and the University Libraries. 7 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park.

Please submit event information — and all Library News submissions — to Public Relations and Marketing via the Library News submission form. *Please note: The content submissions process may be changing soon; please stay tuned for updates.*