Daily Archives: March 11, 2019

The Library Instruction Reboot in three words

By: Anne Behler

As the momentum of the semester paused for Spring Break, LLS Department Head Rebecca Waltz took a moment to reflect on the Reboot project, and share more about how it is “situated within the larger structure and goals of Library Learning Services and how this time has already started shaping our approach to instruction–and beyond!”

Check out her blog post to learn what those three words are, and how they are shaping our future work!

Instructional Reboot in Three Words: Intentional, Meaningful, and Strategic

Tech Tip: Introducing Box Feed

By: Ryan Johnson

Box Feed is now available to all Penn State Faculty and Staff.

Box Feed screen shot for tech tip

This new feature provides an alternate way of viewing your content in the Box Web app.  Feed assesses each document’s relevance based on what you’re working on and who you work most closely with.  Then Feed presents one centralized view from which you can access, share, sort, and comment on all these documents – in effect automatically curating a collection of your most relevant content

You can modify what you see in your feed – AND you can modify what activity of yours is visible in others’ feeds.  For example, you can:

  • Modify sorting to display posts based on the most recent and relevant action taken.
    • If multiple relevant actions are taken on a file, it still appears in the feed only once. However, the frequency of relevant actions does boost a post’s relevance and, as a result, its placement in your feed.  This is similar to the way a Web site’s activity boosts its position in a Google search.
  • Hide a file or folder such that it never appears in your feed.
  • Hide your own activity so that it doesn’t appear in others’ feeds.

Finally, Feed also respects privacy (yours and everyone else’s).  It retains each file’s existing Box permissions, so nobody sees anything they’re not supposed to see.

To learn more about how to use Box feed, check out this article.

 

 

Special Collections Library offers summer research travel awards

The Eberly Family Special Collections Library invites applications for its annual Summer Research Travel Awards. The awards are available in five different categories to applicants who reside outside a 100-mile radius of State College, Pa., and who are not Penn State faculty, staff or students.

For more information on the five categories of awards and additional requirements, or to apply online, visit: https://libraries.psu.edu/about/libraries/special-collections-library/apply-travel-grant.

Applications are due by April 1, and recipients will be notified by May 1. Contact Instruction & Outreach Specialist Katelyn Town at kmd5013@psu.edu with any questions.

 

Events: March 11

Spring 2019
Academic calendar information for all campuses is available online.

promotional poster - Secret Lives of Girls and Women

 

Jan. 28-Sept. 1, 2019, Exhibit: “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library. Through the examination of books, letters, hand-written diaries and other archival materials, The Secret Lives of Girls and Women exposes a wide spectrum of feminine mysteries. The exhibition includes many hidden or concealed aspects of female life found within beauty secrets, secret languages created by women, literary secrets, social taboos and more throughout history. On display during Special Collections Library hours.

 

The Future is Now, exhibit graphic

 

Mar. 11-Sept. 26, 2019, Exhibit: “The Future is Now.” Diversity Studies Room, 203 Pattee Library. Highlights from current and forthcoming equipment and assistance available to support students’ academic success from the Libraries’ Media and Technology Support Services and Adaptive Technology and Services departments.

 

Thursday, Feb. 7–Tuesday, Apr. 2: Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshops. A series of workshops covering topics such as open access, copyright and fair use policies will be offered throughout the spring semester for students, faculty and staff.  Coordinated and led by Ana Enriquez, scholarly communications outreach librarian, all workshops are free and take place either on Zoom or Paterno Library. Varying times in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library and via Zoom. To add this workshop series to your Facebook calendar, visit its Facebook Event online.

Tuesday, Mar. 12, Complying with NIH Public Access Policy. Offered as part of the Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshop series. Do you understand the public access requirements for your NIH-funded research? Under NIH’s public access policy, publications based on NIH-supported research must be deposited in PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. Join us for a brief overview of grant recipients’ obligations, with time for questions. 12:15-12:45 p.m. via Zoom. Register HERE.

Wednesday, Mar. 13, Introduction to Copyright: What’s Protected? Offered as part of the Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshop series. more about copyright law at this interactive workshop. Throughout it, participants will work in small groups to address hypothetical copyright questions and then debrief their responses as a full group. 12:20-1:10 p.m. via Zoom. Register HERE.

Thursday, Mar. 14, Geospatial Online: Overview of ArcGIS Online. An Introduction to ArcGIS Online, a web mapping application which can be used to communicate spatial research interests across the disciplines. Participants will explore applications created with ArGIS Online and work with a sample dataset. More information about GIS is available HERE. 3-5 p.m., 211A Pattee Library, University Park. No registration is required, open to all Penn State students, staff, faculty and visitors, with remote viewing available online using Zoom.
Monday, Mar. 18, Copyright and Your Thesis or Dissertation. Offered as part of the Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshop series.  Join us for this interactive workshop wherein participants will work in small groups to address hypothetical copyright questions and then debrief their responses as a full group. 4-5 p.m., Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno, University Park. Register HERE.

Tuesday, March 19, Who Owns What. Offered as part of the Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshop series. What does PSU policy have to say about the ownership of scholarly IP? Who gets to sign publishing agreements and make copyright decisions about published research? How does this interact with public access mandates from research funders? Join us for a brief overview of Penn State policy in this area, with time for questions.12:15-12:45 p.m. via Zoom. Register HERE.

Wednesday, Mar. 20, Introduction to Copyright: When You Don’t Need Permission. Offered as part of the Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshop series. Have you ever wondered how things enter the public domain? What rights you have to control use of your work? What rights you have to use someone else’s work? Learn more about copyright law in an interactive workshop where participants will work in small groups to address hypothetical copyright questions and then debrief their responses as a full group.12:20-1:10 p.m. via Zoom. Register HERE.

Monday, Mar. 25, International and Foreign Copyright: A U.S. Perspective. How does copyright law vary around the world? When you’re working across borders, which laws apply? Join us for a workshop on these and other questions. This is an interactive workshop wherein participants will work in small groups to address hypothetical copyright questions and then debrief their responses as a full group. 12:15-1:15 p.m., Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park. Register HERE.

Wednesday, Mar. 27, Introduction to Copyright: Permission and Who Can Grant It. Have you ever wondered how things enter the public domain? What rights you have to control use of your work? What rights you have to use someone else’s work? Learn more about copyright law at this interactive workshop where participants will work in small groups to address hypothetical copyright questions and then debrief their responses as a full group.12:20-1:10 p.m. via Zoom. Register HERE.

Thursday, Mar. 28, The Charles W. Mann Jr. Lecture in the Book Arts. Jesse Ryan Erickson, coordinator of Special Collections and Digital Humanities, associate professor in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, and assistant director of The Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center, University of Delaware, will offer a lecture titled A Different Kind of Reading: Victorian Popular Afterlives, providing an examination of the works of Victorian author Ouida (1839-1908), and exploring the ways in which racial consciousness affects one’s interaction and engagement with a text through its textual contents and materiality. 4:30-5:30 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, immediately followed by a reception in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library.

Monday, Apr. 1, Edible Book Festival. Students, faculty and staff are invited to submit a book- or reading-themed cake to win a gift card. Edible book awards will be presented in a variety of categories. The public is encouraged to vote for their favorites and have a cupcake to help celebrate the event. Sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/psulibsediblebook

Tuesday, Apr. 2, International and Foreign Copyright: A U.S. Perspective. Offered as part of the Spring 2019 Scholarly Communications Workshop series.  12:15-1:15 p.m. via Zoom. Register HERE.

Wednesday, Apr. 3: Docunight: Iran Via Documentaries. On the first Wednesday of every month, Docunight features a documentary film about, around, or in Iran, or made Iranians. All 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.
Thursday, Apr. 11, Geospatial Analysis: Using GIS Desktop software. An introduction to geospatial processes in ArcGIS ArcMap and ArcPro software. This informational session introduces and utilizes key software terminology, along with examples of the functionality within the software. Maps and geospatial examples will be provided in an interdisciplinary manner. More information about GIS is available HERE. 3-5 p.m., 211A Pattee Library, University Park. No registration is required, open to all Penn State students, staff, faculty and visitors, with remote viewing available online using Zoom.
Thursday, Apr. 25, MediaTech Open House. Stop in to see how MediaTech can help you; learn about the many equipment and technologies options are available for student use, plus register for prize giveaways. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Wagner Annex, behind Wagner Building on Curtain Road. For more info, call 814-863-3202.
 
Friday-Sunday, May 3-5: Spring Commencement, University Park.

Please submit event information — and all Library News submissions — to Public Relations and Marketing via its Staff Site request form and selecting the “Library News blog article” button.

Customer Service Tip: Weird research—The most dangerous time for customer service

By: Jeff Toister (submitted by Carmen Gass)

What time of day are you at your best?

It’s just after 7am as I write this post, because that’s when I’m most productive at writing. It would take me forever to write the same thing if I tried to do it just after lunch.

We all have a circadian rhythm, which causes us to experience different levels of energy throughout the day. This can impact us in innocent ways, such as productivity.

Time of day may have even graver implications. Read more here.