Monthly Archives: June 2019

Utopian Literature in English bibliography added to Library of Congress e-Resources Catalog

By: Ally Laird

Penn State University Libraries’ Open Publishing program recently learned that its flagship bibliography, Utopian Literature in English: An Annotated Bibliography from 1516 to the Present by Lyman Tower Sargent, was recommended and added to the Library of Congress (LOC) e-Resource Online Catalog.

“I became aware of this resource in connection with a Researcher and Reference Services-sponsored lecture entitled ‘African Americans and Utopia: Visions of a Better Life,’” notes Sibyl E. Moses, reference specialist and recommending officer, African American History and Culture. “This is the richest online database in existence on the topic of Utopia and Dystopia, and it is compiled by a leading international Utopian scholar.” Sargent gave the lecture on May 14, at the Mary Pickford Theater in the Library of Congress James Madison Building, in Washington, DC.

Fast approaching 10,000 entries, Sargent updates this seminal work of utopian and dystopian literature in its myriad forms regularly with new citations and revisions. Sargent’s thoughtful use of keywords to identify authors’ nationalities and gender, when known, adds an additional demographic resource for political science, literary, and other humanities research.

Following the confirmation that the LOC cataloged the bibliography in the e-Resources Online Catalog, the Open Publishing program was again approached by the Library of Congress, this time requesting permissions to include the bibliography in their web archives. The LOC notes that they “preserve important cultural artifacts and provide enduring access to them,” and that content is considered important and thus chosen “because they contribute to the historical record, capturing information that could otherwise be lost. With the growing role of the web as an influential medium, records of historic events could be considered incomplete without materials that were ‘born digital’ and never printed on paper.” This marks the first publication by the Penn State Libraries Open Publishing program to be archived and catalogued by the Library of Congress in this way.

Penn State Libraries Open Publishing is the Open Access imprint of The Pennsylvania State University Libraries, and is a unit within the Research Informatics and Publishing department. We provide tools and support for Penn State-affiliated authors and groups to publish full-featured electronic scholarly journals, searchable annotated bibliographies, monographs, and topical web portals using a variety of digital platforms. All of the publications are free to view online and download. Copyright is retained by the individual authors, journals, or sponsoring entity, and almost all publications are licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. For more information about the program, please visit openpublishing.psu.edu/, or contact Ally Laird at alaird@psu.edu.

Register now for Library Data Days 2019 at University Park — Friday, Aug. 2

By: Steve Borrelli

Registration is now open for the third annual Library Data Days. Data Days provide a full day to learn from each other about the use of data in decision-making. This Library Assessment and Metrics Council event is scheduled for Friday, August 2nd at University Park and is open to faculty, staff, and administration from all campuses. Library Administration is funding travel for anyone interested in attending from outside of University Park.

See the tentative schedule below or on the intranet for information on sessions. Additional information about each session is forthcoming.

Register here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ctYRxmkmiEescBv

Join us for part of, or the full day and learn from colleagues about different approaches to working with data, the data we collect, how it’s used, and how it informs our decisions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions? – contact Steve Borrelli (sborrelli@psu.edu)

9:00 am – 9:20 am Light Refreshments Mann
9:20 am – 9:30 am Welcome Remarks – Steve Borrelli Foster Auditorium
9:30 am – 11:00 am Faculty OA Deposits into Scholarsphere, Cynthia Vitale (20)

Data Visualization Drop-In Hours – Ben Hoover (20)

Connecting Grades and Library Use to Badges – Mukund Srinath (20)

Library Instruction LLS Reboot – Anne Behler (30)

 Foster Auditorium
11:00 am – 11:15 am Break Mann
11:15 am – 12:15 pm Nursing Grey Literature, Kat Phillips, Stephen Woods, Andrew Dudash W-013
11:15 am – 12:15 pm Aspirational Peer Groups – Lana Munip (20)

DeStress Fest, Open House – Megan Gilpin (20)

OER Data, Amanda Larson (20)

 Foster Auditorium
12:15 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch  
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Why Patrons Count, The Connection Between Library Usage, Hours, and Outreach – John Shank (30)

Gimlet, Reference – Theresa Slobuski (30)

 Foster Auditorium
2:30 pm – 2:45 pm Break  
2:45 pm – 4:15 pm Digital Badges and Artificial Intelligence – Emily Rimland, Torrie Raish (30)

Investigating Emotional Connections to the University Libraries to inform a toolkit for the Library Development Board – Steve Borrelli, Lana Munip (30)

Twitter Data: Endgame – John Russell, Ben Goldman (30)

 Foster Auditorium

 

Getting to Know You: Dawn Oswald

By: Gale Biddle

Have you ever met someone for the first time and you just knew that you were going to like them? Dawn Oswald is that kind of person. I met her at a Tech Liaison Retreat a few weeks ago,
and it didn’t take long to see that she’s a fun and nice person. So, I was very happy when she agreed to do this interview. I expected the interview to be fun, and Dawn didn’t disappoint.

Dawn is the Information Resources and Services Supervisor/Manager at the Penn State York campus. Initially, she began working part-time, and in September 2002, she became the
manager. Her job entails supervising the staff and Circulation area and overseeing the daily operations of the library. Since it’s a small staff at her library, she needs to be a “jack of
all trades,” meaning she needs to be well versed in multiple systems, such as Circulation, Interlibrary Loan, and even Course Reserves, and the procedures and policies for each.

Raised in the small town of Havre De Grace, Maryland, which is located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the top of the Chesapeake Bay, Dawn graduated and went on to a school outside of Boston. She majored in Clothing and Textiles, which led her to a 10-year career in costume design. For a time, she worked in a regional theater in Connecticut where some future stars would go to try out shows before they made it to the big time. It was a lot of work, especially dealing with directors, managers, and the artists themselves, but she enjoyed it. Although she may have technically left the costume design world behind, it still sometimes finds its way to her. When Dawn’s daughter was recently in a play, she may have volunteered her mom to create a costume for Cinderella!

Speaking of family, Dawn is married to Joel, an 8th grade math teacher. Together, they have 2 children—a daughter, Corinne, and a son, Christian. They also have 2 rescue cats named Terry
and Mordecai. But family can be more than just those genetically related to you. The best part of being at Penn State for Dawn is the family she’s made with her co-workers. Especially with a
small staff, she says it’s almost impossible not to get involved in each other’s lives. Just like our own family, there are good days and some, well, less than great days. But in the end, it’s that family-like bond with a little bit of humor thrown in that makes it all worth it.

For fun, Dawn likes to play mini golf, cook, cheer for the Steelers, read, and sew. But do you know what is her favorite hobby? Napping. She loves a good nap and will take one wherever
and whenever she can. Sitting up. Laying down. It doesn’t matter. Any place is a good place for a nap. So, if you ever get the chance to meet Dawn, be sure to say hello. You won’t regret it. But if she happens to be napping, let her sleep.

Ten Random Questions with Dawn Oswald:
1. Favorite Color? Purple
2. Best gift you ever received? A George Seurat mug
3. If you deserted on an island, what one item would you have to have with you? A pillow!
4. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Yes
5. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be? “Sentimental Reasons” by Sam Cooke
6. Talent you wished you had? To be able to sing opera
7. Favorite food? Maryland steamed crabs
8. Favorite movie? The Sound of Music
9. Caramel—pronounced like care-a-mel or car-mel? Care-a-mel
10. If you could trade places with any person for a day, who would it be? My husband–he seems organized and ready, and I would love to experience that!

Tech Tip: Who is the Captain?

By: Ryan Johnson

Tech Tip: The Captain screenshot

Have you ever come back to your desk and noticed something called thecaptain is logged into your machine?  The captain is simply I-Tech’s name for an admin account on your machine.  This account is typically used to log into your machine when you are not available to troubleshoot an issue or update a program on your machine.

To log back into your Libraries account, simply click Other user located in the bottom left hand corner of the login screen and enter in with your Penn State ID along with @dce.psu.edu and your password.

Tech tip: Other user screnshot

 

Events: June 24

Summer 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.

Monday, June 3-Tuesday, Aug. 13  Summer Scholarly Communications Workshops. Students, faculty and staff, join Ana Enriquez, scholarly communications outreach librarian, for communications workshops that cover topics such as open access, copyright and fair-use policies.Workshops take place via Zoom and in various locations across Penn State’s campuses. Registration is free but required for all workshops by clicking on the links provided.
Thursday, June 20-Friday, August 23, 2019 Research Travel Awards winning “brown bag” presentations. Seven informal, one-hour lunchtime presentations offered by traveling researchers on a variety of topics, hosted by the Eberly Family Special Collections Library.  All presentations are open to the public and take place in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library.
Thursday, July 18, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 2-3 p.m., 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.
Tuesday, August 13, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 10-11 a.m., 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.

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.

Walk 1,000 miles in your shoes

On July 1, 2018 a small group of library employees embarked on an ambitious goal:  traverse (run, hike, walk, bike, swim) 1,000 miles in one year. It sounds unattainable, but broken down into small chunks, it’s only 2.74 miles per day. For the last two years, Heather Ross has participated in a group of fellow Syracuse University alums where a group leader maintained a weekly log of miles and posted the results weekly. She didn’t think she could do it, so she watched from the shadows for a year, and then in January of 2018 she jumped in with two sneaker-clad feet and started walking. In October 2018, she surpassed her 1,000th mile with the Syracuse group.

1000 miles: Weekly wrap-up image

Things were going so well that Heather decided to start a 1,000 mile group here in the University Libraries. She talked with a small group of people in the Libraries in late June and we started tracking in July 2018. We use Slack to post our mileage and every week the mileage keeper posts pretty charts that show progress and help with encouragement! Heather’s life got crazy in January and Andrew Gearhart took over as mileage keeper and cheer captain. However, he couldn’t do it alone, as there was a lot of encouragement flying on the channel between the members of the group. As of May 21, 12 of our members have walked 1,000 miles with three more in the running (no pun intended).  Cumulatively, our group has covered over 20,000 miles!

We have people of all sorts of abilities. Heather’s not a runner but loves to walk. Rachel runs 1/2 marathons. Albert walks EVERYWHERE!  To others, each step is a precious thing to be celebrated. Some weeks are good weeks and some weeks aren’t.  It’s not a race to see who gets to 1,000 miles the fastest.  It’s accountability and encouragement from and for the group. While most of us have a goal of 1,000 miles, many have their own personal goals.  It’s really about the long-term effort and in the end, we did it together.

Want to join us in our next epic trek?  Email Heather Ross (hdr10@psu.edu or @heather_ross on Slack) or Andrew Gearhart (andrew@psu.edu or @AndrewGearhart on Slack).  You can also join our Slack channel #1000-miles.

We count Monday through Sunday so our first day (for 2019-2020) will be Monday, July 1.  On Monday, July 8, you post your mileage in the Slack channel.  It helps to have a fitness tracker of some sort (Fitbit, Garmin, Apple/Android watch), but many smartphones can also be configured to work as a pedometer. Accuracy of pedometers varies significantly, but remember, it’s about the effort … not the distance!

2018-19 Group members:
Albert Rozo
Ally Laird
Andrew Gearhart
Ann Thompson
Anne Behler
Ashoo Kumar
Diane Sawyer
Ellysa Cahoy
Emily Rimland
Heather Ross
Paul Burnell
Rachel White
Sandy Confer
Sandy Morgart
Stephanie Gates
Theresa Tarves

Getting to Know You- Ryan Johnson

By: Gale Biddle

Chances are you’ve already met Ryan Johnson in at least some capacity. I’m sure we’ve all taken a training course on how to use Kaltura, to navigate the maze of Office 365, or, quite frankly, to make heads or tails out of a new tech change here at the Libraries. Most likely, Ryan has been your instructor in those sessions. As the IT Training Coordinator for the Libraries, it’s his job to provide documentation and training for the entire University Libraries’ staff. With the rapid changes in technology every day, that’s a lot to keep up with, but Ryan manages to do so with a calmness that makes even the most technophobic person feel relaxed.

Ryan was born in the small town of Amsterdam, NY, but spent most of his childhood growing up in Saratoga Springs, NY, a town very similar to that of State College. His first job was as a
dishwasher at the Saratoga Springs racetrack. As a student at SUNY Albany, he studied meteorology and had ambitions of becoming an on-air meteorologist. Upon graduation, he worked at AccuWeather in their IT systems. This was where his career veered from meteorology into ITech. And he never looked back!

It was 11 years ago that Ryan came to Penn State. He began as an IT training specialist and eventually became the IT Training Coordinator. This requires him to be up to date on new technology and its applications. Every time there’s a change on the horizon, he researches it so that he can effectively communicate to us what those changes will be and how it will affect what we do. But that’s what Ryan loves about his job. He loves the changes in technology and the new students, staff, and faculty that arrive each year. He’s always learning and teaching new
things in an atmosphere that’s relaxed. “Penn State’s always trying to evolve,” he says.

Ryan Johnson, photo

Two weeks from now, you’ll find Ryan basking in the Caribbean sun on the beaches of Aruba. Traveling is one of the things he loves to do with his wife of nearly 20 years, Angelita, whom he
met while working at AccuWeather and followed to Penn State, and his two sons, Cody and Jordan. They have 2 dogs, Max and Molly. If you’re a fan of hard rock bands like Metallica, Breaking Benjamin, or Alice in Chains, you might spot Ryan at one of their concerts. He’s a big sports fan (the Oakland — soon-to-be Las Vegas– Raiders and the New York Yankees are two of his favorite teams) and a movie buff. In fact, he even has a small movie room in his basement.

So, if you’re ever sitting at your desk in a cold sweat, fearing some new bit of technology heading your way, there’s no need to panic. Ryan is always patient and willing to help you
learn. But, if you want to know why it’s raining outside when it was supposed to be sunny, don’t blame the (one time hopeful) weatherman!

Ten Random Questions with Ryan Johnson
1. Favorite Movie? 12 Angry Men
2. Least Favorite Word or Phrase? I can’t do that (Ryan believes there’s always a way)
3. Place you’d like to visit that you’ve never been to? Europe, especially Spain
4. First thing you would do if you won the lottery? Build a huge movie room and a bowling alley in his basement
5. Talent you wish you had? To fix a car or things around the house
6. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be? A musician and go onstage to perform
7. Top 3 people, past or present, you would like to have dinner with? Abe Lincoln, Jimi Hendrix, and Theodore Roosevelt
8. Cereal- Crunchy or Soggy? Soggy (Thank you Ryan, for being the rare person like myself who prefers soggy cereal!)
9. Favorite food? Meatloaf
10. Song that best describes you? “Hail to the King” by Avenged Sevenfold

Customer Service Tip: Fall in love with your customer’s pain points—not with your solutions

By: Michael Hinshaw (submitted by Carmen Gass)

It’s human nature to fall in love with your solutions. It’s also a common pitfall for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and those responsible for improving customer experiences.

Don’t. Because the implications of this mindset are significant. Remember New Coke? Qwikster, from Netflix? And what about Barnes and Noble’s Nook? In each case, well-intentioned leaders made a bet on a solution to a problem they didn’t fully understand. Read more here.

Events: June 17

Summer 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.

Monday, June 3-Tuesday, Aug. 13  Summer Scholarly Communications Workshops. Students, faculty and staff, join Ana Enriquez, scholarly communications outreach librarian, for communications workshops that cover topics such as open access, copyright and fair-use policies.Workshops take place via Zoom and in various locations across Penn State’s campuses. Registration is free but required for all workshops by clicking on the links provided.
Tuesday, June 18, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 10:30-11:30 am, 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.
Thursday, June 20-Friday, August 23, 2019 Research Travel Awards winning “brown bag” presentations. Seven informal, one-hour lunchtime presentations offered by traveling researchers on a variety of topics, hosted by the Eberly Family Special Collections Library.  All presentations are open to the public and take place in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library.
Thursday, July 18, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 2-3 p.m., 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.
Tuesday, August 13, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 10-11 a.m., 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.

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.

1000 mile recruiting letter

On July 1, 2018 a small group of library employees embarked on an ambitious goal:  traverse (run, hike, walk, bike, swim) 1,000 miles in one year. It sounds unattainable, but broken down into small chunks, it’s only 2.74 miles per day. For the last two years, Heather Ross has participated in a group of fellow Syracuse University alums where a group leader maintained a weekly log of miles and posted the results weekly. She didn’t think she could do it, so she watched from the shadows for a year, and then in January of 2018 she jumped in with two sneaker-clad feet and started walking. In October 2018, she surpassed her 1,000th mile with the Syracuse group.

1000 miles: Weekly wrap-up image

Things were going so well that Heather decided to start a 1,000 mile group here in the University Libraries. She talked with a small group of people in the Libraries in late June and we started tracking in July 2018. We use Slack to post our mileage and every week the mileage keeper posts pretty charts that show progress and help with encouragement! Heather’s life got crazy in January and Andrew Gearhart took over as mileage keeper and cheer captain. However, he couldn’t do it alone, as there was a lot of encouragement flying on the channel between the members of the group. As of May 21, 12 of our members have walked 1,000 miles with three more in the running (no pun intended).  Cumulatively, our group has covered over 20,000 miles!

We have people of all sorts of abilities. Heather’s not a runner but loves to walk. Rachel runs 1/2 marathons. Albert walks EVERYWHERE!  To others, each step is a precious thing to be celebrated. Some weeks are good weeks and some weeks aren’t.  It’s not a race to see who gets to 1,000 miles the fastest.  It’s accountability and encouragement from and for the group. While most of us have a goal of 1,000 miles, many have their own personal goals.  It’s really about the long-term effort and in the end, we did it together.

Want to join us in our next epic trek?  Email Heather Ross (hdr10@psu.edu or @heather_ross on Slack) or Andrew Gearhart (andrew@psu.edu or @AndrewGearhart on Slack).  You can also join our Slack channel #1000-miles.

We count Monday through Sunday so our first day (for 2019-2020) will be Monday, July 1.  On Monday, July 8, you post your mileage in the Slack channel.  It helps to have a fitness tracker of some sort (Fitbit, Garmin, Apple/Android watch), but many smartphones can also be configured to work as a pedometer. Accuracy of pedometers varies significantly, but remember, it’s about the effort … not the distance!

2018-19 Group members:
Albert Rozo
Ally Laird
Andrew Gearhart
Ann Thompson
Anne Behler
Ashoo Kumar
Diane Sawyer
Ellysa Cahoy
Emily Rimland
Heather Ross
Paul Burnell
Rachel White
Sandy Confer
Sandy Morgart
Stephanie Gates
Theresa Tarves

Law Librarians develop unique conference on legal research instruction

By: Rebecca Mattson
H. Laddie Montague Law Library

Laura Ax-Fultz, photo

Laura Ax-Fultz

Rebecca Mattson, photo

Rebecca Mattson

Law librarians Laura Ax-Fultz (Dickinson Law, Carlisle) and Rebecca Mattson (Penn State Law, University Park) just concluded the inaugural Teaching the Teachers Conference held on May 30-31, 2019 at Georgia State College of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. The Teaching the Teachers Conference provided a foundation in instructional philosophy, techniques, and assessment for law librarians by law librarians.

In 2016, after attending the ACRL Immersion program at Penn State University Libraries, Laura and Becky were inspired to create an experience for law librarians to enhance their knowledge of pedagogical issues and best practices specific to legal research instruction. During the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Annual Meeting in July 2016, they started working with the incoming chair of the AALL Research, Instruction, and Patron Services Special Interest Section (RIPS-SIS) to convene a task force to design and create the conference.

For the past three years, Laura, Becky, and the task force built the conference from the ground up – soliciting sponsorships, developing curriculum, and organizing the conference logistics.
Conference attendance was limited to 40 registrants plus presenters in order to facilitate a robust, interactive experience. Registration for the conference opened in January, and the 40 spots were filled within 30 minutes. Last week, the event finally came to fruition with 60 attendees from law libraries across the country. This unique, custom-designed conference was a huge success, and with eager enthusiasm from attendees, the task force plans to hold the conference every two years.

Several attendees live-tweeted the conference (#TTT19), and those tweets were noticed and followed by others in the law librarian and legal writing communities. One attendee even tweeted, “Hands down the very best conference I’ve ever been to.”

 

Tech Tip: Redesigned 2FA launching in June

By: Ryan  Johnson

tech tip: 2FA redesign screen shot

Later this month, users of WebAccess—the University’s authentication system that protects University email, Canvas, LionPATH and more—will notice a slight redesign to the system’s two-factor authentication (2FA) prompt. The change follows last year’s more significant interface redesign and is triggered by an upgrade to the system.

The new 2FA prompt will look different from the current prompt but be functionally the same. However, the upgrade to the 2FA service will increase security and allow for new features to be enabled, including a “Remember my device” feature that will allow users to log in with 2FA less frequently.

 

Customer Service Tip: Customer service in libraries—meeting evolving needs

By: WebJunction (submitted by Carmen Gass)

Customer service is one of the most consistently popular topics on WebJunction. From attendees at live webinars to users of the content in our Course Catalog, it is clear that
customer service is on the minds of library staff. The interest extends beyond how to provide quality service to patrons, to experiencing societal changes and seeking to address new
challenges that staff encounter when working. Read more here.  

Events: June 10

Summer 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.

Monday, June 3-Tuesday, Aug. 13  Summer Scholarly Communications Workshops. Students, faculty and staff, join Ana Enriquez, scholarly communications outreach librarian, for communications workshops that cover topics such as open access, copyright and fair-use policies.Workshops take place via Zoom and in various locations across Penn State’s campuses. Registration is free but required for all workshops by clicking on the links provided.
Tuesday, June 18, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 10:30-11:30 am, 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.
Thursday, July 18, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 2-3 p.m., 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.
Tuesday, August 13, Public Tour: Secret Lives of Girls and Women. Curated free tours of the Special Collections exhibit “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women” will offer background information and provenance to the books and objects on display, as well discussion about the their meaning and importance. Registration requested. 10-11 a.m., 104 Paterno Library on the University Park Campus.

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.

Green Tip: Reducing our water footprint

By: Nicole Schwindenhammer

As we enter the summer season, it is a great time to think about ways to reduce/reuse water. Luckily here in Pennsylvania, we don’t normally have to worry about a shortage in water like in
some states, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take steps to help our planet by reducing our water footprint. There are several ways we can reduce and reuse water in the workplace and
also at home.

In the workplace:
• At meetings or office functions, offer people water from a water cooler rather than individual plastic water bottles. Many times people don’t finish the water and then you’re left with a bunch of half full water bottles. It’s also better for the environment to not have all those plastic water bottles, especially if they are not being recycled.
• Any office plants can be watered by using leftover drinking water.
• Report any leaky faucets or running toilets.
• According to the Penn State Sustainability Institute, when washing your hands, use temperate water, not hot. Using temperate water saves energy and your time waiting for the water to heat
up.

At home:
• Being mindful when getting a shower, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, etc. Limit the amount of water you use with everyday things.
• When you’re waiting for the right temperature before getting into the shower, you could always put a bucket in the tub to collect the water. That water can be used for indoor plants, a
garden and even the lawn.
• You can also use recycled water for your indoor plants from the water you used to wash off your fruits and vegetables. Just place a large pot or bowl under the faucet when your washing off your fruits and veggies.
• Try not to ignore a leaky faucet. Depending on the leak, you could waste over 100 gallons of water in just one week. A running toilet can be even worse in water waste with hundreds of gallons lost in a week.

These are just a few examples of how to reduce and reuse water in the workplace and at home. Feel free to come up with your own ways and share them with others. The spring and summer months are a great time to get out and enjoy all of what Mother Nature has to offer but don’t forget to do your part. Let’s work together to keep our planet beautiful by reducing our water
footprint.