Daily Archives: June 10, 2019

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.