Daily Archives: February 10, 2020

Getting to Know You: Emily Zimmerman

By: Gale Viddle

Emily ZimmermanIn this “Getting to Know You” article, I want to introduce you to one of the newest members of the Penn State Libraries family, Emily Zimmerman. Emily is the Reference and Instruction Librarian at Penn State DuBois. She just began working in this position in August of last year. She teaches entry-level courses, works at the Reference Desk, and does one-on-one work with
students.

Before coming to Penn State, Emily taught English at Clearfield High School for 10 years to 9th-12th graders and loved it. And if teaching high schoolers wasn’t enough, she also waitressed at a local Italian restaurant for about 15 years. Emily grew up in the sleepy town of Sykesville, PA, where there’s only one stoplight and everyone knows your name. Of course, that can be quite the disadvantage when you’re younger and maybe doing something that your parents wouldn’t necessarily approve! But Emily liked growing up there, along with her three sisters and a brother. She even had her own paper route. For a brief time as a teenager, she lived in New Jersey, and now most of her family resides in New York.

Away from her work duties, Emily loves to spend time with her husband and 3-year-old daughter. Recently, they went to Disney for her daughter’s birthday, and now her daughter is obsessed with princesses and make-up. Emily also enjoys traveling and tries to go somewhere new at least once a year. As a child, she played piano and someday hopes to have a piano and continue to play. On a side note, we discussed that no matter how hard we tried, neither of us could ever learn to play without sheet music or play a fast-paced song. Someday, Emily, someday we will…

Being new in a large community like the Libraries could seem overwhelming. However, it didn’t take Emily long to feel the welcoming atmosphere. She says that “everyone has been so friendly and very helpful.” I’m sure I speak for all of the Libraries when I say, “Welcome and happy to have you here, Emily!”

Ten Random Questions with Emily Zimmerman:
1. Least favorite word? Moist (I’m grossed out even writing it…)
2. Last concert you attended? Kacey Musgraves
3. Favorite food? Ice cream, especially Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (YES!!!)
4. First thing you do if you win the lottery? Buy a beach house
5. If you could only listen to one song forever, what would it be? Wouldn’t want to listen to same song forever
6. Care-a-mel or Car-mel? Car-mel
7. If you could go back to high school, would you? No
8. Cereal—soggy or crunchy? Crunchy
9. Favorite color? Purple (YES!!!)
10. Toilet paper—over or under? Over

All Staff Conference: Pre-conference options and evening activities

By: Angel Peterson

Connection • Collaboration • Community

The success of all staff across the commonwealth is one of the University Libraries’ top priorities. In order to contribute to their professional development, Libraries’ Administration has put its full support behind the development of the 2020 All Staff Conference as an opportunity for all to gather together, to connect, collaborate, and create a sense of community.

Looking for some fun activities to do before the conference or during the evening of June 3? Sign up for one of the Pre-Conference Options and/or Evening Activities.

Pre-Conference Options:

StrengthsFinder 
When: Wednesday, June 3, 8:30am – Noon
Session limit: 35
Please register here.  Registration closes May 1.

Don’t just manage… Lead!
When: Wednesday, June 3, 9am – Noon
Session limit: 20
Please register here.  Registration closes April 1.

Arboretum Tour 
When: Wednesday, June 3, 9-10:30am;
Session limit: no limit
Please register here.

Pegula Ice Arena Tour 
When: Wednesday, June 3, 10:45 am
Estimated time: 30-45 minutes
Session limit: 50
Please register here. Registration closes May 1.

Evening Activities:
Collaboration Commons Reception, Wednesday, June 3, 5-7pm
6:00pm – 8:00pm

Painting with Jackie Gianico, sign-up here. Session limit: 20.
Making paper with Bill Minter, sign-up here. Session limit 20.
Dine Arounds, sign-up here.

Please see the FAQ for more information!

 

Arrivals and Departures

By: Robert Harris

In January we welcomed the following new employees:
Courtney St. Clair – Financial Assistant, Business Office
Rachel Killoren Corp – Administrative Support Assistant, Dean’s Office

We said goodbye to:
Dong Hahn – Lending Services
Tom Joudrey – Penn State Press
Amy Mihalko – Fayette Campus
Susan Owens – Acquisitions
Diane Sawyer – Digitization and Preservation
Donna Swartz – Business Office

Customer Service Tip: Serving customers through chat and text

By: Leslie O’ Flahavan (LinkedIn Learning) [submitted by Carmen Gass]

Customers are demanding more ways to connect with companies when they need help. Live chat and text are the fastest growing and most popular channels. While you may be a pro at
writing emails, you need a whole new set of skills to handle live, rapid-fire chat and text conversations. Learn more here.

Tech Tip: Logging into newest version of Office

By: Ryan Johnson

Office tech tip screen shot

Library Strategic Technologies is finalizing the remaining PC machine upgrades to the latest version of Office.  If you have been upgraded, this version will require you to sign into your Office 365 Penn State account the first time.

To begin, click Sign in.  

Next, enter your Penn State Email address to Activate Office.  Click Next.

activate office tech tip screen shot

Finally, complete your login with 2FA and office will be activated!

Events: February 10

Spring 2020
Academic calendar information for all campuses is available online.

Roots/Routes: Contested Histories, Contemporary Experiences exhibition graphic

Through Mar. 15, 2020, Exhibit: “Indigenous Roots/ Routes: Contested Histories, Contemporary Experiences.” Special Collections Exhibition Space, 104 Paterno Library. Reflections on the past five centuries of colonization and cultural exchange between Indigenous Peoples. Europeans, Africans, and later, Americans.

Saturday, Feb. 1-29, Blind Date with a Book. Book lovers can check out a surprise title when they choose a wrapped book rom the “Blind Date with a Book” displays, located in Pattee Library’s Franklin Atrium and other locations throughout the University Park campus in February. A variety of fiction and nonfiction titles are available, but books may not be unwrapped until after they are checked out at the lending services desk.
Tuesdays, Feb. 4-Mar. 31, Code for Her – Faculty and Staff workshop. Join other dedicated female and gender-diverse participants in this 9-week beginner coding workshop. Become familiar with HTML, CSS and JavaScript with no prior coding experience necessary! Limited seats are available, apply by Jan. 26 at sites.psu.edu/codeforher.
Thursdays, Feb. 6-Apr. 2, Code for Her – Student workshop. Join other dedicated female and gender-diverse participants in this 9-week beginner coding workshop. Become familiar with HTML, CSS and JavaScript with no prior coding experience necessary! Limited seats are available, apply by Jan. 26 at sites.psu.edu/codeforher.
Thursday, Feb. 13, Research Coffee Hour: Sports Archives at Penn State. Sports Archivist Paul Dzyak will introduce you to our sports archives, including photographs, team rosters, programs, and the Olympic movement. Discover how to access these rich collections, gain a sense of how the sports archives collects new materials, and spend time poring over some examples from the archives. 2-3 p.m. in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.
Friday, Feb. 14, Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon.  Presented by the Colored Conventions Project, celebrate Frederick Douglass’ “birthday” and help preserve Black history during a day-long transcribe-a-thon with the papers of Anna Julia Cooper. Visit douglassday.org for more information. Noon-3 p.m. in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park. Additional events take place at Fayette, Scranton, and Brandywine campuses.
Wednesday, February 26, Instruction Community of Practice: Out-of-Classroom Instruction. Beyond one-shot instruction, what can you do to share library resources and librarian expertise with students? Join Penn State Harrisburg Librarians for an online discussion to learn about successful out-of-classroom instructional programs and share or develop programs for your library. Presenters: Emily Reed, Andrea Pritt, and Emily Mross. 2 p.m. om Zoom. Zoom link: https://psu.zoom.us/j/148124396
Wednesday, March 18, Voices 2020: The Share Your Story Showcase at Penn State.  Attendees sign up for 45-minute individual storytelling sessions where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered. A Showcase event is scheduled in Foster Auditorium. Sponsored by the University Libraries in cooperation with Adult Lerner Programs and Services, Schreyer Honors College, the Gender Equity Center, the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, and the Center for the Performing Arts. More information and a sign-up link coming soon.
Friday-Sunday, May 8-10, Spring 2020 Commencement 

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.