Daily Archives: March 2, 2020

Ithaka S+R Undergraduate Survey 2020

By: Lana Munip

The University Libraries will conduct the Ithaka S+R Undergraduate Survey from March 23 to April 20. It’s been four years since we last surveyed our undergraduate population and it will be interesting to see what’s changed.

As before, the sample will include students from all locations with undergraduate populations, including World Campus. At some campuses, the entire undergraduate population will be invited to participate. (These include Beaver, Brandywine, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, York.)

The survey will cover the following areas:
1) coursework, academics, and information practices;
2) perceptions of the role of the library;
3) library space planning;
4) extra- and co-curricular activities; and
5) interest in and opportunities for conducting or contributing to original research.

As an incentive to participate, students who complete the survey will have the chance to enter a drawing for one of 10 $100 Amazon gift cards. Our office is working with Public Relations and
Marketing to promote the survey widely. We’ll share more news about this closer to the date.

The Libraries will receive a summary report of findings from Ithaka S+R approximately three weeks after the survey closes, after which visualizations of the data will be created, similar to the 2019 Graduate and 2018 Faculty Surveys. These visualizations will be filterable to the campus library level. Additional analysis of the data will take place in summer.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Lana Munip, lana@psu.edu or 814-863-1939. If you want to see the visualizations from our earlier surveys, please go to:
https://staff.libraries.psu.edu/assessment and follow the links in the left side bar.

Focus on Assessment: University Libraries Factbook

By: Leigh Tinik

The Library Assessment Department’s mission is to use evidence-based approaches aimed at reducing uncertainty to inform decision making. The Department strives to increase the transparency of library service and operational data and provide data and analysis in support of strategic and operational needs.

In order to provide faculty and staff with access to library data to better inform decision making, the Assessment Department has developed a University Library Factbook, including up-to-date
information on key library metrics. This factbook contains statistics on circulation, inter-library loan, full-text journal article and ebook downloads, website analytics, reference transactions, study rooms, gate counts, student enrollment, and library personnel.

Data for these metrics is displayed by fiscal quarter. Information is shown by fiscal quarter, rather than academic semester, due to the reporting requirements of the Association of
Research Libraries and the Association of College and Research Libraries. The Factbook contains historical information from FY 18-19 until present and will continue to be updated quarterly. In addition to historical trends, statistics are broken out by Library whenever possible to enable decision making by specific location.

The purpose of this dashboard is to provide up-to-date information for use by colleagues across the many library locations to help inform practices. We would love to hear from
you if there are additional metrics or visualizations that would be useful to you. If you have any questions or comments regarding the Factbook, please reach out to Leigh Tinik at law222@psu.edu or 814.863.1880.

The Factbook can be viewed on the University Libraries Staff Site, at the following location:
https://staff.libraries.psu.edu/assessment/quarterly-statistics

Customer Service Tip:  Empathy for customer service professionals

By: Myra Golden (submitted by Carmen Gass)

Customer service people may answer questions accurately and resolve problems swiftly, but the interaction can still end badly if a customer doesn’t feel positive. Learn about how practicing empathy—building a connection—makes customers feel cared about and creates rapport. Access this LinkedIn Learning course here.

Events: March 2

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.

Tuesday, Mar. 3, Moments of Change: A Century of Women’s Activism A two-part launch event examining the impact of women’s activism since the Nineteenth Amendment’s ratification in 1920 gave women the right to vote. A pop-up exhibit takes place from 2-5 p.m. in Mann Assembly Room, concurrent with a talk entitled “Perspectives on Women’s activism: Questions and Conversation at 3-4 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 and 103 Paterno Library, University Park.
Wednesday, Mar. 4, Discovering Marginalized Populations in the Maps Collection. An informal look at items from the map collection by and about underrepresented groups, including African Americans, Native Americans and women, including a discussion about the pitfalls of the lack of diversity in these collections and how to view them through this lens when using them. 3-4:30 p.m. in W13 Pattee Library, University Park. Register via Learning Resource Network for this free workshop.
Thursday, Mar. 5, Docunight. Featuring the Persian film Platform, Directed by Sahar Mosayebi. A ROCKY-esque tale of determination and grit, Platform follows three Iranian sisters as they compete to become international champions of Wushu, a Chinese martial art. The sisters’ thrilling underdog story explores not only their dedicated training but also their surprising place in society as they challenge traditional gender roles on the path to success. 7 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 103 Paterno Library, University Park campus.
Wednesday, Mar. 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.
Thursday, Mar. 19, Zine Workshop. Learn how to create a zine to celebrate Women’s History Month in this hands-on workshop including a brief history of zines and a presentation by University Archivist Angel Diaz on preserving and archiving. You’ll leave with your own zine! 5-7:30 p.m. in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.
Monday, Mar. 23- Friday, Mar. 27, Wiki Edit-a-thon. A cross-campus Wikipedia Edit-a-thon week in honor of Women’s History Month. No experience is necessary. Information on each campus edit-a-thon can be found on the meetup page.
Wednesday, Apr. 8, A presentation with Bayan abu Sini, head of Library User Services Department at the Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Amman, Jordan. Ms. Bayan will discuss her experiences as a librarian in Jordan, differences between librarianship in the U.S. and Jordan, and her research project as a Humphrey Fellow. Noon-1 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park.
Thursday, Apr. 9, Student Employee Showcase. Lighting talks from the Libraries’ Bednar interns, Stelts-Filippelli intern, and other student employees at 1:3-0 p.m. in Foster Auditorium and via MediaSite Live, followed by Outstanding Student Employee Awards at 2:45 p.m. A small reception will be held at 3-4 p.m. in Mann Assembly room, 103 Paterno Library, University Park.
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.