Daily Archives: November 23, 2020

Giving Tuesday is Dec. 1

The year is winding down, which means it’s Giving Tuesday time!

Online giving is open NOW through Tues, Dec. 1 @ 11:59 p.m. EST. Visit the campaign page to learn more and make a gift. Many of you have been champions in the past, and we hope you will be again this year.

The Libraries has a new priority — to purchase the ‘African Diaspora 1860-Present’ collection. To raise $38,500, we will need the help and support of many. This significant digital database will be accessible to all and is particularly special to Dean Dewey and her husband, Bill. So much so that they gave a $5,000 matching gift to inspire others. When asked why she and Bill are passionate about this project, Barbara shared:

“Bill’s career studying African art and our subsequent travels in Africa and the Caribbean motivated us to provide this modest gift as a recognition that library collections have historically focused on Western European traditions often leaving out much of the world’s rich knowledge base. We hope our gift will be a catalyst for securing further collections highlighting the African experience throughout the Americas and the world to support Penn State students and faculty research and teaching.”

Thank you for supporting this important initiative! If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Sarah Bacon at sac210@psu.edu / 814-863-7718.

P.S. Read more about Giving Tuesday via the Libraries’ Facebook Event.

GIS Day Recap: Penn State and other events

By: Tara Anthony
Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information

Penn State University Libraries co-hosted with the Department of Geography a virtual GIS Day event this year, held on November 12, 2020. This year we invited two great and informative speakers to present on relevant geospatial activities of mapping organizations.

Penn State GIS Day Highlights

Susan Powell, GIS and Map Librarian at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-editor of “Water: An Atlas,” spoke about Guerrilla Cartography’s “Atlas in a Day.” Past Atlas series related to water, food, community, and migration. These atlases are available for download.

Patricia Solis, Co-Founder/Director of YouthMappers, Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at Arizona State University, and Associate Research Professor in the Arizona State University School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, spoke about the YouthMappers international network of student-led chapters on university campuses. She shared also about their initiative Everywhere She Maps.

BTAA GIS Conference

The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) held a GIS Conference on November 13, 2020. This virtual event had participants from Big Ten academic institutions with interests in geospatial technologies. The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) GIS Conference site includes the agenda, map gallery, and presentation information. Tara Anthony gave a lightning talk on “Managing GIS student engagement projects: a sustainable approach.” The social hour of GIS Education Programs in Big Ten was coordinated by Nathan Piekielek, which included Penn State programs of the Online Geospatial Programs, and Geodesign.

Central Pennsylvania GIS Day

The Central Pennsylvania GIS Day held on November 18, 2020 was virtually hosted by Harrisburg University and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Tara Anthony spoke about “Integrating Diversity into Geospatial Projects: Geospatial Diversity Resources Guide.”

Customer Service Tip: Why you need to see things from your customer’s perspective

By: Jeff Toister (submitted by Carmen Gass)

Was it one friction point or 18?

That’s the question from a recent furniture buying experience. One seems minor, while 18 feels egregious. The answer depends on your perspective.

I don’t want to name the company, so let’s just call them “Ceramics Shed.” From their perspective, there was one service failure. Read more here.

Tech Tip: Start preparing for the Box migration in January

By: Ryan Johnson

Box Migration to OndeDrive graphic

To prepare for our upcoming migration of data from Box to Microsoft Office 365 in January, Enterprise IT encourages you to begin cleaning your Box environment as soon as possible by deleting unused files, removing unnecessary shares, and updating the formatting of files and folders as needed. These steps will ensure a speedier, more seamless migration and make accessing your data and working with collaborators easier post-migration.

Several how-to articles have been added to the Knowledge Base to assist you with these tasks. Please review the articles, along with the Migration Checklist, Frequently Asked Questions, and Resources and Training page available on the Box Migration tab on the Box at Penn State website.

Additional information and resources for familiarizing yourself with The Box Migration are available at Box Migration website.