By: Melody Gehlbach
Tech Update: Apr. 20 at 2-3 p.m.
Monthly Archives: February 2022
Access Services Council’s February meeting minutes
By: Lisa Moyer
The Access Services Council’s February meeting minutes have been posted on the Intranet at https://staff.libraries.psu.edu/access-services-council-minutes-february-11-2022.
Customer Service Tip: De-escalation Live Q & A
By: Myra Golden (submitted by Carmen Gass)
Looking for helpful tips regarding de-escalating with customers?
Discussion topics include:
— How do you empower employees to be confident when de-escalating?
— How do you handle the customer who asks for a supervisors right out of the gate?
— What are some warning signs that a call will be escalated?
These questions and more are answered here.
Tech Tip: Present and collaborate with Solstice
By: Ryan Johnson
Did you know there are almost 100 Solstice pods installed across the University Libraries at PSU?
Solstice enables users to simultaneously share content to a room display using their laptops and mobile devices. Any number of users can instantly connect, share and control content, improving wireless presentations, promoting classroom collaboration, and increasing meeting efficiency. Share desktops with audio, application windows, videos, images and mirror mobile device screens to the display. Sources are automatically tiled onto the screen for side-by-side viewing or can be positioned and scaled into any custom layout.
How to Connect:
- Make sure that you are connected to the psu wireless network. The PSU-Guest Wi-Fi will not work for Solstice.
- First-time Users: Open a browser on your device and type in the IP address that you see on the Solstice display in the room. Follow the on-screen prompts to download the app for your device.
- Returning Users: Open the Solstice app on your device, and either connect to a Solstice display from the directory, or type in the IP address of a Solstice Pod.
- When prompted, input the screen key shown on the Solstice Display.
To Learn more about Solstice, including all the locations at the University Libraries, please check out the Solstice Staff site page on the intranet.
Adaptive Technology and Services Lab serves a record number in fall 2021
By: Jamilyn Houser & Anne Behler
The Adaptive Technology and Services Lab (ATS), based in the Pattee Library, had a record-breaking Fall 2021 semester. Jamilyn Houser, Adaptive Technologies Coordinator, explains,
“We provide alternative formats of academic materials to persons with disabilities. We need to provide these services because it is very rare that a textbook or article is fully accessible as is.” Complicated textbooks and readings often require that a level of description is provided that will help a visually impaired student understand the content.
ATS staff process material into many different formats, making them able to be read and used by students who are visually impaired, as well as those who are challenged by learning disabilities such as dyslexia.
During the Fall semester, ATS served five visually impaired students – more than any semester before. This required converting 40 textbooks and nearly 500 class readings to accessible formats. About a quarter of these readings were also converted into electronic Braille, and ten exams were printed out in physical Braille.
Many textbooks are processed in Kurzweil, which is a type of screen reader. ATS staff have to download every chapter into the software and zone every page to ensure that all text featured on the page will be read aloud and in the correct order. They process around five chapters at a time and completed chapters are then sent to the student. Novels can be processed more quickly than a textbook that contains heavy technical content.
During the fall semester, there were a total of 34 students who required this format, and ATS processed over 60 books in Kurzweil. In addition, 25 books from ATS archives of previously
scanned material were requested.
ATS staff also process material in Microsoft Word for the visually impaired students. This includes not only textbooks, but any readings/articles, handouts, syllabi and sometimes
PowerPoints that are needed throughout the course. Each file starts as a raw text document. Staff then have to add page numbers, headings, insert tables and equations, and describe any
images or graphics. If the student requests Braille documents, we have access to Duxbury software which translates the converted Word documents into electronic Braille. Of the work that ATS does, Houser says, “It is rewarding work that contributes toward the students’ academic achievements.” Thank you, ATS, for all that you do!
Access Services Council’s 2021 Report
By: Lisa Moyer
Access Services Council’s 2021 report has been posted on the Intranet at
https://staff.libraries.psu.edu/access-services-council/access-services-council-reports.
Tech Tip: Reopen a closed tab in Google Chrome easily
By Ryan Johnson
Google Chrome is always adding new features to its browser.
A recent update (Available in Self Service to download) allows you to quickly reopen a tab you may have accidentally closed.
To reopen a tab, simply follow the steps below:
- Right-click on an empty space of your Chrome tab strip.
- Click Reopen closed tab.
You can also use a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + T
Customer Service Tip: What is internal customer service and why is it important?
By: Jeff Toister (submitted by Carmen Gass)
“It just takes a lot of effort to get things done.”
A friend recently shared these frustrations. She had worked in sales at her company for the past six years. It had a good product and she was successful, but something was gnawing at
her.
My friend explained that it was becoming increasingly difficult to hit her sales targets. The challenge wasn’t a new competitor, shifting market conditions, or even the pandemic.
The biggest issue was a lack of internal customer service.
My friend increasingly spent time and effort navigating corporate bureaucracy, waiting for results, and following-up with other departments to make sure they didn’t drop the ball. Continue reading here.
Tech Tip: Tax season – avoid phishing emails
By: Ryan Johnson
Tax season is prime season for Cybercriminals. If the IRS is going to contact you, they’ll initiate contact with a paper letter in the mail. The IRS will only call you in rare circumstances. Scam emails targeting consumers are not only from people pretending to be the IRS, but also from scammers impersonating TurboTax and other tax preparation companies. Never open an email supposedly from the IRS. And if you do, never download any attachments, or click on any links.
Here are some tips to prevent tax-related scams:
Check the True Sender
If you receive a suspicious email, check for more specific details about the sender of a message, including the sender’s email address. Often, emails from scammers use an address that’s just slightly different than a valid one. Always check whether the domain next to the sender’s address really maps to the sending company. Attackers often use typo squatting like TurboTax spelled like ‘turb0tax’ or ‘tarbotax’ to send fraudulent messages.
File Early to Avoid Scammers
File taxes today to prevent scams and keep an eye out for your return. Many of these scams rely on you not having filed your tax return yet, so if you get an email asking to file your taxes after you’ve done so, you can be sure it’s a hoax.
Report Any Suspicious Emails
Suspicious emails can be forwarded directly to phishing@psu.edu. To view Phishing Security Alerts at Penn State, please visit the Penn State Security Website.
Don’t Click on Tax Emails
Refrain from clicking on emails that purport to contain sensitive information. If you see an email advertising news from TurboTax or another tax program, or from the IRS, go directly to the website to check your account. Remember, these entities will generally not ask for sensitive information like a Social Security number via email.
To read more about recent Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts from the IRS, please visit the IRS Consumer Alerts website.
New Black History Month display in Maps and Geospatial Center
By: Tara Anthony
Black History Month: Highlighting Cartographic Work by African Americans
This Black History Month, the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information created a display that highlights important cartographic work by African Americans, as well as some interesting maps from our collection that show demographic information and the Black Experience in America. One of these pieces is by Louise E. Jefferson, a prominent artist during the Harlem Renaissance who truly made her cartographs into artwork. This display poster also features work by W.E.B Du Bois, Bayard Rustin, and the Black Panther Party, who all utilized maps and data visualization to aid in the Civil Rights Movement and advancement for African Americans throughout the 20th century. There is also a display case including book about African American Lithographer, Grafton Tyler Brown, and Atlanta Hip-Hop map painted by Joseph Veazy, a former Adult Swim employee who donated the proceeds from his art to help those facing homelessness and gentrification. This display was created by Olivia Neill, Maps and GIS Assistant, who is a 3rd year Geography major pursuing minors in Spanish and History. Additional guidance was provided by Heather Ross, Map Specialist, and Tara Anthony, GIS Specialist.
Olivia Neill indicated, “Throughout my research when compiling this display, I learned a handful of things that I had not heard of before. I was most interested in finding information about Louise E. Jefferson, especially how she was a friend of Langston Hughes and a prominent artist during the Harlem Renaissance. I also enjoyed reading about W.E.B. Du Bois and his trip to Paris for the 1901 World’s Fair, and his groundbreaking work with data visualization.”
Visit 1 Central Pattee Library, 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, to view this display.
Customer Service Tip: A restaurant that offers car washes on the menu
By: Shep Hyken (submitted by Carmen Gass)
I recently wrote an article about the little surprises that companies – and people – sometimes give us when we do business with them. We received some great feedback, and it got me thinking of other ways to surprise our customers. That’s what this follow-up is about.
Tech Tip: What you need to know about captions — training session Feb. 9
By: Ryan Johnson
Want to learn more about How to Enable or Create Captions in services such as Zoom, Kaltura, Teams or PowerPoint?
Please join me on Wednesday, Feb. 9th at 10 a.m. to learn more about Captions!
During this hour session, we will review what captions are, Penn State policy, and what the difference is between captions, subtitles, and transcripts and why they are important for accessibility.
You will learn how to enable, create, and add captions to such services as Zoom, Kaltura, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, and Google Services.
Objectives
- How to Enable Closed Captions in Zoom
- Order, Enable and Edit and Captions in Kaltura
- Using Captions in Google and Microsoft Products
- Learn About Accessibility Resources Available at Penn State
The session will occur at https://psu.zoom.us/my/ultraining and will be recorded. You can also visit a NEW training page on the staff site on captions.