Tag Archives: LFO

LFO Research Colloquium on Thursday, March 16

The LFO Research Committee invites you to this year’s Research Colloquium to be held from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 16 in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park. This year’s Colloquium will be a mix of longer presentations and lightning talks, and will also be available on Mediasite.

Please see below for the schedule and more information about each talk.

1:00 – 1:05 p.m.  Opening Remarks by Dean Dewey
1:05 – 1:30 p.m.  Vanessa Eyer
1:30 – 1:55 p.m.  Nancy Adams and Val Lynn
1:55 – 2:20 p.m.  Jackie Esposito
2:20 – 2:25 p.m.  Break
2:25 – 2:50 p.m.  Nathan Piekelek and Ben Goldman
2:50 – 3:15 p.m.  Rob Olendorf
3:15 – 3:20 p.m.  Carmen Cole (Lightning Talk)
3:20 – 3:25 p.m.  Zoe Chao (Lightning Talk)
3:25 – 3:30 p.m.  Close/Thank you for coming

Vanessa Eyer
Preparing Engineering Students for What Lies Ahead: Developing Career Resources in Libraries

Engineering students are extremely career-driven and focused on finding a job before graduation, but few realize that the library may be a good source for information. Some librarians are also not aware that they have the resources and skills to assist students in this endeavor. This presentation will provide practical ways librarians can assist students in career development using successful examples and strategies from the Penn State University Park
Engineering Library and outside research. In addition, the presentation will discuss marketing and advertising methods for promoting these resources to students.

Nancy Adams and Val Lynn
What Counts as Knowledge?: Concrete Examples of an Abstract Concept from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy

The constructed and contextual nature of authority is perhaps the most abstract of all the frames in ACRL’s Framework. We will share concrete examples of how the “evidence-based practice” (EBP) paradigm defines what counts as knowledge in health sciences and education. We will then discuss our research findings from an investigation of how librarians have negotiated the contested terrain of EBP in partnership with education faculty with whom they collaborate.

Jackie Esposito
Big 10 Institutional Records: Importance as a University Asset, Management of Content and Context, and Long-Term Preservation Issues

During the summer of 2016, Esposito traveled to all the Big 10 universities to determine the methods of institutional records placement; management principles, policies, and guidance; and preservation protocols. This presentation will outline best practices, lessons learned, and
recommendations for the future.

Nathan Piekielek and Ben Goldman
Climate Control: Vulnerabilities of American Archives to Rising Seas, Hotter Days and More Powerful Storms

Archives preserve some of our society’s most prized cultural possessions and yet some may be vulnerable to expected changes in future climate. We explore the potential effects and their interactions of three climate changes on archive locations throughout the U.S. — sea level rise, temperature warming, and surface water flooding. Results suggest that all national archives will
likely be exposed to future climate changes and those along the Atlantic coast may be especially vulnerable.

Rob Olendorf
A Game Theoretical Exploration of Open Data

Research data is becoming increasingly open due to both funder requirements and also a general cultural shift among researchers. In both cases, the argument for making data more open is that it advances the cause of science. However, many researchers correctly point out that making data open incurs costs such as increased time spent in management and documentation, archiving costs and risk of misuse. At the same time the direct benefits to researchers are limited, primarily to the potential of increased impact of manuscripts. I model this problem as a “common garden” problem using a game theoretical model known as the Prisoners’ Dilemma. The analysis reveals insights as to how researchers should behave to promote open data, and also potential changes to their environment that will also advance the cause of open data.

Carmen Cole
Using Citation Analysis to Inform Future Liaison Initiatives

To date, few STEM librarians have reported utilizing the bibliographies of undergraduate theses to determine the course of their liaison initiatives. The purpose of my research is to examine the College of Information Sciences and Technologies Schreyer Honors Theses bibliographies produced within the past five years. My intent is to draw upon a variety of metrics to aid in
informing future undergraduate instruction and outreach efforts. In this talk, I will share what led me to develop this research agenda, discuss past research, and present early findings.

Zoe Chao
Report from the UX Cafe

What is UX Cafe? By offering a cup of coffee and a granola bar, I had the opportunity to have conversations with students about the Libraries website. Do they click “I want it” or “Request”? What does the term “Library Collections” mean to them? I will give a brief report on the findings in this five-minute lightning talk.

– submitted by Jennifer Gilley, LFO Research Committee

Save the Date: LFO Research Colloquium

The LFO Research Committee invites you to this year’s Research Colloquium to be held from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 16 in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park. This year’s Colloquium will be a mix of longer presentations and lightning talks, and will also be available on Mediasite.

Please see below for the schedule and more information about each talk.

1:00 – 1:05 p.m.  Opening Remarks by Dean Dewey
1:05 – 1:30 p.m.  Vanessa Eyer
1:30 – 1:55 p.m.  Nancy Adams and Val Lynn
1:55 – 2:20 p.m.  Jackie Esposito
2:20 – 2:25 p.m.  Break
2:25 – 2:50 p.m.  Nathan Piekelek and Ben Goldman
2:50 – 3:15 p.m.  Rob Olendorf
3:15 – 3:20 p.m.  Carmen Cole (Lightning Talk)
3:20 – 3:25 p.m.  Zoe Chao (Lightning Talk)
3:25 – 3:30 p.m.  Close/Thank you for coming

Vanessa Eyer
Preparing Engineering Students for What Lies Ahead: Developing Career Resources in Libraries

Engineering students are extremely career-driven and focused on finding a job before graduation, but few realize that the library may be a good source for information. Some librarians are also not aware that they have the resources and skills to assist students in this endeavor. This presentation will provide practical ways librarians can assist students in career development using successful examples and strategies from the Penn State University Park
Engineering Library and outside research. In addition, the presentation will discuss marketing and advertising methods for promoting these resources to students.

Nancy Adams and Val Lynn
What Counts as Knowledge?: Concrete Examples of an Abstract Concept from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy

The constructed and contextual nature of authority is perhaps the most abstract of all the frames in ACRL’s Framework. We will share concrete examples of how the “evidence-based practice” (EBP) paradigm defines what counts as knowledge in health sciences and education. We will then discuss our research findings from an investigation of how librarians have negotiated the contested terrain of EBP in partnership with education faculty with whom they collaborate.

Jackie Esposito
Big 10 Institutional Records: Importance as a University Asset, Management of Content and Context, and Long-Term Preservation Issues

During the summer of 2016, Esposito traveled to all the Big 10 universities to determine the methods of institutional records placement; management principles, policies, and guidance; and preservation protocols. This presentation will outline best practices, lessons learned, and
recommendations for the future.

Nathan Piekielek and Ben Goldman
Climate Control: Vulnerabilities of American Archives to Rising Seas, Hotter Days and More Powerful Storms

Archives preserve some of our society’s most prized cultural possessions and yet some may be vulnerable to expected changes in future climate. We explore the potential effects and their interactions of three climate changes on archive locations throughout the U.S. — sea level rise, temperature warming, and surface water flooding. Results suggest that all national archives will
likely be exposed to future climate changes and those along the Atlantic coast may be especially vulnerable.

Rob Olendorf
A Game Theoretical Exploration of Open Data

Research data is becoming increasingly open due to both funder requirements and also a general cultural shift among researchers. In both cases, the argument for making data more open is that it advances the cause of science. However, many researchers correctly point out that making data open incurs costs such as increased time spent in management and documentation, archiving costs and risk of misuse. At the same time the direct benefits to researchers are limited, primarily to the potential of increased impact of manuscripts. I model this problem as a “common garden” problem using a game theoretical model known as the Prisoners’ Dilemma. The analysis reveals insights as to how researchers should behave to promote open data, and also potential changes to their environment that will also advance the cause of open data.

Carmen Cole
Using Citation Analysis to Inform Future Liaison Initiatives

To date, few STEM librarians have reported utilizing the bibliographies of undergraduate theses to determine the course of their liaison initiatives. The purpose of my research is to examine the College of Information Sciences and Technologies Schreyer Honors Theses bibliographies produced within the past five years. My intent is to draw upon a variety of metrics to aid in
informing future undergraduate instruction and outreach efforts. In this talk, I will share what led me to develop this research agenda, discuss past research, and present early findings.

Zoe Chao
Report from the UX Cafe

What is UX Cafe? By offering a cup of coffee and a granola bar, I had the opportunity to have conversations with students about the Libraries website. Do they click “I want it” or “Request”? What does the term “Library Collections” mean to them? I will give a brief report on the findings in this five-minute lightning talk.

– submitted by Jennifer Gilley, LFO Research Committee

Save the date: LFO forensic on April 2

An LFO forensic on Fulbright Scholarships with presenter Sylvester O. Osagie is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on April 2 in Foster Aud. and MediaSite Live

Bio for presenter: Sylvester Osagie is director of campus engagement in the University Office of Global Programs at Penn State. As director he works with Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses to develop strategies for international engagement. He is also the University’s Fulbright Representative. Osagie was assistant professor of labor and employment relations at Penn State Altoona for 15 years prior to assuming his current position. His current research interest is environmental management and his recent publications are on the same topic. He received a Fulbright-Hays award to Ghana in 2003. Osagie holds a doctorate degree in organizational behavior from Cornell University.

Presentation topic: The Fulbright Scholar Program including the Fulbright-Hays Program was established in 1946 following the 2nd World War by US Senator J. William Fulbright to foster better international and cultural relations through educational exchange. The program sends U.S. academics and professionals to institutions in other regions of the world and also invites scholars and professionals from these regions to the US. The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES).

Hold the date: LFO Colloquium

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the LFO Research Colloquium on Thursday,, 2/27/14, from 1 – 3:30 p.m. in Foster Auditorium and via Media Site Live.

Presenters include:

  • Opening remarks by Dean Dewey
  • Sue Kellerman and Doris Malkmus
  • Lightning talks by Erin Burns, Bonnie Imler, and Sylvia Nyana

More information will be shared soon via Library News.

We hope to see you there!

All invited to LFO forensic presented by Young

All faculty and staff are invited to participate in the LFO Forensic which will be held in Foster Auditorium on Wed. 12/11, at 1:00 p.m. It will also be broadcast via Media Site Live.

courtney young

Young

Courtney L. Young, head librarian at Penn State Greater Allegheny, was recently elected as President-elect of the American Library Association, the first librarian from the Penn State University Libraries to be elected to this high-profile position. The Library Faculty Organization has asked Courtney to present a forensic on December 11, 2013, to discuss her presidential initiatives for ALA and how they relate to the work and mission of the University Libraries. Please join Courtney as she covers the themes of diversity, professional development, and engagement/outreach and how these reflect the mission of the Penn State University Libraries and will inform and shape her presidential year.

LFO Research Colloquium

February 26, 2013, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., Foster Auditorium (and via Media Site Live)

Ellysa Stern Cahoy, ” Grant Seeking: Tackling the Essential Questions”
Procuring an internal or external grant is a terrific way to move an initiative or research project forward, quickly bypassing traditional funding obstacles. Before you apply for a grant, however, you must consider a number of questions relative to your workload, research agenda, collaborative partnerships, and overall goals. This presentation will work through these essential questions, providing a roadmap for dynamic decision making that will help librarians know when it is the right time to seek grant funding, and how to easily and effectively begin the grant seeking process. Ellysa Stern Cahoy is an education and behavioral sciences librarian in the Penn State University Libraries, University Park. In 2012, she was awarded a $143,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund the exploration of faculty’s personal scholarly archiving practices and needs.

Bonnie Imler, “Why Are Our Students Printing Abstracts Instead of Full-Text Articles?”
The impetus for this study was piles of orphaned abstracts at library printers and a previous study on SFX usage, in which a large number of student participants printed abstracts when instructed to print entire articles. In this quantitative study, 40 undergraduate participants were asked to print entire articles from 5 commercial library databases, and were surveyed on their understanding of the terms “abstract,” “full-text,” and “pdf.” Bonnie Imler is head librarian at Penn State Altoona. Her research interest is in actual student use of library technologies and screen capture software. Recent publications with co-researcher Michelle Eichelberger include “Using Screen Capture to Study User Research Behavior” in Library Hi Tech and “Do They ‘Get It’? Student Usage of SFX Citation Linking Software” in College & Research Libraries. The results of this study have been accepted for publication and are available on the College & Research Libraries pre-print web site.

Henry Pisciotta, “Researching ‘Art’s Critique of the Library'”
Henry Pisciotta’s 2009-2010 sabbatical research was an investigation of edgy or humorous artworks that criticize the basic principals of libraries. That work has been presented at 3 conferences, is the basis for a current exhibit in our Special Collections Library, and has been slowly wending toward publication. After identifying about 50 works, from 1960 to the present, that engage in this sort of institutional critique, some key themes emerged. Some of these artworks suggest that we have a cultural compulsion to see the library represent the interests of the community and to see the library as a site for complications of authorship and ownership. Others of these works urge us to regard with suspicion the order that characterizes a library and to ponder the relationship between order and disorder that seems integral to creative processes. The LFO Research Colloquium presentation will not present the results of this research but will instead informally discuss the processes involved, and perhaps some implications for librarianship. Librarians interested in this topic are urged to attend the more substantive talk that will be presented the evening before the colloquium (“Art’s Critique of the Library,” Monday, February 25, 6 p.m., in Foster Auditorium) and/or visit the exhibit in Special Collections (February 1 though May 31.) Henry Pisciotta is the Arts and Architecture Librarian at Penn State and in that capacity specializes in all aspects of the visual arts (including architecture, design, etc.) He holds master’s degrees in art history and library science and has completed the coursework toward a Ph.D. in art history. Most of his research and publication centers on arts librarianship (most recently a statistical study of university press publications in the arts) but he has also published research in art history, such as a 2001 study “The Avery Monument: The Elevation of Race in Public Sculpture and the Republican Party.” This research into the institutional critique of the library is his first foray in the study of contemporary art.

Lightning Talks
David P. Brennan, “eJournal Data Analysis to Support Decision-Making”
Making decisions regarding online journals requires an analysis of varied types of data from a number of sources. This talk will illustrate issues surrounding extracting, merging and analyzing a number of data points such as usage, cost, and interlibrary loan to support decision-making when negotiating renewals for online journals. Sources include Serials Solutions, ILLiad, and vendor supplied data. David Brennan is assistant librarian, Collection Development/Digital Resources Management at the George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania. He has more than 20 years experience in academic libraries both as a systems librarian (Clifford E. Barbour Library, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) and as a library director (St. Francis Health System, Pittsburgh). He has presented at MLA and PaLA conferences and has published numerous articles on technology topics.
 
Amanda Clossen, “Flipping the Classroom: Collaborative Use of Learning Objects”
Amanda will be discussing her collaborative venture with English Department lecturer, Josephine Pirrone. The two have worked together to create a series of ENGL15 library sessions that work to present more abstract concepts of researching in class, while supporting the “nuts and bolts” of database searching through an online learning object. Amanda is the learning design librarian in the Library Learning Services department. Currently she is working to expand and support the creation of online learning objects and tutorials at Penn State University Libraries.