Book Sale 2010: The Preparations Begin

We’re T-minus 73 days to the kickoff of Book & Plant Sale 2010, and the Library staff is already busy getting ready for our biggest annual event.  Clear your calendar for April 24 and 25, since this year’s sale promises to be one of our best yet.

The Library has started collecting donations of used hardcover and paperback books, along with videos, CDs, records, and tag sale items.  If you’re doing some early spring cleaning and would like to donate, please drop off your contributions in the donation boxes at our Monroe Ave entrance.

Recruitment of this year’s class of volunteers has also begun. We’re looking for students, patrons, and friends of the Library to help us price, organize, and sell our books.  Give Barb E. a call at 570-941-4078 and let her know what times you’re available.

And in the meantime, feel free to start thinking about where you’ll start your browsing when the doors open. Cookbooks? Nonfiction? Barb’s famous “Special Treasures”? The fragrant flowering plants? Whichever section catches your eye, shop with a happy heart, knowing that your purchases benefit the Friends of the Library endowment fund and support the collections and services of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

Now Hiring: Tech-Savvy Students as Library TechCons

The Weinberg Memorial Library seeks to hire two talented, dedicated student workers to serve as Library Technology Consultants (TechCons).

TechCons are highly skilled student workers who support the work of the Weinberg Memorial Library. They are technology-savvy, self-driven, reliable, and able to work both independently as well as in a team environment. TechCons work approximately ten hours each week, with flexible scheduling, and gain valuable real-world experience and training.

TechCons are undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at The University of Scranton and are eligible for federal, state, or University work study funding.

The Weinberg Memorial Library currently has two open TechCon positions:

Digitization TechCon
This TechCon supports the Library’s digitization initiatives and reports to the Digital Services Librarian. Weekday hours only. Job responsibilities for this position include:

• Digitizing photographs, negatives, and documents from the University’s Special Collections.
• Contributing technical information to digital collections metadata, conforming to standards set by the Digital Services Librarian.
• Copying and distributing digital images requested by Library patrons.
• Promoting digital collections with postings to the Library’s Flickr account, etc.
• Performing other digitization duties as assigned.

Preferred qualifications for this position include:

• Experience with Adobe Photoshop
• High level of attention to detail

Library Outreach TechCon
This TechCon supports the Library’s Public Services initiatives and reports to the Library’s Evening Public Services Librarian. Afternoon, evening and some weekend hours available. Job responsibilities for this position include:

• Publicizing Library events and services using the Library’s social media presence (with regular postings to the Library’s blog, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter accounts).
• Researching the usage of social media tools at other libraries.
• Preparing informational slides, images, and video for the Library’s new television displays.
• Photographing Library events and activities.
• Assisting the Public Services Librarians in planning outreach activities. Potential projects include gaming events and Earth Week.
• Assisting the Digital Services Librarian and Digitization TechCon in promoting digital collections.
• Assisting with other special projects as needed.

Preferred qualifications for this position include:

• Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Flash, and Powerpoint
• Familiarity with Mac operating system and software
• Experience with audio/video editing and graphic design
• Excellent written communication skills
• Familiarity with social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, and with current social media trends and culture

If you are interested in either position, please email Digital Services Librarian Kristen Yarmey-Tylutki at yarmeyk2@scranton.edu with your name, Royal Number, major, expected graduation date, and either a resume or a brief statement of your qualifications.  Please also note whether you are eligible for federal or state work study.

Wireless Printing for Macs Now Available in the Weinberg Library

Photo courtesy of Ruben Bos under a Creative Commons license

It’s a great day for Mac users at the Weinberg Memorial Library!  You can now wirelessly print from your Mac laptop to one of our UniPrint printing stations.  Just check out our instructions here and print away.  If you run into any trouble, let a library employee know so that we can fix the problem.

Wireless printing is not yet available for 64-bit Vista systems – only Macs and 32-bit PCs. Thanks for your patience, Vista users!

Spring 2010 and Groundhogology

Photo courtesy of Eric Begin, under a Creative Commons license

At the University of Scranton, we don’t need Punxsutawney Phil to tell us when spring starts.  The stream of returning students and faculty is all we needed to see to know that Spring 2010 has officially started!

Still, if you’re a fan of rodents (or just looking to postpone those class readings for another few hours), there’s a lot to learn about Groundhog Day.  We poked around and found a few fun resources to share on February 2nd:

• “Groundhog Ways:” a brief article by Thomas P. Mahoney and Paul Rauber explaining the biochemistry behind groundhog weather prognostication (in Sierra magazine)
• Encyclopedia of Life can tell you everything you could ever want know about the groundhog (aka Marmota monax)
• Groundhog Day: Halfway Through Winter: A Huffington Post article by Donna Henes on Groundhog Day as the winter midpoint
• The Official Website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has all the inside info on Phil and his Inner Circle of protectors (did you know that Phil lives at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library when he’s not busy looking for his shadow?)
• VisitPA has webcams set up so that you can watch the action at Gobbler’s Knob live (starting at 3am tomorrow)

And don’t forget, if you just can’t wait to know whether or not Phil sees his shadow, this year you can get his prognostication via text message.  Just text “Groundhog” to 247365 (standard rates apply).

Regardless of what Phil predicts, we here at the Library are back on our regular hourly schedule for the Spring 2010 semester. You’ll find us here:

Monday-Thursday 8am – 11:30pm

Friday 8am – 10:00pm

Saturday 12pm – 8pm

Sunday 12pm – 11:30pm

Schemel Forum Spring 2010

The Weinberg Memorial Library's collection of medieval manuscripts will be featured in a Schemel Forum evening course, taught by Special Collections Librarian Michael Knies

The Spring 2010 Schemel Forum schedule is officially out!

If you’re into Arthurian Legend, Shakespeare, or medieval books, this semester’s evening courses are for you.  University of Scranton faculty members Rebecca Beal, Richard J. Klonoski, Michael Friedman, and the Library’s own Michael Knies will be engaging community members in discussions of books, films, and philosophy relevant to each of their respective topics.

For a look at modern global politics, take a look at this semester’s luncheon seminar series.  Author Parag Khanna returns to the University this year on February 17 to discuss “Global Politics and Economics: A 21st Century View.”  We’re also looking forward to February 26, when Alex Thier from the United States Institute of Peace  will speak on “Enigma and Dilemma: Our Fraught Relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan,” and March 5, when CNN correspondent Jill Dougherty will speak  on “Who Runs Russia? Deciphering Moscow’s Centers of Power.”

Finally, be sure to clear your calendar for the Schemel Forum’s spring concerts.  On April 18, contemporary Zimbabwe pianist Jeanette Miklem will perform “A Schumann Recital,” while on June 28, “Tango Power Returns!” will showcase the music of tango masters Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla.

For more information or to register for any Schemel Forum Events, contact Kym Fetsko at fetskok2 (at) scranton (dot) edu or 570-941-7816.

Digital Images 101

There are only two more days until the Weinberg Memorial Library/CTLE workshop series, Technology on Your Own Terms, makes its proud return for the Spring 2010 semester.

We’ll get started on Wednesday, January 20th at 12pm with our first Spring workshop, “Pictures, Pictures Everywhere: The Magic of Compression,” taught by the CTLE’s own Eugeniu Grigorescu.  Eugeniu will show you how to organize and manage the images you capture on your camera or phone, how to compress them, and how to make them email friendly.  The hands-on workshop will be taught in the Library’s classroom, WML 306.

Sound useful? Then save yourself a seat by registering at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration, under Special Events.  All University faculty and staff are welcome. Hope to see you there!

Photo courtesy of Flickr user domi-san, under a Creative Commons license

New Digital Collections Home Page

It’s been a long time coming, but our new Digital Collections home page is finally up and running!  On this new page, you can find a list of all of our digital collections, from the popular Aquinas Online to our lesser known set of digitized Northeastern Pennsylvania history books housed on Internet Archive. You can also cross search several of our collections, including the University of Scranton Digital Yearbook Collection and the just-released Football Collection.  The page also features information about our collections and notes about what we’re working on next (we’re especially excited about the Electronic Masters and Honors Theses).  We’ll soon be adding an online form that you can use to request your own copies of digital images from our collections.

As with most of our projects, the Digital Collections home page is a work in progress – so please let us know if you have suggestions or comments!

Note: Big, huge thanks to Library Systems Specialist Jen Maher for her work on the new pages.

GLBTQ Awareness and Understanding

In support of President Pilarz’s Scranton Inclusion Initiative, we’ve just added some resources on GLBTQ Inclusion to the Library’s Research Guides wiki.  With these resources, we hope to increase awareness and understanding of GLBTQ issues on campus.

Many thanks to the faculty members of ReSPECT for helping us get our resource list started.  Please let us know in the comments if you have suggestions for other resources to add.

P.S. If you’re unfamiliar with the Scranton Inclusion Initiative, check out the text of Father Pilarz’s announcement, as blogged by alum Rob Swinton.

System outage, Jan 7-13

The Technology Support Center has announced that, due to an upgrade of the University’s enterprise resource planning system (called BANNER), several University of Scranton systems will be unavailable from 4:30pm on January 7th through 8:30am on January 13th.  These systems include Self Service (UIS), web registration, course schedules, grades, transcripts, account and financial aid information, and the University Course Schedule. (See a full list at http://www.scranton.edu/myscranton.)

The good news is that University email, Angel, and Library resources *will* all be available during that time.  Just go to my.scranton as usual, and when you log in, you’ll get a set of links for email, Angel, and the Library.

If you have trouble, report problems to the Technology Support Center at 941-4357 or techsupport@scranton.edu.

Technology on Your Own Terms Spring Workshops

In Fall 2009, the Weinberg Memorial Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) started a new series of workshops for University faculty and staff called Technology on Your Own Terms.  Since we heard a lot of positive feedback about the Fall sessions, we’ve decided to continue the series with an additional four workshops this spring!

Technology on Your Own Terms is all about giving faculty and staff a chance to get some hands-on experience with new technology, so all classes are held in the Weinberg Memorial Library computer lab (Room 306).  All faculty and staff members are welcome, but seats are limited, so please register for any sessions that interest you at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration (look under Special Event).

Pictures, Pictures Everywhere: The Magic of Compression
Wednesday, January 20, 12-1pm

As digital cameras become ubiquitous, users will be confronted with the issue of image storage and management.  This session will show you how to organize and manage the images you capture on your camera or phone, how to compress them, and how to make them email friendly. (Taught by Eugeniu Grigorescu, CTLE)

Can You See Me Now?: Creating Digital Web Albums to Share with Family and Friends
Friday, February 19, 12-1pm

Participants in this workshop will use Google’s Picasa Web Album to store and share digital photos on the web with family and friends. Utilizing 1 GB of free storage you will create an online album, add name tags to your photos, sort your collection by name, and then create a custom slideshow. In addition, you will learn how to create a collaborative web album that allows family and friends to contribute photos and video to your album. Other topics will include a review of several account settings, email notification, and how to upload photos using an email account. (Taught by Vince Yanusauskas, Library)

Share with Surety: Facebook Privacy Settings for the Casual Facebook User
Wednesday, April 7, 12-1pm

Confused about the ever-changing privacy settings in Facebook? Want to have more control over the content you share? In this workshop, you’ll learn about the latest version of Facebook’s Privacy Policy. Librarian Donna Mazziotti will walk participants through customizing their own Facebook Privacy Settings, armed with the knowledge of what each setting means. It is assumed that participants in this workshop already have a Facebook account, and will have their login information with them when they attend. (Taught by Donna Mazziotti, Library)

Wiki Wiki WHAT!?: What You Need to Know to Understand, Create, and Maintain Wikis
Wednesday, April 28, 12-1pm

A wiki is a webpage where all of the code and underlying framework is already in place, out of sight and out of mind. In this session, you will learn what exactly a wiki is and how to use a wiki to quickly and easily create a dynamic webpage, collaborate on projects, or just share personal content over the internet. Participants will set up a free wiki account and will learn how to hit the ground running by adding content and organizing a new wiki. (Taught by George Aulisio, Library)