May 3rd, 2010

News from Around the Libraries

Greening the Libraries Fun Fact

Energy-Intensive Tasks
Help save money on energy costs by scheduling energy-intensive activities in the morning hours to avoid peak electrical rates.  A common energy-intensive task is running large numbers of copies or prints.  Try to check this type of chore off your list earlier in the day.

For more resources and information on how to go green at work and at home, visit the Greening the Libraries Project website at: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/greenlibraries/

- Greening the Libraries Project

MNCAT Plus Facet Move

On May 17, 2010, the facets in MNCAT Plus will be moved from the right-hand side of the screen to the left.  This change will bring MNCAT Plus more into line with the layout of navigation features familiar in many other web sites.  The Primo Management Group decided to make this change after taking input from staff at the Libraries.  You can preview the new layout by going to the test site at: http://prime7.oit.umn.edu/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=TWINCITIES&reset_config=true .  Note, however, that not all features in the test environment will exactly reflect what we have in our production system.

- Chew Chiat Naun, on behalf of the Primo Management Group

New Champs of Science Quiz Bowl

"The Gung-ho Guns" came out of nowhere to win the seventh annual Science Quiz Bowl on Sunday, April 25, 2010.  "Tau Beta Pi," a team from an engineering honors society, were the runners-up.  They topped a field of 32 teams of Information Technology (IT) students, including last year's finalists - but not counting five teams stuck on the waiting list.  Full results and pictures are available at: http://sciweb.lib.umn.edu/sciencequizbowl/ .  Many thanks to all the Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE) Librarians and other volunteers (thanks, Philip Herold, Layne Johnson, and Todd Fenton!), who moderated up to eleven games simultaneously - 62 games over seven hours.  Many thanks also to all the PSE staff members plus extras who produced the publicity, took care of the equipment, and kept the logistics running smoothly throughout the tournament.  IT will become the College of Science and Engineering next year, but no matter what new name IT Week has, the Science Quiz Bowl will be there!

- Kris Fowler

New E-Resources

American Chemical Society Symposium Series: http://pubs.acs.org/series/symposium

Mergent Webreports: http://www.lib.umn.edu/indexes/moreinfo?id=16534

Sage Reference Online Handbook Collection: http://www.sage-ereference.com/FullBrowse.html?type=handbook

- Jim Stemper

Semi-Annual Libraries Civil Service Meeting Scheduled

The Libraries Civil Service Committee has scheduled the spring semi-annual meeting for Civil Service Staff.

Thursday, May 13, 2010
2:00 pm
Location to be announced.

University Civil Service Committee vice-chair, and incoming 2010/2011 chairperson Frank Strahan will join us as a guest to discuss some of our concerns and the issues that the UCSC (University Civil Service Committee) has been taking up in the past year or two regarding seniority and lay-off policies, the furlough coming next December, benefits, and so on.  We expect to further discuss the current performance appraisal process and its connection to the raises coming this summer, and the role of the Libraries Civil Service Committee in acting as a conduit for staff input on the exact distribution plan, which may differ from the plan implemented two years ago.

Notes from our recent March 2010 meeting will be posted on our Wiki page by next week.

- David Lenander, Libraries Civil Service Committee Chair

Study Days and Finals Week

Spring semester is winding down.  Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, 2010, are official study days.  Final exams run from Monday, May 10 through Saturday, May 15, 2010.  Wilson, Walter, and the Health Sciences (Diehl Hall) Libraries will be offering 24 hour study space:

- Wilson library Basement will be open  for studying , starting 8:00 am, Sunday, May 9 and remain open through 6:00 pm, Saturday, May 15, 2010.
- The Great Hall on the second floor of Walter Library will be open for studying, starting 8:00 am, Sunday, May 9 and remain open through 6:00 pm, Saturday, May 15, 2010.
- Level 2 of the Health Sciences Library in Diehl Hall will be open for studying, starting 7:00 pm Friday, May 7 and remain open through 6:00 pm, Saturday. May 15, 2010.

Security monitors will work their regular shifts.  After 12:00 am, there will be a security monitor on duty at Wilson, Walter, and the Health Sciences Libraries.  Please encourage students to use the Campus Escort service by contacting (612)624-WALK (4-9255), available 24 hours a day.

Students may want to take advantage of Cram Slam, a finals study event on Saturday, May 8, 2010.  There is a morning session from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in Appleby Hall.  Cram Slam then moves to Walter Library from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with consultants and tutors in room 101, Walter Library and workshops available on the second and fourth floors.  Check with staff at the Walter Library Smart Commons for more information.

- Matt Bowers


Upcoming Events

Join Us for the May First Fridays

Virtue & Vice in the Stacks: Humility & Pride
Friday, May 7, 2010
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Room 120, Elmer L. Andersen Library

Pride
Does the TV camera distract us from the humility of education?  Does publicity and self-promotion encourage the sin of pride?  Using multiple collections from the University Archives, this First Fridays presentation focuses on the introduction of film to communicate complicated ideas and promote groundbreaking research.  A specific examination of an experimental surgery and the clash of new media with traditional scholarly publishing to transmit the information serves as an example.

In the midst of dislocation and heartache over leaving one's homeland, many immigrants and their children gained a sense of pride in their skills at navigating American society, business, and politics.  Immigration History Research Center Program Director Haven Hawley analyzes how pride in "making it" - in finding acceptance, success, or recognition in an adopted land - served a vital role in how immigrants created a community identity as loyal Americans and longing emigrants.

Humility
Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay wrote:

    Sometimes I tremble like a storm-swept flower,
    And seek to hide my tortured soul from thee.
    Bowing my head in deep humility
    Before the silent thunder of thy power.

Come hear how the Givens Collection of African American Literature responds to, contests, and questions ideas about humility.

Also, this Friday at 1:00 pm, following the talk, staff from Andersen Library will be available to give tours of the caverns below the public building.

- R. Arvid Nelsen, First Fridays Chair

OCLC Record Use Policy

OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) is soliciting comment on its new WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities document, previously known (in an earlier version) as the WorldCat Record Use Policy.  Interested staff are invited to a meeting to discuss the document and the Libraries' response to it.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
11:00 am to 12:30 pm
Room S30B, Wilson Library

Relevant documents and background information are available at: https://wiki.lib.umn.edu/TS/WorldcatRightsAndResponsibilities .

- Chew Chiat Naun

Postponed: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Using the Visual History Archive

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Using the Visual History Archive: A faculty/library discussion of potential uses of Holocaust survivor testimony originally scheduled for Thursday, May 6, 2010 has been postponed, to be rescheduled in September 2010.

- Susan Gangl

SCImagine! 2010

Friday, May 7, 2010
3:30 pm to 5:00 pm: poster session
4:00 p.m.: remarks by Dr. Julian Marshall
Room 101, Walter Library

SCImagine emphasizes the Science and Engineering Library's role as an intellectual gathering place on campus.  Each spring, the Library showcases University teaching, learning, and research in the physical sciences and engineering, offering fascinating presentations and lively discussions.

How do you combine skills in problem solving and business development with a desire to make the world a better place?

Villagers in the Himalayan foothills prepare their food over smoky indoor wood fires, resulting in poor air quality that is one of the top twenty global causes of death.  Student teams from the Institute of Technology, Carlson School of Business, and the School of Public Health have partnered with students at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee to create a business plan that addresses this issue.

Teams from fourteen universities in the U.S. and India are competing in the Acara Challenge 2010 for the opportunity to turn their plan into a sustainable business.  Join us to find out how they met the challenge and what they learned about collaborating across continents.

- Libraries Communications Office


Exhibits at the Libraries

Below the Surface: Ten Years of Archives and Special Collections in Elmer L. Andersen Library
Through Friday, June 25, 2010
Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lib-web/events/2010/03/below_the_surface.html

Images with Impact: Propaganda Through Popular Media
Through July 31, 2010
Atrium Gallery, Elmer L. Andersen Library
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lib-web/events/2010/03/images_with_impact_propaganda.html

Native View Points: Paintings and Drawings by John Koepke
Through Friday, May 14, 2010
Room 210, Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library, Rapson Hall

Ritual of Reading: Religion and the Illustrated Book
Through Friday, May 14, 2010
T. R. Anderson Exhibit Gallery, Fourth Floor, Wilson Library
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lib-web/events/2010/03/ritual_of_reading_religion_and.html

Robert Bly Revealed
Online exhibit
http://digital.lib.umn.edu/pachyderm/robertbly/

Tangible Digital Matter
The Art in the Libraries 2010 exhibition celebrates digital media in the work of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff from the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota.
Through Sunday, May 15, 2010
Basement, First, and Fourth Floors, Wilson Library
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lib-web/events/2010/03/art_in_the_libraries_tangible.html

With Distinction: A Look at University of Minnesota Department of Plant Pathology Outstanding Alumni
Through August 2010
Plant Pathology Library
Room 395, Borlaug Hall
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/plantlib/newbooks/2010/03/new_exhibit_with_distinction.html


Workshops, Training Sessions, Brown Bags, Etc.

Active Shooter Presentation

All library staff are invited to attend a safety/security presentation about what to do if there is someone shooting a gun  in your building (an active shooter).  This presentation has been offered in several University departments.  The Libraries Security Committee was given the presentation in April and highly recommends it for all staff.  The presentation will be given by Lt. Troy Buhta from UMPD.  It includes a brief video, a Power Point presentation, and time for questions.  There are three sessions scheduled - one on the East Bank, St. Paul campus, and the West Bank:

Tuesday, May 18, 2010
1:00 pm to 2pm
Room 101, Walter Library

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Room 81, Magrath Library

Thursday, May 20, 2010
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Room 120, Andersen. Library

Register at: https://onestop2.umn.edu/training/courseDetail.jsp?course=LB0266

Feel free to attend whichever session best fits your schedule.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this presentation.  I have seen it a few times and it is very informative and useful.

- Matt Bowers

Library Issues Seminar

Monday, May 3, 2010
12:00 pm presentation.  Bring your lunch at 11:30 am
Room S30B, Wilson Library

Stephen Hearn will present on developments in controlled vocabularies - specifically, OCLC's (Online Computer Library Center) terminologies service, the RDA vocabularies, controlled headings in WorldCat, the Virtual International Authority File, and the proliferation of online name registries.

- Jan Roseen

VHA Basics for Reference Services

All staff welcome to attend
Thursday, May 6, 2010
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Room S30B, Wilson Library

Watch via UMConnect at: https://umconnect.umn.edu/vha/

- Susan Gangl

Staff Education and Development

Check out upcoming classes offered by Libraries Staff Education and Development (SED) at: https://wiki.lib.umn.edu/SEDP/HomePage .

Minitex

Minitex offers a dynamic schedule of webinars and training sessions.  The full schedule may be found at: http://www.Minitex.umn.edu/events .



For previous issues, visit the University Libraries Monday Memo blog at: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mondaymemo/ .

The University Libraries Monday Memo editorial policy can be found at: https://wiki.lib.umn.edu/Communications/InternalCommunications .

For items to be included in the University Libraries Monday Memo, please send all announcements to monmemo@umn.edu , before 12:00 pm the preceding Friday.