Schemel Forum – Fall 2009

The Weinberg Memorial Library’s Schemel Forum has just released its Fall 2009 schedule, and as usual, there are several great opportunities for University and local community members to learn, think, share, and discuss.  This year, offerings include three evening courses, five luncheon seminars, and the second annual University for a Day.

One of the Forum’s highlights will be a lunch seminar on “U.S. Foreign Policy: Ten Months into the Obama Era,” presented by Scranton alum Harvey Sicherman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute(Side note: we couldn’t resist looking Dr. Sicherman up in the 1966 Windhover.  Not only was he a Dean’s List and Honors student, he also worked on the Aquinas and the Royals’ Historical Society’s semi-annual publication of Retrospect.)

We’re also looking forward to Atty. Morey Myers’ evening course on “Church & State or Church v. State?,” since his series last fall on the American Presidency was so engaging.

For more information or to register for Schemel Forum events, contact Kym Fetsko at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2 [at] scranton [dot] edu.

We Speak Web 2.0!

Thanks to all who attended the “Do You Speak Web 2.0?” session here at the Library today.  We had a great time – there were a lot of tough questions about the ins and outs of Web 2.0 that hopefully will lead into even more good conversations in the future.

If you missed the session or would like a refresher, you can see the slides below.   You can also see pictures from the event on our flickr page!

[slideshare id=1717427&doc=doyouspeakweb20-slideshare-090713201619-phpapp01]

Beware Koobface

The University of Scranton’s Information Security Office has released a memo warning the University community about the Koobface worm.

Here’s the official word:

The University’s Information Security Office has received official notice from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team about the increasing threat of the Koobface worm.  This computer malware targets users of social networking sites such as facebook.com, friendster.com and myspace.com with the intent of stealing personally identifiable information and credit card information.  There are approximately 60 reported Koobface variants, all of which entice users to click on a link to a fake video hosting website with messages such as “This is a video of you on the street.”  These messages can appear to be sent from someone the user knows whose profile has already been compromised…

Users are advised to ignore messages similar to the one above and refrain from clicking links in unsolicited message, even out of curiosity.  For more information about this and other malware threats, please contact security@scranton.edu.

You can find more information about Koobface from McAfee or Symantec.


Welcome (back), Bonnie and George!

It’s been a busy year in the Library, with two important Library staff transitions. You may recall that last year at this time, we bid a fond farewell to Katie Duke, Coordinator of Information Literacy, and welcomed George Aulisio as our new Part-Time Reference Librarian. This year saw us searching for a Librarian to take Katie’s place, and our very own Bonnie Oldham turned out to be the best candidate for the job! This meant Bonnie’s position as Distance Learning Library Services Coordinator became vacant, and after yet another search (this time with one of the largest applicant pools ever seen at the Library), our joy was doubled when George emerged as the top candidate for this position. And so, we welcome (back) Bonnie and George, each in a new job role — Bonnie as Information Literacy Coordinator and George as Distance Learning Library Services Coordinator!

George and Bonnie 008
Bonnie and George in their 2nd floor office in the Weinberg Memorial Library

Bonnie was born in Harrisburg, PA, and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She has lived in Georgia and New Jersey, and twenty years ago she returned to Pennsylvania, where she has remained ever since. She currently resides in Shavertown. She received her undergraduate degree (A.B.) in History from Chestnut Hill College, her Master of Library Science degree from Kutztown University, and her Master of Science in Organizational Management degree from Misericordia University. Bonnie brings 19 total years of experience in academic libraries to her new role as Information Literacy Coordinator.

George grew up in Old Forge, PA, and still calls Old Forge his home. George received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy degree from Bloomsburg University, his Master of Library Science degree from Drexel University, and is currently pursuing his Master of Liberal Arts degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

If you are a student or faculty member in the Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Exercise Science and Sport, or Nursing Departments, then Bonnie is the Librarian you will want to get to know. She is the collection development and information literacy liaison to these departments, just as George is the liaison to the Philosophy, Communication, Mathematics and Computer Science Departments. Both are especially looking forward to working more with faculty and students in their collection development areas.

In her free time, Bonnie enjoys cooking and doing crafts – for example, five years ago she made her daughter’s wedding dress. George, who has a deep thirst for knowledge, spends much of his free time pursuing his studies; however, he also enjoys yard work, including cutting the grass and trimming the trees. Both enjoy reading (what librarian doesn’t?), and both can be found sharing the same 2nd floor office in the Weinberg Memorial Library. George can be found in the Library most evenings of the week, Sunday through Thursday, while Bonnie is easiest to find during the day, Monday through Friday. Feel free to stop by and say hello to them – they both welcome visitors!

Fourth of July closing

Photo courtesy of Stephen Baack, under a Creative Commons license

Photo courtesy of Stephen Baack, under a Creative Commons license

The Weinberg Memorial Library is closing at 10:00pm today for the Fourth of July weekend.  We’ll reopen on Monday, July 6, at 8:00am.   Enjoy the holiday!

P.S. Looking for a place to celebrate? The Scranton Times-Tribune has a guide to NEPA fireworks displays.

P.P.S. Wired has a great how-to wiki on photographing fireworks using a point-and-shoot camera, a digital SLR, or even your iPhone.