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.  Monday-Friday, daytime 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:

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