Author: Ms. Sheli E. Pratt-McHugh

Three Weinberg Memorial Librarians have articles in the latest issue of Pennsylvania Libraries: Research and Practice, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by the Pennsylvania Library Association.

Assistant Professor Ian O’Hara’s article, Feedback Loops: Algorithmic Authority, Emergent Biases, and Implications for Information Literacy examines how bias has been built into systems we use for information storage and retrieval and how this impacts information literacy instruction.

Assistant Professors Kelly Banyas and Marleen Cloutier’s article, Affording Access: Pathways to Reducing Textbook Costs discusses the Library’s Open Educational Resources (OER) grant, a survey conducted of other universities OER initiatives, and changes made based on the survey results.

Congratulations Prof. O’Hara, Prof. Banyas, and Prof. Cloutier!

Starting today, the Library will resume normal business hours, with continued swipe access till 1:30am. Our full hours through the December Holiday are listed below.

Weinberg Memorial Library–2020 End of Term

Tuesday, Oct.27 – Tuesday Nov.24

Circulation Desk Hours:

Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, Noon – 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, Noon – 11:30 p.m.

Swipe Hours: Daily, 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.

Access is limited to the first and second floors when the Circulation Desk is closed.

Please plan to vacate the building by 2 a.m. to facilitate deep cleaning.

Wednesday, Nov.25, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. / no swipe access to the building outside these hours

Thursday, Nov.26 – Sunday, Nov.29

Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday / no swipe access to the building

Monday, Nov. 30 – Sunday Dec. 20

Circulation Desk Hours:

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Saturday – Sunday, Closed

Swipe Hours: Daily, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Access is limited to the first and second floors when the Circulation Desk is closed.

Please plan to vacate the building by midnight to facilitate deep cleaning.

Monday Dec. 21, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. / no swipe access to the building outside these hours

Tuesday, December 22 through Sunday, January 3

Closed for the Holidays / no swipe access to the building

We invite applicants for a part-time, temporary, Evening Circulation Services Clerk. To apply and see the full job description visit: https://universityofscrantonjobs.com/postings/4898

Position Title: Evening Circulation Services Clerk (part-time temporary)

Job Purpose:

The Evening Circulation Services Clerk is a part time, temporary, evening position working under the supervision of the Circulation Services Coordinator to perform the duties listed below.

Essential Duties:

• Provides patron assistance at the Circulation Desk. This includes:
• Conducting circulation transactions (charging, discharging, reviewing, recalling, placing holds, and collecting fines and fees).
• Registering new patrons.
• Assisting with maintaining equipment (i.e. photocopiers, laptop computers, IPads, security gates), replenishing supplies, and reporting equipment malfunctions.
• Answering telephone calls and assisting with circulation questions. Referring reference questions to Research and Scholarly Services.
• Assisting with the sending of faxes.
• Responding to and documenting violations of theft and damage to Library materials.
• Processing monetary transactions.
• Assisting patrons with use of the public catalog for finding material, especially reserves.
• Monitors the Library for disruptive behavior and unauthorized persons; reports any disruptions to the Librarian in charge and/or University Police.
• Clears the Library building at closing time. Ensures that the 24 hour spaces are clear of Library materials before closing.
• Secures the library building at closing by locking/unlocking specific doors and gates and adjusting elevator settings.

Minimum Education Requirements:

High school diploma or equivalent.

Minimum Job Experience Requirements:

Customer service experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

Library work experience.

Additional Skills Required:

1. Ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of users – students, faculty, administration, and public patrons, and to handle communications with tact, courtesy and discretion.
2. Must be able to lift and move heavy cartons of books, weighing up to 40 lbs.
3. Must be able to respect, support and contribute to the University’s Catholic and Jesuit mission.

Schedule/Work Hours: Monday – Thursday 5:30-11:30 p.m. (24 hours per week) with some fluctuations in the summer and at exam times.

The Weinberg Memorial Library will have reduced hours for the two-week move to remote learning. Starting today, Wednesday, September 16 thru Tuesday, September 29, the hours are:

Monday-Thursday 8am-7pm

Friday 8am-4:30pm

Saturday & Sunday Noon-7

The Library is only open to current students, faculty, and staff. Everyone must swipe in to enter the building from the Monroe Ave entrance.

You can continue to place holds for contactless pickup in the Library entrance. We will continue to offer virtual research services via ask a librarian. For the most up to date information on Library services, visit the Fall 2020 Research Guide. Please let us know if you have any questions.

All Library Study Rooms on floors 1, 2, 3, and 4, are now reserve-able with a scranton.edu email address. You can reserve them online by visiting the LibCal Reservation website here. All rooms are available for 2 hours per/day per/student. Most rooms accommodate 2 or 3 students with social distancing. If 2 people both reserve a room, you can get up to 4 hours per/day, 3 people can get up to 6 hours per/day.

Brody Chairs on 2nd and 5th floors are also reserve-able. For more info on the Brody Chairs view the post from Monday.

All 24 Brody Chairs are now reserve-able through the Reserve a Seat feature on our website or you can scan the QR code and reserve in-person, on the spot. You can reserve a Brody Chair for up to four hours per day with your scranton.edu email address. The even number chairs (2,4,6, etc.) face out the windows and the odd numbered chairs (1, 3, 5, etc.) face inside toward the shelves.There are 18 Brody Chairs on the 2nd Floor and 6 on the 5th Floor.

Black Lives Matter

In solidarity with our students of color, the Weinberg Memorial Library affirms that Black Lives Matter and we are committed to fighting white supremacy and anti-Black racism on campus, in the Library, and within our community.

Library faculty, staff, and administration will continue to engage in anti-racist practices and show a strong commitment to initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as in-depth book discussions, workshops, and trainings. We support Father Pilarz’s message to the University Community to make diversity and inclusion a priority. To that end, we will continue to build our collections in race and ethnic studies and social justice areas.

Anti-racist work is truly lifelong learning, and it is clear that we need to recommit ourselves to the hard work of understanding and dismantling the racism that is etched deeply into our nation’s history.

We will continue to learn, grow, and educate ourselves on the realities of the world for our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students and colleagues.

Please feel free to reach out to Interim Dean of the Library, Jean Lenville, or Assistant Dean, Sheli Pratt-McHugh with your thoughts, questions, or suggestions.

Additional Resources and Statements:

In support of the demands made by students and alumni, and reiterated by faculty, for trainings and workshops on anti-racism, the Library has put together a list of resources available to the University community on Race, Racism, and Anti-Racism. This is not exhaustive and will continue to grow as we add resources to our collections.

American Library Association Statement: http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/06/ala-statement-condemning-police-violence-against-bipoc-protesters-and

Pennsylvania Library Association Statement: https://www.palibraries.org/blogpost/1652016/349256/Message-from-2020-President-Michele-Legate

We do not want students to be stressed about returning Library materials. We have some general guidelines below. All due-dates have been extended to August 31, 2020. If you have specific questions about your account, please contact circulation@scranton.edu.

To return Library materials including ILL and PALCI books follow these guidelines.

For students in dorms: There will be bins in each dorm for you to drop your books off when you return to retrieve your belongings.

Off-campus students: Due dates will be extended for all items through August 31, 2020. Items can be returned when you return to campus in the fall.

Graduating students or anyone not returning: If you are not in a dorm or will not be returning to campus for any reason, we will send you a mailing label and you can ship items back to the library. This cannot happen until campus is reopened. We will provide more instructions when we reopen.

Please do not visit the library at this time, the main book drop is not accessible.

We will need to quarantine returned items for a week after staff return to the building. Returned items will remain on your account until we can process the returns safely.

We will continue to waive fines. Please don’t be frightened if you see a fine on your account, as it will take us time to waive fines once items are returned.

There will be no holds placed on accounts at this time. No diplomas will be held.