Environmental Art promotes the natural beauty of our environment and the ideal practice of sustainable living through artworks of all types, including painting, photography, repurposed goods, sculpture, and more.
On Friday April 14th, in conjunction with the opening of the Environmental Art Show, Artist Stéphanie Williams, a designer, beekeeper, and educator, will be leading an interactive presentation at4:30 pm in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.
Stéphanie works in mixed mediums, incorporating nature, people, creatures, environments, sounds, and energies that we share into her art. She will discuss the relationship of bees to her art, her experiences as a beekeeper, and will address some of the environmental challenges facing bees and the American beekeeping community today. There will also be an opportunity to participate in a public art piece at the event.
Can’t make the 4:30pm event but still want to participate in the public art piece – Stéphanie will be out in front of the Library today, April 14th, between 10-11am and 12-1pm. We invite you to join us, meet Stéphanie and help to contribute to Stéphanie’s work.
All guests must follow the University of Scranton Health and Safety Protocols. If you have questions about this event, please contact Marleen Cloutier at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu
We’ll be hosting a trail clean up for Earth Week at the Lackawanna Heritage Trail at the Broadway St. Trailhead, next to the Quinn Athletic Fields. The cleanup will take place on Sunday, April 23 at 10am. We will pick up garbage, paint information kiosks, possibly plant trees and remove invasive weeds. Supplies will be provided by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley.
If you have any questions email, sheli.pratt-mchugh@scranton.edu. Friends and family are welcome too! Join us to celebrate Earth Week!
Join us in celebrating Earth Week by upcycling plastic shopping bags into useful sleeping mats! We’ll be hosting a workshop with retired community library director, Leah Rudolph, who will teach us how to create sleeping mats for unhoused individuals. We will cut plastic bags into strips, create plastic yarn known as “plarn,” and crochet the plarn into mats. Any completed mats will be donated to Keystone Mission. No former knowledge of crocheting is necessary to attend. You can drop in for a portion of the workshop or stay the whole time.
The workshop is Friday, April 21 2pm-5pm, in room 202 of the Library.
You can watch this video to learn more about plastic bag mat-making.
This event is made possible with support from the Office of Community Based Learning.
On Friday April 14th, in conjunction with the opening of the Environmental Art Show, Artist Stéphanie Williams, a designer, beekeeper, and educator, will be leading an interactive presentation at4:30 pm in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.
Stéphanie works in mixed mediums, incorporating nature, people, creatures, environments, sounds, and energies that we share into her art. She will discuss the relationship of bees to her art, her experiences as a beekeeper, and will address some of the environmental challenges facing bees and the American beekeeping community today. There will also be an opportunity to participate in a public art piece. We invite you to join us, meet Stéphanie and help to contribute to Stéphanie’s work.
The 2023 Environmental Art Show will be held in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room on the 5th floor of the Weinberg Memorial Library from April 14-25 with a virtual exhibit debuting online on April 14.
The University of Scranton’s Weinberg Memorial Library is accepting book, DVD, and CD donations for its annual book sale occurring on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30. A special preview sale will be held on Friday, April 28 for current (2022-2023) Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library members, current Schemel Forum members, and current University of Scranton students.
The Weinberg Memorial Library will be accepting paperback and hardcover books in good condition, such as children’s books, young adult books, cookbooks, fiction, and non-fiction books. The Weinberg Memorial Library is also accepting unscratched DVDs and CDs. Donation appointments are needed. In addition, the Library is seeking volunteers to help work the book sale. Volunteer shifts for the book sale are flexible.
To schedule an appointment to donate books and DVDs/CDs, obtain clarification on accepted items, or to volunteer, please reach out to Melisa Gallo at melisa.gallo@scranton.edu or (570) 941-6195. To check the status of your Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library and Schemel Forum memberships, please contact Kym Fetsko at kym.fetsko@scranton.edu or (570) 941-7816.
The Weinberg Memorial Library and the Louis Stanley Brown Black Student Union are proud to co-host a Black History Month Film Series.
The films will immediately follow a brief presentation that begins at 7:00 PM.
The films are Free and Open to the Public in the Moskovitz Theater on the 4th floor of the DeNaples Center. Complimentary popcorn, snacks, and refreshments will be served!
The Film Series is made possible by a University of Scranton Diversity Initiatives Grant.
Online registration is now open for our Spring 2023 Schemel Forum programs!
Be sure to check out our brochure, where you can view our exciting offerings this spring including evening courses, world affairs luncheon seminars, and collaborative programs.
The Weinberg Memorial Library is pleased to welcome the Class of 2026 to The University of Scranton!
Sign up for the Heritage Hunt, the interactive introduction to the Library and its resources for first-year students!
Watch our welcome video to learn more about the Weinberg Memorial Library.
To consult with a University of Scranton Librarian during our service hours, you can ask for research assistance at the first floor Library Services Desk, call 570-941-4000, or by use the Ask a Librarian chat boxes on our website. Assistance is available 24/7 through the chat box, which is covered by librarians not affiliated with the University of Scranton outside service hours.
The Library’s Research & Scholarly Services department, located on the second floor, can assist you with research, such as finding, evaluating, and citing information. Research consultations can be scheduled by using the Ask a Librarian chat box or by contacting your subject liaison librarian directly by email.
To find resources, such as books, periodicals, and media, search our catalog from the Library’s home page. The Library’s large collection of e-books, e-journals, and streaming media are available 24/7. To access the Library’s online content, you must first authenticate through my.scranton.edu.
Circulation Services, located at the first floor Library Services Desk, can help you borrow and return print materials, laptops, and iPads. You can also pick up items on reserve, books placed on hold, and Interlibrary loan materials. In the lobby area in front of the Library Services Desk you will find New Books recently added to our collection, our Recreational Reading Collection which offers a variety of new and popular fiction and nonfiction, and our Featured Media Collection that contains recently acquired and popular DVD’s.
The Weinberg Memorial Library has five floors and offers a variety of spaces to support your study and research needs including computer workstations, individual study space, group study rooms, quiet study areas, and the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.
The Library’s Pro Deo room, Reilly Learning Commons, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor remain accessible to students 24 hours a day when campus is open and include printing stations, group study rooms, and lab computers.
The Reilly Learning Commons (RLC), located on the first floor, is a collaborative space with access to high-powered computers, video and audio recording rooms, and reservable group study rooms equipped with white boards and monitors.
The Media Resources Collection (MRC), located on the third floor, provides media materials for instructional support and student learning. Students can borrow films on DVD or Blu-ray, music on CD’s or LP Records, and Audiobooks. The EdLab collection, found within the Media Resources Collection, consists of children’s literature and K-12 textbooks.
University of Scranton Archives and McHugh Family Special Collections, located on the fourth floor, collects, preserves, and provides access to historical materials including medieval manuscripts, rare books, American penmanship and local and University history. Appointments are strongly recommended.
Gabrielle Allen is the winner of the 2022 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Upper-level category, which is awarded to the winning project completed in a 200- to 400-level course.
Donna Witek, Information Literacy Coordinator; Ann Romanosky, Occupational Therapy Department; Gabrielle Allen, Research Prize Winner; Victoria Castellanos, Dean of the Panuska College of Professional Studies; and George Aulisio, Dean of the Library
Gabrielle is a junior in the Occupational Therapy program who submitted to the competition her paper titled “The Effects of Exercise on Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder: An Evidence Review,” completed in the course OT 350: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods, taught by Dr. Ann Romanosky. For her research, Gabrielle relied on what she had learned about database research starting in her first year at the University. She needed to consult fifty primary research studies, scholarly articles, or peer-reviewed papers about her topic of the effect of exercise on attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder; to do this, she identified three sub-topical areas of research which she could target in her searches. She also tracked her research using a spreadsheet designed to organize where she found the source, topical keywords for the source, inclusion and exclusion criteria, the APA citation for the source, and any directly quoted evidence she identified as useful to her review.
Through the research process, Gabrielle discovered new insights into her topic as well as the related research in her field. In her description of research, she shares: “I soon realized that there is not a lot of research [about this topic] authored by occupational therapists.” Rather than this be a deterrent to gathering evidence on the topic she identified, Gabrielle demonstrated persistence and saw it as an opportunity to further understand the ways her topic is researched in the field; she notes, “I learned that it is common for research teams to be interdisciplinary, rather than just focusing on one aspect of the team.” Gabrielle comments on her “trial-and-error mindset” as a researcher when “figuring out what method of research” worked for her, demonstrating flexibility and an open mind when researching. She concludes her description of research with her plans to design a research study on this topic, and when she does she “plan[s] to utilize the library’s resources to ensure [her] success in future research.”
Sponsoring faculty Dr. Ann Romanosky comments on Gabrielle’s work on the assignment: “This [Evidence Based Research] paper was labor intensive and required an understanding of research level quantitative statistics;” she goes on to share, “Gabrielle’s writing was clear and focused, [she] selected appropriate and current research, [and she] demonstrated great personal growth through this project.”
Honorable Mention awards in the Undergraduate Upper-level category were presented to Alexis Angstadt, a junior in the Occupational Therapy program, for her paper titled “The Efficacy of Combined Mirror Therapy and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Amputees with Phantom Limb Pain: An Evidence Review,” completed in the course OT 350: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods for Dr. Carol Coté; and to Amanda Lauren Serafin, a senior Accounting and Business Analytics double major, who submitted her honors project titled “Integrating ESG into the Accounting Curriculum: Insights from Accounting Educators,” completed in the course ACC 489H: ESG/CSR Reporting Research for Prof. Ashley Stampone.
Colleen Berry, Jamie Hreniuk, Bryan Gorczyca, and Nicholas Capobianco are the winners of the 2022 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Graduate category.
Lori Walton, Physical Therapy Department, who accepted the Graduate Research Prize on behalf of winners Colleen Berry, Jamie Hreniuk, Bryan Gorczyca, and Nicholas Capobianco; and George Aulisio, Dean of the Library
Colleen, Jamie, Bryan, and Nicholas are third-year students completing their studies in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. They submitted to the competition their project titled “The Effectiveness of Complementary/Alternative Medicine for Pain Management in Postpartum Women: A Systematic Review,” completed in the course PT 773: Scientific Inquiry III for PT, taught by Dr. Renée Hakim. The group members used the Library’s resources to explore topics related to vulnerable populations and landed on the use of complementary/alternative medicine for pain management in postpartum women. They met with a faculty librarian to develop a search string that would capture the research they were interested in which they used to search in the library databases in their field, identifying 483 possible articles to review. The Library’s efficient InterLibrary Loan service was critical to their success in accessing and reviewing the articles they identified. Using the citation management platform Zotero and related strategies they also learned in their meeting with a librarian, the researchers narrowed to 22 articles which they proceeded to include in their qualitative analysis of the topic.
This group of researchers went on to have an abstract accepted for presentation at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sections Meeting. In their description of research, they share the centrality of the Library in the success of their research: “The resources available through the Weinberg Memorial Library made it possible to conduct thorough research with clinically relevant applications that physical therapists may share with their patients, community, friends, and family” and that “the process of preliminary literature review, article searching and accessing, and compilation of findings would not be possible without the robust resources available through the Weinberg Memorial Library.”
Sponsoring faculty Dr. Renée Hakim commends the student researchers who produced this project and shares, “All group members mastered the methodology through a series of progress reports and revisions which occurred over three consecutive semesters. Their work was very high quality as confirmed by the peer-review process which resulted in acceptance to a national scientific meeting. I am very proud of their accomplishments.”
Corinne Rose Smith is the winner of the 2022 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Foundational category, which is awarded to the winning project completed in a 100-level course.
Donna Witek, Information Literacy Coordinator; Corinne Rose Smith, Research Prize Winner; and George Aulisio, Dean of the Library
Corinne is a Nursing major who submitted to the competition her paper titled “Aspirin: Your Body’s Best Friend or Enemy?,” completed in Prof. Dawn D’Aries Zera’s WRTG 107: Composition course. Tasked with researching an argumentative contemporary issue related to her major, Corinne chose the topic of aspirin and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. During an information literacy class taught by a faculty librarian, Corinne learned to combine brainstormed keywords in her database searches; apply search filters to limit the source criteria to scholarly, peer-reviewed articles published in the last eight years; and critically evaluate the sources she found. In her description of research, Corinne explains in doing this she “decided what the purpose of each source was, where it was published, and why it was useful.” She then created a source log, in which she documented the information she learned from each source and which precise portions of the source gave her that information.
These demonstrated methods of research and the information gathering process led Corinne to meaningful insights into the role of research in writing and her wider academic career. In her description of research she shares: “I have learned a stronger researcher makes a stronger writer. … While I initially felt overwhelmed at the start of my research process, I found the library’s extensive resources, tools, and services eased the process tremendously.” She offers the metaphor of a traveler to describe the research process, describing “a traveler who journeys from source to source to discover new insights.” She notes the role of curiosity in the research process when she admits, “The more information I found, the more intrigued I became with the topic.” And she shares how work on this paper will extend to her further academic research pursuits when she says, “I believe my ability to write a strong paper has improved tremendously,” where for her the research process is like “taking part in an adventure that could potentially change the face of the future.”
Sponsoring faculty Prof. Dawn D’Aries Zera comments on Corinne’s project and shares, “As Corinne accumulated knowledge during her research process, she also became more conscientious of the importance of knowing the entirety of an issue … Corinne’s dedication to applying lessons learned throughout her first year at the University has resulted in a well-researched, timely paper which appeals to a general audience.”
An Honorable Mention award in the Undergraduate Foundational category was presented to Sarah Boyle, a Counseling and Human Services and Accounting major, for her paper titled “The Population Below the Poverty Line” completed in her CHS 111: Intro to Human Adjustment course for Dr. Paul Datti.
Currently celebrating its 11th year, the Weinberg Memorial Library inaugurated the Library Research Prize in 2011 to recognize excellence in research projects that show evidence of significant knowledge of the methods of research and the information gathering process, and use of library resources, tools, and services. In 2017, the prize was named for Professor Emerita Bonnie W. Oldham, who founded the prize at the University in 2011. The Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize was fully endowed in 2019 and consists of a prize of $500 awarded to winning projects in each of the three categories: Undergraduate Foundational (100-level projects), Undergraduate Upper-level (200- to 400-level projects), and Graduate.
Prize winners were honored at a reception on Thursday, May 12, 2022 in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library.
In conjunction with the Environmental Art Show, join us for an Artist Talk with Laura Kern onApril 25th, 2022, in the Heritage Room at 5:30 pm.
Laura is an interdisciplinary artist based in Waymart, PA. She received her BA from Keystone College in 2022 and currently works as an intern for the International Sculpture Center.
Collecting by Laura Kern
Her work addresses environmental issues and the relationship between man and the environment. Laura’s art will be featured as part of our virtual exhibit premiering on April 19th.
The 2022 Environmental Art Show is open now in the Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library April 19-26, 2022, with a virtual exhibit that can be viewed at:
