Helen Suzman Exhibit comes to the Heritage Room

Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights Exhibition
The University of Scranton Weinberg Library Heritage Room
August 31 to October 25, 2010

A traveling exhibit on Suzman’s four decade political career as one of South Africa’s most vociferous and energetic opponents of apartheid.

You are invited to the Opening Reception at 5:30 PM on Wednesday September 15 in The University of Scranton Weinberg Library Heritage Room (5th Floor) featuring a lecture by George Washington University Assistant Professor of Sociology Fran Buntman.   Reception to follow lecture.

Professor Buntman is the author of Robben Island and Prisoner Resistance to Apartheid.  She will be speaking on “Suzman the Pioneer.” The reception is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by The University of Scranton Schemel Forum, the Office of Equity and Diversity, and the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library.  For more information, please contact Professor Michael Knies at (570) 941- 6341.

Technology on Your Own Terms Fall 2010

Each semester, the Weinberg Memorial Library and the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence (CTLE) offer a faculty and staff advancement series called Technology on Your Own Terms. The series introduces University faculty and staff to emerging technologies in a hands-on environment, in order to encourage innovation in the workplace and in the classroom. We’re continuing the series in Fall 2010 with a theme of “Get to Know Google,” featuring workshops on four different Google services. All workshops take place in Rm. 306 of the Library.

Just Google It!
Tuesday, September 14 from 12pm – 1pm

One billion results in 0.27 seconds! When you need information, chances are you use Google™ to find it.  In this workshop, you will learn how Google’s Web search engine works.  You will also learn some tips to help you improve your search experience as well as some of Google’s special features, such as Google Books and Google Scholar. (Taught by Bonnie Oldham, Weinberg Memorial Library)

Google Docs: An Excellent Way to Create, Collaborate on, and Securely Store Documents
Friday, October 1 from 12pm – 1pm

This workshop will introduce you to Google Docs, a service that allows you to create documents that parallel Microsoft Office:  Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. It also allows for the creation of online surveys and the storage of any type of document in a very secure environment. Google Docs offers excellent collaborative opportunities for working on any supported document type with both peers and students, meaning that the tool can be used for course paper submissions, faculty feedback, collaborative student projects, club, or research purposes. (Taught by Dr. Tim Cannon, Psychology/Neuroscience)

Get Where You’re Going with Google Maps
Tuesday, October 12 from 12pm – 1pm

Many people know that you can use Google Maps to get driving directions from one place to another. But did you know that you can also use Maps to scope out a vacation destination, find the closest Italian restaurant, or make a custom map for a friend or a project?  In this workshop, you’ll explore specialized features and tools available in Google Maps to help you get where you want to go.  (Taught by Kristen Yarmey, Weinberg Memorial Library)

Does Google Give You A Voice?
Thursday, November 4 from 12pm – 1pm

In this workshop, we will explore Google Voice, a recently-made-public service of the search giant.  Google Voice offers one central phone number, which can be setup to call your other phones based on caller, time of day, etc.  Other features of the service include visual voicemail, personalized greetings, voicemail transcription, international calling, and a lot more.  It is easy to set up… Learn how! (Taught by Eugeniu Grigorescu, CTLE)

All faculty and staff members are welcome, but seats are limited, so please register for sessions you plan to attend at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration (select Special Event).

Schemel Forum Fall 2010 Schedule

The Fall 2010 Schemel Forum schedule is here!

As usual, the Weinberg Memorial Library and the Schemel Forum have prepared a fantastic calendar of evening courses, luncheons, and concerts for your intellectual enjoyment.  Like Dr. Denise Fulbrook’s six-session evening course on “The Absolutely Fabulous, Suspiciously Witty Work and Legacy of Jane Austen,” or National Museum of American History director Brent Glass‘s luncheon titled “America Engaged in the World: Cultural Diplomacy Still Works!”

We’re especially looking forward to this year’s University for a Day on October 2, when authors Christopher Hitchens and Jay Parini will discuss “Books and Argumentation” with moderator Attorney Morey M. Myers.

If you’d like to join us for an event, just contact Kym Balthazar Fetsko, our Schemel Forum Events Coordinator, at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2@scranton.edu.

Distinguished Author Book Discussion

The Templar Legacy
The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Did you enjoy the films National Treasure or The Da Vinci Code? Are you fascinated reading about Alexander the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, Napoleon, or other historical figures? Have you wondered how authors combine research, adventure, and storytelling?

The works of Steve Berry, who will be awarded the 2011 Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author award on March 19, 2011, combine these elements. Read one of his books and come talk about it with others. The Weinberg Memorial Library will be hosting this event in room 305 from 12:00noon to 1:00pm on Wednesday, July 28, 2010. Bring your lunch. Cookies and drinks will be provided. If you’d like to participate or want more information, contact Bonnie Oldham. Call x4000 or e-mail oldhamb3@scranton.edu

Book and Plant Sale 2010!

The 2010 Weinberg Memorial Library Book & Plant Sale starts today at 4pm with a special preview sale for Friends of the Library and Schemel Forum members.  The sale opens to the public tomorrow, April 24, from 9am – 9pm and Sunday, April 25 from 12pm – 4pm.

Wiki Wiki WHAT!?: A Very Wiki Workshop

This semester in the Technology On Your Own Terms series, we’ve had some great discussions about digital photography, photo sharing, and privacy settings in Facebook.  We’ll be wrapping up the spring series next Wednesday with one last workshop for our University of Scranton faculty and staff.

Most people have heard the word wiki (even just in reference to Wikipedia), but not everyone knows what it means.  In a workshop titled  “Wiki Wiki WHAT?!: What You Need to Know to Understand, Create, and Maintain Wikis,” public services librarian George Aulisio will help participants understand not just what the word wiki means but why wikis are useful tools.  In this session, George will help attendees set up a wiki account and add content to a wiki page.

The workshop will be held Wednesday, April 28th in Weinberg Memorial Library room 306 from 12pm-1pm.  If you’d like to attend, please register at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration.

Image courtesy of Flickr user nojhan under a Creative Commons license

National Library Week to be Celebrated at the University

This year, the Weinberg Library will join libraries through the nation in celebrating the importance and value of libraries to their communities, whether they serve  a public, academic, or school population. To begin our celebration, we’d like to invite you to participate in our second Gaming Night, which will kick off the week. Following a very successful maiden run in February, library patrons responded to a survey which asked if it the event should be repeated. The positive response was overwhelming, so on Monday evening April 12 from 8-11 P.M. you may try your hand (and foot) at a variety of Wii games, including Wii Fit, Wii Sport, and Mario Kart. Free refreshments – pizza, wings, and more will be offered, and if Wii isn’t your forte, traditional board games will also be available. Come and take a break from your studies for a while — you may even win one of our great prizes! While you are in the library, stop at 4th floor Quiet Study Room to view the display of favorite books by library staffers. A wide range of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books will be featured, each with the staff member’s name. Finally, the Library is rolling out our newest reference service — Text a UofS Librarian.  If your phone is equipped with a basic texting service, you may text a message to our reference desk at 570-687-8787 any time the Library is open. Questions about book locations, library hours, and library holdings can be quickly answered through our texting service.

And although our annual Book Sale starts next weekend (April 23-25), it is still not too late to donate books to the sale. Boxes are positioned in the  Monroe Avenue side lobby of the Weinberg Library. All donations are welcome!

Come and celebrate National Library Week at the Weinberg Library.

Wii Want you @ the Library

In Celebration of National Library Week…

The Weinberg Memorial Library will be hosting its second ever Library Gaming Night on Monday, April 12th.

Due to the success of the first gaming night held on Mardi Gras, we have decided to expand. This time there will be more gaming systems and more food.

All students are welcome to join us in the Heritage Room (5th floor) to Play Games, Eat Food, Enter our Raffle for Gift Cards, and/or just come to hang out with your friends.

The event starts at 8pm and will go on til 11pm.

See you Monday!

Jay Parini speaks on his “found novel”, The Last Station

Scranton native Jay Parini spoke at today’s Schemel Forum luncheon about his 1990 novel, The Last Station, which was recently transformed into an Oscar-nominated film by the same name.

The novel describes the last year of Leo Tolstoy‘s life and focuses on the battle between Tolstoy’s wife Sophia and his disciple Chertkov for Tolstoy’s soul.  Parini wrote the novel after reading several diaries written by people who lived in Tolstoy’s house during the tumultuous year.  In today’s talk, Parini described his work as a “found novel,” a narrative shaped from the layered viewpoints of those diaries.

Parini has authored 21 books and is currently working on a new novel on the life of Herman Melville.   When it’s done, we hope he’ll find his way back home to Scranton for another visit with the Schemel Forum!

P.S. The Last Station has been shown in cities all over the world – but not in Scranton.  Tolstoy fans will have to drive to Tunkhannock’s Deitrich Theater, where the film will be shown on three different days (4/14, 4/18, and 4/22) during this month’s Spring Film Festival.

Update: A video of Parini’s talk is now available on the University’s YouTube channel!

Share with Surety: Facebook Privacy Settings Workshop

Take a second to Google the phrase “facebook privacy” and you will probably come across a few anxiety-provoking results.  You might see links to articles with headlines like “Facebook’s Privacy Changes: When Will it Go Too Far (and will you even notice)?”, “Facebook’s New Privacy Changes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, and even “Facebook’s Zuckerberg Says the Age of Privacy is Over.”

For experienced Facebook users, these concerns might be old hat.  But if you’re a relatively new Facebook user and you’re not sure how to tweak your profile to account for all of these changes, we’ve got a workshop for you.

Next Wednesday, April 7 from 12pm-1pm in WML306, Public Services librarian Donna Mazziotti will teach a Technology on Your Own Terms workshop that she’s titled “Share With Surety: Facebook Privacy Settings for the Casual Facebook User.” During the session, Donna will walk participants through customizing their own Facebook Privacy Settings and will help attendees understand what each setting means.

The workshop is open to University of Scranton faculty and staff members, so if you’re interested, please let us know by registering at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration.  The workshop will be hands-on, and we’re assuming that attendees already have a Facebook account.  If you plan to participate, make sure that you’ll be able to remember your account information when you arrive at the workshop.  Hope to see you there!