During the month of May, the Weinberg Memorial Library is hosting its annual Faculty Scholarship Exhibit in the Library’s 5th floor Heritage Room. The exhibit features books and articles produced by University of Scranton faculty members since 2011. The exhibit, organized by academic department, provides an overview of the diversity and quality of scholarly accomplishments by the University’s faculty. Please take a few minutes to visit the exhibit. For further information please contact Michael Knies, Special Collections Librarian, 570-941-6341.
One of our ongoing projects at the Weinberg Memorial Library is thinking about and planning for the future. Our WML+10 project is an attempt to envision what the Library’s building, collections, staff, and services will look like in 10 years. Working with representatives from the Library Advisory Committee, we’ve drafted a report summarizing our discussions so far, and we’re now looking for broader feedback from the University community.
If you’re interested in the future of the Library, please take some time to review our progress report and share your thoughts with us. We’re holding an Open Forum on Friday, May 9th from 12pm-1pm in the Heritage Room (please RSVP to kym.fetsko@scranton.edu) to begin the discussion, but if you can’t make it, please send questions, comments, suggestions, and concerns to us via email at digitalcollections@scranton.edu. We look forward to incorporating your input into our vision!
You may have seen the article in the April 28th issue of Aquinas about the changes coming to the Reilly Learning Commons. In addition to collaborative spaces, high-end computers and larger study surfaces, there will be additional group study rooms, a lecture capture room and CTLE Writing Center satellite service. You may be wondering what will happen to the furniture that is now located in this first floor room. We are looking throughout the building to match places where a person might enjoy studying or sitting that currently do not have seating. If you have some suggestions, please email reference@scranton.edu
The Library will be hiring new TechCons, student work study positions, to provide technical support to students within the new Reilly Learning Commons. The Learning Commons will open in August on the first floor of the Library.
TechCons (technology consultants) are highly skilled student workers who are technology savvy, self-driven, reliable, and able to work independently as well as in a team environment. They work approximately ten to twelve hours each week, with flexible scheduling, and gain valuable real-world experience and training.
The Learning Commons TechCons will:
Provide technical support/troubleshoot technology related problems for students and faculty in the Learning Commons in the use of:
Software: Windows and Macintosh Operating Systems, Microsoft Office Applications, E-mail, Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox), Panopto lecture capture software, LibCal room reservation, audio and video editing software on MACs and PCs (GarageBand, iMovie, etc.)
Hardware: PC and Macintosh basics, printer basics, Scannx scanner
Network: wireless network access
Systems: MyScranton, LMS, Royal Drive
Work directly with faculty and students on a wide range of projects.
Research and Present emerging technologies
Are knowledgeable about web design and multimedia software
Apply Online and be sure to select Learning Commons when selecting the job that you are applying.
Please join us on Friday May 2, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 305 of the Weinberg Memorial Library for a free presentation of the Mauritanian/French drama Waiting for Happiness. Dr. Annie Hounsokou will lead an engaging discussion following the film.
New Yorker Films describes Waiting for Happiness as the story of the diverse people of the small transit city of Nouadhibou in Mauritania which serves as a resting stop for people from all over the world. The lives of its inhabitants are pared down to two basic choices: adaptation or exile. In the latter category is Abdallah, a citified college student who temporarily returns home and, unable to speak or dress like a native, becomes painfully, comically alienated. Opposed to him is Khatra, an alert, curious boy apprenticed to the wizardly local electrician, who demonstrates how apparent oppositions (such as magic and technology, tradition and modernity) might be reconciled through improvisation and patience. Waiting for Happiness spins its overlapping stories and intersecting characters into a prismatic cascade of enigmas, epiphanies, deadpan gags, and haunting images: a light bulb glowing in the middle of the desert, a low window disclosing passersby from the knees down, huge ships bobbing in the offshore haze with the tantalizing promise of distant happiness.
Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako Waiting for Happiness is in French and Hassanya with English subtitles.
This event is open to faculty, staff, students and the public. Please email sharon.finnerty@scranton.edu for reservations.
2014 University of Scranton Teacher of the Year Award
Each year the Graduating Senior Class selects its “Teacher of the Year.” Beginning Monday, April 28th, please vote for the faculty member who you believe best exhibits the following characteristics:
Maintains the highest standards of academic excellence and fairness.
Inspires interest in the discipline through personal enthusiasm and dedication.
Is consistently effective in communication.
Is available outside of the classroom.
The award will be presented during Class Night on Friday, May 30th, 2014.
Looking for something interesting to watch this Easter break? Check out the NOVA/National Geographic special “The Great Cathedral Mystery” about the construction of Brunelleschi’s dome atop the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy.
You’ll learn about how Filippo Brunelleschi, a fifteenth century metalsmith, was able to bridge a chasm of 150 feet by building a dome nearly 300 feet in the air without using any internal supporting framework—a task that would be difficult even with today’s technology. Brunelleschi developed a special bricklaying technique and also invented the first reversing gear system for hoisting tools and materials. These were just a few of his innovations that allowed the dome to rise skyward, unsupported from within.
Then for more details, check out Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King, available here in the library. The television program and the book complement each other well because the program focuses on unraveling the methods used to build the dome, while the book dives deeper into the life of Brunelleschi and the context and history of the period in which the cathedral was built.
From our friends at The Lackawanna County Library System: We are pleased to invite you to the Lackawanna County Library Lecture Series with Douglas Preston on Friday, April 25th at 7PM in The Theater at Lackawanna College.
Douglas Preston is the author of techno-thriller and horror novels alone and in collaboration with co-author Lincoln Child. He is also the author of non-fiction books, and has been involved in real-life murder investigations in Italy, including the controversial Amanda Knox case.
Tickets are free with a library card from any library! Tickets available at any Lackawanna County library or visit www.lclshome.org
During the month of May, the Weinberg Memorial Library is hosting its annual Faculty Scholarship Exhibit in the Library’s 5th floor Heritage Room. The exhibit features books and articles produced by University of Scranton faculty members since 2011. The exhibit, organized by academic department, provides an overview of the diversity and quality of scholarly accomplishments by the University’s faculty. Please take a few minutes to visit the exhibit. For further information please contact Michael Knies, Special Collections Librarian, 570-941-6341.
