Category: Resources & Technology

RefWorks Drop in Sessions Available for Help with Citation Management

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February 27, 2012

7:00 am

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RefWorks is a citation manager that helps you to keep your research organized, store documents, and create annotated bibliographies. The University of Scranton has a subscription to RefWorks that is available to all students, staff, and faculty.

The library will be hosting drop in instructional sessions for students to take advantage of this powerful tool. All sessions will be in Library room 306. Students can stop in at their convenience to ask questions or to get general instruction on how and why they should be on Ref Works. Available drop-in times are:

Wednesday, February 29 from 12-1pm with Kevin Norris

Monday, March 5 from 3-4pm with Donna Witek

Tuesday, March 6 from 8-9pm with George Aulisio

Wednesday, March 7 from 12-1pm with Kevin Norris

Open Access Simplified

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February 2, 2012

7:00 am

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Due to what many consider to be unfair business practices, the Open Access movement continues to grow, but what is Open Access anyway? In order to better understand the movement, the library created an Open Access page on our Research Guides. However, one important thing to keep in mind is that though libraries and librarians are usually the ones asked to explain Open Access (and often run Open Access programs on campus) , the decision to adopt Open Access is a campus wide issue, not one the library can make unilaterally.

On the page you can find a definition of Open Access, its subtle nuances, the various issues, and the multiple roads toward knowledge that is more open and accessible to everyone.

For more on Open Access, check out our previous post “Princeton, Open Access, and the Evolution of Scholarly Communication.”

Technology On Your Own Terms Spring 2012 Workshops

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January 24, 2012

9:00 am

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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 order to encourage innovation in the workplace and in the classroom. We’re continuing the series in Spring 2012 with three new workshops:

Facebook Timeline: What You Need to Know About the New Facebook Profile (or, Facebook Gets a Face-Lift)
Wednesday, February 15 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm in WML305

If you’re a Facebook user, you may have heard of a new feature on the popular social networking website called Timeline: the newest version of the Facebook Profile. You may have even converted your own Facebook Profile into this new format, or visited the Profiles of Facebook Friends who have already converted to Timeline. Whether you have already opted-into the new Profile format, or are holding out until you learn more, there is a lot of information about this radical new feature that all Facebook users need to know in order to use it with purpose and control. During this presentation, Librarian Donna Witek will give an overview of Timeline, including information about its design, functionality and use. She will demonstrate the key tools within Timeline that will enable users to get the most out of the new Profile format. And, she will cover the relationship between your Privacy Settings and Timeline. Attendees who own tablets or laptops are encouraged to bring them to the session; however, this session does not require that attendees have a computing device. A light lunch will be provided. (Taught by Donna Witek, Weinberg Memorial Library)

Preserving Your Family Memories: Part I (Physical)
Tuesday, March 13 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in WML305

Special Collections Librarian Michael Knies will discuss the basic preservation problems relating to personal collections of books, photographs, negatives, personal papers, audio/visual recordings, and other paper-based collectibles.  Limited attention will be paid to three dimensional objects. Proper storage and handling will be emphasized. A light lunch will be provided. (Taught by Michael Knies, Weinberg Memorial Library)

Preserving Your Family Memories: Part II (Digital)
Thursday, April 5 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in WML305

Increasingly, we capture moments to remember in digital rather than physical format: we document our lives in digital photographs, videos, social media, email, and websites.  In this workshop, Digital Services Librarian Kristen Yarmey will introduce you to the concept of digital preservation.  We’ll talk about common misconceptions (for example, why digitizing your photos is not the same as preserving them), some of the major challenges involved in maintaining digital files over time, and some basic strategies you can take to help make your digital memories last.  A light lunch will be provided. (Taught by Kristen Yarmey, Weinberg Memorial Library)

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 (under Technology On Your Own Terms).

Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives

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December 8, 2011

5:49 pm

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Digital Collections, News, Resources & Technology

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There’s a great new resource available for anyone interested in local history.  The Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives, hosted by the Scranton Public Library and funded by a grant from the Willary Foundation, contains digitized photographs, manuscripts, maps, paintings, letters, and videos related to the history of the Valley and its surrounding areas.

While the Digital Archives will continue to grow, there are already three great collections available to the public:

We’re partial to the Out of the Wilderness collection since it contains Civil War era materials found, described, digitized, and transcribed last spring by University of Scranton history students in Dr. Kathryn Shively Meier’s Civil War class.

The Lackawanna Valley Digital Archives is a collaborative effort involving many of our local cultural heritage institutions, including the Scranton Public Library, the Lackawanna Historical Society, the Steamtown National Historic Site, the Scranton Times-Tribune newspaper library, the Anthracite Heritage Museum, and our own Weinberg Memorial Library.  In addition to the Willary Foundation, other funding partners include the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority and the Scranton Area Foundation. We’re looking forward to working together with all of our colleagues on more digital projects in the future!

For more information, see About LVDA or take a look at Go Lackawanna‘s 500 Vine column from November 20th, “New Digital Service Preserves History.”  You can also subscribe to the Digital Archives’ Facebook page for updates.

Tools for Tablets: Apps, Sites, and Widgets for Tablet Computers

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November 4, 2011

11:38 am

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The Library has been getting a lot of good feedback from students on our new circulating iPads – and we’ve also heard from our friends at the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence that there’s a long list of faculty borrowing their iPads as well. So it seems like a good time for a Technology on Your Own Terms workshop!

On Wednesday, November 16, from 12pm-1pm, cataloging & metadata librarian Sheli McHugh will present Tools for Tablets: Apps, Sites, and Widgets for Tablet Computers. Sheli’s workshop will discuss programs that will enhance your use of personal tablets, like the iPad, so that you can get the most out of these devices.  We will look at file storage options, word processing programs, as well as social networks and e-reader applications.

All faculty and staff members are welcome, but seats are limited, so if you’d like to come please register at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration (under Technology On Your Own Terms).  We’ll meet in WML305, and a light lunch will be provided. See you there!

Changing Channels: The Next Generation of Television

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October 7, 2011

11:24 am

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It’s just about time to kick off another year of Technology on Your Own Terms, a series of workshops presented by the Weinberg Memorial Library and the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence.

On Tuesday, October 18 from 12pm-1pm, Jason Oakey from the Office of Instructional Technology will present on Changing Channels: The Next Generation of Television. In this workshop, we’ll look at new options in home entertainment and media, from HDTV and BluRay to streaming video. We’ll talk about what consumers should look for when purchasing new television screens and introduce new streaming services like Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Apple TV.

All faculty and staff members are welcome, but seats are limited, so if you’d like to come please register at www.scranton.edu/ctleregistration (under Technology On Your Own Terms).  We’ll meet in WML305, and a light lunch will be provided. See you there!

New PBS Site for Educators

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September 21, 2011

1:16 pm

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News, Resources & Technology

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PBS has launched PBS LearningMedia™ an exciting website for educators.  After agreeing to the terms of use, educators may register to use a collection of digital resources on subjects such as science, social studies and language arts free of charge.  There are videos clips, images and audio recordings available for classroom use.  The content can be filtered by grade level, subject, and media type.  Sources for the video clips include the PBS programs American Experience , NOVA and POV.   Many images are from the National Archives.

A link to the site has been added to the Library’s Streaming Media web page.

Changes in Media Resources

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September 16, 2011

2:18 pm

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Resources & Technology, Systems

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Changes are happening rapidly in the Media Resources Department.  While the  DVD is currently the favorite media format, media streaming is becoming increasingly popular for academic use.

Streaming media are compressed audio and video files that allow the viewer to listen to or watch media in real time.   Some popular sites that feature streaming  media are  Hulu, YouTube and Google Videos.

 
In the spring of 2011 the Library initiated a Streaming Media Page as an offshoot of the Media Resources/Edlab web page. The site currently contains Licensed Streaming Media from Films on Demand about a variety of subjects including Biology, Health and Medicine and Education.  Students, faculty and staff have access to this material.  Links to outside websites hosting lectures, documentaries and archival newsreels are available on the web page too.

Streaming Media has many benefits.  It can be accessed from classrooms, dorms, or homes and multiple users can access it at the same time.  If you’re off campus, log in to my.scranton and use the Library tab so that you’ll be authenticated as a University of Scranton user.

View the  Licensed Streaming Media Tutorial  found under Programs and Services on the Library  Home Page for more information or use this link to connect to the page http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/wml/media/streaming.shtml.

 

Ask-A-Librarian Instant Messaging

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September 8, 2011

9:42 pm

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The Ask-A-Librarian instant messaging service, widgets on our websites, and text messaging services are currently having technical difficulty. Our provider’s servers are currently down, but they are working on restoring the services.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

For the meantime please call the Reference Desk if you need any help (570 – 941 – 4000) OR use the 24/7 Chat service  to get help from a librarian at another Jesuit University.