PaLA Awards Nomination Deadline Quickly Approaching!!!

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June 28, 2010

6:30 am

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News

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Come August 15th it’ll already be too late to nominate your favorite librarian for an award, so it’s best you do it now!

Submission Deadline: August 15, 2010

Categories:

  • Distinguished Service Award: Highest award the associate gives. It may be awarded annually to one person in recognition of exceptional meritorious service to libraries of the Commonwealth.
  • Certificates of Merit: These are awarded to individuals making outstanding contributions during the last five years in Pennsylvania.
  • Elected Official Award: This award may be given annually to an elected official or officials for exemplary support of library service in Pennsylvania.
  • New Librarian Honors Award: Honors a librarian who has been in the profession fewer than six years. It recognizes the originality and inventive ability of a new librarian who devises new and improved methods in library service on a statewide or local level.
  • Trustee of the Year Award: Presented to a public library trustee in recognition of outstanding leadership and service to library development at the local, system, district, and/or state level.
  • Library Support Staff Recognition Award: This award is presented to a library that has consistently encouraged and supported participation in career development activities, particularly those of PaLA for the support staff in Pennsylvania libraries. Nominations should be in the form of a statement of the library’s activities. (A little clarification on this award: It is presented to a library not to a staff member. Does your library provide you with opportunities to develop your library skills through continuing education opportunities? Does your library allow you to attend PaLA conferences and Chapter Meetings as a Support Staff member? Does your library provide you with opportunities to take classes on library related activities or in areas which you can use on the job? Then tell us how that support helps you on your job and give a little recognition to your library.

Nominating is now easier than ever, thanks to the new online form.

2010 Award Nomination Form

Simply fill it out and click submit… It’s that easy!

A Greener Weinberg Library, Coming this Fall

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June 24, 2010

11:36 am

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Green Weinberg, News

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Earlier this week, a group of Weinberg Memorial Library staff and faculty members took a break from our regular Library work to brainstorm about what we could do to make our Library more sustainable.  We came up with a lot of great ideas, from water bottle refill stations to cutting down on paper memos.  And there are even a few things that we’ve already started doing – our Physical Plant staff uses green cleaning products to keep the Library neat and shiny, and we’ve begun a switch to more energy efficient lighting.

At the end of the meeting, we formed the first ever Weinberg Memorial Library Green Team.  Sixteen members of the Library staff and faculty volunteered to participate, and those members represent nine of the Library’s different departments: Administration, Archives, Cataloging, Circulation, Digital Services, Media, Reference, Serials & Acquisitions, and Systems.  We also hope to have a representative from Student Government join us.

Throughout the next few months, the new Green Team will be starting to implement our ideas. Check back here at Infospot @WML for the latest news, and please comment if you have any suggestions for us!

P.S. If you’re interested in what’s happening with sustainability on the University of Scranton campus, take a look at the University’s Task Force on Sustainability web site.

Pennsylvania academic librarians gather in Scranton

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June 16, 2010

9:15 am

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Yesterday, the University of Scranton campus welcomed the Pennsylvania Library Association‘s College & Research Division for its annual conference.  Academic librarians from all over the state (even as far away as Pittsburgh) came to the DeNaples Center to learn from their peers and discuss new ideas.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Information Commons in the Wild: Lessons from the Field.”  Dr. Scott Bennett, Yale Librarian Emeritus and a Library Space Planning consultant, served as the keynote speaker and led conference participants in discussing the philosophy and purpose behind the information commons design model.

In the afternoon, a panel of librarians (Don Smith, Katherine Furlong, Sally Kalin, and Anu Vedantham) shared experiences with creating information commons at their respective institutions (the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Lafayette College, Penn State, and the University of Pennsylvania).  We’ve posted a few photos of Scott and the panel on our Flickr page.

Many thanks to our speakers and all of the librarians who survived I-81 traffic jams to participate! And special thanks to our own Bonnie Oldham, PALA-CRD’s chair elect, for all of her work coordinating the event.

Internet Outage on Campus Early Next Week

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June 11, 2010

9:54 am

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Systems

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Just a quick heads up to our students taking summer classes. Next Monday, June 14th at 11 pm there will be a planned Internet outage on campus while network maintenance occurs. It will last until the following morning, June 15th, at 6 am. From the campus IT Department:

During the service outage, on-campus users will not have access to Internet sites and services and users outside of the campus will be unable to reach University of Scranton sites and services. The University of Scranton maintains an alternate Web site to ensure that external users can continue to get some essential content.

This could affect access to the Library’s databases during that window of time, so please plan accordingly!

Distinguished Author Book Discussion

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June 7, 2010

12:40 pm

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Events, News

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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

Construction begins on new study space

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June 3, 2010

9:53 am

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Learning Commons, News

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Over the past few years, our students here at the University of Scranton have consistently let us know that they’d like to have more study space – and especially more study space that’s available for late-night study sessions.

Back in March, we announced that we’d gotten the go-ahead to renovate our first floor print periodical room to create a new study space that (just like the Pro Deo room) will be open to students 24 hours a day (via card swipe after the Library closes for the night).  And finally, after a lot of planning and discussion, we’re beginning construction on the new space!  If you’re interested in following along, we’ll be posting updates here on our blog as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

So here’s what the study space in the 1st floor periodical room looks like now:

And here’s the window that will be replaced by the new entrance to the 24-hour room:

We’ve started by removing extra shelving to make more room for study tables:

We’ve also removed all of the paintings, and stored them upstairs in the archives to keep them safe during construction. The group study rooms look kind of empty without them:

If you’ll be visiting the Library over the summer, be aware that due to this construction, the print periodical room will be closed to Library patrons.  If you need a print periodical for your research, just request it at the circulation desk and a Library staff member will retrieve it for you. Thanks for your patience while we work on this much-needed improvement to our building!

May and June hours

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May 24, 2010

10:29 am

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Hours

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Graduating students process to the 2009 College of Graduate and Continuing Education Commencement ceremony, with the Weinberg Memorial Library in the background

Spring semester has finally come to a close, and here at the Library we’re looking forward to the sunshine, blue skies, and warm breezes of a Northeastern Pennsylvania summer.  That doesn’t mean that we’ll be taking it easy, though.  The whole Library faculty and staff will be here to serve our patrons all summer long.

In case you need us, here’s our schedule for the next two weeks:

  • Monday – Thursday, May 24-27: 8am-4:30pm (Happy Senior Week!)
  • Friday, May 28: 8am-8pm
  • Saturday, May 29: 10am-4pm (Congratulations masters students!)
  • Sunday, May 30: CLOSED (Congratulations to our seniors!)
  • Monday, May 31: CLOSED
  • Tuesday – Friday, June 1-4: 8am-4:30pm
  • Saturday, June 5: CLOSED
  • Sunday, June 6: CLOSED

Starting Monday, June 7, we begin our regular summer hours:

  • Monday – Thursday: 8am-10pm
  • Friday: 8am-4:30pm
  • Saturday: 12pm-6pm
  • Sunday: 12pm-8pm

And don’t forget that even if you’re off campus for the summer, you can always Ask a Librarian if you have a research or search question.

The Schemel Forum at your Fingertips

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May 10, 2010

10:47 am

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Friends, News, Schemel Forum

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqz4XBlxzZ8]

Miklos Marschall of Transparency International speaks to the Schemel Forum about corruption on March 31, 2010

One of the things we’re most proud of here at the Weinberg Memorial Library is the Schemel Forum, a year-long collection of courses and lectures that brings together internationally recognized speakers, University of Scranton scholars, and the Scranton community for rousing discussions of important issues.

We know, though, that as much as you might want to attend each and every Schemel event, sometimes life gets in the way and you just can’t make it to a program that interests you.  That’s why we’re so thrilled that the University of Scranton’s YouTube channel now has a Schemel Forum playlist, where you can catch up on most of the Schemel luncheon talks you might have missed – like David Myers’ talk on “Israel/Palestine, a Tale of Two Truths,” or Parag Khanna’s lecture on “Global Politics and Economics: A 21st Century View.”

Keep an eye out for new videos as they’re posted – and watch out for an announcement of the Schemel Forum’s fall schedule!

Extended Hours During Dead Week and Finals

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May 7, 2010

3:11 pm

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Hours

The semester is winding down, classes are coming to a close, the campus is looking forward to Senior Week and Commencement fun… everywhere you look, the university is getting ready for the end of the semester. But before the fun can commence, here on campus students and faculty are getting ready for Finals Week!

Here at the Weinberg, the Library faculty and staff, not unlike our students, are looking forward to summer break. But in preparation for Finals Week, we’ll be working more hours, starting this coming Monday. Here’s when you’ll find us open during Dead Week (i.e. the week before Finals):

Monday, May 10:  8:00am – 12 Midnight

Tuesday, May 11: 8:00am – 12 Midnight

Wednesday, May 12: 8:00am – 12 Midnight

Thursday, May 13: 8:00am – 12 Midnight

Friday, May 14 we will be keeping our normal hours of 8:00am – 10:00pm.

Then, it’s the dreaded Finals Week, during which we’ll also have extended hours:

Saturday, May 15: 9:00am – 9:00pm

Sunday, May 16: 12 Noon – 2:00am

Monday, May 17:  7:00am – 2:00am

Tuesday, May 18:  7:00am – 2:00am

Wednesday, May 19:  7:00am – 2:00am

Thurday, May 20:  8:00am – 12 Midnight

Friday, May 21:  8:00am – 4:30pm

And of course, the Pro Deo room will be open 24/7 throughout these dates and beyond.

Good luck with finals everyone!

Faculty Scholarship Exhibit in Library’s Heritage Room

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May 7, 2010

11:55 am

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Exhibits, News

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During the month of May, the Weinberg Memorial Library is hosting its annual Faculty Scholarship Exhibit through Thursday May 27 in the Library’s Heritage Room. The exhibit features books, articles, and conference presentation announcements produced by University of Scranton faculty members since 2008. 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.