Construction begins on new study space

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

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

[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

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

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.

Pennsylvania Library Association Award Nominations


The Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) presents six different awards to librarians and library supporters throughout the state at the PaLA Annual Conference. This is your chance to recognize that new librarian on the block, your outstanding public library trustee, an elected official who has advocated for libraries in hard times, or any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to libraries in PA during the last five years. You can even honor a library that has consistently encouraged its support staff to participate in career development by nominating them for the Library Support Staff Recognition Award!

Submission Deadline: August 15, 2010

Download the 2010 Award Nomination Form

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 easy! All you have to do is:
1. Complete the PDF form found at

Download the 2010 Award Nomination Form

(or include the information on the form with your email or mailed submission)

2. Email it to Erin.Dorney@millersville.edu or snail mail it to Erin Dorney, Outreach Librarian, Millersville University Library, P.O. Box 1002, Millersville, PA 17551-0302.

Have questions? Contact 2010 Awards Chair Erin Dorney (erin.dorney@millersville.edu / 717-872-3617) at any time!

We hope you’ll consider submitting a nomination before the deadline of August 15th, 2010.

We Now Have White Boards

As the title suggests, we here at the library had white boards installed in all of the group study rooms.

And shiny new markers to go with them! So now you can write your Diophantine equations in some lovely calligraphy.

They're so shiny!

So have fun kids.  Express yourselves.  Artistically, academically, emphatically…

Does that kid even go here?

Choose Privacy Week

Choose PrivacyChoose Privacy Week is a new initiative of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom.  Library users are invited to join a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age.

You can find more information about this initiative at the privacyrevolution.org Web site.

Join The Revolution! Fill out the short form on this Web site to join other privacy advocates across the nation. Your identity will be safe and secure, but your sentiments will be amplified in Washington.

This short film introduces some of today’s most interesting and complex privacy issues.

Earth Week at the Library End Review

So the week of April 19th was our first celebration of Earth Week here at the library. For those of you that haven’t been keeping up, we created some displays to try to become more environmentally conscious, and hopefully inspire some of the students to waste less. Our green tactics included stickers on printers, scanners and paper towel dispensers reminding you that the paper “comes from trees.”

But everything that we did was covered in a post from the beginning of Earth Week. What I’m here to focus on is the suggestions that we got from students, which we are going to be taking into consideration as we focus more on sustainability.

Yes, one of those suggestions is that we paint the walls green.

There were some especially good suggestions that we’d like to mention.

  • Install automatic sensors in the ProDeo room after the library closes, so that we don’t waste energy if no one is in the room at night.
  • Turn off the automatic doors at night. According to the suggestion, that alone will save enough energy to light New York city for 500,000 years. I’d personally like to check the math on that one.
  • Get double sided printers.

Some of these suggestions may not come into immediate effect, but we are going to try for some. Keep and eye out for recycling bins though, we have those on every floor.

And remember, please only print what you need.  We go through a lot of paper every week.

Here's how much wasted paper the 2nd floor computer lab creates in a single week.

National Poetry Month

Shakespeare Panel April is National Poetry Month, and, as Fr. Pilarz has pointed out, today, April 29, is designated as the official occasion to celebrate. One way that you could celebrate is by visiting the Heritage Room on the 5th floor of the Weinberg Memorial Library. Enjoy the beautiful paintings by Trevor Southey, but also notice the poetry written on the wall beneath these images. Each quote is from a diffrerent poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a 19th century Jesuit poet. You can search The Columbia Granger’s Wold of Poetry to find out which poem each quote comes from. There is a Quick Search on the left-hand side of the page. Type “Gerard Manley Hopkins” in the search box under Poet and click on the Go button. Click on Hopkins, Gerard Manley (1844–89) for a list of his poems (my favorite is Pied Beauty) or click on [bio] to access some biographical information.