Just a reminder that the Library will remain OPEN this weekend for normal business hours, except for Labor Day itself (Monday the 7th), when we will be open from 12 Noon until 11:30 pm.
So, while I know most of you will be out and about enjoying what NEPA has to offer this weekend, feel free to come on into the Library and get a leg up on your work for this semester!
One additional note: Our Library Help 24/7 Chat Reference Service will be CLOSED on Monday for Labor Day, but is available all other times throughout the weekend, and resumes again on Tuesday with 24/7 service.
Today is First Friday! First Friday art walks are held on the first Friday of every month at galleries and businesses around Downtown Scranton. Get the First Friday map for September at http://firstfridayscranton.com
La Festa Italiana, an annual end-of-summer Italian festival that’s held on Courthouse Square, Scranton. Hours are Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 12 noon to 9 p.m. Featuring delicious Italian food! The University of Scranton Jazz Band will be playing on Saturday from 9:30 to 11:00pm, and there will be fireworks on Sunday at 10:00pm. For a complete schedule of events, go to http://www.lafestaitaliana.org/index.htm
Shuttle transportation will be provided between La Festa and the Steamtown National Historic Site (300 Cliff St.) for Rail Fest, a 1940s themed celebration with Union Pacific “Big Boy” locomotive tours, railway post-office presentations, steam-powered rail excursions to Moscow, trolley rides, behind-the-scenes tours, big-band performances, rail photography and art exhibits, model-train displays and old-time radio comedy sketches by the Dietrich Theater Radio Players., Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call340-5200 or visit http://nps.gov/stea
Labor Day Weekend Carnival, with amusement rides, food vendors and games. Wachovia Arena parking lot, 255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Township. Tonight at 6; Saturday through Labor Day, beginning at 2 p.m. Information at http://sandsamusementspa.com
Our first Technology on Your Own Terms workshop is coming up on September 15th! If you’re a University of Scranton faculty or staff member and would like to learn how to use Twitter, come join us – just be sure to register (under Special Events), since seats are limited.
Update: Did you miss “Tweet Your Words”? Notes from the workshop, along with lists of University of Scranton and Scranton-area tweeters, are posted on the Library’s Research Guides wiki.
The Weinberg Memorial Library and the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence (CTLE) are proud to announce a new faculty and staff advancement series, Technology on Your Own Terms. The series will introduce University faculty and staff to emerging technologies in a hands-on environment, in order to encourage innovation in the workplace and in the classroom.
Technology on Your Own Terms will begin this Fall with four sessions:
Tweet Your Words Tuesday, September 15 from 12pm – 1pm (WML 306)
You’ve heard about Twitter on the news – now find out what it’s really like. In this workshop, you’ll create a Twitter account and post your first tweet. You’ll also learn how to follow other tweeters and find useful information in the Twitterverse. (Taught by Kristen Yarmey-Tylutki, Library)
Curl Up with a Kindle Thursday, October 1 from 12pm – 1pm (WML 306)
Learn how to use an entirely new class of device -a convenient, portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The device is the Amazon Kindle. During this workshop, you will learn how to use many of the Kindle’s features including digital highlights and notes. (Taught by Aileen McHale, CTLE)
Really Simple Steps for Managing the Web: An Introduction to RSS Tuesday, October 13 from 12pm – 1pm (WML 306)
This workshop will explain how RSS feeds and RSS readers can help you manage the abundance of information available on the web. You’ll create a Google Reader account and will learn to import, organize, search, and share up-to-date content from your favorite websites. (Taught by Kristen Yarmey-Tylutki, Library)
Stay Alert! Keeping Your Research Up-to-Date
Thursday, October 29, from 11:30am – 12:30pm (WML 306)
Do you spend an inordinate amount of time keeping your research up-to-date? During this workshop you will learn how to set up e-mail alerts and use RSS feeds to gather scholarly information. (Taught by Bonnie Oldham, Library)
Sessions will be taught in Weinberg Memorial Library Room 306. All faculty and staff members are welcome, but seats are limited, so please register for sessions you plan to attend (select Special Event).
The Second Annual University for a Day
Saturday, September 12, 2009
8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Start the new season thinking! We invite you to join us for a day of listening to, reflecting on and talking about some ideas and people that have changed our world. Take part in this feast for the mind at The Schemel Forum’s second annual University for the Day.
Full Schedule:
8:45am – 9:30am Registration
9:30am – 10:45am Toni Morrison’s A Mercy: A Paradigm and a Cautionary Tale of Interdependence in a New World (presented by Stephen Whittaker, Professor of English and Theater)
11:00am – 12:15pm Rosalind Franklin: Another Twist in the DNA Double Helix (presented by Janice Voltzow, Professor of Biology)
12:30pm – 1:30pm Buffet Luncheon
1:45pm – 3:00pm The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Run it: White Collar Crime and the Global Financial Crisis (presented by David Friedrichs, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice)
3:15pm – 4:30pm Globalization: For Better and Worse (presented by Goodwin Cooke, Professor of International Studies at Syracuse University)
4:30pm – 5:15pm Reception
All this plus morning coffee, lunch and a closing wine reception in very good company for a very low price! Free to current Schemel Forum Members. $25.00 Schemel Forum Non-Members. Reservations are required, so please register by contacting Kym Balthazar Fetsko, Schemel Forum Events Coordinator, at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2 (at) scranton (dot) edu. Also be sure to check out the full Schemel Forum fall schedule!
University for a Day is made possible through the generous support of the Neighborhood Development Trust Fund and the Scranton Area Foundation.
The Research Guides basically act as a starting point, where students and other researchers can find useful resources in their discipline. We’re using the Guides as a “home” to bring together helpful databases, reference books, e-books, and web resources for each subject. While we’re focusing on traditional academic disciplines, we’re also creating Research Guides for interdisciplinary issues like Sustainability and New Technology.
The best thing about the Research Guides, though, is that they’re in wiki format (like Wikipedia) – which means that anyone can contribute links or references they find useful in their work. It also means that the Research Guides are fluid. Unlike static web pages, they will change and adapt over time as contributors add, update, and reorganize resources.
We’d like to invite all members of the University of Scranton community to view, edit, and improve our Research Guides. If you’re new to wiki editing, take a minute to visit our Getting Started page. Let us know if you have questions, comments, or suggestions. We’re looking forward to collaborating with you!
We are just 2 short days away from the first day of classes. This weekend the University will be giving new students a Royal Welcome, and then it’s back to business here in the Library. Below are the Library hours for Fall 2009, beginning on Monday, August 24th:
Monday-Thursday, 8:00AM-11:30PM
Friday, 8:00AM-10:00PM
Saturday, 12 Noon-8:00PM
Sunday, 12 Noon-11:30PM
And note also, the Library will be OPEN on Labor Day weekend, and on Labor Day itself (Monday, September 7th) from 12 Noon-11:30PM.
And as usual, the 1st floor Pro Deo Room is open 24 hours, 7 days per week.
We wish you a great start to your semester, and look forward to meeting/seeing everyone!
Need to print that syllabus, those lecture notes, that paper? You can do it in the Library! We have two UniPrint stations (one on the First Floor, in the Pro Deo Room, and one on the Second Floor at the top of the stairs) for printing from computer workstations.
To cover the cost of paper and toner, the Library does charge a small fee for printing from our stations – 7 cents per page, debited from your Royal Card account. However, to make sure you start the semester on the right foot, the Library subsidizes your first 200 prints each semester!
We get a lot of questions about printing, so here are a few details:
The Library subsidizes your first 200 prints in the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters.
If you’re taking an Intersession class, you’ll also get your first 50 prints subsidized in January.
Your subsidized prints should be available on your Royal Card starting with the first day of classes.
Unused subsidized prints “roll over” from Fall and Intersession into Spring… but any prints that are unused by the end of summer do not roll over into Fall 2010.
We do not subsidize photocopies.
When you send a print “job” to the UniPrint system, it will stay in the print queue for 2 hours – so make sure you go to the station and print it out before it expires.
If you are having trouble printing, ask for help at the Reference Desk!
Please remember to “think green” and print only what you need. If you’re printing PowerPoint slides, think about printing 6 slides per page – you’ll save 5 sheets of paper.
P.S. You asked us for wireless printing- and we’re working on it! We’re testing it right now and will let you know when it’s ready to go.
Update: Wireless printing is now available for most PCs. We’re still working on Macs and 64-bit Vista computers.
Prof. Donna Ramos and her official retirement chair
Today, the Library faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the retirement of Asst. Professor Donna Ramos, who has been the Weinberg Memorial Library’s cataloging librarian for 35 years. At the luncheon, Library Dean Charles Kratz and Library Chair Betsey Moylan spoke about Donna’s commitment and dedication to her work. Prof. Ramos was also presented with the “Ramos Gate,” a tribute to cataloging, retirement, and gardening handmade by Library staff member Barb Evans and a team of Library student workers, as well as an official University of Scranton chair.
We hope that Prof. Ramos will now have plenty of time to work in her garden, even though she will be greatly missed by the entire Weinberg Memorial Library family.
The library has been anxiously waiting for the return of students and faculty all summer long. In order to show our appreciation for our wonderful students, staff, and faculty the library has undergone some upgrades in order to make your visit more enjoyable!
1. New Gates.
The new gates and new placement.
The library has removed the old gates which were causing false alarms and replaced them with new models to help alleviate the problem. The new gates have been moved to a new location closer to the stairs.
2. All New Computers!
2nd Floor Computer Lab
Every terminal in the library has been replaced with a new computer that boasts a faster processor, more memory, and a flat screen. You’ll definitely notice the rooms look much less cluttered now — compared to the old computers these one’s barely take up any space.
2. New 1st Floor Study Space!
1st Floor Study Area
Library staff and student workers tirelessly moved and rearranged those heavy bound journals in order to make as much room as possible. The new 1st Floor / Bound Periodical study space is a wondeful new addition to the library and I’m sure it will be a hit when school starts!
3. New and Improved 2nd Floor / Reference Department Study Space!
"Table with a view please."Just like a coffee house.
Friendly arrangement allows you to sit in a large group with your friends, read while occasionally glancing out the window, and/or sit in our lounge chairs positioned to face each other with a coffee table in the middle.
4. New tables are technology friendly!
Built in outlets!
In the new study areas there are new tables. There are two major improvements with these tables. These tables allow you to get your legs underneath them — unlike the old tables there is no lip on these. Also, there are built in outlets, so now you can plug your laptop in and not have to worry about finding a wall outlet close to a table.
Most of these improvements were made due to Students’ and Faculty’s suggestions on the LibQual+ Survey which was sent by email last Spring. The Library is always looking to improve itself and make it more user friendly. So, please remember, if there’s something you think would be an improvement, and we are able to do it, then we will try our hardest to make it a reality.
