Due to the weather conditions the library will be closing at 8pm tonight (Tuesday, January 18, 2011).
The Library’s two 24 hour rooms will be open for student use and are accessible by swiping your Royal Card. Both 24 hour rooms have computer access and printing is available.
Help is available for any questions you may have through the library’s Virtual Reference Service. You can Chat 24/7 with a librarian by clicking the embedded link.
Be safe, everyone!
This Spring, the Schemel Forum is running a bus trip to the New York Public Library to visit their latest exhibition, Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. The trip, scheduled for February 19th, features a guided tour of the exhibition, which includes great manuscripts from the Judaic, Christian, and Islam traditions.
Reservations are required, so if you’re interested, contact Kym Fetsko at fetskok2@scranton.edu. The trip runs from 7:30am through 7:45pm and has a fee of $50 to cover round-trip bus fare and the guided tour.
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 2011 with three new workshops, all of which will be held in the Library.
The Insider’s Guide to Smartphones
Wednesday, February 16 from 12pm-1pm in WML305In this session, librarian Kristen Yarmey and technology services analyst Diane Jachimowicz will discuss some of the technology behind smartphones like iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries. We’ll talk about what terms like 3G, 4G, tethering, and jailbreaking mean in plain English, what sensors like accelerometers and compasses mean for average users, how operating systems like iOS and Android differ, and what phone features to look out for in 2011 and beyond. A light lunch will be provided during the discussion. (Taught by Kristen Yarmey, Weinberg Memorial Library, and Diane Jachimowicz, IT Services)
The Changing Face of Facebook
Wednesday, March 9 from 1pm-2pm in WML305If you are a Facebook user, you have probably asked yourself at least once, “Why does Facebook make so many changes to its site?” In this session, librarian Donna Mazziotti will present an overview of the latest wave of changes made to the Facebook user interface. She will also offer a rationale for why Facebook is an ever-evolving tool, as well as reasons why users should embrace Facebook’s mission to always improve its product. After this session, attendees will grow from passive to proactive Facebook users, able to educate themselves about changes made to Facebook as the changes occur. A light lunch will be provided during the discussion. (Taught by Donna Mazziotti, Weinberg Memorial Library)
E-Readers: The Hype and the Facts
Wednesday, April 6 from 11am-3pm in WML305Nook, Sony, Kindle, iPad, etc. There are so many e-readers and tablet computers available that it’s getting harder to know which product to choose to fill a certain need. Want some answers? Drop in any time during a four hour showcase of e-readers and tablet computers at the Weinberg Memorial Library. Best Buy will have many products on display and provide knowledgeable staff to answer your questions. You will learn about the Weinberg Memorial Library e-books available for download as well as where you can find free ebooks and how to convert regular documents to ereader formats. Light refreshments will be served. (With representatives from Best Buy, the Weinberg Memorial Library, and the CTLE)
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).
The next time you walk into the WML you might be in for a little surprise. We now have videos on the library’s TVs. The videos, created by Professor Mary Beth Holmes’s TV Production classes, are short Public Service Announcements which help to raise awareness of the issue of Sustainability. All videos were filmed in the Weinberg Memorial Library by University of Scranton students.
The library is dedicated to sustainability and being as environmentally conscious as possible. The Library Green Team had been looking for new and creative ways to educate students on the importance of conserving paper, recycling properly, and purchasing a travel mug and water bottle instead of buying disposable cups and plastic. Luckily for the library the University has talented students.
The six videos that display on the library’s four TVs each send a unique message about sustainable issues in our library. In addition, these high quality and informative videos are able to convey the message of sustainability without making a sound… all of the videos are silent in order to not disturb those studying in the library.
The library sends special thanks to the twelve students who helped to create these videos, they are:
Laura Bonawits, Stephanie Conboy, Cory Burrell, Jonathan Oliveto, Catherine Fischer, Beth Posocco, Alycia McCarthy, Matthew Santanastaso, Dana O’Donnell, Lauren Fuller, Matthew O’Handley, and Alonso Villagomez Stock.
Sheli (second from left) represented the U as part of the Northeast Chapter Jeopardy team at the annual PaLA conference
Have you heard about Sheli? She’s our new Cataloging/Metadata Librarian who also serves as the chair of the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) Technical Services Roundtable. In this role, she attended the PaLA conference last fall, along with several other University of Scranton librarians, and she has an article in this month’s Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin called “Technical Services Programs – Big Hit at PaLA.” Congrats, Sheli!
Northeastern Pennsylvania is expected to get 3-5 inches of snow tonight – but according to us, it’s not too early to be thinking Spring!
Our Schemel Forum spring semester schedule is about to be posted to our website, and the classes, lunches, and trips it includes will all be great ways to hold off the winter blues until May arrives. Featured this year are:
For the full schedule and to register for programs, contact Kym Fetsko at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2@scranton.edu.
The Weinberg Memorial Library would like to welcome Kevin P. Quinn, SJ as the 25th President of The University of Scranton!
If you’re either a student here at the U or a regular reader of Infospot, you know all about our new 1st floor 24-hour study space. Starting today, that new space has one less blank wall.
This fall, the Weinberg Memorial Library partnered with the University’s Photography Club on a collaborative project to market our text messaging reference service. Members of the Club took photographs of fellow University of Scranton students text messaging and then submitted them to us for review. We chose our five favorite photographs to use for our marketing campaign – but since there were so many other great photographs, we decided to host a Photography Club gallery here at the Library.
So the next time you’re in the building, stop by the 1st floor group study rooms to find 9 gorgeous photographs celebrating text messaging, all thanks to our Photography Club contributors: James Benfante, Anna Heckman, Sarah Prandy, Aimee Miller, Gillian Naro, and Jon Danforth. We’d also like to extend an extra thank you to Jon, who is both the Vice President of the Photography Club and one of our Library TechCons, for coordinating the gallery.
Student photographs, like this one by James Benfante, will be used to market the Library’s text messaging reference service
Voice of Women Organization’s executive director, Suraya Pakzad, was on campus today to discuss “Afghanistan on the Ground: A Woman’s View” at our final Fall 2010 Schemel Forum World Affairs Briefing.
Ms. Pakzad discussed the difficult conditions experienced by women in Afghanistan and her fight to improve women’s rights in her country, despite many threats to her family’s safety. She thanked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and American and international troops for their support, without which she said that her work over the past ten years would not have been possible. However, Ms. Pazkad also noted that a “bridge of understanding” is desperately needed between the American and Afghani peoples: “Why are our nations so far from each other? Why can’t we understand each other as we should?” “We need you to stay with us,” she added. “We have to acknowledge and respect each other.”
Many thanks to Ms. Pakzad and to our Schemel Forum director, Sondra Myers, for organizing this event and contributing to the bridge of understanding.
UPDATE: Many of the attendees of this session have been asking about how they can contribute to Ms. Pakzad’s organization. Tax deductible contributions can be made by making checks out to Traveling Mercies and designating Voice of Women Organization in the memo section. Please send the checks to Sondra Myers at the address below, and she will send them along to Traveling Mercies.
Sondra Myers, Director
The Schemel Forum
The University of Scranton
Scranton, PA 18510
Don’t forget, you have one final chance to enjoy this fall’s Schemel Forum World Affairs Briefing luncheons! On Tuesday, November 16 at 12pm, executive director of Voice of Women Suraya Pakzad will be on campus to speak on “Afghanistan on the Ground: A Woman’s View.”
In a country where females are second-class citizens, Pakzad overcame formidable obstacles to receive an education and more recently, under the oppressive Taliban rule, risked her life to set up covert schools for girls and spread the light of knowledge to the future mothers of her country. Her presentation will focus on the most recent developments in Afghanistan regarding empowering women with basic rights. She will also emphasize, in the wake of the exit of international forces and aid agencies, the need for the United States and its allies to “see us through the transition and not repeat the mistakes of leaving us in the middle of nowhere.”
You won’t want to miss Ms. Pakzad’s inspiring story of struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Please register with Kym Fetsko at fetskok2@scranton.edu – and invite a friend to come along with you!
