home Staff news Libraries will launch Ithaka Surveys in October

Libraries will launch Ithaka Surveys in October

Posted on September 21, 2017

In August we announced our intent to survey faculty and graduate/professional students about how the libraries can best support their research, teaching, and learning needs. We are using survey instruments created by Ithaka S+R, a national non-profit that works with many libraries to gather evidence for use in strategic planning. Ithaka S+R is particularly well-known for their US Faculty Survey.

Our goal is to better understand faculty research, teaching, and study needs and their perceptions about how the libraries support these needs in order to make strategic decisions about services.

The surveys will launch Monday, October 2^nd and run through Friday, October 27^th. We expect the survey to take 15 to 20 minutes to complete. .Ithaka will distribute the surveys to the survey populations via e-mail. Each recipient will have a customized link to the survey that will allow respondents to stop and re-start the survey where they left off if needed. Ithaka will also be able to send reminders. Survey results will be anonymous and we will not be able to track any data back to specific respondents.

Our Marketing Team will help us promote the survey by encouraging faculty and graduate/professional students to look for the e-mail sent to them with the survey link. We will also need everyone in the Libraries to encourage faculty and graduate/professional students to complete the survey. We need as many survey responses as possible to ensure our data truly reflects the needs of our users.

The Ithaka Survey Team is Shannon Cary, Mardy Eimers (from MU Institutional Research), Gwen Gray, Jeannette Pierce, and Caryn Scoville. Thanks so much to this group for all of the work done thus far. Let us know if you have any questions.

Jeannette

home Staff news New MUSE Posts

New MUSE Posts

By Shannon Cary Posted in Staff news

Posted on September 21, 2017

Web tip of the week, September 18, 2017

Holiday DIY: Troll Pumpkins

Recipe of the week: Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice Latte

home Gateway Carousel HSL, J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Staff news Welcome Hailey Carpenter, Jacob Hesler, and Angel Matthews!

Welcome Hailey Carpenter, Jacob Hesler, and Angel Matthews!

By Taira Meadowcroft Posted in Gateway Carousel HSL J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library Staff news

Posted on September 20, 2017

We are pleased to welcome Angel, Hailey, and Jacob to the Health Sciences Library! All three joined us this past summer, working in the circulation department.

Angel Matthews is from St. Louis, Missouri and is currently studying for her Bachelors in Biological Engineering. Her favorite thing to do in Columbia is visit the Devil’s Icebox at Rock Bridge State Park. She once was published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch for. We asked Angel what she liked most about libraries and she said, “here are many things that I appreciate about the library. I like that if a book is not accessible at our location, then we can basically search the country for it. MU Libraries have a warm and welcoming place to study. Everything you need to assist you can be found, from staplers to laptops that you can check out.”

Hailey Carpenter if from Helsinki, Finland, but lived in Oklahoma her entire life until going to college. Hailey is currently working on her BA in Physics and would love to purspose degrees in multiple fields: library science, astrophysics, and photojournalism. “Who says you have to choose just one?!” Hailey says. In her free time, she draws ink panels for manga and photographs abandoned places. We asked Hailey why she like libraries, and she had this to say, “I’ve always loved to read and to learn new things so I naturally gravitate towards libraries. All the power we need can come books. I also love how peaceful they are.”

Jacob Hesler is from Tulsa, OK, but has lived most recently in St. Louis and Dallas, working, respectively, in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit. He is currently working on finishing his bachelor’s degree and eventually would like to enroll in the library science master’s program at Mizzou. When asked why he liked libraries, he said “I have grown up in libraries, from having to stay there begrudgingly waiting for my mom to pick me up at a young age, to volunteering, to working, libraries are like my second home.” If you see Jacob, feel free to say hello, especially if you need to figure out a pokemon name. He can name every single Pokemon. 😉

We are so thankful for having Angel, Hailey, and Jacob apart of our team!

home Cycle of Success, Gateway Carousel, Staff news Grace Atkins Receives Missouri Library Association Outstanding New Librarian Award

Grace Atkins Receives Missouri Library Association Outstanding New Librarian Award

By Shannon Cary Posted in Cycle of Success Gateway Carousel Staff news

Posted on September 20, 2017September 21, 2017

The Missouri Library Association’s Outstanding New Librarian Award recognizes an early-career librarian who has made a significant contribution to the improvement and advancement of library and information services in the state of Missouri. Grace Atkins, the Outreach & Open Education Librarian for the University of Missouri Libraries, has been chosen for this year.

Atkins received her Master of Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin School of Information in May 2015. At the iSchool, she specialized in Academic Libraries and Digital Libraries. She entered into the position of User Engagement Librarian at the University of Missouri in August 2015, and worked to improve the user experience in Ellis Library. Over the two-year period she has been at Mizzou, her role has evolved into outreach for all nine libraries on campus.

This past year, Atkins has focused on communication and marketing to reach library users. She worked with the marketing and social media teams to collaborate on creating a library newshub, which provides a way for library staff and users to share information about updates on services, collections, staff, workshops, and other events. As the liaison for student outreach, she established a University Libraries Student Advisory Council, which has greatly improved communication between library administration and student leaders. In Spring 2017, she partnered with MU’s Student Affairs office to pass a student fee through which a portion of the funding goes toward student-focused library services, such as keeping the main library open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.

In her role as an Open Education librarian, Atkins is a campus coordinator for a UM system’s Affordable & Open Educational Resources (AOER) initiative, which is working to create a more equitable learning environment for students by significantly reducing the cost of textbooks and other course materials. As a new MOBIUS system leader for the Open Textbook Network, she will be providing training to librarians throughout the statewide consortia on how to use the Open Textbook Library. She has also recently been named a national fellow for the new SPARC Open Education Leadership program.

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books, Staff news Special Collections and Rare Books at National Museum Day, 9/23

Special Collections and Rare Books at National Museum Day, 9/23

By Kelli Hansen Posted in Events and Exhibits Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books Staff news

Posted on September 19, 2017

Join the University Libraries on Saturday, September 23, 1:00-3:00 pm, for National Museum Day at Mizzou North, hosted by our friends at the Museum of Art and Archaeology and the newly reopened Museum of Anthropology. There will be great exhibits from the University of Missouri campus museums, archives, and research collections – and Special Collections will be there with a chance to illuminate your very own medieval manuscript coloring page.

home Staff news Upcoming Learning Opportunities sponsored by the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

Upcoming Learning Opportunities sponsored by the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

By Shannon Cary Posted in Staff news

Posted on September 19, 2017

Fall 2017 Workplace Diversity Series
SERIES FOCUS: Including People with Disabilities in the Workplace

The purpose of this series is to enhance the capacity of faculty and staff as they engage on their daily campus activities to understand and learn about disability as an issue of diversity rather than difference, and of strength rather than deficit.

The skills and attitudes learned in this series can be applied to the workplace, the classroom, and in interpersonal and community contexts. We hope that the participants will serve as leaders in bringing awareness about issues related to disabilities across campus and affect changes in practices and policies.

Pre-registration is required. Participants who attend all sessions will earn a certificate of completion.

CLICK HERE FOR DATES, TIME, AND REGISTRATION

Constructive Communication Across Differences Series
The purpose of this series is to enhance the capacity of faculty and staff to engage in conversations about challenging, emotionally-laden topics (i.e., race, discrimination, policy, politics, etc.). The skills learned in this series can be applied to the workplace, the classroom, and in interpersonal and community contexts. The sessions include:

Active Listening Concepts and Tools

Strategies for Navigating Emotions in Conversations

Collaborative and Deliberative Dialogue

Pre-registration is required. Participants who attend all sessions will earn a Certificate of Completion.

CLICK HERE FOR DATES, TIMES, AND REGISTRATION

Islam: Dispelling Myths to Break down Barriers
Featuring keynote speaker Amer F. Ahmed

7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3

Cornell Auditorium of the Trulaske College of Business

Event is free and open to the public

The post-9/11 era in the U.S. has exposed a significant degree of prejudice and bigotry towards Muslim people. This program will benefit participants interested in learning more about Islam and Islamophobia, providing needed context to bridge divides.

home Cycle of Success, Resources and Services, Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books, Staff news Cycle of Success: Dr. Noah Manring and Engineering 2500

Cycle of Success: Dr. Noah Manring and Engineering 2500

By Taira Meadowcroft Posted in Cycle of Success Resources and Services Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books Staff news

Posted on September 18, 2017September 14, 2017

Cycle of Success is the idea that libraries, faculty, and students are linked; for one to truly succeed, we must all succeed. The path to success is formed by the connections between University of Missouri Libraries and faculty members, between faculty members and students, and between students and the libraries that serve them. More than just success, this is also a connection of mutual respect, support, and commitment to forward-thinking research.

Dr. Noah D. Manring is the Glen A. Barton Professor of fluid power in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Missouri. He previously served as chairman of the college’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and twice has served as associate dean of research. One of the courses he teaches is Engineering 2500: A History of Modern Engineering. It is through teaching this class that Dr. Manring came to know Tim Perry, one of our Special Collections Librarians. Tim arranged a lecture and demonstration on the printing press to teach the students about the history of the book, and the progression of book making since Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1450s.

“Tim arranged an entire demonstration and working lecture for our students. He answered questions, translated texts, and explained the significance of each item that was shown. There were three tables full of items to show and discuss. It was a very rich experience for my class – something I could not have provided for our students on my own.The library has a tremendous collection of printed material since Gutenberg’s day, including an original page from a Gutenberg Bible!”

We asked Dr. Manring what advice he had for those interested in using the library: “Make inquiries as to what resources are available, and use them! I was referred to the Special Collections section of the library by Prof. Mark Smith in History, and I have since used this resource for my class three times. Before Mark pointed me in this direction, I had no idea what was available and the wealth of information that could be drawn from our archives.”

If you would like to submit your own success story about how the libraries have helped your research and/or work, please use the Cycle of Success form.

home Staff news Healthy for Life Update

Healthy for Life Update

By Shannon Cary Posted in Staff news

Posted on September 18, 2017

If you’ve already completed Tier 1, make sure to finish Tier 2 of the 2017 Wellness Incentive by September 30 in order to earn $400* in your final October paycheck. Define what wellness means to you and participate in a number of eligible activities to earn 400 points. Walking, biking, yoga, community service, diversity and inclusion activities, and learning about a variety of wellness topics can earn you points and help you define what wellness means to you! For a full list of eligible activities, access the 2017 Wellness Incentive Tier 2 Activities Guide.

* Your 2017 Wellness Incentive earnings will be taxed and voluntary retirement contributions will be deducted, just like with other earnings. All may participate in the wellness program, but only some employees are able to earn the incentive; see http://umurl.us/incentive for eligibility details

Flu Shot Clinics start in October.
No appointment necessary! Flu season is quickly approaching, so consider attending a flu shot clinics on your campus beginning in October. Flu shots are covered for faculty, staff, dependents (12 years and older, accompanied by an adult) and retirees enrolled in a university of Missouri System (UM) medical plan. Be sure to bring your insurance card and a completed flu shot consent form with you to the clinic. If you are not enrolled in a UM medical plan, flu shots are $20 cash or check payable to Health for Life.

Find the schedule, a clinic near you, and the downloadable consent form by visiting http://umurl.us/fluvax

Weight Watchers, New Session starting 9/28/17
A weight-loss plan that fits with your lifestyle. Attending Weight Watchers meetings regularly can be a Launchpad to success.

When: Thursdays

Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Location: Quarterdeck Building, Room 162A

Cost: $156 for 12 weeks If you start at the beginning

Contact: Marion Spase at marion.l.spase@weightwatchers.com

Real Appeal
Real Appeal is a personalized online weight loss program available at no cost to employees and their dependents over age 18 who are enrolled in a UM-sponsored medical insurance plan, and who have a BMI of 23 or greater. Real Appeal gives you the tools, information and support you need to make smarter choices. Participants will get individualized support, including professional coaching for a full year online or on their smart phone. The best part? Results! 82% of participants who completed the program lost weight. Visit the UM System Real Appeal website at http://umissouri.realappeal.com/ for more information.