Web tip of the week, Sept.25, 2017
Fun stuff for the weekend: South farm Showcase Saturday Sept.30, 2017
Recipe of the week: Banana Bread Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze
Staff news
Notes from the Director, 9/27/17
Hello everyone,
Some changes are coming—next month all the library staff and faculty will need to get new ID cards. There is NO CHARGE to anyone; the Libraries are covering cost because we are changing to a new card swipe system at all the building entry doors. The whole campus will be changing eventually, and we are going to be one of the first buildings. This will help with security, and will be especially important for people who come early or stay late. We will talk more about it at coming meetings, but you all need to know it’s happening. We will set up special times for library people and make getting a new card as easy as possible. Each person will have a new photo taken for the new card. (I hate that part but we do change in appearance over time.)
Also, we have long talked about name tags/badges for everyone. The Libraries will be supplying OPTIONAL name badges for all full-time and part-time personnel except student workers. Some of you will be contacted if there is question on your preferred name. No one is required to wear a name badge, but many have asked for them. Most staff in other areas wear them, including administrators, who really appreciate us wearing them. Again, though, there is no requirement, just a preference. They will be metal and held on by magnets. (You can see many people wearing the same style in Jesse Hall and we should have an example at the next Staff Advisory Group meeting).
Work continues to install additional lights and cameras outside Ellis Library as part of our commitment to safety for all our staff and users, especially during our extended hours.
Work also continues to complete the planning and paperwork needed to begin construction on the expansion of UMLD. This will benefit the whole library system and we should have a firm date soon.
And of course Lowry Mall is still torn up; we hear that the east end will be done by Homecoming (Oct 21) but that then they will tear up the west end.
Enjoy our newly-cool fall days, and don’t hesitate to call or email with questions.
Ann
Employment Opportunities
The Libraries have immediate openings for the following positions:
- Library Information Assistant – UMLD (part time) – 24393
- Library Specialist – Digital Services (part time) – 24241
For additional information, including the job description, salary, and shift, please visit the Libraries webpage at http://library.missouri.edu/about/employment/employopp/#staff_job_openings.
Marketing Highlights
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Here are a few notes from the Marketing Team.
- MU’s campus-wide marketing and communications efforts are putting an emphasis on student success stories, using the hashtag #MizzouMade. The Libraries’ Marketing Team will be asking for your help to find student workers and recent alums to highlight as part of our Cycle of Success features and as part of the campus-wide #MizzouMade campaign.
- Cycle of Success has become quite the. . .well, success! We have so many success stories that we currently having a waiting list to get them up on our gateway. Thanks to everyone who has participated! We are adding another marketing step to the process, by contacting the communications staff at the schools and colleges of the faculty or students we are highlighting. Hopefully, they will be able to cross-promote our success stories.
- And on a lighter note, we had one hungry Tumblr viewer who thought one of our books was a cake! Check out this post: http://muspeccoll.tumblr.com/post/165616592758/plasticpaddypogue-muspeccoll-in-our
Homecoming is Oct. 21
It’s time to get ready for Mizzou Homecoming, now just one month away. Many events are happening even sooner, so mark your calendars:
- Register to participate in the Homecoming 5K, which will be Sunday, October 8.
- Order your Homecoming Mums today to join in a special black and gold tradition.
- The Homecoming Blood Drive will take place Monday, October 9 through Thursday, October 12. Give blood to help patients in mid-Missouri hospitals. Your participation will ensure the continued success of the nation’s largest student-run blood drive.
- Check out the design for this year’s Homecoming t-shirt. Order information will be available soon!
- University Libraries will hold its annual open house at Ellis Library after the Homecoming parade. Watch for more information coming soon!
Libraries will launch Ithaka Surveys in October
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 and graduate/professional student 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 2nd and run through Friday, October 27th. 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
New MUSE Posts
Welcome Hailey Carpenter, Jacob Hesler, and Angel Matthews!
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 pursue 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 comes from 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!
Grace Atkins Receives Missouri Library Association Outstanding New Librarian Award
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.
Upcoming Learning Opportunities sponsored by the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
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.