New Technology Group
Tuesday, May 6
9:00-10:00 am
Ellis Library
Room 159
Felicity Dykas and Mary Aycock will present on new features for WorldCat such as
• personal lists,
• linking to own catalog or find resources at nearby libraries,
• social networking features, and
• WorldCat identities.
Shannon Cary will present on Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging service. Learn how the Communications Committee and other libraries are using this tool.
10. Digitization projects completed: In collaboration with the UM/LSO, the SCARaB Division completed three major digitization projects through LSTA grants administered through the MO State Library. The first project included publications of the University Agricultural Experiment Station from 1888 thru 2005. The second involved MO city and town maps from 1880 to 1922 prepared by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. The Sanborn maps in particular have proven quite popular with users accessing the UM Digital Library. The third project has created a massive archive of the MU Alumni Association publication which started in 1905. The publication, now known as MIZZOU magazine is published quarterly.
9. Also in the digital realm, the University Archives began harvesting the content of MU/UM institutional websites every six months through a nearly comprehensive “web crawl.” The latest harvest collected about 90 gigabytes of data, which is now stored on the LSO servers.
8. Our Adopt-a-Book program, begun last year, has expanded to include an interactive website. “Before and After” images of rare books needing conservation/restoration have resulted in over $11,000 in donations from individual benefactors. The Kemper preservation grant matches each gift, dollar-for-dollar. As of March, the total of gifts and matching funds stood at $22,280. We have received many favorable comments about both the program and the website.
7. Technical Services and User Services divisions collaborated to relocate books “shelved” on floor in Ellis stack levels. Nine-hundred and ninety-seven books were returned to stack locations or to storage in the UMLD-2 underground storage facility.
6. In summer, new logon authentication software was installed on all the i-Mac computers in the Ellis Information Commons to control access by guest users. The software limits guest users to a maximum of two hours online in order to provide priority service to MU students whose technology fees pay for the computers.
5. We all know that we have excellent staff in the MU Libraries. This past year, the national library community recognized two of our own among the very best in the country. Wayne Sanders, Head of the Monograph Cataloging Unit in Ellis, was selected as one of 120 young professionals for the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2008 Emerging Leaders Program. Karen Darling, Head of Library Acquisitions, was named the winner of the 2008 Leadership in Library Acquisitions Award, by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services of ALA.
4. The Ellis Library Chamber Music Series was begun in Fall, 2007. Live performances by MU students and faculty have included: Con Brio String Quartet; Margaret Waddell performing Hildegard von Bingham chants from the 12th Century; Missouri Woodwind Quintet; and MU Steel Drum Band. We even had the MU Trombone Choir playing in Ellis Colonnade. MU now holds the North American record for the number of trombones playing simultaneously in a library!
3. New online library resources have been made available to Alumni. In April, the Mizzou Alumni Association and the MU Libraries announce the availability of two online resources – EBSCO Academic Search Alumni Edition and Business Source Alumni Edition. Some 2,800 journal titles, many with full-text access to articles, are now available to MAA members.
2. We have instituted Merlin online catalog enhancements to provide better user service: including single sign-on, using Pawprint ID for all user access; “personal reading history” capability; unmediated user access to ILL requests for users at all MU Libraries locations (formerly available at HSL, but not at Ellis or branches), and migration to the ILLiad system to unify ILL access.
And the Number One achievement of the past year is…:
1. MU Libraries Capital Campaign. For the past several years, the MU Libraries have been engaged in its first major fundraising effort by the Libraries, as part of the University’s “For All We Call Mizzou” campaign. At the start of the campaign, the Libraries’ goal was set at $8 million, far larger than any past fundraising goal of the Libraries. I’m sure some people did not think we could raise that much money, but as of the end of March, the Libraries have surpassed that goal. We have now received gifts and pledges totaling $8,014,742. That is truly a remarkable achievement, and all MU Libraries employees can take pride in helping to accomplish it. That is truly something to celebrate!
Jim Cogswell, Director of Libraries
Troy Gordon, a former employee of the MU Libraries, passed away on April 25. He worked in the Cataloging Department and in Special Collections. http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/May/20080501Obit005.asp
The MU Libraries Staff Association will hold its annual meeting on May 6th at 9:00 a.m. in the Ellis Library Staff Lounge. We would like to invite you to join us.
With many upcoming challenges, membership in MULSA is more important than ever. We would like to encourage you to consider running for the various positions available on the MULSA Board, and to become an active participant in MULSA events. With your help, we will be able to continue our staff and community obligations.
Our open board vacancies are as follows:
Vice President/President Elect (1): Assists the president in carrying out the work and direction of the staff association and automatically becomes the President the following year.
Secretary (1): Records and distributes the minutes taken at our board meetings.
Treasurer (1): Maintains all the financial records for MULSA; this includes keeping the books and writing the checks.
Courtesy (1): Extends congratulations and condolences to library employees with cards, gifts, and flowers.
MUSE Editors (2): Responsible for the publication of the library staff newsletter, The Muse.
Ellis Staff Lounge (1): Coordinates cleaning of the lounge with daily help from volunteers. This person also buys cleaning supplies and maintains the vending machine refunds.
Social (2): Organizes and coordinates MULSA’s social activities.
Book Sale / Store Coordinators (1): Helps to organize, promote, and preside over the ongoing book sale in the Ellis Library Copy Service room.
Community Service (1): Coordinates and informs the staff about our service projects. We have supported such groups as Mid-Missouri Food Bank and Second Chance Animal Shelter.
MULSA collectively organizes the Adopt-a-family during the holidays, garage sales, cookies sales, and other worthwhile projects. If you would like to run for one of these positions, please contact Tammy Green (GreenTA@missouri.edu) or Jack Batterson at battersonj@missouri.edu
For further information about these positions, please see the job descriptions at MULSA’s web site:
http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/staff/committees/mulsa/board.html
Please do not let your talents go unused. You can make a big difference. MULSA is a wonderful opportunity to meet and work with your fellow co-workers from other departments.
-MULSA Board
System Support Analyst— 100% FTE, M-F, 8-5. Special Collections, Archives and Rare Books Division. Salary is commensurate with experience and competency level.
Duties: Work in the Special Collections, Archives and Rare Books Division of the MU Libraries. Support a team of six librarians and archivists responsible for providing user support services to a variety of information users. Provide information technology support (hardware and software) to the two departments of the division. Assist in developing and implementing a comprehensive long-term technology plan serving the needs of the division, its users, and the University Libraries. May also serve as the liaison and coordinator of services and technology with Library Technology Services (LTS), MU Division of Information Technology (DoIT), UM Executive Technology Services (ETS), UM Library Systems Office (LSO), and other technology support employees or units within other library divisions. This position provides an opportunity to work in a complex and exciting user oriented information and computing environment. The incumbent will have an opportunity to work within both departments of the division in learning the duties, tasks, and priorities of SCARaB.
Minimum qualifications: In appraising the relative qualifications of candidates for all levels, consideration will be given to the extent and type of experience with various information technology functions and to the extent and type of pertinent education and formal training.
A bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field or an advanced degree in library or information science or equivalent work experience; At least two years of relevant professional experience; Programming experience using two or more of the following languages in UNIX and Windows environments: Perl, PHP, JAVA, VB.Net, C#, or Python;Experience developing interactive database-driven web applications; Knowledge of relational database design principles and programming; Experience with current versions of MySQL, MS Access, and/or Oracle; Extensive experience with HTML, CSS, Javascript, and other DHTML or XHTML; Familiarity with XML; Expansive knowledge of desktop/workstation hardware/software/operating systems (configuration and connectivity); Ability to work in a collaborative team environment and successfully handle multiple priorities; Strong customer service skills and service ethic; Strong oral and written communication skills sufficient to interact with a variety of users and other technical staff.
Preferred qualifications: Library and or Institutional Archives work experience and significant familiarity with library applications and procedures; Programming experience with JAVA; Experience using and/or managing a Web Content Management System; Experience integrating authentication, authorization, and file services between Windows and Linux/UNIX systems using Active Directory; Familiarity with systems administration and security principles; Experience with digital imaging and digital collection processing and organization; Ability to work under pressure; meet firm deadlines; demonstrate time management skills and organizational ability for project management.
The Staff Development Committee would like to provide library employees with a reminder that Bob Almony is presenting two financial planning sessions this spring at the request of Human Resources (HR).
Principles of Investing on a Shoestring Budget; or, How to Get Rich Slowly will be presented Friday, May 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., S203 Memorial Union.
Taking Charge of Your Finances will be presented Thursday, May 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., N201/202 Memorial Union. Because of the room size at the Union, space is available in both sessions.
HR now provides on-line registration to its courses (https://iatsbase.missouri.edu/hrtraining/calendar.aspx). Supervisor approval is required to attend. If approved, release time is granted to attend courses sponsored by HR. Employees in Administrative, Service & Support titles have first dibs on seating, but employees in academic titles can register and attend on a space-available basis.
Leo Agnew