Nebraska Game Day

The Mizzou Tigers are scheduled to play Nebraska on Thursday evening, October 8, 2009. This game is the first midweek game hosted by Mizzou in 17 years. It’s our time to shine on a national stage, as the game will be televised live on ESPN (kickoff at 8:00 pm).

The large influx of visitors and fans will require many changes in parking logistics to accommodate the crowds on the MU campus. More than 7,000 students and 800 employees who park in lots around Memorial Stadium will be required to relocate to other parking lots and garages closer to the heart of campus no later than 4:00 PM on October 8. Traffic will be excessively congested from approximately 4:00 pm until the start of the game.

The University is NOT closing, and will NOT be towing vehicles of employees.

For more information regarding game day logistics, please go to MizzouGameDay.com.

Library Issues Forum: Celebrating Intellectual Freedom

The Diversity Action Committee invites library employees to attend the next Library Issues Forum, scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m., Jesse Wrench Auditorium (S107 Memorial Union). The session wraps up the observance of Banned Books Week/Month and features several speakers with topics related to the theme of “Celebrating Intellectual Freedom: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Creating.” Release time is available with supervisor approval.

Randy Diamond will open the forum with a discussion of copyright and its impact on First Amendment rights. Dr. Heather Carver of the Theatre Department will talk about how performance continues to engage in issues of intellectual freedom and expression in Missouri, across the country, and internationally. Additional panelists are being identified at this time.

The Library Issues Forum was developed to fill a need for library employees to come together and talk about varied and broad library issues. If you have ideas for future forums, please contact Leo Agnew at AgnewL@missouri.edu.

SPSS Workshop

SPSS Workshop
October 29, 2009
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Place: Cornell Hall, room 003
Presenter: Ray Bacon, Social Science Statistics Center

You are invited to participate in an introductory session on the use of SPSS for data analysis. SPSS, aka PASW, is a statistical software package that is useful for analyzing numbers beyond percentages. SPSS is a point-and-click software package; as such, no knowledge of coding or higher math is required to use SPSS.
The target audience is anyone interested in learning the ‘first steps’ in using SPSS. Participants will learn how to set up a basic research question for gathering useful data, how to enter the data into SPSS, and how to run a couple of basic statistical analyses on the data, e.g., correlation. Ray Bacon will lead the session. Ray is a MU employee whose primary job is to help faculty, staff, and students conduct statistical analysis. Ray and his colleagues at the Statistics Center do this for free.

Release time is available with supervisor approval. Please RSVP to Leo for headcount purposes (AgnewL@missouri.edu).

Jones and Graves Conducted Webinar on Presentations

Barb Jones & Rebecca Graves conducted a webinar, “Mastering the Art of Presenting” for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine’s Breezing along with the RML series on September 16. The program has been archived here (click on “Advanced Options” in the lower left to locate presentation 2, about 18 minutes into the presentation): https://webmeeting.nih.gov/p33702845/

Banned Book Reading to highlight history of censorship and freedom of expression

MIZZOU — Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) needs volunteer readers for our Banned Book Reading at Speaker’s Circle on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The reading is part of a series of activities held to highlight Banned Books Week 2009, Sept. 26-Oct. 3.

The event will feature an informational display table with lists of banned books and the history of censorship, as well as a rotating cast of readers reciting passages aloud from books that have faced banning or censorship at some point.

If you’d like to read at the event or help staff the table, contact us at PLG.Mizzou@gmail.com or call 417-619-3724 to sign up for a time slot. The schedule will be informal, but please do let us know if you intend to read. Bring a copy of your own favorite banned book to read from, or choose from the selection available at our table.

Invitation From Leo Re: Free HR Webcasts

Now and then, an interesting HR-related webcast comes across my desk and it dawned on me recently to ask my colleagues to watch the programs with me. As such, you are invited to join me at the following dates/times. The webcasts are free; RSVPs’ are not required; be sure to check with your supervisor for coverage issues.

It’s not my intent to turn these into formal training sessions, per se; it’s more of an opportunity to listen and react to the content. You’ll probably see similar invitations in the future as interesting webcasts are advertised.

Employee Performance Management: The Heart of Talent Management
Friday, Sept. 25, 2009.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CST
4G41 Ellis Library
Sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management

Description: Companies often look at the elements of talent management — including compensation management, succession planning, and learning and development — as independent concerns. In fact, all of these objectives are elements of employee performance management. In this program, Michael DeVries, SPHR, will provide insight and case studies on how companies have used performance management as the linchpin to their successful talent management initiatives.
—————–

From Employee Feedback to Actions for Manager Development
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009,
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CST
4G41 Ellis Library
Sponsored by Human Capital Institute

Description: Learn how IBM was inspired to create its Manager Feedback Program. In 2004, IBMers around the globe were communicating, collaborating and kicking around ideas for improving IBM. It was WorldJam2004 and nearly 60,000 IBMers were jamming. Through this high-profile event, the single, most highly rated idea across IBM was to introduce a way for employees to provide feedback and insight about their manager’s effectiveness. WorldJam2004’s most highly rated idea, was then launched in 2005 giving employees a systematic, consistent way for employees to provide constructive insights and giving managers recommended actions for improvement.

Components of this unique program include: IBM’s Manager Feedback Program Form: A structured survey program, where employees provide quantitative and qualitative feedback about their manager’s effectiveness; Manager Feedback Program Report: How managers receive insights into their people management strengths/weaknesses and Manager Feedback Program Development Guide: Provides an array of learning resources to improve people management skills and leadership capabilities.
IBM will share lessons learned in running this grand-scale global program, now in its fifth year and reaching 394,000 IBMers and generating reports to 48,000 IBM managers. Listen in to learn how IBM is turning employee feedback into action for the development of their people managers.

Open Position: Library Information Assistant

*Library Information Assistant; 100% FTE. $9.05/hr. min. Work 40 hours/week at Health Sciences Library, Circulation Department. Hours: Tuesday – Thursday, 3:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m., Friday, 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Duties: Provide customer assistance for the Circulation Desk/Copy Services. Close the library nightly and open it on Saturdays. Functionally supervise student workers. Perform shelving, shifting, shelf-reading, stack maintenance, and upkeep of public and circulation areas. Monitor electronic reserve pages and request copyright permissions. Retrieve and scan articles to fill patron requests.

Duties require the ability to perform alphanumeric sequencing of books and serials and data entry of bar codes into MERLIN, to perform basic math computations and to work with minimal direct supervision and meet speed and accuracy goals as determined by the department. Must be able to move both partially loaded book trucks (60 – 100 lbs.) and fully loaded book trucks (at least 200 lbs.). Must be able to use ladders and footstools in the stacks. Must be able to read call numbers on tall shelves and on the lower shelves where there is diminished lighting. Must be able to be on one’s feet for long periods of time. Must be able to move large numbers of journals and books during stack shifts.

Minimum Qualifications: A high school diploma or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired is necessary.
Six months of responsible office experience is necessary. Directly related education or training may be substituted for experience.
The ability to type may be necessary depending upon the position available – 40 wpm required.

Preferred Qualifications: Must have good communication skills and work well with the public. Typing and computer skills required. Must be self motivated. Experience with MERLIN, word processing and Internet desirable.