"Check Out Library Services as an Online Student"
U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 29, 2015
Information Item: In general, the Libraries will not change hours for the Thursday, November 5th, MU football game. Regular leave policies will apply. Leave must be approved by supervisors. Vacation or personal leave time must be used.
ACTION ITEM: LMT resolved to change Library Policy 43- Policy on Food and Beverages in Ellis Library to the following: Messy or smelly food and drinks without lids must be consumed in the Bookmark Café area. Ellis Library Security has discretion to enforce this as needed.
INFORMATION ITEMS: To keep the building secure during 24/5, one of the main elevators in Ellis Library was adjusted so that it can only ascend to the upper floors after midnight with the use of a key. That is the only elevator that will be operational from midnight to 7 a.m. Without the key, the elevator will still go down but does not go up. The security officers on duty will have the key so that they can access the upper floors when needed.
INFORMATION ITEM: The Libraries are in the process of buying chairs from University Surplus to be placed at all the tables in room 114 Ellis Library.
INFORMATION ITEM: It was announced that all of the floors of Ellis Library will be open overnight the weeks around final exams. Those dates are tentatively set as Dec 6th – Dec 18th. This would allow more study space for students. The Libraries will further discuss how to promote.
INFORMATION ITEM: Matt Gaunt was in attendance to provide a Student Fee Update. Marketing to users at the Library will be a big part of trying to reach the students between now and the election. Digital and hardcopy promotion material has been developed. Events continue to be planned for external promotion. The election will take place November 9-11. Students will be emailed a link. Upon logging into the system, they will be directed to graduate or undergraduate ballot. Both ballots will have the library fee on it. The undergraduate ballot will include the choices for MSA officers.
INFORMATION ITEM: A “Flags of the Nations” display was discussed by LMT last spring with room 202 Ellis Library being mentioned as a possible location. Campus Facilities has several concerns about such a display and that location. Discussions about the display and potential locations are ongoing.
INFORMATION ITEM: Last Spring, LMT discussed developing a Kemper Teaching Award display. They originally discussed locating the display outside of 114 Ellis Library. Currently, the historical display of Ellis Library is in that space. Ann Riley suggested to Campus Facilities that we could wait until the display is taken down or finding alternate locations. Ann plans to turn this matter over to ELSFAC (Ellis Library Space and Facilities Advisory Committee).
INFORMATION ITEM: The Faculty Library Committee sent a letter to the Provost expressing unhappiness about way the decision to temporarily place the Kinder Institute in Ellis Library was made and communicated. The letter also requested more resources for Libraries and was in general very supportive.
INFORMATION ITEM: Sheryl Cullina gave an update on her proposal to develop a recognition award based on the Libraries’ values statement. The award(s) would be given out at the Celebration of Service events and be based on the values: Access, People, Service and Stewardship. A panel of judges would be selected from various library committees. LMT members would not be eligible for the awards. Details continue to be discussed.
INFORMATION ITEM: The Libraries will be ordering nametags for employees who interact with the public and for employees who request them. The nametags are recommended but not required. We are planning to use first names only. LMT believes this will be welcome by most staff members. The presence of the nametags will help identify employees as a resource for students. The Libraries will not order nametags for employees who already have departmental nametags (Security) and/or badges (Health Sciences Libraries).
INFORMATION ITEM: Sheryl Cullina distributed and reviewed some compiled Student Budget Reports. She explained that Noah Hartsfield of Library Administration has redesigned the reports and have them completely up to date. The reports are distributed regularly to student supervisors and division/department heads. Questions can be directed to Noah and/or Sheryl.
Thanks to the work of Diane Johnson and Michael Spears, submitting material to MOspace is even easier. MU members can now submit their material AND complete the required license agreement using an online form. The new form autocompletes several fields based on login information, explains the Creative Commons license used in MOspace, and allows users to attach files. We will continue to accept submissions sent to mospace@missouri.edu, too.
You will find a link to the submission and license form on the MOspace LibGuide under Submit to MOspace: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/MOspace
Felicity Dykas
Congratulations are due to Kathy Peters, Susan McCormack, Bette Stuart and Dustin Hoffmann as they’ve finished a successful round of testing and execution of the LSO Feeder System project. This project has been in the works for years, and these staff members have worked above and beyond their regular duties to accomplish this. The system is now in regular use, being monitored for any issues that may come up.
Kathy Peters and Bette Stuart comprise the Accounting Department in MU Libraries Tech Services, where they manage the payments for the acquisitions of library materials (monographs, serials, databases, etc.) from all over MU Libraries. Because of the large volume of these payments, a program called the Feeder System was implemented 10+ years ago. The Feeder System helps to automate the process of shuttling payment information between the MERLIN Sierra ILS (Integrated Library System) and the PeopleSoft Financial system run by MU Accounting. The Feeder System is a custom program that was written by a former MU Libraries employee, and is only in use by MU.
In 2012, Consortial Resources moved to MU from the former LSO at the UM System. This department, formerly known (and still often referred to as) the LSO eResources Team, manages library databases and other e-resources on behalf of the MERLIN consortium as well as two of the individual UM System campuses. It has been a goal since 2013 for these payments to be made through a similar Feeder System set up to work with newly-created LSO Accounting Unit in MERLIN.
Changing the Feeder System code to work with this new accounting unit turned out to be quite a complicated endeavor. The project has taken years of work to get to this point.
Many staff members were involved with this project over the last few years, and thanks are due to all of them. We apologize for missing any names, but we do appreciate your work!
Specifically:
Dustin Hoffmann of Library Technology Services (LTS) is responsible for the actual code changes to the Feeder System program. He worked closely with Kathy Peters and Susan McCormack to identify needs and make the program work to fit those needs.
Susan McCormack of Consortial Resources, in addition to providing guidance for Dustin, has worked endlessly on Sierra training, populating the new accounting unit with all the required data, both current and historical. Much of this was with great help by Kathy, Bette, and members of the Cataloging Department. Susan has also been training as backup on the Feeder System workflow processes.
Kathy Peters and Bette Stuart of MU Libraries Accounting, have had to adjust their workflows and create new processes in addition to providing assistance and guidance for both Dustin and Susan. Kathy Peters, in particular, is the undisputed expert on the Feeder System, and she has spent months on the testing phase alone, working back and forth with MU Accounting.
Great work to everyone involved!
This project now represents Phase One of a two-phase project with the Feeder System. Over the course of this project, it became obvious that the current Feeder System is in need of significant improvement. The current program is not just out-of-date, but it relies on quite a lot of manual wrangling of data by Kathy Peters and Bette Stuart. This work, which is crucial to the function of MU Libraries, is done weekly, and much of it is intricate detail that is hard to master. Current technologies could easily streamline and automate this workflow, reducing the learning curve required for new employees or backup training. To that end, Dustin Hoffmann, along with others in LTS, will be working on creating and implementing a new version of the Feeder System. Kathy Peters, Bette Stuart, and Susan McCormack will be closely involved with this project, helping to plan and to test the program in conjunction with Dustin and LTS.
"Students voice frustration with potential library fee at forum"
Columbia Daily Tribune, Oct. 28, 2015
"MU students express concern about additional fee to fund libraries"
Columbia Missourian, Oct. 27, 2015
"Graduate Professional Council to hold forum about library fee proposal"
Columbia Missourian, Oct. 26, 2015
Let’s Talk Total Rewards Blog: Annual Enrollment Tutorial!
Let’s Talk Total Rewards blog post focuses on annual enrollment and what steps you need to take. Please take a moment to subscribe to the blog, if you have not already done so, in order to receive the latest updates and news from Total Rewards.
For more information or questions please contact the Human Resources Service Center at HRServiceCenter@umsystem.edu or 573-882-2146.
Signing the Wellness Pledge is eligible for 2016 Wellness Incentive points. Contact wellness@umsystem.edu for questions.
Be active: Fitness Camp Open House
Fitness test, classes, samples and discounts will be offered at this free event. Please visit the Body Refinery Gym website for more information and a full schedule of events.
Body Refinery Gym
Date: Saturday October 24, 2015
Time: 8:00am- 2:00pm
Where: 3400 Broadway Business Park Ct. Suite 210; Columbia, MO 65203
Cost: FREE!
For more information please contact Martin Maher at martinm@bodyrefinerygym.com or 573-228-9424.
Looking for more gyms that offer a discount to University Employees?
Visit the Columbia Discounts and Resources: Be Active to explore your options!
Flu Shots on Campus
Flu season is coming, and we are ready. Flu shots are covered for faculty, staff, dependents (12 years and older, accompanied by an adult), and retirees enrolled in a UM medical plan. For everyone else, flu shots are $20 cash or check. Find out when flu shots will be available at a location near you by visitinghttp://umurl.us/fluvax. No appointment necessary!
Flu Shots are eligible for 2016 Wellness Incentive points. Contact wellness@umsystem.edu for questions.
October 20, 2015
Ellis Library Room 4F51A
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Present: Adrienne Arden, Wendy Batson, Jack Batterson, Abbie Brown, Sheryl Cullina, Tammy Green, Terri Hall, Steven Hammer, Dustin Hoffmann, Mike Holland, Corrie Hutchinson, Ann Riley, Ernest Shaw, Marcia Strong, Bette Stuart, & Deb Ward
Next meeting scheduled for Nov 17
Digital Services Report presented by Adrienne Arden
As most of you already know, Brian Cain has left MU Libraries for a new and exciting opportunity at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. We want to thank the many attendees at Brian’s farewell celebration as you helped make that bittersweet send-off a big success that Brian enjoyed greatly.
Our department is pleased with the progress we’ve made migrating material from the Legacy Digital Library to the MU Digital Library. Part of that migration is material from the Agricultural Experiment Station–of the 880 items from that source, 650 have been added to the MU Digital Library.
Unfortunately, our digitization efforts have come to a halt as our main scanner that is regarded as the departmental workhorse, has broken down. Efforts to get it repaired are underway.
This is “International Open Access Week”. Felicity is on the planning committee and has been quite busy with several events, three of which are happening here in Ellis Library.
Access Services Report presented by Tammy Green
Ivy Hui is now in place as Head of Interlibrary Borrowing.
On October 8, about 65 students from Eldon High School in Eldon, MO came for a visit. This is one of their English Literature classes and they checked out 199 books. A second group from this school, will visit during Thanksgiving break and another group will visit in February 2016. Eldon is one of nine high schools that will take the opportunity to use our collection each semester.
RAIS Division Report presented by Wendy Batson
E-Learning
Engineering Library & Technology Commons Update
Government Documents
Instruction
Journalism Library Update
Online Information Services Update
Research Services Update
Health Sciences & Veterinary Library Report presented by Terri Hall
Additional Note from Deb Ward
About 100 people visited the HSL last Thursday, October 15, to attend the HSL Centennial Celebration. In addition to celebrating 100 years of information services on campus, we celebrated National Librarians' month and the anniversary of J. Otto Lottes' birthday.
The event featured a slideshow of quotes from users, the historical video on Ellis Library, and two handouts. One handout was a timeline illustrating the development of HSL along with the founding and growth of the health schools and the university hospitals & clinics. Medical hangman and a photo booth for selfies were popular with guests. It was also the debut of the digital signage that LTS got up for us. Thank you, LTS! Terri will say more about how we will use it. We also gave away three prizes drawn from comment providers and six door prizes.
The value of events like this is the opportunity to tell users about our services and highlight the value of what we do to support their work. It's also a great way for staff to talk to users informally and build stronger relationships. I'm pleased that the HSL could participate in the Libraries' Centennial by hosting this event.
Catalog Management Report presented by Jack Batterson
We are pleased to welcome our new LIS II cataloger Angie Burroughs Kelly, who started October 12, 2015.
Catalog Management Unit has begun processing items from the 4th floor. This effort will involve quite a large number of vinyl records (from the Recorded Sound Collection), which must be transferred to Remote Storage by Thanksgiving break. In addition, after faculty review, approximately 10,000 volumes may need to be transferred from the 4th floor to Remote Storage by the end of the semester (Friday, Dec. 19th).
Administration Report presented by Steven Hammer
Library fee vote: Library staff should use appropriate opportunities to remind students to vote in the upcoming November library fee vote.
Centennial student art contest: A student art competition is being held as part of the year-long celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of Ellis Library. All entries must be received by February 15, 2016.
Ellis Library Rededication: A rededication ceremony will be held January 15, 2015, as part of the one-hundredth anniversary of Ellis Library. It will be held in the Grand Reading Room and will include presentation of Steven Weinberg’s commemorative book. It is expected that Chancellor Loftin and other dignitaries will attend.