Author: Lara De Meo Hoyt

Engagement Day

Engagement Day will be on Friday, May 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Livingston Student Center. Although our buildings are closed on May 22, Engagement Day is considered a workday, and attendance is expected unless you have scheduled time off or are traveling on business. Whether you are able to attend or not, please respond using this form to confirm your plans by Tuesday, May 12. Refer to Mary Beth Weber’s email dated April 20 (Subject: Engagement Day Program & RSVP form) for full details on the day.

Vacation Carryover Deadline

Faculty and staff are urged to work with their supervisors on a plan to use excess vacation time prior to June 26. Refer to emails from Hadiyah Sellers for specifics.

Agenda Submissions

You can submit items for The Agenda on a rolling basis using this form: The Agenda Submissions – Fill out form. If you would like to write a feature, please first send your idea to Lara De Meo Hoyt at lara.hoyt@rutgers.edu. (Lara will provide guidance, a word count, and a deadline.)

Microsoft Clipchamp

Microsoft Clipchamp is now available in Rutgers Connect for all faculty/staff accounts.

Clipchamp is Microsoft’s supported video editing tool and works with content created across Microsoft 365. With it, users can edit items such as PowerPoint screen recordings, Teams voice or video recordings, and other video files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. The tool supports basic editing tasks, such as trimming clips, combining recordings, adding text or captions, and exporting finished videos.

Now that it’s enabled, users can access Clipchamp from the Microsoft 365 app launcher or directly at clipchamp.com. You may also begin to see options to open or edit certain recordings in Clipchamp as part of existing workflows (for example, after creating a screen recording). No additional configuration is required. No separate installation is needed for web access, and basic functionality is available automatically.

Clipchamp is now the recommended video editing tool within Microsoft. Microsoft’s support documentation covers common scenarios and can be helpful for first‑time users.

If you have any questions, please send a message to support@libraries.rutgers.edu.

Adriana P. Cuervo, director of Special Collections and University Archives, has been appointed co-chair of the Society of American Archivists’ Annual Meeting Program Committee for the 2027 meeting.

Barry Lipinski retired as library supervisor I, Access Services, James Dickson Carr Library, culminating an astounding 45-year career at Rutgers University Libraries. Having started as a work study employee in the Archibald S. Alexander Library, he transitioned to a full-time role in 1980. He steadily assumed increasing responsibilities, eventually becoming the lead supervisor of Access Services at the Kilmer Area Library (renamed James Dickson Carr Library in 2017). His retirement was effective January 1, 2026.

Maria Deptula, health sciences collections librarian at Smith Library, published a featured article in Doody’s Core Titles: “Weeding with Care: A Renovation-Driven Weeding Project in the Health Sciences Library with a Focus on the Last Institutional Copies” (January 2025).

Bart Everts, reference and instruction librarian at Paul Robeson Library, joined a panel discussion with Charlene Mires and Howard Gillette, editors of the Greater Philadelphia book series by Penn Press, for a discussion on New Jersey’s place in Greater Philadelphia’s history. The talk was held on February 11 at the historic Cooper Library building at Rutgers-Camden.

Ermira Mitre, a library technician at Smith Library, had her poem “Under the Rhythm of Jazz” quoted in an article on BahaiTeachings.org. The poem also inspired the title of Robert Battle’s dance piece, Under the Rhythm, and the poem was read a performance of the dance during Gala Night at Paul Taylor Dance in New York in November. In addition, Mitre had five of her poems and a short story published in the Canada-based Asemana Magazine.

Tony Nguyen, Associate University Librarian, Rutgers Health, coauthored The Librarian’s Grants Handbook: Understanding the Grant Process from Start to Finish (Bloomsbury Publishing, February 2026).

Caryn Radick, digital strategies librarian, authored the article “‘If Ever Two Women Deserved What They Got’: The Kate Stocker Murder as Reported in the Jersey City News,” which was published in the summer 2025 issue of New Jersey Studies.

Li Sun, continuing resources and Asian languages catalog librarian, authored an article in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly that is listed among the publication’s top most read articles of 2025. “Enhancing cataloging with generative AI: Converting Wade-Giles to Pinyin,” published in June 2025 (Volume 63, Number 4, 2025), had reached 449 views, 1 CrossRef citation, and 2 Altmetric items as of February 2026.

Mary Beth Weber, coordinator for training and mentorship, was an invited speaker at a webinar provided by the American Library Association’s Core Leadership Development and Mentoring Committee on February 12 on formal and informal peer mentoring experiences for leadership and management across all types of libraries. The three-person panel discussed how they used peer mentoring programs to connect with colleagues in similar roles, and how they gained access to tacit knowledge in their institutions through peer mentoring.

Sonia Yaco, emerging technologies librarian, coauthored “What Can AI Do for Special Collections?” which was published in January in The American Archivist. For the front cover, the publication used a collage of images from the William Elliot Griffis Collection at Rutgers University Libraries. In addition, on January 14, Yaco gave a talk at The Old Guard of Princeton on “Using AI to Find Insights in Historic Manuscripts.”

Elizabeth York, electronic resources and interim discovery librarian, gave a presentation, “Enabling (and Disabling) AI features in Library E-Resources” at the New Jersey Academic Librarians AI Special Interest Group virtual meeting in December 2025.

Open and Affordable Textbooks Program: Deadline Approaching

The Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Program is currently accepting applications. This program, which has saved Rutgers students more than $13 million since its inception, awards research funds to Rutgers faculty who redesign their courses to use free or low-cost materials or who create a new open textbook. Please encourage any instructors you speak with to apply for the Course Redesign Award by March 12 and the Authoring Award by April 9. The full program information and application links can be found on the OAT Program website.

Backup Requirements for RUL-Managed Desktops and Laptops

Information Technology Services (ITS) manages all backups for files saved on your Rutgers University Libraries-supported desktops and laptops. These processes are designed to protect your files and ensure business continuity in the event of hardware failure, accidental deletion, or other issues. To make sure your data is fully protected, please follow these guidelines:

• To ensure your files are included in the automated backup process, save all work-related files only in the designated folders on your device. Files stored outside these approved folders may not be backed up. To see the list of folders included in the backup, please read this knowledge base article.
• For backups to run successfully, your device must be connected to the Rutgers network. If you are working remotely, you must be connected to the Rutgers VPN.
• Per the universitywide Acceptable Use Policy for Information Technology Resources, workstations should store only work-related data and applications.
• If you have any questions or need to request a data restoration, contact support@libraries.rutgers.edu.

Rutgers Brand Template Library

The Rutgers Brand Template Library offers an easy-to-navigate collection of templates provided by University Communications and Marketing. The library includes familiar assets such as electronic letterhead and Zoom backgrounds, as well as 50+ new templates organized by category: Advertisements, Event Materials, Marketing Collateral, Documents and Credentials, Posters, Presentations, Social Media, and Video Assets. Templates are available across multiple platforms, including Adobe, Microsoft, and Canva.

The library will continue to evolve and expand over time. Visit the Guidelines or FAQ for tips on using the templates, or submit feedback to share your experience or suggest new designs.

A few things to note:

• The use of these templates is purely optional. If you already have your own templates that work well, you are welcome to keep using them as long as they adhere to the Rutgers visual identity policy and guidelines.
• The templates have Rutgers logos as placeholders, but you’ll want to replace it with the Rutgers University Libraries logo in most cases.

If you have any questions about using the templates, please contact Lara De Meo Hoyt, director of communications and marketing for Rutgers University Libraries, at lara.hoyt@rutgers.edu.

Rutgers University Libraries recently welcomed Keena Arbuthnot, the new executive vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer for Rutgers, for a tour of several locations across Rutgers University–Camden, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Rutgers University–Newark, and Rutgers Health. These visits were covered in Rutgers University Libraries social media posts during the week of December 1:

• Rutgers–Newark: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn
• Rutgers–Camden: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn
• Rutgers–New Brunswick: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn

The University Librarian’s Symposium Series launched in November with an inaugural program addressing the theme for the 2025–2026 academic year: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education. Posts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook provided a brief synopsis and photos from the event. The full symposium recording will be shared soon!

This video, produced by the Office of Student Orientation and Transition Programs, a part of Rutgers–New Brunswick Student Affairs, provided a student-centered overview of Douglass Library just before the start of finals.

Two student publications recently featured the Libraries. The Daily Targum (Rutgers–New Brunswick) covered the InfoViz exhibition by students in the School of Communication and Information at Alexander Library. The Gleaner (Rutgers–Camden) wrote about Robeson Library’s research resources and assistance for students.

Melissa De Fino, special collections and formats technical services librarian, and Mary Beth Weber, coordinator for training and mentorship, co-edited the book Library Technical Services: Future Forward (Bloomsbury Publishing, November 2025). Sungmin Park, resource description librarian, authored a chapter on resource description.

Weber also was invited by Associate Professor Keren Dali to speak on a panel for her introductory management course in the Department of Information Sciences at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., on Friday, November 7. The course covers the management process and functions as applied to all types of libraries, archives, media, and information centers.

Becky Diamond, business instruction librarian at James Dickson Carr Library, also is a food writer and historian. She has made several TV news appearances regarding her most recent book, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America’s Golden Era. A Q&A with Diamond (including a recipe from the book) was published in Rutgers Today on December 17.

Regina Koury, associate university librarian for Rutgers University–Camden, and Ann Marie Latini, head of access services for Paul Robeson Library, presented at the ALA CORE Conference on November 14. Their session, “Access Services Restructuring: Reorganizing Access Services Using the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Access Services Librarianship,” highlighted how they reorganized Robeson Library’s Access Services department using the ACRL Framework, emphasizing practices that enhance and support the mission of both the Libraries and the university.

Ermira Mitre, a library technician at Smith Library, had some of her poems and a short story titled “Sentimental Antiquities” accepted for publication by the Canada-based Asemana Magazine. This creative work is expected to be published in the upcoming issue in 2026. The poetry and prose reflect Mitre’s continued dedication to writing, revision, and creative exploration across themes of memory, cultural identity, belonging, resilience, and the quiet moments that shape our human experience.

Mitre also participated in a recent online Brownstone Poets event and read one of her poems during the open mic. The video of her poetry reading is available on YouTube.

Elizabeth York, electronic resources and interim discovery librarian, gave a presentation, “Exploring Interfaces in Alma Electronic Collections” on October 15 at Ex Libris Northeast Users Group (ENUG) Conference 2025, hosted at Brandeis University. In addition, she gave an invited panel presentation, “SUSHI Struggles & Solutions: Monthly SUSHI Harvest Review” on December 5 as part of the SUSHI Struggles panel at Pet Projects: Ex Libris Southcentral Users Group (ELSUG) Virtual Conference 2025.

York also was recently quoted in Clarivate’s whitepaper, “Seizing opportunities: Academic libraries in the AI era,” on appropriate uses of AI: “”We have to remember AI is not a toy and we shouldn’t just be using it just to plug stuff in and see what happens. We should be careful to use it for real applications that will have real benefits and not to treat it casually.” The whitepaper also describes how she contributed to the development of Ex Libris’s AI Metadata Assistant as part of the group of Rutgers library personnel who served as testing partners.

Data Visualization Championship for Love Data Week

For the first time, Rutgers is participating in the Big Ten’s Data Visualization Championship for Love Data Week 2026! Rutgers students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to submit entries. Rutgers University Libraries are partnering with OIT, Enterprise Analytics, and IDRIS to hold a data visualization contest, and the winner will move on to represent Rutgers and compete against entries from other Big Ten institutions!

Go to the Rutgers Data Viz Championship website for links to the student dataset and submission form. More information about the contest guidelines, including a scoring rubric, is available on the website.

The submission form is open now and will close on January 21, 2026. Winners will be announced during Love Data Week, February 9-13, 2026. The Rutgers first place student winner will receive a Lego Mosaic Maker set, and two runners up will get Rutgers merch! All prizes are being provided by Rutgers University Libraries, and the BTAA grand prize winner will receive $400.

 

Open and Affordable Textbooks Program Update

The Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Team welcomes two new members this year. Tajah Ebram joins as a team liaison for Rutgers–New Brunswick, and Rich Jutkiewicz joins as a team liaison for Rutgers Health (Newark). They join Matt Bridgeman, Abbey DiPaolo, Naomi Gold, Lara De Meo Hoyt, Rhonda Marker, Amanda Presler, Lily Todorinova, and Zara Wilkinson. Paige Morgan is the liaison to LLT for the OAT Team.

Applications for the next cycle of OAT awards will open in January 2026. Libraries employees were invited to participate in the evaluation process, which will require approximately five hours per week for a week in March and a week in April, plus a mandatory training session in early February. Antonio Barrera, Maria Deptula, Ann Marie Latini, John Powell, Alfreda Richardson, Quionne Scott, and Victoria Wagner will serve in this capacity. Non-Libraries faculty and students will round out the OAT reviewer ranks. The OAT Team is grateful for the generosity of all who are contributing their time and expertise to ensure the success of the OAT Program.

Raymond (Ray) Balter, library assistant II in Access Services at Douglass Library, is retiring effective January 1, 2026. His first day at Rutgers was July 16, 2001, when he started in University Mail and Document Services. He joined Rutgers University Libraries in March 2003 with a full-time position at the SERC Reading Room, and since then, he has worked in a variety of roles within the Libraries. Since July 2003, he has been based at Douglass Library within Access Services. At Douglass, he has worked in multiple roles over the years, including resource sharing, student employee management, and collection management. His last full day in the library was December 3.

Renee Clark’s retirement, which is also effective January 1, was mentioned in the previous issue.

Sara Gonzalez resigned from her position as library technician I, Interlibrary Loan Services, at Smith Library. Her last day was December 6. She has taken on a new role as electronic resources and reference librarian at Marymount Manhattan College.

Diane Biunno, metadata archivist at the Institute of Jazz Studies, and Tara Kelley, audiovisual archivist for Special Collections and University Archives, are among the organizers of the New Jersey Archival Film Festival, which takes place Saturday, November 1, at Monmouth University. 

Becky Libourel Diamond, business instruction librarian at James Dickson Carr Library, published The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America’s Golden Era (Lyons Press, September 2025). 

Bart Everts, reference and instruction librarian at Paul Robeson Library, wrote the essay “Admiral Wilson Boulevard” in the book The Greater Philadelphia Region (from the Greater Philadelphia series) (October 2025, Penn Press). Everts also was quoted in a WHYY story on the significance of preserving the Peter Mott House. The site once was a stop on the Underground Railroad and now serves the public as a museum. 

Ermira Mitre, a library technician at Smith Library, is also a poet, essayist, and translator. Recently, she translated a short story, “The Boundless View,” from her native language, Albanian, into English. The translation was published by the National Translation Month newsletter. In addition, her poem “SILENCED” has been included in the Brownstone Poets Anthology 2025, published in Brooklyn, New York. 

Tony Nguyen, associate university librarian, Rutgers Health, coathored The Librarian’s Grants Handbook: Understanding the Grant Process from Start to Finish (Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2026), which is now available for preorder. 

Mary Beth Weber, coordinator for training and mentorship, was appointed editor-in-chief of Technical Services Quarterly, a peer-reviewed library science journal published by Taylor and Francis. She also copresented with children’s book author Mona Kerby as part of Edi and Neal’s Book Club, a monthly professional development initiative produced by ALA Editions that facilitates a dialogue between authors and working librarians. Their presentation, “Collection Development Tips for All Librarians,” was arranged to promote Weber’s recently co-authored book, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, 5th edition (ALA Editions, 2025). 

UK Jazz News covered a special Rutgers alumni event in London spotlighting the Institute of Jazz Studies, including an exhibit of items from IJS collections.

This Banned Books Weeks roundup by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) includes content from the Books We Read Blog, John Cotton Dana Library, and Paul Robeson Library. 

ARL’s Open Access Week roundup features all the events that were hosted by Rutgers University Libraries.  

This feature on our the Libraries’ major expansion of ProQuest offerings appeared in Rutgers Today (Around the University) on Wednesday, October 15. 

The #RUArchives50th social media campaign, which has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University Archives all year, continued with this #WorldFarmDay post and this Homecoming post. 

The completion of the 24/7 Pickup Lockers was promoted on all four social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X), and the Instagram post was linked in the Rutgers Today newsletter (Around the University) on Tuesday, September 16. 

Robeson Library participated in Archives Month Philly, with two exhibits running the entire month of October:  

• Highlights of Camden Special Collections: This exhibit showcases select items from the Camden campus archives, spanning the near century of campus history, curated by Bart Everts, acting history and Camden special collections librarian.  

• Whose Story? Narratives of Philadelphia History A collaboration with Rutgers Camden’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH),  this exhibit examines how traditional narratives (such as Philadelphia as the birthplace of American liberty and democracy) came to be, the development of organizations dedicated to preserving and telling Philadelphia history, and the stories that have been challenged, censored, expanded and debated. Curated by MARCH’s Isabel Steven with John Powell, reference and instruction librarian at Robeson Library. 

Renee Clark, a library technician in Interlibrary Loan Services, a part of Collections and Digital Strategies, is retiring from the Libraries. Her last full day will be November 4. She started her career at Rutgers on August 27, 1979, in the Library of Science and Medicine, and has since worked in a variety of roles within the Libraries. Since 2016, Renee has been based in TSB, where she has helped with tattletaping, stamping, packing, and shipping material from TSB to other Rutgers University Libraries locations: key parts of getting material into our patrons’ hands.

Raymon-Arthur George, lead library utility worker in Shipping and Receiving, became a regular full-time employee of Rutgers University Libraries on August 13. Previously, he has been a temporary employee.

Information Technology Services (ITS) is the new name for the unit previously known as Integrated Information Systems (IIS). Part of our ongoing reorganizational efforts, this change reflects a fresh start and more accurately represents the scope and mission of the unit. As ITS, the team will continue to provide robust technology solutions and support, while aligning more closely with our strategic goals and the evolving needs of our organization. As a reminder, members of the ITS unit include Kalivani Ananthan, Jonas Desir, Anna Huang, John Gibson, Albert Lee, Mary O’Mara, Tracey Meyer, Andrew Ruggiero, Chris Singh, Ed Smith, and Christopher Sterback.

Where should you store your work-related files? The answer is: it depends. Kalaivani Ananthan, manager, Information Technology, breaks it down in this article.

Survey tools: Qualtrics has significantly changed the terms of Rutgers’ license, resulting in the potential for a considerable increase in costs to the university. While Qualtrics is an important tool for Rutgers research and data collection, there are other simple survey tools that are available at no cost to the university. Microsoft Forms is appropriate for event registration and RSVPs, polls, questionnaires, and surveys that don’t require in-depth analysis or large-scale deployment. If you are planning a survey and believe that Qualtrics is the best platform to use, please first consult with central information technology support for guidance.

Mandatory training deadline: The executive vice president for academic affairs (EVPAA) sent an email on September 19 to announce an internal deadline of November 1, 2025, for completion of a mandatory ethics training module. To begin this ethics training, navigate to the RU Learning platform at https://rulearning.rutgers.edu and log in with your NetID and password. If prompted to enter a username, please enter your credentials beginning with your Net ID (do not include any extensions in your email address; use only the format [NetID]@rutgers.edu), which will direct you to the single sign-on page. Completion of this training is mandatory for all faculty and staff and should take approximately 30 minutes. Note: New employees are required to complete the training within 30-days of their start date and will be assigned the training automatically with the appropriate due date.

Revised guidelines for filming and photographing in library facilities include an important photo release notice, new sections on graduation photography requests, and clauses intended to protect the Libraries regarding responsibility for damage to library property and adherence to library staff instructions. All Libraries personnel should familiarize themselves with these new guidelines.

The Staff Advisory Committee (SAC) is still in need of members for the Governance Committee. This committee plays a key role in SAC’s leadership structure, ensuring the work stays aligned and effective. The work commitment is minimal, usually less than an hour per month, and in some months, no meeting is necessary. Staff members who are interested or have questions should contact Tracey Meyer. The SAC will hold a town hall on November 6, for which staff members should have received an invitation on 10/14/2025.

Nice to know:

The Busch Faculty Dining Lounge for Rutgers faculty and staff reopened (after a long closure during COVID) on September 8. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The address is 608 Bartholomew Road, Piscataway (Busch Dining Hall). If you enter Lot 59 in Piscataway into Google Maps, that is the appropriate faculty/staff parking lot closest to the entrance. Items are à la carte, and reservations are not needed (with the exception of upcoming Thanksgiving and holiday buffet events).