An Important Message for Faculty and Staff from the Center on Violence against Women and Children
Better Late than Never?
Stephanie Bartz reports on an amusing development: “We recently received a piece of mail for Donald F. Cameron. In case you don’t know, we have the Donald F. Cameron Reference Reading Room at Alexander, so his portrait is on the wall. Cameron was once the University Librarian. He retired in 1966. Just goes to show that mailing lists never die. Once you’re on one, your name has been recorded for posterity!”
Mina Ghajar.
Kudos for Mina
Congratulations are in order for Mina Ghajar, who received an acknowledgment in one of her nutrition students’ recently published articles, “Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Efforts through A Life Course Health Development Perspective: A Scoping Review.” You can read the article and view the acknowledgment here. Way to go, Mina!
Movers and shakers around the Libraries, July 1980.
Play ball!
RULSA is sponsoring a baseball trip on Sunday, July 20 for the Yankees vs. Kansas City game. The cost of the trip ($13.00 for RULSA members and their families, $13.50 for non-members and their families) will include the bus trip and box seats. The bus will leave the Alexander Library at 11:45 a.m. You may purchase your tickets form Eileen Barron, Douglass Library, extension 9411. The deadline for full payment is Thursday, July 10.
The Agenda 2, no. 27 (July 7, 1980)
Database Searching… Online!
Upon the request of the University Librarian Hendrik Edelman, Pat Piermatti convened a meeting of the Ad Hoc Group for Online Database Searching to discuss the issues involved in providing system-wide online database searching, heretofore offered by LSM and the Camden Law
Library alone….
Evelyn Greenberg presented Alexander Library’s proposal for the provision of online services beginning September 2, 1980. Initially Lockheed Information Systems DIALOG will be accessed for its social sciences and humanities databases. The fee structure and publicity materials must still be decided upon. Debbie Ludwig reviewed the Dana Library Task Force Preliminary Report for the Provision of Online Searching. Dana anticipates the commencement of their online service sometime after January 1, 1981. Debbie will have responsibility for the science databases, while Christine Demidowich will be responsible for the social sciences and humanities databases. The Bibliographic Retrieval Service and DIALOG will be the first two systems accessed.
The Institute for Research Design in Librarianship is an IMLS-funded program “designed to bring together a diverse group of academic and research librarians who are motivated and enthusiastic about conducting research but need additional training and/or other support to perform the steps successfully.”
The institute started in 2014. My cohort (2019) is the last IMLS-funded year, but the creators will continue the project using a paid model in the future. Our cohort included 23 librarians from colleges and universities all over the country. Our interests, experiences, and areas of librarianship were varied.
The 2019 cohort kicked things off in June with a one-week research boot camp at Loyola Marymount University. In seven days, we received research instruction from Dr. Lili Luo and Dr. Greg Guest, as well as individual consultations with our instructors and the IRDL creators, Kris Brancolini and Marie Kennedy. We also relied on each other to get “fresh eyes” on our projects and to commiserate when our projects seemed bigger than we could handle!
After that first week, our cohort will continue working with Kris, Marie, and a research mentor (a previous IRDL scholar) throughout the coming academic year. We each committed to completing our research projects in that time. To stay on track, we have periodic check-ins with each other to update everyone on progress, ask questions, and get support. We also work with our mentors monthly to review our work and get feedback. Our cohort also created a Slack group for talking about the different research methods we are using and coordinating future meetups.
The boot camp covered sampling techniques, proper statistical measures, and strategies for doing qualitative analysis. This was especially useful because after we learned something in class, we could request a consultation with one of the instructors to see how we could best apply a technique to our research project. I found this incredibly helpful when considering what statistical tests I should use for my study. The goal of my project is to determine the effectiveness of augmented reality on students’ perception of the library and librarians when used as part of an orientation for incoming first-year students. I’ll be comparing pre and post-orientation questionnaires from a group of students taking an augmented reality orientation and a group participating in a traditional orientation.
IRDL has already had a major impact on my research design. The proposal I submitted to the Institute in January is much different from the one I will be submitting in July. My methodology, sampling technique, and survey instruments underwent a complete overhaul in the week I spent at the institute. My confidence as a researcher has also increased and I feel more comfortable making decisions about what and how I will research as a practicing librarian.
I’m looking forward to the coming year when I’ll be completing my research project and working closely with my cohort and mentor. One aspect of IRDL which the directors continually emphasize is that our fellow scholars are part of our lifelong research network. We can ask questions of each other, collaborate, generate ideas, and rely on each other for support as we research throughout our careers. This kind of support, along with the knowledge I gained at the institute, has been transformative by making me feel more confident in asking questions and making decisions.
The Chang Science Library hosted exciting events in the Spring ’19 semester. Partnering with University Career Services (UCS) for the current academic year, the library replaced Martin Hall as a location for the popular Career Meet-Ups and weekly Drop-in Resume Critique Hours on the Cook campus in both semesters. Students were lining up in front of the newly minted Chang Consultation Room Tuesday afternoons to benefit from experienced career development specialist Larry Jacobs, who represents the UCS Food & Agriculture and Environmental & Natural Resources Career Cluster.
A remarkable poster exhibit evolved from a new partnership between the NBL SEBS Team and the SEBS Office of Academic Programs, which had started with an experiment to include a library component in the course Academic Mentoring in the fall semester. In April, undergraduate students of another course, Portals to Academic Success, visited the library to take pride in their work submitted during the library session of their class. Dubbed Books We Read, the assignment called for finding their favorite book in QuickSearch and, based on templates provided by the librarian-instructor, creating a poster with basic bibliographic information and availability at the Libraries. Complemented with images and quotes from the book or by other authors (and proper credits), over 100 small posters are now on display in the Chang Science Library.
Striving to balance schoolwork and pleasure, the library also hosted fun events. Indicating another strong partnership on campus started in 2018, Chang was chosen as one of the locations (with RUL goodies) for the Cook Campus Easter Egg Hunt hosted by the SEBS International Office, which added some diversion from the special SEBS international orientations and workshops held earlier.
A new partner in the spring semester, the SEBS Governing Council brought new excitement to the library. As only a few people signed up in advance, the Open Mic and Rutgers Roast event seemed to get a bumpy start, but turned out to be a huge success. A talented student opened it with his hilarious stand-up comedy routine, roasting Rutgers only mildly. It was followed by a poem recital and some personal stories from the audience, which put everyone at ease. Two undergrads ran Vine prompts, which encouraged participation from everyone, even if some, admittedly, felt suddenly old! Photos can attest that the 25+ attendees had a fantastic time and the idea may have some followers in other libraries in the future.
These events are examples of an attempt at Chang to meet students’ needs and wishes discovered by undergraduates of the course Social and Cultural Aspects of Design in Spring ’18. Taught by Laura Lawson, professor and dean, and Holly Nelson, associate professor of practice, the semester-long class assignment assessed and redesigned the Chang Science Library. Students’ data collection and analyses suggest that students would like libraries to become a place that provides educational, entertaining, and competitive events and opportunities for them during their studies.
Mary Beth Fecko, Technical and Automated Services, has written Cataloging Nonbook Resources: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians.
Cataloging is the starting point for access to nonbook materials, especially important for media which cannot be browsed in the manner of books. Cataloging Nonbook Resources offers the cataloger guidance and practice with nonbook materials. It covers the major formats: visual materials, sound recordings, maps, computer files, kits, and electronic resources. The text is meant to be used in conjunction with AACR2R. Each chapter includes examples of bibliographic records, examples of MARC tagging for various formats, and AACR2R rules for MARC tagged records along with Library of Congress Rule interpretations. This manual brings catalogers up to speed on “nontraditional” formats.
Congratulations, Mary Beth!
The Agenda 15, no. 9 (May 2, 1993)
Holdings and Pieces
The System and Database Management Department is scheduled for a major upgrade at the end of the summer. Because of the high interest in the upgrade the plans are as follows:
Holdings and Pieces Management is coming soon to our IRIS catalog. Why, you may ask, is Holdings and Pieces necessary? How will it affect our daily operations, and is the transition worth it?
Holdings and Pieces is Geac’s name for the software they developed to streamline management of individual items in the system, while retaining summary information. In this context, holdings refers to summary holdings, and pieces refers to the individual items.
Currently holdings information is kept in two separate sets of files: those for circulation and those for BPS. In the OPAC, information is drawn from both of these components. Holdings and Pieces Management (HPM) will integrate information that is now kept in separate files. For example, from either Circ or BPS, you will be able to determine circulation status and the date an item was added to the system. Staff will be able to change information in either function and will be able to record item-level notes.
The Agenda 15, no. 9 (May 2, 1993)
A Bit of Trivia
Patrons recalled 5,430 books from September to December, 1992. On average that’s 45 recalls placed per day!
The Agenda 15, no. 9 (May 2, 1993)
Phone-a-Friend
A special thank you is extended to all the volunteers from the library community who participated in the Annual Giving Phonothons for ’92 – ’93. By your volunteering to call alumni and parents you have helped to ensure the libraries continued growth as an intellectual resource for our Rutgers students.
An architectural rendering of the exterior addition.
These are exciting times for Dana Library. Last month, we began a series of renovations that will address the highest priorities for improving the library that were identified through the Rutgers University–Newark strategic planning process several years ago. The changes will make the library more user friendly in numerous ways, including finally fitting out the third floor, which has been shell space since the construction of that wing decades ago.
The results of this project involve enhancements that will create new study and learning spaces for students, facilitate ease of access to the collections and departments within, and the construction of a new center to support teaching faculty:
Construction on the library began in March and is scheduled to be completed in April 2020.
An addition to the library is being built to better facilitate the flow of traffic to all five floors of the building. A larger stairwell and high-capacity, high-speed elevator are being installed to allow for large groups of people to move up and down the stairwell with ease, as well as shorten elevator wait time and accommodate more people.
The centerpiece of this project is the construction that will take place on the third floor. This includes additional quiet study space for our students and the new P3 Collaboratory for Pedagogy, Professional Development, and Publicly-Engaged Scholarship at Rutgers University–Newark. This open study space will provide an additional 60+ seats, along with numerous conveniently located outlets for devices.
This construction will also allow us to enhance our archives spaces and services. A space will be created to house the new Dana Archives departments providing our local university archives collections with a formal home. The Dana Archives and IJS will share the newly created reading room that will accommodate a larger number of classes and independent researchers at one time.
This is topped off by an iconic architectural feature on the plaza side of the building that will serve as a beacon to campus visitors, students, faculty, and staff alike.
Construction has already begun and is scheduled to be completed in April 2020. I’ll plan to deliver updates from time to time in the Agenda, but if you want the latest information as it’s available, head over to the Dana Library Transformation Project blog, where we post updates at least once a week after our meetings (and don’t forget to sign up for the email list to receive alerts when new posts are published).
Thank you for following along on this journey toward the future of Dana Library!
This month we take a look at what the new year brought to the Libraries in 1981.
Movin’ on Up
A recent Association of Research Libraries report by Kendon Stubbs entitled “The ARL Library Index and Quantitative Relationships in the ARL” provided some indication of the relative standing of the Rutgers University Library system in this illustrious group. In 1978-79, based on volumes held, volumes added, microforms, serials, materials expenditures, Rutgers ranked nineteenth out of 98 institutions. It ranked higher than Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, MIT, and a number of other outstanding institutions.
The Agenda 3, no. 1 (January 5, 1981)
That’s a Lot of Math
The final recommendations of the committee for parking lot 34 (rear of Alexander Library) have been accepted and will be implemented in calendar year 1981. The committee consisted of four members: Don Luck of Technical Services, chairman; Jean Koyen of Alexander Library; Donald King of the Library School; and Michael Farley of the Library Administration. The recommendations of the committee are as follows:
The parking lot will be redesigned to accommodate five additional parking slots….
As lot spaces become available the following formula will be used to assign vacant positions. A point system will be established based on the following: Total points equal salary range plus years of service, plus five points for a subcompact/compact car plus ten points for each Alexander area employee carried in a car pooling arrangement. For example, if Jane Smith is a Range 10, has a subcompact car, carries one passenger who works for the library system at Alexander, and Jane has worked for the system for six years, she will accrue a total of 31 points.
She will be ranked along with all others who have applied for a sticker and the stickers will be assigned according to those with the highest total points.
The Agenda 3, no. 1 (January 5, 1981)
Get Oriented!
The Staff Development committee is sponsoring an all day orientation for new employees on January 16, 1981. Hendrik Edelman and other library administrators and staff will welcome new employees and introduce them to various aspects of the University Libraries. The orientation will be held in the New Jersey Room beginning at 9:30 a.m. Employees hired since January 1, 1980 are invited to attend. Bring a brown bag lunch. Coffee and dessert will be provided.
The Agenda 3, no. 2 (January 12, 1981)
That’s a Lot of Interests
Map of Libraries Special Interest Groups, 1981
The Agenda 3, no. 3 (January 19, 1981)
Calling All Bibliomaniacs
The auctioneer’s gavel will signal the start of “Bibliomania ’81,” the first annual fund raising event sponsored by the Friends of the Libraries. Scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 at Records Hall on the College Avenue Campus, the auction will feature fine collectible items; antiques, coins, stamps, books, works of art, maps, and rare wines, as well as other quality items and services.
It may be hard to believe, but November 1998 was two whole decades ago! What was happening around the Libraries?
Dana Puts High Schoolers Online
16 Newark Central High School students… participated in an innovative computer-usage-training program conducted last year by Dana Library and Rutgers-Newark’s Institute for Outreach and Research in Urban Education. This program was conceived by Dana Library Director Lynn S. Mullins and Professor Jean Anyon of the Institute.
[T]hey learned about navigating the internet, searching government and university websites, finding websites on research topics, and using the networked indexes available at the Rutgers University Libraries…
After the semester long course was completed, the Rutgers-Newark Teaching Excellence Center was asked to evaluate the program’s effectiveness. The center’s director, Ken Kressel conducted focus group sessions with the 16 students and four Central H.S. faculty members and reported afterwards that “This program received the most collective and heartfelt endorsements of any instructional activity I have studied in nearly four years of doing focus groups at Rutgers.”
The Agenda 20, no. 22 (November 1, 1998)
Let’s See Some ID
The RUconnection Card Office is ready to start issuing the new photo ID card for regular library faculty and library graduate assistants on the New Brunswick campuses starting November 23 through December 11. If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Troy.
The Agenda 20, no. 23 (November 15, 1998)
Live to Serve… and to Instruct
Learning and instruction take a myriad of forms in the Rutgers University Libraries of the 1990’s, from traditional to technological, from distance learning to digital.
The Instructional Services Committee (ISC), composed of instruction coordinators and/or librarians skilled in instruction or instructional technology, was formed last month to keep track of the range of instructional offerings at RUL, and help develop new opportunities.
Members of the committee are: Jeris Cassel, Helen Hoffman, Kevin Mulcahy, Ann Scholz-Crane, Julie Still, Thelma Tate, Bobbi [sic] Tipton, and Irwin Weintraub.
Participants in this program, from the School of Arts and Sciences’ Students in Transition Seminar, were walked through a series of library related activities including five minutes of copyright, playing a memory game to learn about Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA), making a button to learn more about copyright and SCUA, playing a game to learn about what is available for check out at the circulation desk, how to find an article and a PDF, and more. Over 160 transfer students participated in this project and 105 assessment surveys were collected.
From a quick analysis of the assessment spreadsheet, each activity was mentioned more than once as a positive experience. Many students enjoyed button making, copyright, finding a PDF, and the unique items found in SCUA. Many students liked the overall feel of this interactive experience. Also, it was noted multiple times that many students’ favorite aspect of the library was the people who work there. Last but not least, many students—including the passport stamper from the STS program—expressed during the event that the library event was the best so far and many participants thanked us for the opportunity to learn while having fun.
Storing and preserving digital content continues to be a significant expectation of libraries and cultural centers around the country. To better understand these needs, as well to see what digital archivists around the country are doing to meet this challenge, the Library of Congress holds an annual meeting called “Designing Storage Architectures for Digital Collections.” The DSA meeting brings together technical and industry experts, IT and subject matter experts, government specialists with an interest in preservation, decision-makers from a wide range of organizations with digital preservation requirements, and recognized authorities and practitioners of digital preservation. The meeting is by invitation only, and for the past two years Rutgers has been invited to take part in the conversation. The most recent meeting was held on September 17 and 18.
The first thing glaringly clear from our discussions was the increasing need for digital storage across all of our peers. From the few terabytes of data that Rutgers Libraries store in our repository, to the dozen or so petabytes stored by the Library of Congress, our digital collections continue to grow, and the demands for storage increase. This is driven by an increasing appetite for digital data from our patrons, but is also the effect of researchers and artists having greater access to digital authoring tools. We are now in the age where smartphones and tablets already in the hands of our user base can capture images, documents, and video in stunning quality—but with a cost in terms of larger file sizes.
To meet this challenge, storage makers continue in the short term to refine the technologies we are already familiar with. Reasonably-priced tablets and laptops are now shipping with solid state drives reaching a terabyte in capacity. Fourteen-TB traditional hard drives are now hitting the market. And for long-term backups, tape continues to rule, with 30TB tape cartridges costing about $200 each. At the institutional level, libraries are beginning to cooperate and pool resources to distribute their storage needs across multiple datacenters, for redundancy and additional capacity.
The not-too-distant future holds some different approaches, as well. In particular, research is ongoing to move beyond hard drives and tapes, and to begin storing data at the molecular level, using polymer chains. Even DNA sequencing is showing significant promise as a long-term method for archiving and preserving data.
It may be hard to believe, but November 1998 was two whole decades ago! What was happening around the Libraries?
Storing and preserving digital content continues to be a significant expectation of libraries and cultural centers around the country. To better understand these needs, as well to see what digital archivists around the country are doing to meet this challenge, the Library of Congress holds an annual meeting called “Designing Storage Architectures for Digital Collections.” The DSA meeting brings together technical and industry experts, IT and subject matter experts, government specialists with an interest in preservation, decision-makers from a wide range of organizations with digital preservation requirements, and recognized authorities and practitioners of digital preservation. The meeting is by invitation only, and for the past two years Rutgers has been invited to take part in the conversation. The most recent meeting was held on September 17 and 18.