The Agenda - Faculty and Staff Newsletter

Category: Articles

  • Special Collections Open House

    You’re invited to an open house at

    Special Collections and University Archives

    Thursday, January 9

    1 – 4 PM

    Alexander Library

    Featuring snacks, demonstrations, and tours.

    RSVP

    Sign up for a tour of our galleries and vast storage areas

  • SAPAC Schedule 2020

    Join the Scholarly and Professional Activities Committee for these upcoming talks.

    Lies, Damned lies, and…What LibQual+ 2019 and other statistics mean to me

    Thursday, January 16, Noon-1:00 pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library, New Brunswick
    Grace Agnew, Special Advisor for Strategic Initiatives and Analytics

    So we did this survey in April, 2019.  But what does it mean for me?  Will anything change?  Does anything need to change?  Why do we collect numbers, anyway?  Grace Agnew will highlight the findings of the 2019 LibQual+ statistics, with specific emphasis on individual user groups and libraries, as well as other statistics we are collecting to get a handle on how we are doing with services and collections.  Much of the time will be discussion, as attendees share what they think the statistics mean, based on their observations when working with users.

    Learning from the Smithsonian: Reflections of a Museum Studies Fellow

    Thursday, February 13, Noon-1:00 pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library, New Brunswick
    Kayo Denda, Librarian for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Douglass Library

    The presentation will be based on my 4 week-stay in Washington D.C., during summer ’19 as a museum studies fellow affiliated with the Smithsonian, Center for Learning and Digital Access. I will provide an insider’s view of the nation’s leading historical institution, its uniqueness and its challenges as they forge their future. The presentation will highlight select Smithsonian projects and tools, such as the Learning Lab platform, with great potential for the library community.

    Ithaka S+R Research study

    Wednesday, March 26, Noon-1:00 pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library, New Brunswick
    Triveni Kuchi, Social Sciences/Instructional Services Librarian and Faculty & Graduate Services Coordinator, NBL
    Jim Niessen, World History librarian, NBL
    Jon Sauceda, Music/Performing Arts librarian and interim liaison to Spanish, Portuguese, Latinx, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, NBL

    We examine the research practices of faculty in a particular field, namely language and literatures, to identify what resources and services scholars currently use and wish they had access to at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. This research was part of a study coordinated by Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research and consulting organization, working in conjunction with the Modern Language Association (MLA). In this presentation we would like to share our findings and recommendations.

    The Nick Virgilio Papers

    Monday, April 20, Noon-1:00 pm, Conference Room 290, Robeson Library, Camden (with Webex to remote locations)
    Julie Still, Reference Librarian/Collection Development Coordinator, Robeson Library

    The Nick Virgilio Haiku Archives arrived at Rutgers (and later at the Robeson Library) in several copier paper boxes over a decade ago. In January the Rutgers University Libraries released the fully searchable database of these poems. The process of getting from Point A to Point B is long and convoluted, full of fits and starts. This presentation will focus not just on the technical nuts and bolts, but also on the human element involved, and what consideration might be due those whose name is invoked in someone else’s work.

    Understanding Open Access Trends in Business Schools: A Bibliometric Analysis of Open Access Faculty Publications in Accounting Departments at Three Universities

    Monday, May 11, location TBA
    Jonathan Torres, Business Librarian, Dana Library

    Open access publications and journals continue to be an emerging trend in a variety of academic areas. Studies have indicated that open access journals offer a citation benefit. (Salisbury et.al, 2017) One of the many benefits of OA mentioned in previous studies states that, “advocates argue that OA will increase research efficacy as measured by citation counts and/or citation impact factor” (Atchison and Bull, 2015, p.133). Further research highlights the fact that free access to literature has the potential to increase authorship and readership (Philip and Walter, 2011). Nonetheless, studies have indicated that a top priority for faculty is having their publications viewed by peers within the same field because that impacts their career. As a result, providing articles for open access to the public is secondary. Faculty perceptions of article and journal accessibility tends to vary based on disciplines.

    This presentation will examine the outcome using bibliometric analysis between (OA) open access and non-OA publications from the accounting departments of three business schools (University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Auburn University). These schools were selected based on the comparable sizes of the departments. The research will demonstrate faculty OA compared to non-OA publications and their relative scholarly impact and merits for the period 2013-2018.

    SAPAC 2019-2020 Committee Members:
    Janet Brennan Croft, Co-Chair
    Bart Howard Everts, Co-Chair
    Amy Kimura
    Laura Costello
    Fobazi Ettarh

  • OneDrive External Sharing

    Beginning on January 13, Rutgers Connect users will be able to share OneDrive files with collaborators outside of the university. Up to this point, external sharing was possible only between authenticated Rutgers Connect users.

    This feature works like sharing with internal Rutgers Connect users. Anyone with access to the shared link will be able to view and edit shared files or folders based on permissions specified by the owner. More information on sharing OneDrive files and folders can be found here.

    If you have any questions about OneDrive file sharing, please do not hesitate to contact IIS by phone at 848-445-5896, option 7, or by email at support@rulhelp.rutgers.edu.

  • Camden Area Libraries

    The Paul Robeson Library in Camden hosted an Oreo tasting and cookie exchange for libraries in the Camden area, on Tuesday, December 10.  We worked with the Rutgers–Camden Law Library and Nilsa Cruz-Perez branch of the Camden Public Library. About 20 people from four different library systems attended. We tasted Oreos, talked about Alma as well as current and upcoming outreach efforts, and how we might work together on various projects. Julie Still and John Powell developed a logo (CAL for Camden Area Libraries) and made buttons for the event. All in attendance, and some who were unable to attend, indicated an interest in similar future events.

  • Teaching and Learning: LibGuides

    Did you know that our LibGuides have been viewed over 240,000 times just in the fall 2019 semester? Keeping our LibGuides free of errors and up to date is an important part of our services at Rutgers University Libraries. With the help of some awesome student workers, we’ve made great progress in recent months to reduce the number of broken links from more than 4,600 to fewer than 1,800. As we move into the spring semester, now is a good time for LibGuide authors to make sure that your content is current and accurate! Taking the time to do some “spring cleaning” will make ongoing maintenance easier.

    Here are some suggestions to prepare your LibGuides for the start of the semester:

    LibGuide authors who have questions about LibGuides may contact Maria Breger at maria.breger@rutgers.edu

  • OAT Program Launches January 27

    The next cycle of the Open and Affordable Textbook Program will launch on January 27 and run through March 30, 2020. We’re excited to get started, but could use your help in spreading the word.

    How can you get involved?

    Thank you in advance for your help! We look forward to making this the best year yet. If you have any questions or suggestions about the OAT Program, please let me or your local team member know.

  • Looking Forward to 2020

    Welcome back! I hope you’re all feeling rested and rejuvenated from a well-deserved winter break.

    As I mentioned in my holiday email last month, I am so impressed by the amount of work we were able to accomplish last year. None of the achievements I chose to highlight was the result of a cookie-cutter project. Each of them required hard work, creative problem solving, and deep collaboration across the library system and with local campus partners. I know it isn’t always easy, but when these things come together, the impact is felt by students and faculty across the university. Thank you again for all your good work in 2019.

    As we turn our collective attention to 2020, I’d like to kick off the New Year by sharing some fantastic news. We have received our official FY21 budget awards and I am happy to report that we have received full support for salary increases and collection inflation, exceeding our expectations for funding in both these areas. Moreover, this funding is not representative of what was awarded to other cost pool units across the university. Simply put, this means that all our hard work is paying off. It’s a strong vote of confidence for the Libraries and the direction in which we’re headed, and I’m proud that we’ve received this recognition of our importance to Rutgers students and faculty.

    I’m glad that we will continue this momentum and hit the ground running this year with several impactful, large-scale projects. One such undertaking is the redesign of our website. While this project is still in its early stages, we have contracted with a vendor that will be performing the work. A web group is being convened to manage the project internally, establishing a timeline and benchmarks and communicating progress with the rest of our colleagues. The first step of the redesign is a discovery phase that includes surveying site visitors to learn more about their goals and experiences. This is another project that will draw on the expertise of many of us across the Libraries, and I look forward to following its progress as we continue to cater our services to meet the unique needs of our local communities.

    Another important project for us is Esploro. One of the priorities that arose from our last planning cycle was to implement an information management solution that will allow us to support the university’s open access policy in a sustainable manner, and Esploro represents a huge step toward meeting that goal. Esploro automates the management of research output—including capture and direct deposit—and helps streamline the process of depositing the results of scholarship into SOAR. It integrates directly with our library system and leverages one of the largest indexes of scholarly research available in order to ensure the broadest possible capture. Because it automatically harvests scholarly work done by Rutgers faculty, Esploro should give us a more comprehensive repository of Rutgers scholarship than we have with our current, purely manual deposit process. It will also help us better partner with the Office of Research & Economic Development by providing them with data on faculty output and productivity that can be used when pursuing research grants or steering potential industry partners toward relevant faculty experts. With projects like this, is it encouraging for me to see how the foundations we’ve laid over the last several years open up new possibilities for us moving forward. Adding a tool like Esploro builds on the work that groups like the Ex Libris Implementation Team have done in the past, and allows us to deliver value-added services that uplift the entire Rutgers community.

    Of course these are only a couple examples of the many exciting projects we have slated for 2020, but I hope they serve as compelling illustrations of all the progress we’re making. I look forward to another productive year ahead!

  • This Month in the Agenda – November 1990

    Hypercard Brown Bag Lunch, November 9, 1990
    Overdue Notice

    This note was recently received at Douglass Library accompanying a book that was overdue in 1963. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

    TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

    My malicious brother, John Doe, died recently and left us with a house full of books he had stolen from every library he ever lived near.

    The enclosed book appears to be yours. I am returning it with the hope it will still be of some value to you.

    On behalf of the entire family, I sincerely regret my brother’s action.

    Jane Doe

    The Agenda 12, no. 43 (November 4, 1990)

    Ruth on the Move

    On January 1, 1991, Ruth Simmons will begin a FASP leave and step down from her position of Director of Special Collections and Archives. At that time, she will become Senior Archivist and Curator of the Griffis Collection.

    The Agenda 12, no. 45 (November 25, 1990)

    Welcome!

    Personnel Changes – Staff

    Arrivals

    Natalie Delker, Library Assistant 3, LSM
    Dolores Evans, Secretarial Assistant II, Library Administration
    Helen Slim, Library Assistant 3, Camden Library
    Tracey Meyer, Library Supervisor III, TAS
    Joy Willinger, Senior Accounting Clerk, Library Administration

    The Agenda 12, no. 45 (November 25, 1990)

  • What’s Happening around Rutgers – November 2019

    “Top Girls” Theater Performance

    Friday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.
    Fine Arts Building, Walter K. Gordon Theater, Camden

    The Rutgers–Camden theater program presents Top Girls. Hilarious and haunting, Caryl Churchill’s feminist masterpiece set in Margaret Thatcher’s England is a wildly innovative play about a country divided by its own ambitions. Marlene has reached the pinnacle of success as the head of the Top Girls Employment Agency—but at what price? Purchase tickets. (Additional shows on Saturday and Sunday.)

    Philip Roth Lecture: Sean Wilentz

    Monday, November 4, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
    Newark Public Library, Newark

    This year’s lecturer is Princeton’s Sean Wilentz. Mr. Wilentz is the author of a wide range of books including The Rise of American Democracy, No Property in Man, Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding, and Bob Dylan in America.

    His lecture topic is American Slavery, American Anti-slavery. After retiring, Mr. Roth devoted most of his reading to the study of American history.

    Professor Wilentz was Roth’s guide, helping him to make book selections and engaging in discussions of the material.

    The event is free. Valet parking is available. Seating will be available on a first-come/first-served basis.

    RSVP here.

    Planetary Science Late Night

    Wednesday, November 6, 4:00–8:00 p.m.
    Rutgers Geology Museum, New Brunswick

    Visit us on Wednesday, November 6th, and learn about our Solar System and all of its planetary bodies! Demonstrations, arts and crafts and educational activities will be set up around the museum for this event and people are welcome to come and go as they please. We encourage all ages to come participate and learn something new! More information.

  • Quick Takes on Events and News – November 2019

    SWPACA Call for Papers

    Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 41st annual Southwest Popular/American Culture Association conference! One of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary academic conferences, SWPACA offers nearly 70 subject areas, each typically featuring multiple panels. The deadline has been extended to November 20. Visit the SWPACA website for more information.

    Dan Morgenstern Named IJS Executive Director Emeritus

    The Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) at Rutgers University–Newark has appointed Dan Morgenstern Executive Director Emeritus of IJS and has named a yearlong fellowship in his honor to celebrate his 90th birthday and significant contributions to jazz scholarship. Homage will continue in the spring with a symposium on Morgenstern’s life and legacy. Read all the details on the Rutgers–Newark news site.

    Electronic Music Ensemble of Wayne State

    On November 11 at Douglass Library, the Electronic Music Ensemble of Wayne State (EMEWS) will present live electronic music made for laptop orchestra, game controllers, smartphones, and drum machines. The event is part of the ensemble’s EMEWS to the East tour, and it is supported by New Music USA. This event is free and open to the public!

    Rutgers Football from the Vault Panel Discussion

    Rutgers University is well known as the birthplace of intercollegiate football. On November 18, 2019, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first football game with a panel of Rutgers historians. Thomas J. Frusciano was Rutgers University Archivist at Rutgers from 1989 to 2017 and the author of The Rutgers University Football Vault: History of the Scarlet Knights. Tom will provide an overview of Rutgers football history. Steve Greene is a 1979 graduate of Rutgers and the author of the forthcoming 1869 – American Football Kicks Off ! New Discoveries at the Birthplace of Intercollegiate Football. Finally, Stephen Dalina is a recent graduate of Rutgers University–Newark. Currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in world history at Rutgers, he will reflect on his experience co-curating the exhibition Rutgers Football from the Vault: Celebrating 150 Years with Interim University Archivist Erika Gorder. Visit the events calendar for more information.

    Digital Collection Spotlight: The Stedman Gallery

    The Stedman Gallery Collection features works from the Stedman Art Gallery, which was established in 1975 and is located in the Fine Arts Center at Rutgers University–Camden.

    The digital collection includes a variety of artworks ranging from chalk and charcoal drawings, to acrylic and oil paintings, to 19th-century Ukiyo-e, a type of Japanese woodblock print depicting Kabuki actors and other scenes from daily life. For more information, visit the digital collection portal or the Steadman Gallery website.

    Alumni Association Graduation Tour

    Know a graduating senior? Make sure you let them know about the Rutgers Alumni Association’s annual graduation trip! This year’s grad trip explores classic Europe, including England, France, Italy, the Vatican City, and Greece. Visit the Alumni Association’s website for more information.