The Agenda - Faculty and Staff Newsletter

Category: Units

  • University Librarian’s Report – January 2019

    Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you’ve had a restful winter break and are ready to tackle all the challenges of the upcoming semester.

    Though we are between terms and the activity on campus may have slowed a bit, this is actually a busy time in the Libraries’ planning cycle. The library directors have just completed progress reports on their 2018-2019 plans, adjusting them to reflect progress as well as any changes in their goals for the rest of the year. In addition, the Discovery Working Group, Web Improvement Team, and Virtual Reference Group have updated their annual plans. We have now received news about our 2020 budget, so we will have solid information as we move into the 2019-2021 planning cycle.

    We are also in Town Hall season. Last month the central units had a Town Hall, yesterday was Camden’s, later this week will be New Brunswick’s, and RBHS will hold theirs in February. This year, my Town Hall presentation has focused on our planning cycle. Although some of you have already seen the presentations, and others will soon, it is worth seeing a few times. Like all things Rutgers, the process is a bit complicated but the results are worth the effort. Here are the slides that I’ve been presenting:

    As you can see, the Libraries operate on a two-year planning cycle that is tied closely to the budget activities of the university overall. It’s a three-phase, iterative process that includes establishing local priorities, taking stock of central capacities to support those priorities, and looking ahead to solidify a plan and develop related budget requests. This helps us stay focused on our core services while maintaining the flexibility to respond to important new requests as they come in.

    Our priorities document for 2018-2020 has been added to our mission page and I invite you to read through to get a sense of where we’re headed in the months to come. And, if they haven’t already, your library director will soon be updating you on the local implications of the 2020 budget.

    I know that it seems like a lot to juggle all at once, but sound planning ensures that we continue to build on the momentum we’ve gained and can make the best choices on behalf of all our users. I look forward to seeing all we will accomplish together in 2019.

  • Dana Library and Institute of Jazz Studies Host Society of American Archivists Workshops

    workshop photo
    The SAA workshops provided free training on archival basics to non-professionals who work or volunteer at institutions that cannot afford to employ professional archivists.

    In November and December 2018, Dana Library and the Institute of Jazz Studies hosted a series of five workshops presented by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) via SAA’s “Lone Arranger” Section. The workshops provided free training on archival basics to non-professionals who work or volunteer at institutions that cannot afford to employ professional archivists. The overall goal was to help preserve and provide access to archival collections in New Jersey, hidden due to limited access to information on professional archival practice. Similar workshops were held across the state in Atlantic City, Trenton, and Chester, including one led by the Libraries’ Tara Maharjan. Special thanks to Adriana Cuervo for arranging for refreshments and to Mark Papianni for setting up the workshop space.

  • Planner and Teams in Connect

    The Office of Information Technology has enabled two new Office 365 apps, Planner and Teams, for all Rutgers Connect users. These tools will appear in your Outlook app launcher, aka “waffle.” They work best for users who are members of Office 365 Groups.

    Planner is an application for creating, assigning, and managing tasks. It is useful for collaborating among small groups.

    Teams is a chat-based workspace that integrates all the people, content, and tools that the team needs to be more engaged and effective. It is useful for communicating with team members through messages that require an instant response.

    Every group has its own needs and workstyle, so selecting the best tool is important. This article highlights some of the features available in Planner and Teams.

    plannerPlanner

    • Organize your work
    • Manage tasks
      • Assign user(s)
      • Set due dates
    • Collaborate
      • Communicate with group members
      • Attach project related files
    • Monitor progress
      • Use charts to view progress
      • Get email updates

    Teams

    • Communicate with your team
      • Email
      • Chat
    • Share files
      • Store all your files and docs in one place
    • Team OneNote
    • Audio/Video Meetings
      • On-demand
      • Scheduled
    • Integrate other apps

    Still not clear what is suitable for your group? Please submit a ticket in RULhelp and help will be on the way!

  • Ex Libris Implementation Project Update – January 2019

    quicksearch logoAs we move into spring semester, the Ex Libris Implementation Team is working towards optimizing our workflows and resolving remaining issues in the systems. We passed a major milestone in December with the end of our subscription to Symphony. Integrated Information Systems (IIS) has archived our data and will make it available on request. The Ex Libris Fulfillment Team has also transformed in the New Year and will continue in a new form as the Fulfillment Working Group, addressing central coordination for systems and processes for access services. The Ex Libris Implementation Team moved to a new schedule and will be meeting every other week during spring semester as we address the remaining implementation issues. Some other updates from our work include:

    Updates to QuickSearch

    We made several updates to QuickSearch in early January based on feedback from user testing and from system enhancements provided by Ex Libris. These updates include direct linking through Get it @ R, increased clarity in the display of some menus and options, and search improvements.

    Six-Month Health Check

    Megan Drake, a representative from Ex Libris, visited onsite in January to review workflows and address system issues. Representatives from each working group brought lingering problems for review and Megan suggested alternative strategies and optimizations that will help improve efficiency in Alma.

    Analytics Training for Selectors

    We held our first analytics training session for selectors on January 7. This active training session focused on learning the analytics platform and testing queries related to circulation and fund information. Future sessions are planned for 1–3 p.m. on January 17 and January 22 in New Brunswick and via WebEx and 9–11 a.m. on January 18 in Newark. Prior registration is not necessary, but if you have questions, please contact Laura Costello.

    Ex Libris Identity Service

    At the end of January, Ex Libris will debut an identity management service that will improve security for our barcode and password users. New security standards will ensure better privacy protection and users will be able to change their own password and retrieve a lost password via “My Account.” This update will not impact our users that authenticate via NetID.

  • This Month in the Agenda – January 1981

    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:

    1. The parking lot will be redesigned to accommodate five additional parking slots….
    2. 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.

    (Points)                (Range)                (Sub)                     (Pool)                    (years)
    (TP=                       10+                         5+                           10+                         6              = 31)

    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
    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.

    The Agenda 3, no. 4 (January 26, 1981)

  • Introducing Browzine

    Rutgers University Libraries are pleased to introduce BrowZine, a current awareness tool that allows users to find, read, and monitor the top scholarly journals in their field from almost any device.

    BrowZine improves discovery of current issues of academic journals and provides streamlined access to full-text via PC, tablet, or smartphone. It also offers useful personalization features so users can keep current with their favorite publications.

    BrowZine users can:

    • Browse thousands of top academic journals by subject, title or ISSN; review current tables of contents, and download full-text articles published since 2005
    • Follow and receive new article notifications for their favorite journals by creating a personal bookshelf
    • Save and export articles to services such as DropBox, Mendeley, RefWorks, EndNote, and Zotero

    Although it provides access to thousands of titles from major academic publishers, BrowZine does not include every journal available at Rutgers or cover issues published before 2005. It also does not include non-scholarly periodicals such as newspapers, magazines, and trade publications. Access to the Libraries’ complete periodical holdings is available via QuickSearch.

    For more information, see What is BrowZine?

  • Quick Takes on Events and News – November 2018

    Award-Winning Oral Historian to Speak at Clement’s Place

    Patricia Willard, recipient of the 2018 Jazz Journalists Association Lifetime Achievement Award, will talk about her experiences working on the Institute of Jazz Studies Jazz Oral History Project collection and other jazz oral histories on Monday, November 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Clement’s Place. One of the most prolific oral historians on the Jazz Oral History Project, Willard recorded 16 interviews with luminaries such as Juan Tizol, John Simmons, and Teddy Edwards.

    Patricia Willard is an oral historian specializing in jazz, a photojournalist, lecturer, editor, archivist, broadcaster, concert producer, and research consultant, who is currently completing a historiography of Duke Ellington, 1949-74, two additional books, and a play. In June 2018, she received the Jazz Journalists Association Lifetime Achievement Award. She has conducted 38 individual oral histories and one 2005 videotaped group oral history of 19 survivors of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

    DSMP programming is supported by a Rutgers–Newark Chancellor’s seed grant.

    OAT Program Supports Award-Winning Course

    Rutgers–Camden chancellor Phoebe Haddon recently announced that the Rutgers-Camden Nursing School received a 2018 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award for their Spanish for the Health Professions Certificate Program, offered in conjunction with the World Languages Department. The certificate is designed to develop the Spanish skills of nursing students, increasing their capacity to provide medical care to Spanish-speaking communities in Camden and across the world.

    Dana Pilla, who was a 2017-2018 OAT recipient and who is serving on our review panel this year, is co-director of the certificate program. Her OAT course, Spanish for the Health Professions II, is a required component of the certificate. Her goal was to redesign the course to avoid costly access codes in order to better meet the demand for increased enrollment, assigning an e-book provided through the Libraries, other library resources, and free materials such as YouTube videos from the CDC and other professional health organizations.

    Congratulations to the OAT team for the role they played in supporting this innovative and award-winning program!

    NBMSA Recognized as Innovative Archives

    The New Brunswick Music Scene Archive was presented with the Innovative Archives Award on Monmouth County Archives and History Day on October 13. Jeff Moy, archivist at Morristown & Morris Township Library, pictured left, presented the award on behalf of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference New Jersey Caucus to Christie Lutz, pictured right.

    SOAR Gets a Shout-Out 

    We’ve just received word that David Axelrod, professor in the Department of Genetics, will be thanking SOAR for its archiving services in his next publication. Congratulations!

    War Services Bureau Digital Collection Goes Live 

    The records of the Rutgers College War Service Bureau can now be accessed via their digital collection portal. This collection features letters from Rutgers students and alumni who served in the First World War, describing their experiences serving in the United States and overseas.

    Rutgers–Camden Embraces The Big Read

    Paul Robeson Library, in conjunction with the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts, is hosting The Big Read/In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez now through January 3, 2019.

    Alvarez’s 1994 novel is a work of historical fiction based on the lives of the four Mirabal sisters, who participated in underground efforts to topple dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s three-decade-long regime in the Dominican Republic. Three of the sisters—Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa—were executed on Trujillo’s orders on November 25, 1960. Their story haunted Alvarez, whose own family had fled the Dominican Republic just three months earlier in fear that her father’s participation in the resistance would make him a target of Trujillo.

    Complimentary copies of Alvarez’s novel are available on a first-come, first-served basis and viewers will have the opportunity to contribute to the Butterflies in Memoriam installation piece by creating their own butterfly in remembrance or honor of someone close to them.

    Exploring New Jersey’s Diverse Foodways

    Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries’ new exhibition From Cooking Pot to Melting Pot: New Jersey’s Diverse Foodways will open November 12, 2018 at Alexander Library. The opening will feature a presentation by Carla Cevasco of the Rutgers Department of American Studies, historian of food in colonial America and author of the forthcoming Violent Appetites: Hunger, Natives and Settlers in the Northern Borderlands. From Cooking Pot to Melting Pot is one of the first events in Transcultural NJ Revisited 2018-2020, a two-year, statewide celebration of local and global cultures in the Garden State under the auspices of Rutgers’ Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum. Register to attend.

  • What’s Happening around Rutgers? November 2018

    A "VOTE" pin or button on a flag of the United StatesThe Morning After

    Wednesday, November 7 | 9:30 a.m.
    Live-streaming on Facebook

    Hosted by the Eagleton Institute of Politics, The Morning After panel discussion will feature analysis of the results and implications of the 2018 elections.

    Panelists include:

    • Mike DuHaime, Partner, Mercury Public Affairs; Republican Strategist
    • Michael Hill, Correspondent, NJTV
    • Herb Jackson, The Record/USA Today Network New Jersey
    • Julie Roginsky, President, Optimus Communications; Democratic Strategist
    • Debbie Walsh, Director, Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics

    Moderator: John Weingart, Associate Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics

    mineralMineral Late Night

    Wednesday, November 7 | 4 to 8 p.m.
    Rutgers Geology Museum | Rutgers–New Brunswick

    Visit the Rutgers Geology Museum for their Mineral Late Night on November 7. Re-use your Halloween costume and come dressed as your favorite super hero while learning about some powerful minerals!

    Demonstrations, arts and crafts, and educational activities will be set up around the museum and people are welcome to come and go as they please. The event is free and open to visitors of all ages. Visit the museum website for more information.

    A Conversation with Gov. James Florio

    Thursday, November 8 | 6 to 8 p.m.
    Campus Center | Rutgers–Camden

    James J. Florio, a former New Jersey governor and an alumnus of the Camden location of Rutgers Law School, will discuss topics from his new book, Standing on Principle: Lessons Learned in Public Life. This free event will feature a conversation between Governor Florio and retired Philadelphia Inquirer reporter George Anastasia. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. Register to attend.

    Behind the Magic of Disney: Is It Really Happily Ever After?

    Wednesday, November 28 | 2:30 to 3:50 p.m.
    Paul Robeson Campus Center | Rutgers–Newark

    This event is an open discussion on how gender roles, violence, and oppression have been masked in magic. Join the Rutgers Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance to explore the hidden messages in classic Disney films. Visit the Rutgers–Newark website for more information.

  • This Month in the Agenda – November 1998

    Agenda november 1998It 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.

    The Agenda 20, no. 24 (November 29, 1998)

  • Ninja Warrior Report

    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.

    Should you have further questions about this event, please contact Mei-Ling Lo mlo@rutgers.edu or Megan Lotts megan.lotts@rutgers.edu.