The Agenda - Faculty and Staff Newsletter

Tag: This Month in the Agenda

  • This Month in the Agenda: May 1999

    Coming Full Circle
    newsletter
    The Agenda, May 2, 1999.

    As many of you know, a group called the Web Advisory Committee (WAC) has been working to redesign the Rutgers University Libraries’ website…. The Rutgers Libraries’ web pages provide information about library collections, services, and personnel and facilitate communication and work among library faculty and staff. The redesign of our website will produce the flexibility we need to accommodate our current and future digital library and give our users an information tool that is more intuitive to use. Specifically, WAC expects the new website to provide important new features such as the following: 1) better integration with the university’s recommended “look & feel” for websites, resulting in a shorter learning curve, 2) improved and more intuitive navigation, and 3) new sources such as the “Digital Library Projects” and “Friends and Supporters” pages.

    The Agenda 21, no. 9 (May 2, 1999)

    Destined for Success

    We are pleased to report that Fernanda Perrone of Special Collections and University Archives (SC/UA) has been awarded an undergraduate research fellow from the Vice President for Undergraduate Education’s Rutgers Undergraduate Research Fellows Program.

    The Undergraduate Research Fellow, Carlos J. Ron, will work with Fernanda on the “Documenting Inter-American Cooperation Project” and specifically on the Frances Grant Papers, which include the archives of the Inter-American Association for Democracy and Freedom and the Pan-American Woman’s Association.

    The Agenda 21, no. 9 (May 2, 1999)

    Lending a Hand

    Libraries Essay Contest #3 Winner
    Student Category

    This semester I am working on my Senior thesis. I had never really spoken to a Librarian at Dana and was, at first, a bit reluctant because they always seem so busy. I decided to approach the reference desk with a question on obtaining an obscure government pamphlet that was going to be helpful in writing my paper. Their pleasant attitude hit me like a tidal wave of fresh air. Two big smiles greeted me and I immediately felt very comfortable. I was so pleasantly surprised!

    I am used to living in a society where everyone is in a rush and not many people sincerely want to help. The Rutgers Librarians that helped me, that day, were quite the opposite. They showed great eagerness to help me and that’s something I really appreciate.

    The Agenda 21, no. 10 (May 16, 1999)

    Have a Reservation?

    The Electronic Reserves Working Group is happy to announce that RUL will start to provide electronic access to some documents on reserve this summer….. We will begin by providing electronic access to photocopies of sample exams, overheads, syllabi, problem sets, and lecture notes submitted by instructors for Reserves. Documents will be scanned on the Minolta PS 3000 in the Copy Center in New Brunswick, set up on the library’s web server, and delivered as Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files in the Reserve module of IRIS. All Rutgers libraries will participate in the electronic reserve services….. Some libraries may scan and process documents for electronic reserves on-site in the future.

    The Agenda 21, no. 11 (May 30, 1999)

  • This Month in the Agenda: April 1988

    The AgendaAll Work and No Play… From the University Librarian

    I have a new personal computer at home, fully compatible with the office computers, and there is a busy traffic in diskettes with work begun in one place, completed in another, spell-checked, proofread and printed in yet a third location. It’s a wonderful productivity tool and an interesting toy as well.

    However, my new-found ability to mingle further my work and personal life leads me to speculate about how this sort of technology may in the future blur the distinction between work and home and between work time and leisure time. When I find myself contentedly bent over the terminal right into the middle of “Cagney and Lacey,” I know something different is going on.

    The Agenda 10, no. 14 (April 4, 1988)

    We’ll TSB-Seeing You Soon!

    After all the years of planning, we finally have definite news about the new Technical Services Building for the Libraries which is to be built on the Busch Campus next to the existing Annex…. [The] schedule has been considerably shortened in the contract as awarded, and now calls for building completion by October 29, 1988. Allowing a month for furniture installation in November, the schedule now provides for our moving into the new building in December. Though delays can always occur, it is now possible for TAS to begin thinking about being in the new building by the December holidays.

    The Agenda 10, no. 14 (April 4, 1988)

    In a Bind?

    On Friday, April 15, a field trip to the Library Binding Company, Horsham, PA is planned for SCILS students enrolled in the Preservation course. R.U.L. staff members are invited to join the group, especially those involved with commercial library binding. It is a good opportunity to view a binding operation and to ask questions about services. Library Binding Company handles a lot of Rutgers’ materials. If you want to go, please contact Susan Swartzburg, ext. 8573, as soon as possible.

    The Agenda 10, no. 14 (April 11, 1988)

    The Honorable Natalie

    Congratulations to Natalie Borisovets who has been elected by the Library Faculty to serve as a member of the University Senate. Her term of office will begin July 1, 1988.

    The Agenda 10, no. 16 (April 18, 1988)

  • This Month in the Agenda: March 2000

    This month we take a look at the Agenda in the aughts. Is it just me, or does 2000 not feel like almost two decades ago?

    Survey Says
    The Agenda 22, no. 4 (March 5, 2000)
    Reader survey from the Agenda 22, no. 4 (March 5, 2000).
    Systematic Thinking

    MESSAGE FROM THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN

    At the last Cabinet meeting we discussed what it means to be a system. This might seem needless for an organization that has described itself as operating system-wide for many years, but it’s always useful to step back and take stock. This is especially important as we continue to develop our long-range plan, the Digital Library Initiative (DLI), and seek ways to be more effective.

    Typically, a system shares the same vision, philosophy, and goals. It shares common infrastructure and operates with system-wide policies and practices. There is considerable interdependency among units and a heightened need for communication. There’s also a shift to systems thinking, where operations are examined across the system rather than just locally. This helps to improve and expand the entire system’s capabilities to be effective. Each unit is each other unit’s best customer and best supporter. Information and expertise are shared readily, so that everyone in the organization benefits.

    …

    As we implement the DLI we need to ensure that we are all working towards system-wide goals, using our resources effectively, thinking strategically, collaborating across units, and present a consistent, quality presence to our users. Communication and open discussion will be important as we gain new understandings in what it means to sustain and enhance a system in the digital environment.

    The Agenda 22, no. 5 (March 19, 2000)

    Getting Medieval

    The Medieval Studies Program and the Friends of the
    Rutgers University Libraries invite you to

    The Dedication of the
    Ernest McDonnell
    Medieval Culture Seminar Room
    in Alexander Library

    featuring a talk by
    Barbara Newman,
    Professor of English and Religion
    at Northwestern University

    “You Can’t Speak To Men
    Until You’ve Spoken With God:
    Medieval Women And The Church”

    Thursday, March 23, 2000
    4:00–6:00 p.m.
    Alexander Library

    The Agenda 22, no. 4 (March 5, 2000)

  • This Month in the Agenda: February 1987

    The Agenda, February 2, 1987.
    The Agenda, February 2, 1987.

    It’s 1987: a Ford Escort costs just under $7,000, Full House debuts on TGIF prime-time, and the Dominion of Fiji is preparing to proclaim itself as a republic. What was happening at the Libraries?

    Cinephiles Rejoice!

    Media Services has announced a film series on works by director Robert Bresson. Bresson explores themes in his work which are similar to those Bergman addresses. The films focus on philosophical and human problems, dealing with issues of freedom and constraint, love or its lack, life and death, and affirmation or denial.

    ….

    The films will be shown on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. in Room 200 of Art History Hall on the Douglass Campus.

    February 6 Les Dames du Bois De Boulogne
    February 13 Lancelot du Lac
    February 20 Pickpocket
    February 27 Quatre Nuits d’un Reveur (Four Nights of a Dreamer)

    The Agenda 9, no. 5 (February 2, 1987)

    IRIS Insights

    IRIS Update for the week ending February 1, 1987.

    RLIN records produced on or before January 23, 1987 were added to IRIS.

    MRMS:

    New records added: 2,322

    Circulation:

    New records: 2,717
    Records updated: 6,033
    New items added: 3,138

    Circulation Notices produced and mailed: 3,138

    The Agenda 9, no. 6 (February 9, 1987)

    Just Say No… to Food

    The Rutgers University Libraries will begin an Anti-Food Campaign during March 1987. The purpose of the campaign is to draw the attention of both patrons and staff to the dangers that food and beverages present to the preservation of our library collections, the maintenance of our furnishings and equipment and the appearance of our buildings.

    ….

    Among items planned for the campaign are exhibits in each of the major libraries, and all campus mailing from the University Librarian’s office, articles in the campus newspapers, announcements on the campus radio station, bookmarks, posters, and notices. Each library will be holding a meeting to discuss the campaign and ways that library staff can help support it.

    The Agenda 9, no. 8 (February 23, 1987)

  • This month in the Agenda: January 1998

    The January 11, 1998 edition of the Agenda.
    The January 11, 1998 edition of the Agenda.

    This month, we go back two decades in the Agenda’s history to January 1998. The median household income was about $38,000; the world was ramping up for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan; and we’d see blockbusters Armageddon, Titanic, and Saving Private Ryan all hit the box office over the course of the year. How did we ring in the New Year at the Libraries?

    Asking the Big Questions

    [P]rinted below are the questions in the charge [of the Steering Committee for the Libraries Long-Range Plan]…. As you can see, answers to the questions will give us guidance by which we—library faculty and staff—will then make specific plans for our future….

    What principles should guide how collections are developed and distributed throughout the system, including, for example, duplication of resources, dispersion of collections, new program development, and locations of departments/programs?

    What factors should influence the balance between print and electronic resources that the Libraries provide?

    To what extent should the Libraries satisfy the University’s information needs through collaborative resource sharing arrangements or document delivery, as well as the traditional ownership of information resources?

    What are the characteristics of service excellence to the university community?

    What quality, scope, and types of library space will be required to provide service excellence into the future?

    In what ways can the university community act to affect the current scholarly communication models to increase information availability and reduce costs?

    – The Agenda 20, no. 1 (January 11, 1998)

    Authority Is Constructed and Contextual

    At long last, the Rutgers library catalog will have full authority control for all name and series headings. The recently established LIS-Authority Committee is now investigating Sirsi policies for the implementation of authority functions and beginning a search for the vendor which will provide the best services. It will be writing an RFP (Request for Proposal) for authority control processing this spring, with an eye toward selecting a vendor in the early summer. The Committee, chaired by Rhonda Marker of TAS, welcomes all suggestions, wish-lists, and caveats from the library community regarding either vendors or online authority work.

    – The Agenda 20, no. 1 (January 11, 1998)

    Freshening Up

    The Libraries have recently received an allocation from University VP Joseph Seneca of $92,695 to upgrade academic facilities as part of the “Reinvesting in Rutgers” initiative the President announced in his state of the university message.

    The Libraries submitted a proposal as part of the academic facilities upgrade component of this initiative. The specific projects that were funded include upgrading the Mathematical Sciences library facilities (carpeting, draperies, acoustical buffers, etc.); replacing the telephone and wiring infrastructure at the Kilmer Library; and upgrading voice wiring at Douglass.

    In addition, Media Services was allocated $1.7 million to upgrade the smart classrooms on the New Brunswick campus and to improve the Kilmer Library media classrooms.

    Decisions regarding programs to be funded on the Newark and Camden campuses facilities are being handled through their respective provosts, who have not yet reported.

    – The Agenda 20, no. 2 (January 25, 1998)

     

  • This Month in the Agenda: November 1992

    This edition of “This Month in the Agenda” takes us back to November takes us back 25 years to November 1992. What was the latest and greatest from the Libraries?

    Coordinator of the Coordinating Committee?
    Committees
    This listing of the Libraries’ committees from November 1992 shows that the organizational structure has changed a bit in the last quarter century.
    Dem Bones, Dem Bones

    As Halloween got closer, the Library of Science and Medicine had received calls from patrons who wanted to scare their friends:

    One caller said she was studying archaeology and wanted to know if the library had any bones she could check out.

    Another asked if LSM had skeletons to circulate.

    There was only one librarian on the reference desk when the calls came so they pointed out that they had a “skeleton crew” one could observe.

    –The Agenda 14, no. 22 (November 1, 1992)

    Welcome to the Family

    Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    cordially invites you to attend

    The Dedication of the Art Library

    Tuesday, November 17, 1992
    at 10:00 a.m.

    Art Library – Main Reading Room
    College Avenue Campus
    New Brunswick, New Jersey

    This beautiful new structure blends with its stately neighbors and is part of an arts complex that serves both undergraduate and graduate students.

    RSVP (908) 932-7505
    (acceptance only)

    –The Agenda 14, no. 23 (November 15, 1992)

    Getting Electronic

    During November and December the libraries are making several databases on OCLC’s patron reference service, FirstSearch, available to the RU community. FirstSearch is easy to use and has many online HELPs. Users do not need any special training or documentation in order to search the databases. Included in the trial are the following databases: WorldCat (the OCLC Online Union Catalog) OCLC Serials Table of Contents Database: ContentsFirst and ArticleFirst, Biography Index, Business Periodicals Index, Concise Engineering Index, Consumers Index, ERIC, FactSearch, the GPO Monthly Catalog, Humanities Index, MiniGeoRef, PAIS Decade, Readers’ Guide Abstracts, Readers” Guide Periodical Literature, Social Sciences Index and Wilsons Business Abstracts.

    FirstSearch is now a menu choice on INFO as well as on networked terminals in the libraries for the trial period. You can access FirstSearch through library terminals or by dialing into the system by doing the following:

    telnet epic.prod.oclc.org
    authorization number: 100-081-598
    password: solutions

    To logoff the system enter: bye
    response: y

    –The Agenda 14, no. 23 (November 15, 1992)

    Changes Afoot at Alexander
    Renovations Bulletin
    Alexander Library Renovations Bulletin #1.
    Calling Camden?

    Attention

    On January 1, 1993 the exchange for the Camden Campus will change to 225 from 757. Therefore, for example, our number for reference assistance will be 225-6034 instead of 757-6034. Please note that the four digit extension will NOT be affected.

    –The Agenda 14, no. 24 (November 29, 1992)

    A New Face in Special Collections

    Erika Gorder has been named Consumers’ Research Archives Project Assistant. She returns to Special Collections and Archives after working in Government Publications and Circulation in the Alexander Library 1991-92. She will be working with Greg[ory Williams] on the arrangement and description of the Archives and with Jan Riemer on the preservation of the Archives.

    –The Agenda 14, no. 24 (November 29, 1992)