Campus Updates

[amlowe]

Please post updates from your campus here.

[AprilDavies]

Van Wagenen Library is hosting our first "Mac-n-Cheese Is Love" cook-off on Valentine's Day. Stop by and be one of our tasters if you accidentally on-purpose find yourself in Cobleskill from 11-1 on Feb. 14th. We'll also be hosting the college's faculty/staff recognition event on Feb. 28th and the annual Student Research Showcase on May 3rd. No mac-n-cheese for those.

[millerjaACC]

Reference Librarian Emily Barber Moulton is using the The Information Literacy User's Guide (Open SUNY OER) to teach LIB 187: Library Research Methods online.

Over winter break, Reference and Instruction Librarian Joyce Miller implemented parts of Springshare's LibCal software, updated LibAnswers to version 2.0 and simplified the design of the library's home page: http://library.sunyacc.edu/home.

[leah]

Milne Library has two new positions open: Research Instruction Librarian, and Head of Collection Management.   The Research Instruction Librarian job description is here:  https://jobs.geneseo.edu/postings/2057  , and the Head of Collection Management job description is here: https://jobs.geneseo.edu/postings/2036

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To date, Milne Library’s Open SUNY Textbooks initiative (https://textbooks.opensuny.org) has published 20 books, representing faculty from 10 SUNY institutions. The texts have been downloaded over 260,000 times, used in high-profile massive open online classes (MOOCs), and remixed with other online open material.
The books are consistently rated 4 or higher out of 5 on the Open Textbook Library site, a catalog of peer-reviewed, open textbooks used internationally.

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Over winter break, Milne Library underwent space reconfigurations.  We added a new office space on the third floor and removed some cubicle walls on the main floor.  This allowed us to shift some of the library staff off of the main floor to free up more student study space.  The Library IT department moved into the old administration office, and the Library admin staff moved up to the third floor. In all, Milne Library was able to free up more than 1300 square feet of additional study space on the main floor. 

[leah]

Milne Library celebrated the 200th anniversary of the construction of the NY State Erie Canal by hosting a traveling exhibit, “Two Hundred Years on the Erie Canal, 1817-2017.”  The exhibit was on display throughout November 2017 on the main floor of the library. The story of the canal’s historic significance and impact is told on four panels labeled Yankee Ingenuity, Moving Ideas, Canal Culture, and Dreamers & Builders.
The archival images used in the exhibit were selected from the Empire State Library Network’s (https://www.esln.org/)  New York Heritage(https://nyheritage.org/)  digital collections and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) (https://dp.la/) . Several copies of the exhibit, which is sponsored by a Humanities New York Action Grant (http://humanitiesny.org/ ), are traveling to libraries across the state through July 2018.

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[kwierzbo]

Drake Memorial Library Updates

Leadership Change

Dr. Mary Jo Orzech is stepping down as Library Director, in Drake Memorial Library, The College at Brockport, effective December 15, 2017, and returning to a faculty role as an Associate Librarian.

Jennifer Smathers has been named Interim Library Director of Drake Memorial Library.  Jennifer has been in the library since starting with the College in May 2006 in the role of Head of Library Technical Services. She previously held the same role at Lavery Library at St. John Fisher College. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Nazareth College of Rochester and a Master of Library Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Jennifer assumed her new role on December 18, 2017.

Librarian Logan Rath published an article “A Pilot Study of Student Perceptions of Embedded Library Instruction” in BRC Advances in Education (forthcoming this spring) with Education and Human Development faculty member Allison Wright.

Librarians Laura Dumnuhosky and Ken Wierzbowski published a peer-reviewed, Open Access article in the Journal of New Librarianship about 3D printing and children’s literature with Brockport faculty member Dr. Meg Norcia. http://doi.org/10.21173/newlibs/2/2

[jenndevito]

Michael Huang, Director of Global Library Initiatives, was invited to present a keynote speech titled "From embedded to liaison librarian: Academic librarian in transition" at the International Conference on Embedded Education and Instruction of New Models of Library Service: The 4th International Conference of Beijing Academic Network Library, Beijing, China in November 2017.  Michael also presented a keynote speech title "Innovative services at Stony Brook University Libraries" at the Academic Seminar on Digital Resource Construction and Knowledge Service held in Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China in October 2017. Michael's new publication:
Shi, C., Xiong, L., & Huang, M. B. (Eds.). (2017). The proceedings of the international conference on embedded education and instruction of new models of library service: The 4th international conference of Beijing Academic Network Library. Beijing, China: Capital Normal University Press.

Laurel Scheinfeld joined the Stony Brook University Libraries in October 2017 as a Health Sciences Librarian.

On December 18, 2017, the library’s Equity, Inclusion and Diversity committee welcomed Dr. Charles Robbins, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of the Undergraduate Colleges here at Stony Brook University.   Dr. Robbins presented the findings of his recent research, The Missing Men at Graduation.  This work highlights the many factors that contribute to the faltering number of male graduates in higher education institutions.  The well attended lecture provided the library staff with insight into this often overlooked phenomenon and opened discussions on ways to remedy this challenge.

[Rebecca Hyams]

Maritime
Rebecca Hyams, Delegate

A new Library Director has been hired! They will be starting in March, so I'll be able to share more details and fully introduce them for our next meeting. We're also going to be looking for Ship Librarians (as we do every year) soon.

We've all been very busy continuing to work on several large projects including a weed and rebuild of our 2nd floor circulating collection, revamping our LibGuides, better integrating library services into Blackboard, and working our way through several Archives-related grants. Most recently, we updated our Medium account with an update on our NYS Documentary Heritage Program grant, which can be found here: https://medium.com/@LuceLibrary/records-of-a-school-at-sea-f6189d1713eb

[rnous]

Strategic Planning
The University is currently working on drafting an updated strategic plan. The University Libraries has been holding meetings, discussions, and brainstorming sessions to develop a strategic plan based on the University’s framework. We are currently in the process of developing a draft plan.

SUNY LSP Migration Working Groups
Our campus contacts on the migration working groups are:
SMSP – Nancy Poehlmann (co-chair)
Data Migration – Wendy West (chair)
Access Services – Jeff Goldstein
Electronic Resources – Jan Waterhouse
Training – Jan Waterhouse (chair)
Discovery – Rebecca Nous
Analytics – Kabel Stanwicks

BreakoutEDU
The Information Literacy Department has been experimenting with new teaching methods this year using BreakoutEDU's immersive game kits. Inspired by "escape rooms" that have gained popularity in recent years, the kits consist of a box that students "break into" by solving clues to unlock five different types of locks. Trudi Jacobson and Kelsey O'Brien have worked closely with a lecturer in the Writing and Critical Inquiry program, a required course for first year students, to implement the game as a team-building exercise at the start of the semester (an article about the experience will be published in a future issue of C&RL News). Implementations have also included a zombie apocalypse-themed version of the game and a research-oriented version for an Information Literacy class.  The department provided an in-service for UAlbany librarians who might be interested in using BreakoutEDU in their own classes, and plans to keep experimenting with new applications of the kits during the spring semester.

New Single Service Desk
On September 21, 2017, the University Library opened a single-service desk for patrons. The new desk provides a home for Circulation, Reference, and ITS Help services. Previously, library users had to visit separate desks for certain services—for example to the Circulation desk for checkout and return of laptops, and to the Reference Desk for research guidance. "This project assisted us in streamlining our services, as well as enhanced the space on the University Library's first floor," said Rebecca Mugridge, Dean of University Libraries. A ribbon cutting ceremony officially opened the desk and was well attended by the university community.

Up and Comer Award - Amanda Lowe
Amanda M. Lowe, Outreach and Marketing Librarian, was one of twenty people (nationally) to be recognized with an Up and Comer award through ATG Media - an umbrella group that includes the Charleston Conference, Against the Grain, and a new series of short, open access ebooks – this past November. The Up and Comer award is intended for librarians, library staff, vendors, publishers, MLIS students, instructors, consultants and researchers who are new to their field or are in the early years of the profession. Up and Comers are passionate about the future of libraries and they seek to innovate, inspire, collaborate, and take risks. They are recognized as the future library leaders and change makers. Amanda will be featured in the December/January issue of Against the Grain and is scheduled to speak in an up-and-coming podcast series.

Personnel Updates
We recently welcomed two new employees to the Libraries. Amanda McGown joins us as Library Systems Desktop Support Technician in Library Systems. Steven Hunter joins us as a Lending and Access Services Clerk at the University Library.

Selected Publications & Presentations
Craig Gibson and Trudi E. Jacobson, “Habits of Mind in an Uncertain Information World.” Reference & User Services Quarterly, v, 57 no. 3, 2018, pp. 183-192.

Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson.  Metaliteracy: Reflective and Empowered Lifelong Learning. Literacidad y Vida Cotidiana Conference. Guadalajara, Mexico. November 24, 2017.

Trudi E. Jacobson, John Delano, Linda Krzykowski  Laurie Garafola, Meghan Nyman, and Holly Barker-Flynn. “Transfer Student Analysis and Retention: A Collaborative Endeavor.” Reference Services Review, v. 45 no. 3, 2017, pp. 421-439.

Kelsey L. O’Brien, Michele Forte, Tom Mackey, and Trudi E. Jacobson, “Metaliteracy as Pedagogical Framework for Learner-Centered Design in Three MOOC Platforms: Connectivist, Coursera and Canvas.” Open Praxis, v.9 no. 3, 2017, pp. 267-286.