Monthly Archives: December 2023

December Library Office Notes

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

FACILITIES NEWS

BUSINESS NEWS

HR NEWS

EVENTS AND TRAINING


ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note
As we approach the end of the semester and winter break, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for each one of you. Your hard work and dedication have played a crucial role in the success of another successful semester at Illinois.

As the semester winds down and the holiday season approaches, I encourage each of you to prioritize self-care. The demands of our work can be intense, and it’s essential that we take the time to recharge and spend quality moments with our loved ones. Your well-being is of utmost importance, and I want to remind you to reach out if you need support or resources during this time of year. Read more…
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Preservation Video

The Preservation Unit has a new video that showcases the dedicated efforts of its Preservation Unit and the invaluable work its staff undertakes to safeguard and preserve our cultural heritage. You can view it here:
https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_lhhu9khr

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Cheers for Peers
To view the full Cheers for Peers submissions please view the Growing People blog.

Library Human Resources is happy to announce this month’s Cheers for Peers submissions. The following Library employees have been cheered by their peers:

  • Julie Bumpus
  • Adrienne Esserine
  • Jimmy Gonzalez
  • Katie Slough
  • Ben Stone
  • Lisa Wells

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Did You Know? A Monthly Factoid from Library Assessment

Since Fall 2020, Library Assessment has administered the “Library Services Satisfaction Survey” as a response to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic and has continued as services and spaces have transformed. The results of the surveys have been used to understand students’ needs and usage of library services. With Fall 2023 as the 8th iteration of the survey, we were able to seen how students needs and usages have changed from the pandemic to now.

With the halting of in-person services students were not able to access our collections as easily as they were used to, nonetheless, the Library was able to pivot to make our resources such as e-books and e-journals accessible. This trend has continued as the Library returned to in-person services in Fall 2021 with the peak in Spring 2023 with 73% of students using e-resources. When students were able to access the building in Fall 2021 there was a 11% increase in check outs of books, equipment, or other library materials. Communicating virtually was not easy, especially from when the staff were working from home, but they were still able to answer 3,340 chats from “Ask a Librarian” during the Fall term in 2020. Even as the buildings reopened students continued to use services to consultation with librarians whether virtual or in-person.

Data collected from the Library Satisfaction Survey October 2020 to October 2023 and LibChat.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Update
Victor Jones, Jr., Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

See DEIA Education Workshop Series dates below.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Collection Development Committee Notes
The most recent meetings minutes of the CDC are posted at:
https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/committee/collection-development-committee/
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Content Access Policy & Technology Meeting Minutes
The meeting minutes of CAPT (including workgroup reports) are posted at:
https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/committee/content-access-policy-technology-capt/
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Recognizing Excellence

Please share your award, recognition, or grant! To initiate a request for publicity, employees (or their supervisors) should submit this Awards/Recognitions/Grants Publicity Request Form.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Two New Spaces in GELIC
Megan Sapp-Nelson, Head, Grainger Engineering Library Information Center

Grainger Engineering Library Information Center is rolling out two new student support/student success spaces.  The first, a designated lactation room, is located in Room 442 of GELIC (4th floor in side hallway between the east wing and central gallery). It features a comfortable chair that lays back and side table. The chair has easy access to electrical outlets. Anyone who wishes to use the space can check out the key at the service point on the 1st floor.

Additionally, we are very happy to announce that a Family Study Room is now available. The room is located at 463 GELIC (located in the southeast corner of the east wing at GELIC).  It has a desk for an adult, a child sized table and chairs set, and will soon have a pack and play available. There are activity backpacks that can be checked out at the service point downstairs that include age appropriate, science-themed games, puzzles, toys and books for ages infant through 10 years old. The key to the family study room is available for circulation at the service point on the first floor.

A new web landing page regarding the family study and lactation spaces is being developed now and will roll out after Thanksgiving Break.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: IOPN Update
Angela Watters, Digital Publishing Specialist

IOPN is excited to announce the release of A Bicentennial Crossroads: 200 Years of Continuity and Change in Rural Illinois by Matt Meacham under the Windsor & Downs imprint. In 2018, six rural Illinois cultural organizations hosted installations of “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” a Museum on Main Street exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution and Illinois Humanities, which coincided with the Bicentennial of Illinois statehood. The book examines what we can learn about rural Illinois’s past, present, and potential future by exploring stories and themes from the exhibition. Illinois Humanities is a nonprofit organization that promotes the humanities across the state through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities. Stay tuned for other publications coming soon!

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Elsevier License Renewal

The Board of Trustees approved the University of Illinois’ renewal of our Elsevier license for Science Direct at its Nov 16 meeting. This contract will start in January 2024 and serve the University of Illinois System for five years. The license is a significant departure from our existing agreement in several key ways:

  • Price Increases: the annual increase negotiated on the contract is 0.55% lower per year than our past contract. That represents significant savings for the University over the life of the contract. This has a compounding effect of reducing our annual price increases across all disciplinary areas.
  • Content: the contract includes all of the same post-cancellation access rights, maintains all of the same title lists, and ensures that our scholars maintain the high level of direct access that they have previously indicated that they value.
  • Open Access Components: the contract includes several components that enhance our ongoing efforts to ensure that scholarship from Illinois authors reaches the widest possible audience. In addition to a 15% discount on article processing charges (APCs) for accepted articles published in Elsevier’s Gold OA titles, the contract includes a provision to cover Open Access publishing in Elsevier’s Core-Hybrid titles without paying any additional APC. During the first year, we will receive credits equivalent to 70% of our projected core-hybrid publishing output, with that credit cap increasing by 10% increments until we reach 100% of the system’s projected publishing output. Authors will have the opportunity to opt-in to take advantage of these credits starting with papers accepted after January 1, 2024, and they will be available to us used on a first-come, first-served basis. More details about this open-access license will be posted on the Scholarly Communications and Publishing website.

If OA publishing rates remain the same, we project that this agreement will save the University nearly $1-million dollars in APCs. If the OA publishing rate rises to utilize the full value of the APC credits and publishing continues apace with Gold OA publishing, we project a value in excess of $12-million dollars in potentially avoided APC costs.

Right now, the plan is that on December 1st, a note will go out to the campus community via a faculty email list, a news item be placed on the Library’s website highlighting the agreement, and a notice will be queued for the Dec. 3rd e-week.

More information is forthcoming in the guide at https://guides.library.illinois.edu/oapolicy/apc.

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FACILITIES NEWS: Facilities Update
Tim Newman, Assistant Dean of Libraries for Facilities

For a complete list of projects in planning and construction, please
see wordpress.library.illinois.edu/staff/facilities.
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BUSINESS NEWS: Event Fund Management Assistance

Do you have an event coming up? Multiple funding sources? Let the Business Office help. We can provide budget templates, help manage event expenses and funding sources so that you can do what really needs to be done, manage the event. Contact us at BHRSC@library.illinois.edu for event fund management.

If you are using personal funds to purchase items for the University and will seek reimbursement, please note that taxes are not reimbursable by the University. Please contact the Business Office and we can provide you with a tax exempt letter that you can use for these expenses.

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HR NEWS: Filled Positions

  • Emily Fielden – Library Specialist – Grainger Engineering Library Information Center – 11/13/2023

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HR NEWS: Departures

  • William Buss – Senior Library Specialist – Music & Performing Arts Library – 11/30/2023

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HR NEWS: Civil Service Vacancies

  • Library Specialist (Midnight – 8 AM) – Grainger Engineering Library Information Center – Decision soon
  • Accountant I – Business & Human Resources Service Center – Interviews in progress
  • Library Specialist (2 Positions) – Music & Performing Arts Library – Interviews in progress
  • Library Specialist – Funk ACES Library – Interviews soon
  • Administrative Assistant – Office of Dean of Libraries – Interviews soon

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HR NEWS: In Memoriam

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Staff Events Calendar
To see the most up-to-date staff events calendar, please visit uiuc.libcal.com/calendar/staff.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Hub Training

Please contact the Reference Management Team (rmt@library.illinois.edu) if you have any questions about the Hub Trainings.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Permissions and Fair Use
December 5 at 2 PM

CARLI is pleased to offer a course with Sara Benson, Copyright Librarian at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. This course is designed for the Illinois SCOERs grantees and is open to all CARLI members. In creating Open Educational Resources you might find that you need to use an article or image that has traditional copyright. If you must use a copyright protected item, learn about how to conduct a fair use analysis and, in the alternative, how to ask for permission to use a copyright protected item in your work.

Registration Link: https://illinois.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrduGhpjMsHNdb1QCkHZDrBXQPGER1LY44

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: This LibGuide is on Fire: How to Assess & Review your LibGuides
December 6 at 2 PM

This workshop session is intended for people with existing LibGuide experience and is a follow-up to the Introduction to LibGuides Training session.

During this workshop you will learn:

  • The current state of LibGuides at the University Library
  • How to create a review cycle
  • How to implement a workflow for assessing, reviewing, and deleting LibGuides

This is a hybrid workshop. It will be offered Wednesday, 12/6 from 2-3 pm in Main Library Room 314 as well as on Zoom. All registrants will receive Zoom access 24 hours in advance via email.

Registration: https://uiuc.libcal.com/calendar/staff/libguideonfirefall2

Questions about this session, and other LibGuides queries, may be directed to: libguides@library.illinois.edu

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: DEIA Educational Workshops
December 6 and 18

Please contact the Reference Management Team (rmt@library.illinois.edu) if you have any questions about the Hub Trainings.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Build-a-Book–Reading Day
Laura Poulosky, Residence Hall Librarian

Both Ikenberry and Illinois Street Residence Hall Libraries are open M-F (noon to 7 pm) for the academic year. We have lots of fun outreach planned for December, including:

  • The Residence Hall  Libraries and Student Affairs’ International Education present Build-a-Book—Reading Day | Thurs., Dec. 7th
    Students can create and decorate their own blank books to give as gifts or to keep. All materials—and snacks—provided!

    • ISR Room 50A/B – Thurs., December 7th Noon to 2:00 pm
    • SDRP Room 2050 – Thurs., December 7th 3:00-5:00 pm

Note: The Residence Hall Libraries will close for Winter Break on Friday, Dec. 17th at 7:00 pm and re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 16th at noon.

For any questions, please contact Laura Poulosky at l-poulo@illinois.edu.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: RBML Holiday Party & Reading Day Relaxer
Thursday, December 7th, 3:00 – 5:00 pm — RBML Holiday Party & Reading Day Relaxer

Come and celebrate the semester’s end with hot apple cider, sweet and salty treats, and some of our favorite winter-themed materials from the RBML vault. Make a button, relax with a coloring sheet, and leave with a letterpress poetry card! 

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: NISO Webinar: Trend Spotting, Trend Setting
December 13 at 10 AM

In a decade that has already tested our resiliency, what should we be anticipating and preparing for in the coming year? Join this discussion of the shifts and trends that information industry leaders are picking up on. Where are the opportunities to be found? Which genius will come up with and develop the Next Big Thing? Or, perhaps we shouldn’t be thinking in terms of the Next Big Thing. Maybe our speakers will decide that 2024 is the year that we look around at the variety of cogs and wheels we already have and invite our colleagues to dream about constructing a better mousetrap. Please email training@library.illinois.edu for login credentials or recordings.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Hangout
Next Hangout Date Forthcoming!

Keep a lookout for an email (with a Zoom link) from Christina Bonse via LIB-NEWS. If you have any agenda items you want to share at a Hangout, please send them to bonse2@illinois.edu.

Also, we are always looking for volunteers who would be willing to host social time following the Hangouts. Please consider being on an “on-call” list. We need volunteers to keep the social times going! Email hmurphy@illinois.edu if interested.
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If you would like to submit content for the December issue of Library Office Notes, please submit it to Heather Murphy or Tom Teper by Friday, December 15, 2023.