Monthly Archives: April 2024

April Library Office Notes

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

FACILITIES NEWS

BUSINESS NEWS

HR NEWS

EVENTS AND TRAINING


ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note
Happy spring! I hope everyone is hanging in there as we sprint through the last month of the semester. Spring is also the time when we will pivot to revising our strategic plan and (at least parts of) our leadership structure. As many of you know, Sara Holder and David Ward will conclude their terms of service as Directors this August. Serving in an interim administrative role is often a challenging and thankless job, and even more so through a dean transition. David and Sara have been wonderful colleagues and have advanced our work meaningfully during a time of extreme ambiguity, and I am very grateful to them both. I look forward to formally thanking and recognizing them this summer. Read more…

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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:

  • Gabi Fisher
  • Paul Gouwens
  • MJ Han
  • Kim Johnson
  • Mary Laskowski
  • Chad Lewis
  • Sarah Park
  • Chris Prom
  • Janelle Sander
  • Tom Teper

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

Grateful — Helpful — Encouraging — Accessible — Lifesaver

….

On the Spring 2024 Library Service Satisfaction Survey, we asked participants to describe how they feel about the University of Illinois Library in one word. Above are some of the words submitted by the survey participants. 

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 is National Library Workers Day (NLWD) and the April factoid is a collage of library memories. This is dedicated to (in alphabetical order) the 58 academic professionals, 149 civil service staff, 81 faculty (tenure-system and specialized), 77 graduate student assistants, and approximately 250 hourly workers (student hourly, academic hourly, graduate hourly & extra help) who created these memories for library users and the community.

Data from the Division of Management Information 2023-2024 Campus Profile – University Library (dmi.illinois.edu)

Images from 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Senior Administrative Team Meeting Minutes

Detailed meeting minutes forthcoming for:

  • February 28
  • March 27

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

Library Culture and Engagement (Zoom) Module 1 will be hosted on April 10. Check the Staff Calendar for additional dates for the DEIA Education Workshop Series.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Collection Development Committee Notes
The most recent meeting 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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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: ALA Conference Tips and Tricks
Kim Johnson, Associate Director Fisc Operations – Lr Associate

Reminder: Professional Development funding does not cover membership dues, it can only be used for direct conference expenses (travel, registration, hotel, per diem).

The ALA Conference dates, June 27-July 2, happen over the University’s fiscal year end/beginning. Per University policy the travel will be reported on and funded from the fiscal year it begins in; so, for the 2024 ALA Conference that will be FY24, we cannot allow usage of FY25 funds to cover the expenses for this trip.

As this conference straddles the fiscal years there will be a time crunch to wrap up the expense reimbursements for it. All reimbursement requests must be submitted to the Purchasing App no later than July 5th to be able to be processed and paid out before the final payment date of FY24.

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HR NEWS: Filled Positions

  • Kamal Watt – Associate Infrastructure Specialist – Library IT – 3/25/2024
  • Courtney Monroe – Associate Infrastructure Specialist – Library IT – 4/1/202

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HR NEWS: Departures

  • Ivy Gamble – IT Specialist – Library IT – 2/29/2024
  • Jimmy Gonzalez – High Density Storage Facility Coordinator – Collection Management Services – 3/5/2024
  • Theresa Appiah – Business Administrative Associate – Business & Human Resources Service Center – 3/8/2024
  • Marla Crook – Senior Library Specialist – Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery – 3/31/2024

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HR NEWS: Civil Service Vacancies

  • Accounting Officer – Business & Human Resources Service Center – Closes 4/1/2024

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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

  • April 1 at 2 PM and April 5 at 3 PM: Finding and Using Images
  • April 8 at 2 PM and April 12 at 3 PM: Finding Newspapers
  • April 15 at 2 PM and April 19 at 3 PM: Digital Toolkit for Research Services
  • April 22 at 2 PM and April 26 at 3 PM: Recording, Analyzing, and Visualizing Data in LibInsight

For each topic, one session will be held in-person and one will be held via Zoom. The sessions are listed in the Staff Calendar and on the Hub Wiki Training Schedule page (login with your NetID and password). 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: Trivia Night, Craft Night, and Book Club
Laura Poulosky, Residence Hall Librarian
April 2, 24, and 30

Our spring semester hours will be Monday through Friday (12-7 pm). We’re planning some fun outreach events for the month of April:

  • Trivia Night | Tues., Apr. 2nd
    Sponsored by the Central Residence Hall Funding Board. Play pub-style trivia, with pizza, snacks, and extra goodies for the winning teams! 
    SDRP 2050 – 5:30-7:30 pm
  • Craft Night | Wed., Apr. 24th  
    “Plant” your own mini succulent and decorate its pot. All material—and snacks—provided for free!
    ISR 94AB – Faux Succulents – 5:00-7:00 pm
  • Book Club – An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir | Tues., Apr. 30th
    Co-sponsored with the Honors LLC, get a free copy of the books when you sign up to attend, while supplies last!
    ISR Room 93 – 6:30-7:30 pm

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

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Office of Threat Assessment Presentation
Tuesday, April 2 at 11 AM & April 4 at 3 PM

Learn about the new Threat Assessment Program, from the director, Moni Marcelo, and Steve Spaide. They will provide an online presentation about this new program, which strives to prevent targeted violence by employing a proactive, evidence-based approach to the assessment and management of threats posed, or potentially posed, to or by members of the university community. Come to this session to learn about these important supportive resources.

This session is intended for any Library employee and will be offered three times to accommodate different schedules (you only need to attend one session). Attending this session is an approved library event, operations permitting, subject to prior supervisor approval. Registration is not required, but very helpful to us so that we can plan for expected audience size. You will also get reminders about the training and a way to download it to your calendar.

These sessions will not be recorded.

Register here for April 2: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/12146508

Register here for April 4: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/12146607

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Overtime, Compensatory Time & Make-up Time Presentation
Wednesday, April 3 at 3 PM

Library HR will provide an online presentation about Overtime, Compensatory Time and Make-up Time. The presentation will focus on who is eligible, the differences of each, when to use and how to reconcile hours on your timesheet.

The sessions are intended for any Library employee and will be offered three times to accommodate different schedules (you only need to attend one session). Attending this session is an approved library event, operations permitting, subject to prior supervisor approval. Registration is required. You will also get reminders about the training and a way to download it to your calendar.

These sessions will not be recorded. Register here: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/12183110

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Edible Book Festival
Saturday, April 6 at 9 am

Calling all book artists and food lovers to celebrate the book arts and the (literal!) ingestion of culture.  Participants create an “edible book,” which can be inspired by a favorite tale, involve a pun on a famous title, or simply be in the shape of a book (or scroll, or tablet, etc).  All entries will be exhibited, documented, then EATEN!  Photographs of all edible books will appear in the Edible Book Festival gallery.

The Champaign-Urbana Edible Book Festival is sponsored by the University Library, and supported by the generous help of campus and community volunteers and prize donors. It is a fundraiser to support the crucial work of the Wesley Food Pantry.

For more information visit: go.library.illinois.edu/edible

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Solving the World’s Challenges: Emerging Diseases
April 9 at 2:30 pm

Three experts from across campus will each discuss their work related to emerging diseases and respond to questions from attendees during the #FunkPanel2024. Their work includes development of the Swine Biosecurity project to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases on farms, research on chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer, and research to understand the effects of landscape change on the emergence and transmission of diseases. This hybrid panel presentation on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Central) will be an opportunity for people to come together with the Funk ACES Library to learn about and discuss emerging disease research and initiatives led by members of our campus community.

This virtual event is free and open to the public. For more details, visit our Solving the World’s Challenges Panel Presentation Exhibit here: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/Solving_Challenges_Panel_Exhibit

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Library Culture and Engagement (Zoom) Module 1
Wednesday, April 10 at 1 PM

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the University Library DEIA Educational Workshop Series. This series was developed by Dr. Ellen Burts-Cooper of Improve Consulting in collaboration with the DEIA Task Force. These workshops are a mixture of presentation and discussion, led by two library facilitators. By attending this workshop, you will have the opportunity to meet colleagues from across the library and learn from each other.

This semester, we will be offering the first module, Library Culture and Engagement only once. This workshop covers important foundational topics requested by library employees, including belonging, psychological safety, collaboration, and how to contribute to a healthy workplace. Attending this module will be very helpful for engaging with the additional four modules offered later.

Register here: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/11933906

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: International Jazz Day Celebration: “Ellington Lives! Singin’ and Swingin’ Three Generations On”
April 14 at 2:30 pm

Three generations of musicians from Urbana-Champaign will perform works by jazz master Duke Ellington for our annual C-U International Jazz Day that will be held at the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures.

The free event will also feature a short informational session on Ellington provided by Sam Reese and informal reflections on Ellington’s influences on each of the afternoon’s performers.

For more information on the afternoon’s performers, please visit: https://archives.library.illinois.edu/sousa/2024/03/30/new-international-jazz-day-celebration-planned-for-april/

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Hangout
Thursday, April 18 at 10 am

We are excited to invite you to our first in person Library Hangout of 2024, on April 18th from 10-11am, in the Main Library Reading Room. Snacks and coffee will be provided. Feel free to drop in as early as 9:30am and mingle after the formal meeting.

If you cannot attend in person, do not worry, this event will be livestreamed and made accessible via Zoom. Please note that accepting the Zoom invite does not sign you up for the in-person hangout.
If you wish to attend in person, please RSVP here by April 8, 5pm.

Keep a lookout for an email (with a Zoom link) from Beth Lewis via LIB-NEWS. If you have any agenda items you want to share at this Hangout, please send them to ealewis@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 May issue of Library Office Notes, please submit it to Heather Murphy or Tom Teper by Friday, April 19, 2024.