May Library Office Notes

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HR NEWS

FACILITIES

EVENTS AND TRAINING



ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note

Budget Reductions
Given the current state budget news, it will come as no surprise to any of you that the University will likely experience a reduction in its operating budget for FY16. The cut, whatever percentage it is overall, will not be applied uniformly across the University or the Library. I believe that the Provost will do his utmost to protect our Collections budget, and the campus administration has always been a good friend to the Library. But I also have no doubt that we will be expected to share in the fiscal pain. Read more…
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Strategic Planning Update
Lisa Hinchliffe, Coordinator for Strategic Planning

We have finished up our series titled “Campus Strategic Plan Conversation: Exploration and Understanding.” The discussions were robust and exploratory, generating a number of different perspectives and ideas on how the Library can support and lead initiatives that engage and align with the Campus Strategic Plan.

We now turn our attention and efforts to the “Deep Dive” sessions, collaboratively developed with the Associate University Librarians – details have been provided via LibNews and are also on the Strategic Planning blog:

  • Teaching/Learning (May 1)
  • Research/Scholarship (June 16)
  • Research Library Ecosystem (July – Specific Date TBD)

Finally, Strategic Planning Office Hours are scheduled in Library 434 in May at the following times:

  • May 5, 10-11:30 am
  • May 20, 1-3:30 pm

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: RDS Welcomes New Staff
Plans to address public access to research have been pouring out of federal agencies in the last few months. Just in time, the RDS is thrilled to have new staff coming on board in April and May. Look for an event to meet Colleen Fallaw (programmer), Elizabeth Wickes (curator), and Elise Dunham (curator) towards the end of May.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Acquisitions Welcomes Chris MorganIMG_4965 cropped
Acquisitions is delighted to welcome Chris Morgan to the Library as the new Electronic Resources and Acquisitions Support Specialist. He comes to us from the University of Chicago Library where he worked as an E-resources assistant in Electronic Resource management and prior that as an acquisitions assistant for monographic orders in Technical Services. He has excellent experience with SFX and in library procurement and processing. In 2011 he served as Junior Fellow in the Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress where he worked on organizing and digitizing an unprocessed collection of recording industry ephemera, and presented his findings on the research value of the collection. Chris is a proud native of the south-side of Chicago (go White Sox!) and graduate of the public schools there. He has an MLIS from Dominican University and a BA in French from Northeastern Illinois University. He is a self-described music expert, especially jazz. Chris began work here in March of 2015 and many of you may have already met him by way of the SFX tickets he responds to online. Stop by Acquisitions in room 12 of the Main Library to say hello.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Camp Cursive Recurs at RBML
cursive
The handwriting is on the wall. Cursive is no longer taught in many grade schools, and we are discovering that many of our undergraduates cannot read or write cursive. Sure, who cares if you print all your notes—it might look a little childish to old fogies, but what’s the big deal? Fair enough, but what about the ability to read historical documents? Students who cannot read cursive are locked out of doing research on such notable figures in our collections as Carl Sandburg, Gwendolyn Brooks, Anthony Trollope or George Washington simply because they cannot read cursive. We don’t want to allow another generation to grow up without this important research tool, so we are repeating our wildly successful “Camp Cursive.” Open to kids ages 8-14, the camp will teach cursive, along with cool things like handwriting analysis and writing with a steel nib on Saturday, May 2.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Organizational Discussions within CAM
As many of you may know, Content Access Management (CAM) has been engaged in discussions over the last several months geared toward better defining its internal organizational structure. These discussions were not so much a reorganization as they are an attempt to better define areas of operational responsibility and commonality within the unit, and they were approached not so much as an effort to put chisel to stone as an effort to make a snapshot of the organization that could help guide the unit as it – like all units in the Library – continue evolving.

The leadership within the unit – consisting of Michael Norman, MJ Han, Qiang Jin, William Kries, Nicole Ream-Sotomayor, and Janet Weber – was asked to undertake these discussions with three things in mind: (1) providing opportunities for individuals at all levels throughout the unit to excel and develop professionally; (2) attempting to clarify, both internally to the unit and externally to the Library, the unit’s operational and management structure; and (3) preparing for discussions related to the unit’s long-planned move. During this time, they met with other unit and operational heads in the Office of Collections and Technical Services, with the AD for Facilities and members of his unit, and, just on April 30th, with the broader CAM staff.

Please look to the CAM website (www.library.illinois.edu/cam) for information on primary contacts for various areas, and feel free to ask questions or voice concerns should they arise.

Thank You,
Tom Teper & Michael Norman

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Illinois Research Connections
The University Library in collaboration with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is developing a new service called Illinois Research Connections. When launched later in 2015, Illinois Research Connections will be a publicly accessible, searchable web portal of research and scholarship for faculty and researchers across all disciplines on the Urbana campus that specifically addresses the first goal of the campus strategic plan, to “foster scholarship, discovery and innovation.” This service is being developed using the Elsevier Pure researcher information portal. Researchers’ profiles will contain name and appointment affiliation(s) and be updated weekly with publications indexed in Elsevier’s Scopus database. Learn more at http://publish.illinois.edu/researchconnections/.
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HR NEWS: Faculty and AP Searches
Below is a summary of current academic searches as of April 30, 2015 (click on graphic below to enlarge). A more comprehensive listing is sent via LibNews each month.
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HR NEWS: Civil Service Staff Openings
Please note, only applicants referred from the register are eligible to interview, unless you are on the current transfer list for the noted classification.  Please direct any questions to Library Human Resources.

  • Central Access Services – Library Specialist, Sun – Th, evenings, Closed without hire
  • Music and Performing Arts Library, Library Assistant, 50% – Offer made and declined, interviewing will continue
  • Content Management Services, Oak Street, Library Specialist, 50%, INTERVIEWING, Master Referral #3
  • Library Acquisitions, Library Specialist with specialty factor, Just opened, interviewing, Master Referral #1

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HR NEWS: New Employees 

Academic Professional

  • Elise Dunham, Research Data Curation Specialist (1 of 2), will start in her new position on May 16, 2015.
  • Mari Colleen Fallaw, Research Programmer, Research Data Services, started in this new permanent position on April 16, 2015.
  • Elizabeth Wickes, Research Data Curation Specialist (2 of 2) will start in her new position on May 16, 2015.

Civil Service

  • Allison Martell, Library Specialist, Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library, started in her new position on April 13, 2015.

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HR NEWS: Separations

  • Michelle Yestrepsky, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, resigning effective May 4, 2015.

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HR NEWS: Examination Revision for Library Series
The State Universities Civil Service System announced on April 17, 2015, that there will be a revision to the examinations for the Library Series effective June 15, 2015. Anyone on the Library Clerk, Library Assistant, Library Specialist, Senior Library Specialist and Library Operations Associate registers will be removed effective June 14, 2015. The registers will be void as of that date. In order to be on the registers after June 15, ALL applications will have to retest. Notice should have been received for all applications on the register from the Staff Human Resources Office. If an applicant views their Applicant Profile online, it says that the applicant is not currently on the register. Applicants may request the new exams at this time, and will be scheduled for June 15 or after. Questions should be directed to Library Human Resources or to Staff Human Resources, 333-2137.
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HR NEWS: Academic Professional Performance Evaluations (revised due date)
Administrative Council has approved the implementation of a new performance evaluation form for Academic Professionals. It was recently announced through LibNews that the form is now effective. The new form is available on the Library Human Resources home page (http://www.library.illinois.edu/administration/human/). The deadline for performance evaluations for academic professionals has been extended to the end of the day on May 15, 2015.
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FACILITIES: Project Information
Please visit the Office of Library Facilities webpage (http://www.library.illinois.edu/administration/facilities/) for project information (under Facilities–>Project Information).
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FACILITIES: MCORE Project
Thanks in part to a $15.7 million Federal TIGER grant, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, City of Champaign, City of Urbana and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are partnering to improve mobility in our communities’ core. This project will have a transformative impact unlike any previous transportation project in the communities’ history. All are welcome to attend a public meeting on May 5 (11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM in the Illini Union Ballroom C) to provide input; for more information about the meeting or to follow the project, visit www.mcoreproject.com or refer to this MCORE Literature PDF.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Dog Therapy and De-stress Events
The Undergraduate Library, Grainger, and Funk Family ACES library will be offering a variety of stress relief programs for students during Finals Week. Therapy dog teams will visit each library from 2-4pm, starting Thursday, May 7th at ACES, then moving to Grainger on Monday May 11th and the Undergraduate Library on Tuesday, May 12th. The event at the Undergraduate Library will also host a number of additional campus and local partners helping students relax and prepare for Finals, including:

  • Representatives from the Campus Counseling Center
  • Stress Management Peer Mentors from McKinley
  • Chair Yoga sessions from Christine Janak (http://www.christinejanak.com/)
  • Other possible de-stress events to be announced later

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Samuel Johnson and the Hookers’ Best Friend
May 13, 2015
3:00pm, The Rare Book & Manuscript Library

A No. 44 Society Event
For the last meeting of the 2014-15 No. 44 Society season, we welcome Paul T. Ruxin, who will talk about Samuel Johnson and the Revd. William Dodd, supporter of Magdalen Hospital for the Reception of Penitent Prostitutes, founded in 1758. Ruxin’s personal collection of the works of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell and their circle is among the most complete in private hands.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Poplin & Paper: Four Centuries of Fashion in Print
May 18 – September 9, 2015
8:30-5:00pm, The Rare Book & Manuscript Librarypoplinpaper
The phrase “fashion plate” is layered with meanings. It is a portrait depicting an outfit that a clothier can supply. It is also frequently used to describe someone who wears the latest styles. But a plate is also a printing term, describing an illustration transferred to paper during the printing process.

RBML’s summer exhibition explores the interdependence between fashion and print to communicate ideas not only about what people wore, but also about those who produced and experienced these images. The exhibition begins with early modern surveys of national costumes, which sought to codify the diverse cultures that Europeans encountered around the world. It then traces emerging interrelationships among fashion plates and the periodical press, commercialism and the performing arts, and the subsequent evolution of various communities of readers and consumers. It culminates in the emergence of fashion photography, a new medium of expression for fashion in print that still shapes its viewers today.

The exhibition is curated by Anna Chen, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. The exhibition will be on display from May 18 until September 9 and can be viewed Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Everyday Creativity
May 19, 9:00am – 12:00pm
Heritage Room, ACES Library

Please join us for a new workshop presented by Shirley Stelbrink, a training consultant with Learning Alliances.

Everyday Creativity is a workshop that investigates creative endeavors. They are not considered magic or mystical but is something simple. It can happen in just a moment – we look at something ordinary and see the extraordinary.

Creativity is often thought of as a phenomenon that belongs only to certain people. In this workshop, we assure that creativity is accessible. It’s within our grasp. With open minds and willingness to venture beyond what is expected, all can tap into their own creative abilities.

Sponsored by Staff Development and Training
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Would you like to see a Questions section in LON? If you have a library-related question and would like to see it answered in an upcoming issue, please send it to hmurphy@illinois.edu. Perhaps the answer will benefit the entire LON readership!

If you would like to submit content for the June issue of Library Office Notes, please submit it to John Wilkin, Sue Searing, Beth Sandore, or Tom Teper by Wednesday, May 20, 2015.