June Library Office Notes


ANNOUNCEMENTS

HR NEWS

EVENTS AND TRAINING



ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note
I’ve temporarily suspended my Dean’s note for LON in light of the communications surrounding our response to COVID-19. Please see library.illinois.edu/staff/covid-19/ for the full list of notes that have come out. We will continue to adjust and respond to circumstances as they change, and I will send out notes on changes in the way we deploy our services and budget implications for the University and Library as the implications become clearer. I am ever grateful for the ways that you have all adapted and contributed to our engagement with the campus during the stay-at-home period, and I look forward to our being back in our library buildings with all of you.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: ILS Coordination Team Report
Michael Norman, Discovery Services Librarian and ILS Coordinator

We are 23 days from the Go-Live date of Wednesday, June 24, 2020, for implementing the Alma and Primo VE systems. For this stage of the implementation, we have completed the setup and configuration of both systems. Any additional configuration will occur after June 24th. We have made good progress in optimizing Alma and the Primo Catalog and we will be ready to release the new Primo Library Catalog to our users on June 24th. To see the production version of the Primo Catalog (when we regain access to the online catalog later in June), navigate to this URL to view the updated interface: https://i-share-uiu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01CARLI_UIU:CARLI_UIU&lang=en

We are currently in the Cut-Over period for the implementation of Alma and Primo VE. The Technical Freeze for acquisitions and cataloging work is ongoing. Within the Voyager Cataloging and Acquisitions systems, we have stopped adding, updating, deleting BIBs, Holdings, and Item records. All acquisitions and serials receipt information is frozen until we Go-Live in Alma on June 24th. And, activation work of electronic resources and databases has been suspended in SFX and will begin again once we are live in Alma.  

Access to the Voyager and VuFind catalogs still remains available and local circulation of the Library’s materials in Voyager can continue through June 19th. Updates to Patron data can also continue through June 19th. All circulation activity and patron user record management occurring in Voyager from May 14th to June 19th will be migrated to Alma/Primo after Go-Live. 

For the period of June 19th to June 23rd, the Library will stop circulation in Voyager and start using Alma offline circulation. More information for this offline circulation work in Alma will be coming in a LIBNEWS email soon.

On June 24th, the Library will Go-Live on Alma for all Acquisitions, Cataloging, Fulfillment, User Management, and Analytics work. The Primo Library Catalog will also become available to our user communities with all links on the Library’s Home Page actively pointing to the new Library Catalog.

Training information for Alma and Primo Catalog
The ILS Coordination Team has created a site to centralize our training documentation and recordings of the various training sessions that have occurred over the past several months. Check out the site to see full training calendar occurring over in May and June and the informative sources collected for working in Alma and Primo: https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/alma/

Recordings of the many Alma and Primo training sessions that have occurred in May 2020 (and earlier ones as well) can be discovered at the ILS Coordination Team page at: https://www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/discoveryservices/ils-coordination-team/

Reporting Alma and Primo issues and problems
To report problems or have comments or suggestions for improvements with Alma or the Primo Library Catalog, please send to the Feedback queue at: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/4430910

For more detailed information about the Alma/Primo implementation, the most recent report of the ILS Coordination Team is posted at: https://www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/discoveryservices/ils-coordination-team/

Message Points
Please see this document in Box with message points about the new Primo Library Catalog.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Transformative Agreements with IEEE and the Microbiology Society
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has established transformative publishing agreements with two organizations. IEEE announced its agreement with the University of Illinois on May 13, 2020. In addition, a new agreement between the university and the Microbiology Society went into effect earlier this year. Read more…
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: IOPN News
The Illinois Open Publishing Network (IOPN) now has a news feature on its website. Check out the first post to read a little bit of background on what we are doing and why. You can also follow our Twitter feed @iopn_uiuc!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Special Recognition for ORCID@Illinois
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been named a 2019-2020 ORCID US Community Award Winner for Institutional Achievement for the successful release of the Library’s custom integration ORCID@Illinois and will receive special recognition in the upcoming June issue of ORCID’s US Community Newsletter. The Scholarly Communication & Publishing and Library IT units, in coordination with Technology Services and Public Affairs Web services, were responsible for developing and launching the app.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: June Grant Support Office Hours and Last-Minute Grant Submission Alert
We’re continuing to offer Grant Office Hours (remote!) twice a month to facilitate proposal preparation and submission. Skype details will be sent out the day before. Look for those emails for these dates this month:

  • Thursday, June 11, 9:30 – 10:30 AM
  • Thursday, June 25, 9:30 – 10:30 AM

In general, we’re thankfully very good in the Library about working ahead of grant deadlines. The Library policy to let the AUL for Research and the Business Office know of your planned proposal 10 days prior to the posted deadline. This lets us review materials and get them to SPA “at least four (4) business days prior to the sponsor deadline date.” This leeway allows for mishaps that can happen at the last-minute, such as one that happened in April. The grants.gov system experienced a glitch that nearly prevented last-minute submissions. Most deadlines for grant applications are absolute. If the deadline is missed–for any reason–you have to wait until another opportunity comes up. It’s an unforgiving system!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Did You Know? A Monthly Factoid from Library Assessment
After the campus closed and all classes resumed online on March 23rd, the use of the Library’s EZproxy and electronic resources by all user groups, particularly by the students, has increased. More than 36,000 students have accessed the EZproxy server since September 2019. The chart below compares the percentages of students who accessed the EZproxy, using aggregated data from the fall semester (blue bars) and both fall/spring semesters (orange bars). The percentages were increased for all colleges, most notable for Fine + Applied Arts (FAA), Liberal Arts Sciences (LAS) and Vet Med (VMED).

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Library Tip of the Month
The Library sends a monthly email to new faculty at Illinois during the fall and spring semesters. These emails introduce many of our services and resources to this important audience.

You can view the May LTOTM at https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/4630189.html.

If you have ideas for future emails, please feel free to share them with Heather Murphy.
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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 meetings 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 forward journal editorships or editorial board membership, elected and invited external service appointments, honors, and awards information to Heather Murphy.
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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 https://uiuc.libcal.com/calendar/staff.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Mindful Movement & Meditation
The Wellness Committee is pleased to announce a multi-part Mindful Meditation course open to Library employees this summer. 

Mindful Movement & Meditation
Mindful movement is intentional stretching, muscle activation, and release to help counter common tensions and improve posture. 15-20 min of movement is then followed by a guided meditation practice such as breath awareness or body scan.

Specific physical focus options:

  • May 27 – Breath Awareness
  • June 3 – neck/shoulders — relieve common tension area in the upper body, countering slumped shoulders, etc.
  • June 10 – hands/wrists — stretches for the hands/fingers/wrists, carpal tunnel/strain preventative
  • June 17 – low back/core/hips — release strain in low back, tightness in hips, strength core
  • June 24  – face — soften tension in jaw, eye/brow strain, strength breathing and neck muscles the  ‘yogi facelift’
  • July 1 – Loving-Kindness/Metta Meditation

The instructor is Kristina Reese from Hatha Yoga and Fitness. At each session, Kristina will guide participants through gentle meditation techniques. Methods vary across sessions to give participants a taste of different ways of approaching meditation. The program builds gradually over six sessions as participants become more comfortable meditating. The sessions are appropriate for all levels of practice.  Attending all sessions is recommended and helpful for learning and practicing the various tools presented, but not required. 

Place: Zoom meeting
Cost: There is no cost to attend but class size is limited, so please register for each session separately.
Time: 12:00-1:00 pm, Wednesdays
Cost: There is no cost to attend but class size is limited, so please register for each session. 

Register: https://uiuc.libcal.com/calendar/staff

What is Mindful Meditation & Why is it Helpful
Whether you’re thinking about family life, work, school, what you’re going to make for dinner, what you said at yesterday’s meeting, or all of the above, it’s easy to get caught in a pattern of swirling thoughts. Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice that can be helpful in these situations. It brings you and your thoughts into the present, focusing on emotions, thoughts, and sensations that you’re experiencing “in the now.”  Through this series, you will learn how to cultivate tools for mindfulness including breath awareness, visualization, body scan practices, and focus techniques. Each session includes specific mindfulness meditation tips and techniques, a guided meditation session, and time for reflection. By the end of the series, participants will be equipped to integrate mindfulness into their daily lives and maintain their own meditation practice (again, participation for all sessions recommended, but not required).

Mindfulness can help you:

  • Reduce stress hormones linked to heart disease and immune function
  • Improve emotional steadiness, gain mental clarity and peace of mind
  • Build techniques for managing pain, anxiety and sleeplessness
  • Enhance brain efficiency and improve concentration and focus
  • Increase compassion and improve communication and relationships

This series is sponsored by the Wellness Committee with the generous support of Dean Wilkin. For questions, please email me at revell@illinois.edu
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: NISO Webinar: Picking and Choosing Titles for Use

NISO Webinar: No More Big Deal? Picking and Choosing Titles for Use – June 10, 2020 (recording available upon request)
Some institutions are moving away from the “Big Deal”, those licensing arrangements that allow institutional access to a critical mass of content. In that context, library collections may be managed rather than “developed”.  To further complicate taking such a step, the institution must be prepared to rely on resource-sharing, borrowing from other collections. This roundtable discussion will bring together those who have both stepped back from such deals as well as those for whom taking that step is — for whatever reason — not yet an option. What does the collection budget permit? What researcher or departmental needs to run the risk of being sidelined or overlooked? Is it even possible to go back to selecting just that content a particular institution actually needs for their community?

Recording available upon request – send email to Zoe Revell.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: World Refugee Day

Join libraries in celebrating World Refugee Day 2020 – June 20th

World Refugee Day 2020 is June 20th! This international observance honors the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and the American Library Association (ALA) invites libraries to commemorate World Refugee Day 2020 and affirm:

We are the United States*, welcoming people born here or afar.
We are neighbors, diverse cultures, connected in common humanity.
We are libraries**, welcoming all – people, ideas and knowledge.
We strengthen our communities from the most vulnerable to the most affluent.

Note: We invite other organizations to use this statement, replacing the * with their own location, and the ** with their own organization type/name.

To connect safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage virtual activities to support and celebrate refugees. For ideas and resources, go to:

Join us for a Webinar: From Refugee to Librarian: In our own words
Date/Time: June 18th, 12-1 pm CST
Registration: https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GfxBtMCtT-aD7HI1-5f0bA

Abstract:
As librarians, we have worked to create welcoming spaces and services for refugees. We have learned about them in order to support their resettlement and integration. The refugee stories we read about come from the communities we serve. How about the refugee stories that come from our own professional and academic community? In this webinar, we give voice to refugees who have become librarians or library educators. They will share their journey from persecution to resettlement to a professional career, giving the listener a glimpse into their experiences of struggle, resilience, hope, and belonging.

Co-sponsors: Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, ALA Office for Diversity, Literary and Outreach Services, ALA International Relations Office, and ALA Services to Refugees, Immigrants, and Displaced Persons (SRIDP) Sub-Committee

For questions, write to mortenson@illinois.edu and/or diversity@ala.org.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: NISO Webinar: Annual Meeting and Standards Update

NISO Webinar: NISO Annual Meeting and Standards Update – Open to the Public – June 26, 2020 (recording available upon request)
Join us for our Annual Meeting to learn about the status of the organization, all the work that took place in 2019 and what’s happening now in 2020. The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome to participate. The NISO Update provides the latest news about NISO’s current efforts, including standards, recommended practices, and community meetings covering many areas of interest to the library community. Working group members will provide updates on projects newly underway or recently completed.

Recording available upon request – send email to Zoe Revell.
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If you would like to submit content for the July issue of Library Office Notes, please submit it to Heather Murphy or Tom Teper by June 19, 2020.