April Library Office Notes


ANNOUNCEMENTS

IT NEWS

FACILITIES NEWS

HR NEWS

EVENTS AND TRAINING



ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note 
The first week of Governor Pritzker’s stay-at-home order kicked off on March 23 last year. It’s hard to believe we’ve been living through a pandemic for more than a year. Over the past 12 months, we’ve filled your email inbox with numerous updates about remote work and virtual services, library hours, PPE, fulfillment, non-instructional break days, and vaccinations–just to name a few. And, I’m very pleased that all of us are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more…
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Spring Wellness Challenge
This year, as an alternative to running our wellness or pedometer challenge within the Library, the Wellness Committee encourages University Library employees to participate in the campus-level Spring Employee Wellness Challenge “Happy Habits.” This is a great way to engage in many different types of healthy activities and be part of a campus-wide health challenge! To register and participate, see the announcement below:

  • Register Now for the Spring Employee Wellness Challenge “Happy Habits”
    Improve your emotional wellness, have fun and—maybe—win a prize! It’s time for our spring wellness challenge. This year’s theme is Happy Habits. Participants can partake in a variety of activities that enhance mental and emotional wellbeing. The challenge runs April 5 – May 2. To learn more or register, go to https://go.illinois.edu/CWSChallenge.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Did You Know? A Monthly Factoid from Library Assessment?
With the upcoming integration of the Undergraduate Library (UGL) into the Main Library, we have been looking deeply into the data to find what our users need in a new library space. Part of this examination has been analyzing quantitative traffic data: head counts, gate counts, and Wi-Fi sessions. What is the expected capacity when two spaces are merged? Looking at pre-Covid Wi-Fi data collected during the Spring 2020 Sweeps Week, the Main Library is typically busy in the morning and that UGL is busier in the afternoon—sustaining head counts and Wi-Fi sessions even late into the night. The highest number of Wi-Fi sessions in a single hour at UGL is 820 sessions on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. and, at the Main Library, is 1,691 sessions on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.. Throughout the week, UGL sees its peak Wi-Fi counts at 3:00 p.m. while Main has more counts during the week in the 12:00 p.m. window.

As the qualitative side of this data, undergraduate students in recent library focus groups revealed their library experience, providing answers for why does the Wi-Fi peak at 3:00 p.m.. Most participants reported that they like to use the library for study space after class, ranging from quiet solo or comfortable-volume collaborative study. Others talked about using the library as their space outside of their dorm/home, work, and class. While the Main Library has a more utilitarian vibe where one goes to checkout specific materials or expects “traditional” library experiences, the UGL is more a destination where one can collaborate, study, browse the open stacks, and meet up with friends. Students who contributed to the study would like to see more spaces for individual quiet use, but also for collaboration, as well as knowing in advance if there was a quiet or collaborative seat available for them at peak times.
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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 March LTOTM at https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/956322995.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 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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IT NEWS: Help Make the Library Website More Accessible
With the ongoing pandemic, users rely more on the library website than ever to find resources to meet their academic and research needs. This includes patrons with a variety of disabilities. You can help make the library website more accessible to them.

When adding an image to a library webpage, please describe the content or function of the image in the “Alt Text” field before clicking the “Insert into page” button. This will not only allow the image to be accessible to users with visual or cognitive disabilities but also help search engines determine whether an image is relevant.

Links are more useful when the link text makes sense out of context. Please try to avoid using uninformative links such as “click here”, “here”, “more”, or a non-human-readable long URL. Instead, use descriptive text, for example, W3C accessibility standards or a short human-readable URL: https://www.w3.org/WAI/.

For more web accessibility tips and exercises, please visit our Web Accessibility page.
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FACILITIES NEWS: Update
For a complete list of projects in planning and construction, please see https://wordpress.library.illinois.edu/staff/facilities/.
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HR NEWS: Filled Positions

  • Amy Fry – ACS Electronic Resources – 3/16/2021

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HR NEWS: Departures 

  • Tiffany Xanos Rossi – Director of Advancement – 3/19/2021

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HR NEWS: Vacancies (Open)

  • Research Data Librarian – Assistant of Associate Professor – Research Data Service (RDS) – Closes 4/9/2021

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HR NEWS: Searches Completed 

  • Asst. Dean of Business and Human Resources, AP – Mary Laskowski, Chair 

Kick-off meeting scheduled for May 19, 2020. On Hold. Live on job board with closing date of August 28, 2020. Phone screenings held Oct 1, Oct 5, Oct 9 & Oct 15. Virtual interviews held Nov 18, Nov 24, Dec 3, Dec 8 and Dec 9. Offer extended to Susan Breakenridge. Start date March 16, 2021.

  • Head, Scholarly Commons – Scholarly Commons, FAC – Kyle Rimkus, Chair 

Kick-off meeting scheduled for March 24, 2020.  Interim Head position offered to Sara Benson: Phone screenings held 9/9 & 9/10. Virtual interviews held Sept 30, Oct 1, Oct 2 & Oct 6. Offer extended to Michelle Reed. Start date March 16, 2021.

  • ACS Electronic Resources, FAC – Tom Teper – Chair

Kick-off meeting scheduled for May 20, 2020.  EC approved position. IHR approved JD July 1, 2020. Live on job board with closing date of August 21, 2020. Phone screenings held Sept 30, Oct 5, Oct 6 & Oct 7. Virtual interviews held Nov 11, 16, and 17. Offer extended to Amy Fry. Start date March 16, 2021

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HR NEWS: Searches in Progress or Pre-announcement

  • ACS Cataloging Coordinator, AP – Mara Thacker, Chair

Kick-off meeting scheduled for May 13, 2020.  EC approved position. IHR approved JD Oct 7, 2020. Live on job board. Closed Nov 6, 2020. Phone screenings held Jan 4, Jan 5, Jan 6 & Jan 7, 2021. Virtual interviews held Feb 17, 23, and 26. CLOSED WITHOUT HIRE

  • Student Success Librarian – Undergraduate Library, FAC – Sarah Williams, Chair 

Kick-off meeting scheduled for February 19, 2020.  EC approved position. Live on job board with closing date of March 27, 2020. Closing date extended to May 1, 2020: Vacancy Suspended until further notice. Kick-off meeting held 10/29/2020. Live on job board.  Search closed Dec 11, 2020. Phone screenings held Jan 12, 14, 19, 20, 22 & 25. Virtual interviews scheduled for March 1, 2, 9 and 10.

  • Visiting Design and Materials Research Librarian – Ricker Library, FAC – Kirstin Dougan Johnson, Chair 

Kick-off meeting scheduled for April 14, 2020.  Vacancy Suspended until further notice. Kick-off meeting held Nov 2, 2020. Awaiting for EC to approved JD. EC approved JD. Live on the job board. Search closed Jan 29, 2021. Phone screenings held Feb 22, 23, and 24.

  • Visiting Project Conservator, AP – Tom Teper, Chair 

Kick-off meeting held Nov 5, 2020. JD approved by EC. Live on the job board. Search closed Jan 22, 2021.  Virtual interview March 23, 2021

  • Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility – Business and Human Resources Services, AP – Cindy Ingold, Chair 

Kick-off meeting scheduled for March 5, 2020.  Position description pending approval. Vacancy Suspended until further notice. Kick-off meeting held Oct 28, 2020. Awaiting for EC to approve JD. EC approved JD. Live on the job board. Closed February 12, 2021. Phone screenings scheduled for March 15, 17, 18, 22 and 25th 

  • Library Assessment Specialist, AP – Sara Benson, Chair 

Kick-off meeting scheduled for May 4, 2020.  Vacancy Suspended until further notice. 

Kick-off meeting held Nov 4, 2020. Still awaiting IHR JD approval. JD approved. Live on the job board. Closed date of February 19, 2021. Phone screenings scheduled March 15 and March 19.

  • Research Data Librarian, FAC – Carissa Phillips, Chair 

Kick-off meeting held February 16, 2021. Live on the job board with a closing date of April 9, 2021.
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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: Responding to Suicide with Compassion Part 4
April 1 at 10 AM

Program Description:
Nationally, 1 in 6 youth and 1 in 25 adults have thoughts of suicide. In Illinois, nearly 1500 people die of suicide each year, including nearly 100 youth. Family, friends, and professionals in the position to intervene may be limited in their understanding of suicide and may not feel comfortable or competent to provide support.

RTS/C will address these issues using strategies guided by compassion, cultural awareness, and centering the needs of those experiencing suicide. Participants will learn the scope and impacts of suicide, and risk and protective factors for suicide, including discussions of high-risk populations (youth, LGBTQ+, veterans). Participants will gain skills in asking and talking about suicide, risk screening, means safety, safety planning, connecting to services, and documentation. Teaching methods include lecture, discussion, and guided practice.

Presenter:
Kim is a suicidologist providing community-based suicide prevention services. She has a B.S. in Psychology and Sociology and completed graduate study in Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Following the suicide of her 19-year-old son, she left graduate school and founded Rattle the Stars to provide suicide prevention services to families, schools, and the community. Kim is a member of the Illinois Suicide Prevention Alliance, serving on the Adolescent Suicide Prevention Ad Hoc Committee, and a member of the American Association of Suicidology, serving on the Youth Suicide Prevention Committee and the Public Health- School/Education Committee.

Learning Objectives:
1.    Increase understanding of suicide to develop compassion for people experiencing suicide.
2.    Develop confidence to talk about suicide and provide support to people experiencing suicide.
3.    Develop skills to intervene and prevent suicide.

This Event Will Cover:
1.    Means safety
•    talking about means safety
•    safety with firearms
•    safety with drugs/medications
•    creating a means safety plan
2.    Safety planning
•    effectiveness of safety planning as a prevention method
•    completing a Brown-Stanley Safety Plan
•    MY3 safety plan app
3.    Providing continuing support
•    making effective referrals
•    developing a follow-up plan
•    documenting interactions

Zoom Link: https://illinois.zoom.us/j/87432967295?pwd=NytJazJ2WlVjaDQ2TDNQWWZVN1dPQT09

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Hub Training 
April 6 – April 23

Zoom information was shared via LibNews email from Sara Holder on January 19.

Date & Time Topic Who should attend? Instructor(s)
Tuesday, April 6 from 2-3 p.m.

or

Friday, April 9 from 3-4 p.m.

What are best practices for finding and using content in IDEALS and other institutional repositories? All first-year GA’s and anyone who is interested in the topic Ayla Stein Kenfield
Tuesday, April 20 from 2-3 p.m.

or
Friday, April 23 from 3-4 p.m.

How do we evaluate and decide on vendors for our e-resources? All first-year GA’s and anyone who is interested in the topic Tom Teper

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: April SoTL Studio Session 
April 8 at 3 PM

A series on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). SoTL has been defined in many ways but my favorite is this succinct definition: “systematic reflection on teaching and learning made public” (ISU, 1998-99). In other words, it might be research that is published but it can also be any other form of inquiry shared in a community of practice. Over the course of the spring semester, we’ll explore SoTL as a framework but also move towards thinking about designing and carrying out investigations. We will also possibly develop some collaborative research projects over time if the group — or a subgroup — is interested in doing that. 

We’ll meet on the second Thursday of each month at 3 pm via Zoom:

  • April 8, 3-4 pm
  • May 13, 3-4 pm

Zoom information and what will be discussed during this meeting will be shared via LibNews email.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Walkin’ through Champaign-Urbana’s Music Scene with Nick Rudd
April 13 at 6-7:30pm

For those folks who have fond memories of Nick Rudd as either one of our library staff or one of Champaign-Urbana’s great local musicians, I hope you will consider attending this exciting online discussion about our local music scene and Nick’s many influences on it.  We’ve got a wonderful lineup of panelists who can speak about their experiences working with Nick over the years, and we will also play excerpts of some of his most memorable music.  For those who did not know Nick, he was quite an influence on our local music scene.  The Center is working with the Urbana Free Library to produce this event.  Complete information about the program is listed here.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: NISO Webinar – Meaningful Metrics (Part 1 of 2) 
April 14 at 10 AM

It’s time to revisit metrics. How can they be made more meaningful and illuminative? Publishers, librarians, and their vendors use similar vocabulary (such as usage) but what they mean by their terminology (downloads, referral, etc.) and how they interpret it may differ. What data needs to be collected? How long is it retained? What are appropriate data-sharing practices? How should providers measure use of open educational resources? Or use of open access monographs? Can we come to agreement on the meaning of the behavioral data that may be automatically gathered in? In short, how can we make metrics more meaningful?

Participants in this two-part webinar will examine and discuss these issues and more from a variety of perspectives.   

Please email training@library.illinois.edu for login credentials or recordings
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Solving the World’s Challenges: Exploring the Intersection of Agriculture and Health 
April 15 at 3 PM

We are pleased to announce that Funk ACES Library will host our third Solving the World’s Challenges panel.

Three experts from across campus will each discuss their research connecting agriculture and health and respond to questions from attendees. Their research includes studies on connections between diet, gut microbes and health; risks to human health from pathogens originating in livestock farms; and applications of genomics and data science tools for food safety. This panel presentation will be an opportunity for people to come together with the Funk ACES Library to learn about and discuss research exploring the intersection of agriculture and health.

Panelists:

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/yx59mmet
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Res. Hall Libraries’ April & May BYOB+ club meetings
April 15 at 6 PM

We’re back with a spring edition of Bring Your Own Book Club! Hosted by the Residence Hall Libraries and the Undergraduate Library, come together with others and discuss the books you’ve been reading recently. Not into books? No problem! We want to hear about TV shows, movies, documentaries, podcasts, and video games that you love or love to hate.

The final two meetings of the semester will be held April 15th @ 6pm and May 6th @ 6pm.

Sign up today: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/31039347
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: AI Infodemic 
April 20 at 4 PM

Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping the future of information seeking, discovery, and curation. While AI may claim to make these practices easier, several scholars have been raising essential questions about the nature of this technology and its implications for racial justice, political polarization, and privacy in the information ecosystem.

The fifth session of the AI Infodemic: Interrogating Algorithms of Information Seeking reading group will take place via Zoom on Tuesday, April 20 at 4:00 CT and will cover the topic of online classification, focusing on algorithmic bias as described by Safiya Noble in her book Algorithms of Oppression.  The sixth and final session on Wednesday, May 5 at 12:00 CT will conclude with a discussion of information discovery, focusing particularly on library discovery systems. Additional topics will include library classification systems, with a broader discussion about how topics covered throughout the program relate to the work of information professionals.

For a complete list of materials covered in this session, view the schedule on the program website. Join our mailing list to receive the link to the Zoom meeting and regular updates about the program.

The AI Infodemic: Interrogating Algorithms of Information Seeking reading group is sponsored by the HRI Research Cluster: AI & Society: Privacy, Ethics and (Dis)Information.

Co-organizers: Sarah Appedu (MLS Student) & Lisa Hinchliffe (Library Faculty)
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: OEC Article Reading Group 
April 27 at 2 PM 

Join OEC member Karen Huck to discuss the following two foundational reads about Outreach and Engagement. Discussion will be inspired by the featured articles, but reading is not a prerequisite. Come to the meeting having read one or both articles … or neither. All are welcome! 

  • “Librarians Across Institutions: Establishing Outreach Programs. A study of Effective Outreach Programs and Support Groups in Academic Libraries” by José F Rodriguez of Georgia State University published in the Premier edition of The Journal of Library Outreach and Engagement (JLOE) (Vol. 1 No. 1 (2020): Volume 1 no. 1). https://doi.org/10.21900/j.jloe.v1i1.467    
  • “Outreach in academic librarianship: A concept analysis and definition” by Stephanie A. Diaz of Pennsylvania State University published in The Journal of Academic Leadership (Volume 45, Issue 3, May 2019, Pages 184-194). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2019.02.012  

Zoom information was shared via LibNews email from Shelby Strommer on March 3.
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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 April 23, 2021.