ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note

Welcome to November and where has the time gone!? In October I was able to attend the rededication ceremony marking the 100^th anniversary of Memorial Stadium, which was moving and exciting in equal measure. And I finally had a chance to admire some of the great work University Archives has been doing in collaboration with the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. If you haven’t yet seen the exhibits I highly recommend them. Read more…

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Cheers for Peers

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

• Jose Bermudez
• Sara Berthier
• Belinda Bolivar
• Candence Cordell
• Jake Culbertson
• JP Goguen
• Lisa Hinchliffe
• Joe Ingram
• Doxey Kamara
• Ayla Stein Kenfield
• Courtney Monroe
• Norris Purdy
• Xavier Sanchez
• Jennifer Vargo
• Jen-chien Yu

To view the detailed Cheers for Peers submissions please view the Growing People blog.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Recognizing Excellence

• Lynne M. Thomas Wins Special Award from the World Fantasy Convention

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: Senior Administrative Team Meeting Minutes

Please see the detailed meeting minutes as follows:

• September 30
• October 14

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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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FACILITIES NEWS: Facilities Update

Tim Newman, Assistant Dean of Libraries for Facilities

For a complete list of projects in planning and construction, please visit wordpress.library.illinois.edu/staff/facilities.

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BUSINESS NEWS: Domestic Per Diem – What Changed and What Stayed the Same

Kim Johnson, Associate Director of Fiscal Operations

State of Illinois has begun utilizing the domestic per diem rates and rules set by the General Services Administration (GSA). While we are all happy to see the per diem rates increase, a few of the accompanying changes have led to some confusion, so we would like to clarify.

What Stayed the Same?

• Per diem is allowed for travel days while you are away from your designated workplace.
• Per diem is only allowed when an overnight stay is included.
• If a meal was provided to you (conference meals, meal on a flight, business meal with outside guests that you or they paid for, breakfast provided by the hotel, etc.), you must mark those meals as deductions.
• If an employee hosted a business meal, do not claim reimbursement for the hosted meal and a per diem allowance.
  • The University Travel Card (TCard) may not be used for meal purchases when in travel status, except when hosting an allowable business meal.

What Changed?

• The amount of per diem you receive is no longer calculated based on travel times. 
• The day you leave your headquarters and the day you travel back to your headquarters should both be marked as a Travel Day.
  • This will provide you with 75% of the day’s allotment.
  • Only mark the first and last day of travel as Travel Days.
• A $5 incidental amount has been added to your daily total to cover the cost of hotel housekeeping, bellhops, or other baggage handlers.

Helpful Hint: If you are not requesting per diem for a travel day, please note that in your report. 

Meal Per Diem Reimbursement for International Travel
The international M&IE per diem rates are determined by the U.S. Department of State and include the following:

• meals and taxes
• fees and tips to waiters, bellhops, housekeeping, etc.
• laundry, dry cleaning, etc.
• transportation between place of lodging or business and places off site to obtain meals

Meals Provided
Reduce the amount of the M&IE foreign per diem you are claiming if you were provided any meals during your travel, including meals at a conference or on board an airplane, train, or ship:

• Breakfast—deduct 15%
• Lunch—deduct 25%
• Dinner—deduct 40%

Policy located: https://www.busfin.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=1993898&pageId=2130211 & https://www.busfin.uillinois.edu/bfpp/section-15-travel/travel-reimbursement-and-per-diem

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HR NEWS: Departures

• Jake Metz – Media Commons – Grainger Library – Resigned October 6, 2024
• Sindhuri Rekulapally – Business Office – Resigned November 1, 2024
• Virginia (Ginger) Schutz – Acquisitions and Cataloging – Retired October 31, 2024

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HR NEWS: Civil Service Vacancies

• Web Application Developer – Library IT – Interviewing soon
• HR Representative – Business & Human Resource Service Center – Offer made

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HR NEWS:  Academic Professional and Faculty Open Postings

• Clinical Assistant Prof, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music – interviews soon
• Archives Program Officer (AP) – University Archives – Closing Nov 1
• Medical & Biomedicine Librarian – Grainger Engineering Library – Closing Nov 8

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HR NEWS: Civil Service New Hires

• Software Developer SCaRS – Library IT – Warsama (Sam) Gabriel – Start 10/21/24
• HR Associate – Business & Human Resource Service Center – Amy Dannowitz – Start 10/14/24

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HR NEWS: In Memoriam

• Jeffrey Carrico

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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: The Eliot Bible: Encountering Colonial History in Illinois

November 7 at 3:00–5:00 p.m.

The John Eliot Bible (1663) is the first bible published in North America, and the RBML owns an extraordinary copy of this exceedingly rare book. Professor Bob Morrissey from the U of I’s History Department will join us to discuss this unusual text, and how it can be used to examine American origin stories, as well as histories of historical interpretation and practice in our land-grant institution. This talk is open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Women in Science Lecture: Dr. Supriya Prasanth

November 14 at 12:00–1:00 p.m.

Professor and Head of Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Dr. Prasanth will discuss her research on eukaryotic DNA replication, chromosome structure and maintenance, heterochromatin organization, and cell cycle control.

Join us on Zoom (go.library.illinois.edu/Nov2024WISLecture) or at the University Archives (146 Main Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana)

https://distributedmuseum.illinois.edu/about/women-in-science-lecture-series

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Hub Training

The Reference Management Team will be holding Fall 2024 Hub Trainings. The October sessions are listed below as well as in the Staff Calendar and on the welcome page for the Canvas course (see below).

We will once again be having one in-person session and one held via Zoom for each topic, with sessions taking place on Mondays from 2-3 p.m. and Fridays from 3-4 p.m. The same content is presented in both sessions so you can attend either the Monday or the Friday session. Registration is not required (Civil Service non-exempt staff should get permission from their supervisor before planning to attend).

To enroll in the Canvas course associated with Hub Training, use this link: https://canvas.illinois.edu/enroll/YYL6RR . The course includes materials and recordings from past Hub Training sessions and will be updated to include the Fall 2024 sessions.

• November 11 at 2 PM & November 15 at 3 PM: Chat Transcript Review
• November 18 at 2 PM & November 22 at 3 PM: Reference in Special Collections

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Personal Management (Zoom) Module 4

November 18 at 10:00–11:00 a.m.

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 workshop, Personal Management, focuses on emotional intelligence and personal leadership skills.

We will have more workshops next semester, please keep a look out for them.

Registration: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/13083195

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: All Library Meeting

November 19 at 3:00–4:00 p.m.

Please watch for more information via LIB-NEWS including a Zoom Meeting link.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: LibGuides Trainings

Introduction to LibGuides Training (Registration: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/13191450)
November 19 at 1:00–2:30 p.m

This hands-on training session is intended for anyone who has, or will have, responsibility for creating and maintaining LibGuides in their library unit, including those new to LibGuides and those looking to refresh LibGuides skills. Access to your unit’s LibApps account is required for this session, and is open to all library staff and GAs. 

In this session, participants will…

• …learn what LibGuides are and best practices
• …learn how to access, create, edit, and maintain accessible unit LibGuides
• …learn where and how to receive LibGuides help and support

This LibGuide is on Fire: How to Assess & Review Your LibGuides (Registration: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/13191454)
November 20 at 1:00–2:30 p.m

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

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

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