Embedded Librarians Enhance ELI Program

The Management and Economics Library played a unique role in a class called "ELI" this semester. The Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI) is a course within the Krannert School of Management MBA program. The overall objective of ELI is to provide opportunities for students to combine prior knowledge and experience with classroom learning and apply it in an active business setting.

Students are formed into teams of approximately six students per team and then paired with a real world company to solve a specific problem unique to each company. Sixty-six students were involved; including students from Krannert and from the GISMA program in Hannover, Germany.

MEL Librarians George Bergstrom, Mary Dugan, Kelly Evans, and Hal Kirkwood were partnered with each team to provide information research support.

“The ELI program has been a very interesting embedded project due to the real world projects," says Hal Kirkwood. "We were able to pair many of the teams with embedded librarians that had some expertise already in the areas they were researching."

Hal assisted several teams in acquiring information for their final recommendations. “One team was trying to find new markets for medical equipment worldwide and targeted Brazil, Russia, and India as well as several others. I was able to help them in finding demographic data related to numbers of hospital beds, number of hospitals, and overall information on healthcare in these countries.”

The MEL librarians will assess how well the interactions added value to the class and determine what can be done better for the next set of company projects.

Companies involved this year were Allison Transmission, Caribou Coffee, Clarian Health, Escort, Inc., Favored, Inc., Implementation Services, Ingersoll-Rand, Purdue Nursing, Sennheiser, Stellarwind Bio Energy, and Strategic Data Management.

The program is administered by Professor Matthew Lynall. More information on the program may be found by visiting http://www.krannert.purdue.edu/centers/eli/.

Photo by Dave Mason for the Purdue Alumnus.

Dear Libraries Friends,

Thank you for a wonderful 6 ½ years! I am lucky to have worked in an environment where I have had so many opportunities to grow. I have learned something from each of you, and I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with every day.  

I would especially like to thank Dean Mullins and Beth McNeil for their incredible support for the Archives and Special Collections. It has been exciting to see ASC grow and flourish, culminating in a beautiful new facility designed to meet the needs of today’s researchers of primary source materials. I would like to thank Judy Schumaker for her leadership in raising funds for the new facility, for advancing ASC’s mission to share Purdue history with the world, and for all she has taught me about working with donors and fundraising. I have to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of Nancy Hewison, Brad Heiss, and the Auxiliary Services staff, in planning for our beautiful new Karnes Center facility. Nancy also served as a wonderful mentor to me throughout the promotion and tenure process and I am grateful to her for her strong guidance and friendship throughout such a stressful time. Tomalee Doan has been a great friend and has shown me how to be a strong leader “from the middle” of the organization, as well as a person who puts the needs of the entire Libraries system ahead of my own division.

Most of all, I want to recognize the tremendous efforts of the ASC staff. We have come a long way in the past 6 ½ years, and it has not always been easy. I remember a year and a half ago how Stephanie Schmitz, Elizabeth Wilkinson, and I moved the entire ASC collection—one book cart at a time—into the new facility. Although it was a lot of work, we grew stronger as a team as a result of these efforts and we ensured that our fragile and irreplaceable collections were protected throughout the process.

As we built new services along with a new facility, digitized and marketed our collections, and brought visibility to the archives, the ASC staff have seen significant increases in usage of our collections, both onsite and from offsite users. We have enhanced the global presence of the Libraries, and Purdue, by serving an increasing number of international researchers, some of whom are discovering our collections online for the first time. We have seen an astonishing increase in demands for course instruction, a phenomenal increase in gifts—both of collections and financial resources— and enhanced the reputation of the Libraries on campus by serving the needs of all of the academic departments across campus. Although sometimes we have felt stretched thin in meeting these rapidly increasing demands, I know at the same time we all feel a sense of pride in what we have helped build together. Thank you, ASC staff, for all of your hard work, for your ability to support each other as part of a team, and for all the laughter along the way.

Although I am looking forward to serving as a member of the senior leadership team of Florida State University Libraries, I feel sad to leave behind the wonderful people I have worked with for the past several years, but at the same time I feel confident that under the strong leadership of Jim and Beth, and the hard work and incredible dedication of the ASC staff, that the Archives and Special Collections will continue to grow and thrive, meeting the needs of researchers for future generations while preserving the cultural and historic record. Someday in the future a new history of Purdue will be written using the historic documents, photos, and artifacts we have helped collect and preserve in ASC.

Thank you for making my time here so pleasant and rewarding. I will miss the Purdue Libraries very much, and I wish each and every one of you happiness and success in your future endeavors.

Boiler Up!
Sammie

Q&A about C/S and A/P Performance Management

Have a question about some aspect of performance management? Check out the Q & A link that you’ll find under the heading “Performance Management for C/S and A/P Staff – 2010" on the Human Resources page of the intranet. The Q & A’s are intended to help you use the performance management system effectively to help achieve goals. The document will be updated as questions arise, so if you have a question that isn’t covered, please email Nancy Hewison. You’ll receive a direct answer from Nancy and, if the question and answer will be useful for others, they’ll be included in the Q & A document (with any confidential or identifying information removed).

Here are a couple questions to ponder. Please look for the answers later in this issue of INSIDE – and, of course, on the intranet.

Q1:  Why do we do performance management?

Q2:  In the packet of handouts for the orientation sessions, each of the forms was printed on a different color of paper. As we use the performance management system, is it necessary for us to print the forms on colored paper?

-- and an important reminder for supervisors
If you supervise one or more clerical/service and administrative/professional staff members, don’t forget to schedule at least two performance planning and update meetings to be held during 2010 with each of the people you supervise. These are in addition to the one or more meetings at which you discussed and determined performance goals for 2010.

If you haven’t done so already, get them on your own and your staff member’s calendars now!  

Please see the answers to the above questions listed at the end of this issue.

24-Hour Libraries Appreciated by Students

Students taking advantage of the Libraries extended hours are very appreciative of the study space, the staff, and the coffee and snacks. Expressed gratitude heard by staff include, "Me and my GPA thank you," and "Our Libraries Rock!"

Dan Rotello reports that when students realize it is the Libraries furnishing the free coffee and snacks they are very surprised and thankful. One student said, "Caffeine is a good thing." Dan says that many students raise their coffee cups towards the iDesk as they leave and express their thanks for the Libraries' help. "It's nice to know we make a positive impact during this stressful time," says Dan.

Kristina Morgan, junior in College of Liberal Arts, Stephanie Pence, sophomore in College of Engineering, and Hannah Smith, sophomore in College of Liberal Arts, take advantage of the extended hours offered in UGRL. Kristina said, "I study in UGRL all the time. It is convenient and it offers a relaxed environment for studying." Stephanie said it was her first time taking advantage of the 24-hour library and will recommend it to her friends. "This is the only place I study on campus. The hours are great, the staff are great, and having the reserve materials here is the best. It's a great place to study," said Hannah.

The Engineering Library has also been open 24/7 since Friday, April 30, and HSSE and MEL have extended their hours.

Past issues of INSIDE and posters at the One Book Higher event have shared information about several projects which involve staff from around the Libraries. Now there’s a page on the intranet, developed by the Infrastructure Council (IC), which provides specific details about these projects that will be updated as needed. In the “Other Resources” list on the intranet Home page click on “Project Tracking and Communication” to go to a table of projects which includes links to detailed project information. Want to know the goals of the HKRP barcode project and what responsibilities project staff take on? What’s involved in transcribing oral histories from audio or video media? Who to contact about the possibility of working on a particular project? The table and project descriptions provide this information. 

A project form template is also available on this page for project owners/coordinators to fill out and post for projects they’re responsible for. Coming soon to the projects page: the theses and dissertations cataloging project. 

The Infrastructure Council welcomes your thoughts about the projects page; for example, other projects that could be included or additional information points about the projects that you think would be useful to add. Please provide input to Nancy Hewison or to any other IC member.

Seniors Honored

These graduating seniors were recognized by Dean Mullins for their dedicated service to the Purdue Libraries.

JACOB AHLBORN, MEL
JODI BLONDELL, HSSE
WAYNE CARMICKLE, AVTE
KYLIE CHEZEM, ILL
MUN CHUNK CHONG, MEL
KARLA DIAZ, ILL
JESSICA DRANGER, MEL
CHASSIDY GLAZE, ENGR
JOSH HIGNIGHT, UGRL
GREGORY HILL, LIFE
JOSHUA HOLLOWAY, ENGR
WILLIAM KAMIZELES, ENGR
MANMEET KAUR, ILL
EMIR KAVUMACIOGLU, LIFE
DEVIN LONGO, AVTE
ASHLEY MEULEMAN, AVTE
MOLLY MEYER, ENGR
SHANNON MILLER, ENGR
SONALI MODI, LIFE
MURUGAN PALANIAPPAN, LIFE
LAUREN PAMLEY, PNHS
KYLE SCHMITZ, MEL
NATHAN SHOAF, UGRL
RASHMI SINGH, MEL
DAVID SOLOMON, AUXS
BRADLEY TRENT, LIFE
BRANDON VERHOFF, ENGR
SARAH WATSON, UGRL
CHELSEA WHITE, MEL
DI XIAO, ENGR

Books will be ordered in each student's area of study and placed in the coordinating library. Each book will bear a name plate honoring that student.

This is the last Green Tambourine column for the summer and it is my last column—I think it time for a change. Anyone interested in picking the column up next fall, starting with the August 25, 2010 issue, contact Teresa Brown.

If you anticipate green withdrawal with the column absence, try signing up for weekly mailings at http://earth911.com/ or check out a book from the Purdue Libraries. Here are two I have read and appreciated.

Coming Clean: Breaking America’s Addiction to Oil and Coal by Michael Brune, Sierra Club Books, 2008 (Engineering Library, TD887.F69 B78 2008)

If the title didn’t clue you, the publisher and Michael Brune’s affiliation with Rainforest Action Network will indicate the perspective of his book. Although the emphasis is on becoming informed locally and becoming actively involved, there is enough analysis to introduce the uninitiated to the issues.

The emphasis is on action. Chapters end with three sections:

1. “Take it Personally” encourages readers to get local information about the topic of the chapter, for example: Find out how much money your federal, state, and local representatives are taking from Big Oil by visiting Oil Change International’s www.priceofoil.org .
2. “Express yourself,” not only suggests writing but provides contacts.
3. “Stay Engaged” provides organizations where readers can become active.

Brune minimizes conservation, focusing instead on efficiency and alternatives; he claims that we can continue “enjoying the same level of comfort.”  Maybe, just maybe, that could be the case from an energy perspective. Annie Leonard approaches sustainability differently by analyzing trash, the amount and its toxicity, and encourages reduction in various ways.

The book is arranged to read easily. Human stories and with success stories intermingle with analysis. There are no footnotes but the twenty pages listing further reading and group Web sites should satisfy the reader who wants to investigate deeper.

The Story of Stuff, by Annie Leonard, Free Press, 2010 (to be available soon in HSSE).

Like Brune, Leonard analyzes systems in her chapters on “Extraction,” “Production,” “Distribution,” “Consumption” and “Disposal.” Noting that a lot of trash is paper, she not only counts trees felled, but also counts the loss of habitat for important wildlife. She counts the minerals and energy used to make the chain saws used to fell the trees. Then the energy used to transport logs, the energy and material used to transform them into paper, the toxins produced, and the energy used to transport the product and pick up the trash. From this perspective, 98 tons of materials are needed to produce 1 ton of paper. Like Brune, Leonard considers the quality of life of the people living where the resources are extracted, and she includes the people in the sweat shops.

Leonard’s book changed how I think about sustainability. Several themes run through her analyses. One is the paradigm shift from quantity of stuff to quality of life. She discusses the Genuine Progress Indicator, a measure that “evaluates a number of factors beyond traditional economic activity, including pollution, resource depletion, amount of leisure time, and income distribution” as a replacement for the purely economic indicator, the GDP.

Another theme is cost and who pays it. If we paid the real cost for our stuff, we would be inclined to use less and to demand quality that would last. She cites one calculation that if all the costs were incorporated into gasoline, it would cost $12.00 per gallon. A third is to stop the trash before it begins by better design. If makers were required to safely dispose of their products at the end of product usefulness, there would be incentive to design safer, longer lasting products that were easier to disassemble.

And perhaps her most important theme, individual change and responsibility are good, but only if they lead to movements for systemic change.

Enjoy your summer: Read, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Q&A from the C/S and A/P Performance Management

Answers to questions about performance management earlier in this issue:

A1:  To develop employees' capabilities and potential, and to insure that our individual goals and efforts are in alignment with the organization’s goals.

A2:  No, this was done for training purposes only, to help us quickly identify the forms being talked about.  Plain white paper is more economical.

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