Improving and increasing access to resources

BY BETH McNEIL

PILLAR: Scholarly Communication

Beth McNeilThe Libraries Scholarly Communication Goal is a very interesting and complex goal, requiring balancing the old and the new, the exciting possibilities within scholarly publishing, such as open access, with the crucial research in traditional peer-reviewed journals, a system that is flawed but still currently without a sustainable, robust and accepted alternative.

Access to journal literature continues to be crucial for Purdue faculty, researchers, and students. Use by discipline area varies; some areas rely heavily on research and scholarship over time, while others need the very latest cutting edge scientific research. Based on usage data, we know that Purdue scholars, including students, faculty, researchers, etc., heavily use the electronic resources to which we subscribe and provide access. For example, use of our Elsevier journal titles increased 40% from 2007 to 2011. Finding ways to continue to fund these electronic resources, with their increasing costs, is an ongoing challenge. During early 2012 we picked up again on negotiations with Elsevier, one of our major journal vendors. While it took several months the complicated negotiations were worth it and the Board of Trustees approved a new five-year contract with Elsevier at their May meeting.

I am pleased to report that for 2013-2017 we will have access to 1,687 Elsevier titles, increased from access to 885 titles in 2012. The additional titles, already accessible now, are being made available to Purdue at a significantly reduced rate. We also now have increased electronic access to the Elsevier back files, filling in the areas which we had not previously purchased.

Another result of the negotiations is access to Scopus. Scopus is Elsevier’s abstract and citation database. You can find it on our Databases list on the Libraries website. Planning is underway for future Scopus training sessions.

 

HSSEB special study and meeting rooms

BY DEAN RHOADES

PILLAR: Infrastructure

HSSEB division has developed new information on rooms available for reservation in the Hicks Undergraduate, Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (HSSE) and Parrish Management and Economics libraries. To begin with, we have made some significant revisions to the online room reservation form, found at http://www.lib.purdue.edu/hsse/infopages/roomReserves.html. The rooms included now feature the newly renovated conference rooms, classrooms and study spaces at Parrish, as well as study and classroom spaces in Hicks and HSSE libraries. Parrish’s policies regarding use of the special hardware in these rooms — such as the department’s laptops and polycom — are also available from this site. We are asking that all reservations go through this form, so that we can assure our users that their requests are being attended to in an orderly and timely fashion.

In addition to the modifications to our online form, we have also created a page detailing the features and capabilities of these rooms, found at http://www.lib.purdue.edu/parrish/rooms.html. This page includes seating capacity and workstation availability. This site is complete with photos of the individual rooms, so please feel free to direct any interested parties here should they have any questions regarding the specifics of a particular room.

We are excited about being able to offer these services to the Purdue community in accordance with our mission to promote collaboration between the university libraries, faculty and students at all levels.


JPUR continues to promote Information Literacy

BY CHARLES WATKINSON

PILLAR: Scholarly Communication

Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research 2012The second issue of the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research (JPUR) will be featured at Purdue Day at the Indiana State Fair on August 10. Copies will be available at the Libraries tent. The 2012 issue includes eleven articles and as well as 35 research snapshots which highlights the wealth of interesting research projects that Purdue undergraduates are able to get involved in; over 2,000 every year. As well as a 104 page print version in full color, an Open Access version of the journal is presented online at www.jpur.org

The published contributions were selected from 80 proposals by a Faculty Advisory Board that includes Libraries representatives Sharon Weiner and Catherine Fraser Riehle.

Coordinated, edited and designed entirely by students, with support from Libraries, Marketing and Media and the Department of English, JPUR is a great example of the imaginative ways in which Purdue Libraries are improving student information literacy.

 

ITaP's Customer Service Center moves to HSSE

PILLAR: Learning

ITaP’s Customer Service Center (CSC) walk-in help desk has moved to a more convenient location on the main floor of the Humanities, Social Science and Education (HSSE) Library. The move is a partnership between ITaP and Purdue Libraries to provide easier access to information technology-related support for faculty, staff and students. While the Libraries are providing space, ITaP will continue to handle IT support services.

ITap Customer Service Center in HSSE 2012At the CSC, faculty, staff and students can receive help setting up wireless or email, resetting passwords or answering account questions, among many other IT-related matters.
ITaP's new walk-in help hours are:

  • Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
  • Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

Help also is available through a Web form www.itap.purdue.edu/help, by email at itap@purdue.edu or by phone, 49-44000.

“We are excited to be able to move the CSC to a location that is not only easier to find, but also better equipped to provide support,” says Dwight Snethen, director of customer service and IT service management.

Moving the CSC also fits with the Purdue Libraries’ goals. “Technology plays an integral role in how our customers use library services and spaces,” says Tomalee Doan, division head of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education and Business Libraries. “The convenience of having ITaP assistance available within the HSSE Library will enhance the excellent customer service we seek to provide and represents a significant step toward the Libraries’ strategic goal of establishing productive collaborations with units across campus to better meet changing curricula and student learning needs.”


Libraries new staff

PILLAR: Infrastructure

Jamie Seebald 2012Jamie Seebald
Receptionist
Libraries Administration Office

I joined the Libraries Administration staff on July 5 as part-time receptionist. My primary duties are to assist visitors and employees on the phone or in person and to provide some secretarial support for Administrative and Human Resources staff. After one month, I still find myself basking in the warm welcome of the Libraries community.

I am originally from the small town of Cambridge Springs in northwestern Pennsylvania. I enjoy traveling back to the area to visit family and friends but am so very glad to have escaped lake effect winters! In May-June of 2007, I graduated from Grove City College (also in western PA) with a BS in Biology, married my husband Paul, and moved to Lafayette. Prior to joining the Libraries, I worked for four years as a technician in a developmental biology laboratory on campus studying the genes required for heart and muscle formation in zebra fish.

When I can get my husband to take a break from working on his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, we enjoy watching our favorite sitcoms (“Frasier,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Cosby Show,” etc.) and playing strategy board games (favorites in this category are likely less-than recognizable). We are also active members of Riverside Covenant Church in West Lafayette.

You can find me in the Libraries Administration office, STEW 271, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. or reach me at jseebald@purdue.ed or 49-42900.

 

George Stachokas 2012George Stachokas
Head of Resource Services
Digital Programs and Information Access

On July 2 I started as Head of Resource Services. I am very excited about the opportunity to provide leadership for a large and complex department in Purdue University Libraries. The people who serve in the Acquisitions, Metadata Services and Digital Collections Support Units impress me with their knowledge, hard work and willingness to learn new skills, but above all, I am inspired by their dedication to Libraries. I know that I will learn as much from them as they do from me.

A Boilermaker, I hold a BS in Economics from Purdue, an MA in History from Indiana State University and an MSLIS from the University of Illinois. Before I returned to campus this year, I served as the Electronic Resources Librarian at Indiana State University. This is a very interesting time to be a librarian, in my opinion, because our profession and the services that we provide are changing rapidly. I am currently doing research for a book called “After the Book: Information Services for the 21st Century.”

I am a native of Indiana, but have also lived in Chicago for a number of years. Not surprisingly, I enjoy reading. Science fiction and fantasy help me to relax. I also read widely in nonfiction to try and stay informed. Currently, I lift kettlebells and use a recumbent bike, but I hope to carve more time out of my schedule for exercise and to develop a more varied routine. I also enjoy visiting family and friends, going to the movies and hiking.

If you would like to get better acquainted, please stop by my office in STEW 175 or contact me via gstachok@purdue.edu.


Green Bytes

BY BETTY KROLL

Betty Kroll 2012Hello! For those of you who don’t know me I’m Betty Kroll and I work in the Libraries Business Office. I place the special orders and the IT software/equipment orders for the Libraries. In speaking with Nancy Hewison one day about ordering containers for the pen recycling program she asked if I would be interested in writing the old “Green Tambourine” column for INSIDe. We both felt it was a good way to get information about the University’s greener initiatives and new purchasing strategies out to the Libraries faculty and staff. So welcome to the first installment of “Green Bytes.”

Writing recycling containers
The writing instrument recycling containers are here! If you haven’t already received one in your library you will be getting a container soon. Help support the Boiler Green Initiative by recycling old writing instruments such as pens, markers, highlighters and mechanical pencils. Purdue even encourages you to bring them from home to recycle. The old writing instruments are sent to Terracycle (www.terracycle.net) and we receive $.02 per item. All proceeds received from the recycling initiative will go to the Boiler Green Initiative student group. When your container is full please empty and send the used instruments to Materials Management Distribution Center (MMDC) via campus mail and address the package to Pen Recycle Program, MMDC. Look for the containers around campus, I just found one in PMU by the dining area.

Please send your suggestions to me at bkroll@purdue.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFF THE SHELF

Continuing Vacancies

  • Digital Preservation and Electronic Records Archivist (A/P) (Posting #1201126) (Accepting applications)
  • First Year Experience and Emerging Technologies Specialist (Faculty) (Visit Libraries Web page) (Onsite interviews completed)
  • Geographic Information Systems Specialist (Faculty) (Onsite interviews completed)

New Staff

  • Carole Tolley, Secretary, Libraries Administrative Offices (8/6/12)

To view all Purdue job postings visit the Purdue employment page. If you have additional questions, contact Julie Hillgrove, 494-2903.

 

SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES

Roger Strater is celebrating 30 years at Purdue.

J. P. Herubel is celebrating 25 years at Purdue.

Marsha Hill is celebrating 15 years at Purdue.

Hal Kirkwood is celebrating 15 years at Purdue.

Brenda Meagher is celebrating 15 years at Purdue.

Beth McNeil is celebrating 5 years at Purdue.

 

CONGRATULATIONS

The American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) presents seven Best Paper Awards out of the over 1000 papers in 400 technical sessions presented at their Annual Conference. In 2012, “Knowledge-enabled Engineering Design: Toward an Integrated Model,” authored by Michael Fosmire and David Radcliffe (ENE) was named the best paper from (Professional Interest Council) PIC-IV, which is comprised of 13 Divisions from across the society. ASEE has been an advocate for excellence in engineering education since its founding in 1893, and it currently boasts over 12,000 members from all areas of engineering (and engineering libraries). As part of the award, the authors will present a summary of their paper during the Main Plenary II at the 2013 Annual Conference in Atlanta.

Check here for the official announcement.

 

EVENTS

Herbert C. Brown: A Nobel Laureate's Life and Legacy
Archives and Special Collections
June 4-August 24
HSSE 4th floor
STEW

Purdue Day at the Indiana State Fair
August 10

Information Literacy Research Symposium
Featuring Dr. Christine Bruce
August 13
1-5 p.m.

University Copyright Office Seminar
“Georgia State e-reserves lawsuit and its implications for libraries”
September 11
3-4 p.m.
Swaim Instructional Center
or
September 13
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Swaim Instructional Center

RSVP by September 6 to pirvin@purdue.edu

Libraries Distinguished Lecture Series
Featuring Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran
"Need, Speed and Greed: Welcome to the Innovation Economy"
October 18
7 p.m.
Fowler Hall
STEW
Free and open to the public

All Staff Meeting
October 29
1:30-3 p.m.
East Faculty Lounge
PMU
or
October 30
10-11:30 a.m.
East Faculty Lounge
PMU

Sagamore West Farmers Market
Wednesdays, May 2-October 31
3-6:30 p.m.
Cumberland Park on Salisbury Street
West Lafayette

Purdue Farmer’s Market
Thursdays, May 3-October 25
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Centennial Mall

Lafayette Farmers Market
Saturdays, May 5-October 27
7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fifth Street at Main and Columbia
Lafayette

 

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Ilana Barnes was featured in the Association of College & Research Libraries e-newsletter, “ACRL insider,” July 30.
http://www.acrl.ala.org
/acrlinsider/archives/5691

Terry Wade was recognized in Purdue Today’s August 6 “Thumbs up” feature.
http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom
/purduetoday/thumbs_up/index.html

 

 

WHAT'S COOKING?

Avocado Feta Salsa
Visit the Libraries Intranet

 

COPY DEADLINE

Copy for the August 22 issue is due by August 20. Send to tmabrown@purdue.edu