• In observation of Breast Cancer Awareness month student organizers will display general information and certificates acknowledging donations that are being accepted in the dining halls.
• The Men’s Advisory Group is presenting a video in the Atrium and elsewhere on campus.
• The Roosevelt Institution, Middlebury’s non-partisan student-run political think tank, will present a display on McCain and Obama’s policy stances on immigration, foreign policy, the economy, healthcare, education, and the environment. This display will be in place for the full week before the election and will compliment the voter registration display already in place. (See previous LISt entry: http://sites.middlebury.edu/list/2008/09/26/voters-in-the-lobby/
• And finally, LIS will be hosting the Associated Press’ exhibit “The American President” from Election Day until the Thanksgiving break. Joseph is creating panels for the two presidents who were born in Vermont to augment the AP exhibit since both Arthur and Coolidge are not represented in the touring exhibit. We’ve also received brochures from the State of Vermont historic sites for each Vermont born president. Below, please see the press release prepared for us by Blaire Kloman in our Office of Public Affairs. (It’s so great to work at Middlebury College where one can pass this sort of task off to colleagues with the appropriate expertise!)

Here is an example of the kind of photo that will be on display.

 LOS ANGELES/ July 1960 U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy, D-Mass., makes his way through a crowd of supporters and journalists as he arrives for the Democratic National Convention. Kennedy turned back challenges by former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson and U.S. Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, D-Texas, who accepted the vice presidential nomination. (AP)

For more information you can visit http://www.ap.org/americanpresident/#

 PRESS RELEASE

Media contact: Blair Kloman

802-443-5483/bkloman@middlebury.edu

Oct. 20, 2008

IMMEDIATE

Middlebury College Library to host Associated Press photo exhibit of American presidents Nov. 4-25

 MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― “The American President,” an exhibit of more than 80 compelling news photos from the Associated Press (AP) spanning the past 60 years, will be on view at the Middlebury College Library from Tuesday, Nov. 4, to Tuesday, Nov. 25. The display shows American presidents at war and at ease, in victory and in defeat, confronting national crises and facing personal scandals, running for office and leading the country on the world stage.

Amid the extraordinary voter interest in the 2008 race for the White House, the new exhibit helps illustrate one constant in the ever-shifting media landscape. The coverage of the White House by AP reporters and photographers has been the dominant source of presidential news across the United States and around the world.

“We’re especially pleased to host the AP’s American President exhibit at this time, since it coincides with one of the most important national elections in recent memory. These photos of our past presidents capture the human side of those who have served, not just the formal face of the presidency. As with all of our work in the library, we hope the exhibit will encourage not only reflection, but also action,’ said Dean of Library and Information Services Michael Roy.

The exhibit features a number of the AP’s Pulitzer Prize-winning images, including Paul Vathis’ view of John F. Kennedy conferring gravely with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, at Camp David after the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961; Ron Edmonds’ rapid sequence documenting the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan; and White House photos taken during Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment battle. “The American President” also includes memorable shots from the AP Images photo library, which contains more than 10 million film and digital images, and pictures taken in this year’s run for the White House by Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.

According to exhibit organizers, the college will be hosting the full photo exhibit with the 16 panels as well as a looping video on a monitor. In order to include the two presidents who were born in Vermont, the college library organizers are preparing two additional panels with photos of Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur to augment the display.

Exhibit hours will coincide with library hours, available online at www.middlebury.edu/academics/lis/about/hours_maps/hours_lib/. For more information, contact Middlebury College Preservation and Processing Manager Joseph Watson at 802-443-5487 or jwatson@middlebury.edu.

– end –

This will be a repeat of the Web 2.0 Brown Bag Lunch held on October 9th.

Many thanks to Mary Backus, Mike Roy and Bryan Carson for their fun presentations – and thanks to those of you who attended. Congratulations to our winners!
Pij won a coffee mug AND coffee card
Judy, Mack and Alex each won a fun toy
All who attended will be eligible for the grand prize drawing at the last session in December.

Don’t miss out!
Here is your chance to attend the repeat session!

When: Tuesday 10/21 at 6 pm
Where: Lib 105
What: 2nd in a series of 5 fall semester Brown Bag mealtime sessions to discover and share new web tools in a fun environment. Mike Roy, Mary Backus and Bryan Carson will share Delicious, GoodReads, Jott, Chacha and RTM – Remember the Milk. Each presentation will last for about 10 minutes, with plenty of time for others to share during the last 20 – 30 minutes.
Why: Get together with your coworkers across LIS to get a taste of some fun web tools!
How long: 1 hour max; 3 presentations – 10 minutes each; there will be time for sharing and learning after the scheduled topics.
Bring your own bag meal (sorry – no free dinner!)
But…there will be a prize drawing! And…everyone who attends any of the 5 sessions will be eligible for the grand prize drawing in December. You could be the winner of a coffee mug/coffee card and maybe even a new fun toy! Attend every session and increase your chance to win the grand prize!

Please come – and join your LIS co-workers for a fun time!

Our volunteer presenters for November:
Jeff – iGoogle
Adam – twitter
Alex: Google Reader
Joe A – Facebook

Interested in presenting? Please contact Elin Waagen or Bryan Carson.

Attendees: Brenda Ellis, Carrie Macfarlane (presenter), Brendan Owens (co-presenter), Joy Pile, Jean Simmons, Elin Waagen, Joseph Watson

Carrie & Brendan’s presentation: http://dspace.nitle.org/handle/10090/6141

All other presentations available at : http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/services.htmld/OctCon2008/index.shtml

Elin’s notes are on the circulation blog: http://sites.middlebury.edu/circservices/2008/10/13/darmouth-october-conference-space-20-small-scale-library-redesign-projects/

Informal summary of highlights (combined notes from Jean, Brenda, Joy, Joseph, Carrie)

• “Best Practices for Planning, Designing and Servicing New Spaces” – top points

Assess users needs – think about what users will be doing in spaces – what will draw them in. Ask them what they want.

Have a guiding document with agreed upon goals and objectives – i.d. project “shepherds”

Work in phases rather than wait for major funding

stay flexible – design for future change/reconfiguration – use flexible furniture

consider noise levels.

line of sight between service desks (low shelves) – seek input from everyone who staffs a service point.

Get outside buy-in (administrators) and make use of architect consultants (BE suggestion: faculty – maybe input of McLeod’s architecture class)

• “Digital Social Science Center” (Columbia University) – top points

After assessment discovered: More group study space needed; scanning & printing important; need presentation practice space; need to market services better.

Glassed-off areas to create group study/presentation rooms?

The speaker pointed out the challenge of making this underground location seem light and inviting by changing the lighting and furnishings.

• “Rolling White Boards and Good Chairs – Priceless”- top points

Involved the students in the assessment process by having a “chair contest” – sample chairs with clipboards, inviting student

Response

Purchased not just chairs, but Ottomans as well

Whiteboards on wheels – so that groups can create “privacy” spaces

Group workstations with large screen iMACs, with the monitors left on

Table spaces where students can spread out

• “Step by Step: Small Space Improvements in the John Crerar Library” – top points

Moveable furniture – everything on wheels; foldable tables

Comfortable furniture

One room has a partition

Presentation Boards in rooms

Media tree (portable LSD screen) – can attach computer and DVD and bring it anywhere

Formed a team to undertake the planning and included the donor

• “Renovating a 1970’s Library” – top points

Collection study – found decrease in use of current periodicals; gov’t docs; microfilm; reference

Relocated periodicals and added group study tables to area; Reference Room converted to group studies (partioned areas – columns have power/ethernet run down from ceiling; blackboards; LCD panels +Mac adapters)

Students wanted: electrical outlets for laptops; better lighting; more comfortable chairs; group study space

• “Polishing the Diamond” (library at UNH)

Redesigned 2 work areas – a digital scanning lab and the gov docs work area.

Make changes along the way; don’t spend too much on temp fix

Took away public gov’t docs ref desk and turned it into public space and IT support.

• Carrie presented a well-received session about her use of post-it notes to gather student feedback about study spaces

• Janet Cottrell, director, gave a thought provoking presentation about how Champlain College energized [my term] the entrance “walk through” space to draw attention to the book collection.

o She made effective use of overlays, demonstrating true free space availability in her building (transparency showing classrooms not under library control, one showing utility spaces, one showing stack floor print . . .) = Excellent, low-tech demo tool!

o Her theme: look with new eyes at existing practices and spaces

- Giant reference desk became at times a display counter—and at other times, a place to serve refreshments

-  Low shelves were used for displays

-  Faculty author book talks were held right on the main floor—w/ refreshments and opportunity for folks to mix and share ideas (scheduled so as not to interfere with quieter study times)

-  Frequent thematic book displays that, because they filled a small space, took on more importance than a small display tucked away in the lobby. (Their library keeps jackets on books until they become shabby)

-  Display of artwork, as well, now

o Although a causal relationship hasn’t been established, their circ stats have increased noticeably since they began this initiative

o A once empty pass-through space is now often people-filled.

• From the conference overall, the message I came away with was the effectiveness of making small, incremental changes.

o It’s okay to make mistakes, if investment is small

o Don’t plan it to death. Try it out, even if not fully developed

o Work with modular, flexible units, so they can be tried in several areas and/or rearranged.

o If you can’t do it all, at least make a start

Good ideas (seen in photos etc.)

• Group study tables with display panels (like we have in group studies – but in more places)
• Use carpet and color to make spaces more inviting (see Bridgewater State)
• Create smaller rooms within larger ones using glass partitions
• Comfortable chairs with ottomans
• IMACs with the screen left on to invite users for group projects
• Add whiteboards and blackboards. Can buy white boards on wheels.
• Different sized tables rooms for dif size groups.
• Can create a small group study area in a large room with a pod-like moveable wall
• Market your progress
• “Little Think Big” group meets regularly to brainstorm on potential changes to library

Follow-up:

• Check with UNC-Charlotte – has multiple service desks (info; ref; circ; reserves) and are considering consolidating.
• One library added “flat wiring under carpets” – what does that mean? Could we add more electric and network without drilling into concrete? Another library brought power down through columns from ceilings

Here’s a good column about tech jargon.  While many in our community might be comfortable with a higher level of technology (and therefore jargon) than perhaps Pogue’s NYT readers, he makes some good points that folks who send all-College messages (especially) regarding downtimes, instructional classes, etc. might do well to think about.

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/10/16/technology/circuitsemail/index.html

Process for Planning Budget Cuts – Mike wants us to think about how various budget cut proposals would affect us in the short-, medium-, and long-term; what constituencies would be most affected by various cuts; etc.  We’ll want to look at things that are desirable but not necessary, or speed up certain things we’re already thinking about, such as looking at our phone services for students.  It’s probably worth modeling changes in our service hours.

Area Goals due by mid-November.  Will share with Faculty LIS Advisory Committee (FLAC) – posted on wiki https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/wiki/LIS/LIS_Goals_2008-09

Brainstorm how to get more of LIS to engage in discussions surrounding re-org - Mike will send out update via LISt on new proposals that have appeared on the blog.  How can we lower the barriers to getting more staff comfortable using the Restructuring blog?  We will ask for volunteers from each area to help folks get comfortable reading and posting to the Restructuring blog and send out email/LISt post.

LIS Suggestion Box – creating a physical suggestion space to go along with the online suggestion box; Bryan Carrie and Mike have agreed to respond to all serious questions/suggestions; also encourage LIS folks who hear suggestions to post them either online or in the physical space

Manager’s Meeting De-Brief – finding common topics for such a large group is difficult; hard to get to the heart of the topic within such a limited time frame; picking some tangible and specific topics might help focus conversation; the group may value the meeting as a way to interact more with Mike, and genuine expressions of interest or questions from Mike might be well-received

Government Information Resources

More than 50,000 historical digitized maps are now available online at http://infoweb.newsbank.com/?db=SSMAP.  The original maps are part of the U. S. Congressional Serial Set and they include a broad range of themes and cover from the early 1800′s to about the 1950′s.  Early maps were created by expeditions that surveyed the American west, Alaska, and other parts of the world, as well as early surveys of cities, harbors and other geographic features for most of the country.  Among the maps of local interest are a 1904 soil survey of Addison County and maps of Silver Lake, Lake Dunmore, and Otter Creek.  Other maps provide detail of specific battles in the Civil War and some early city plans.  Although the maps may be of greatest interest to geography majors, they may also be useful in supporting student research in geology, American history, and ethnic studies, among other disciplines. 

Curious Expeditions has gathered together photos of the world’s most impressive old libraries.

In the technology world we are typically barraged with acronyms full of useful meaning to we geeks.  Lately, though, we’ve had numerous buzzwords sent our way that we’ve been eager to share with anyone willing to listen.  Many of these buzzwords relate to what “evil-doers” in the computing space are doing with computers. 

It has only been a few years since we spoke of computer viruses and trojans with a mixture of amusement at some of the harmless ones, to fear or anger of those that deleted entire hard drives on the nth day of the nth month.  The landscape has shifted, though, as big money now drives the theft of your computer’s power, information, and/or your pocketbook.

Enter spam, phishing, rootkits, spyware, malware, grayware, adware, backscatter, and more.  Some are infestations, while others are the result.  Most are intended to trick folks out of their money.

Some bits of software code silently observe your computer usage, while others pop up ads, and many more prompt you to send sensitive information, and the like. 

There has been a recent surge in notices that pop up in your web browser or as an alert to the operating system informing you of serious threats to the information on your computer – and urging you to take immediate action.  This relatively new group of applications takes on a name quite appropriate for the season – SCAREWARE! 

Many computers have been infested with “Antivirus 2009″ and other relatives, many of which originate from web sources including infected video on social networking sites.  Microsoft and others are hoping to put the scare back into the “evil-doers” in this Halloween season, though, through legal action.  Boo! 

for more on Cyber-Security Awareness Month:

Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science School has a Kindness Lab that studies human behavior in order to develop tools, techniques, and products that enrich and enable our lives.

http://www.spiritmag.com/2008_10/features/kindness-lab-1.php

Information Technology at Tufts University has created an integrated suite of Web 2.0 technologies, communication tools for “for teaching, learning, research, and co-curricular activities.” This is a great example of access, support and marketing all in on space.

http://spark.uit.tufts.edu

The site gives the user a gateway to each technology. It also includes help documentation, examples and links to suggested uses. For instance, on the wiki page-

Wikis – Suggested Uses

A wiki is simply a web page or site that is fully editable from a browser using a very simple “mark-up” language. Its strength is that it allows small groups to add, revise, and edit web content, so it is a natural tool for most collaborative writing activities. Like a web site, it allows for non-linear linking of individual wiki pages. Whenever a wiki page is edited, a new version of the page is created with the old version being archived for the site editors’ reference.

• Demonstrate the evolution of thought processes through the different versions of a wiki page.
• Create a collaborative knowledge base that can be added to over time and across courses.
• Helps small groups of students develop a project, collect ideas, papers, timelines, documents, datasets, and study results into a collective digital space.
• Assists with small group problem-solving and brainstorming.

 What would Middlebury’s version of this service look like?