Tag Archives: December 5

Tasty Tech Treats Web 2.0 Series

Submitted by Elin Waagen

The last Tasty Tech Treats brown bag lunch of the semester was held on Thursday 12/4 at noon in Lib 105. Topics included iGoogle, Google Reader and Twitter, Yammer, GoogleNews, and GoogleAlerts.
The winner of the iPod shuffle grand prize (generously donated by Amy Hoffman) was Terry Simpkins. Congratulations, Terry!
Many thanks to our presenters for the web 2.0 series – Mike R, Mike L. Adam F, Alex C, Joe A, Jeff R., Bryan C, and Mary B.
Total attendance for the series was 50 – many thanks to all who attended and participated.
And last but not least, a big thank you to the group (formerly knows as LIS Administration) for their support of the idea and for funding the prizes.
Please let Bryan and Elin know if you think it would be worthwhile to continue the series in some shape or form in the Spring.

Student Employee Holiday Buffet

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Submitted by Elin Waagen

LIS student employees were treated to a beautiful holiday buffet table filled with savory and sweet goodies on Thursday. Many thanks to Maura Clancy and Lisa Terrier for organizing and to LIS staff for contributing to the wonderful spread. The event was greatly appreciated by our student staff during the busy last week of classes.

End of Semester Overflow Reshelving Areas

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In order to accommodate the large amount of returns at this time of year we have designated 2 overflow areas for recently returned library materials – 1 on the upper level and 1 on the main level of the Main Library.
All recently returned library materials in A-N classes, and the oversize group, can be found in the upper-level re-shelving, first range of stacks at SW end of upper floor. Please note – this is a new area – not the shelves used in previous semesters.
Recently returned materials in the P-Z classes can be found on the Main Level in the regular re-shelving area -around the corner from the media viewing rooms.
Please be aware that materials in re-shelving areas are shelved in general alpha order, not in exact call number order.

Can’t find it on the shelf?

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From the LIS web pages – a few changes for our users – in response to a suggestion from the LIS Suggestion blog.

Need help finding a book?
If you can’t find the library material you’re looking for, try these steps:
Check the listing in the library catalogue to make sure the item is listed as status available.
Make sure you’re looking in the correct library: Armstrong (McCardell Bicentennial Hall), Main Library, Music Library (CFA).
Check the “Location” of the item, it might be part of a specific collection: Reference, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Oversize, Vermont Collection, Reserves, Media, Government Documents, Mini-scores, or Special Collections. Each of these collections is housed together in separate areas in each Library, not with regular books on the shelves.
Check the Library Map to make sure you’re looking in the right place.
If you still can’t locate the item you’re looking for on the shelf, please report it missing.

There are several ways to do this:

Web:
Place a request through the library catalog, MidCat. This will initiate a search and we will hold the book for you if found. We will notify you by email if not found.

Email:
Library Circulation at library_circulation@middlebury.edu,

Call:
Main Library Circulation Desk at 802-443-5494
Music Library at 802-443-5218
Armstrong Library at 802-443-5449

In person:
Stop at one of the Circulation Desks in person

Notes from the November 6th Area Directors Meeting

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1. Student publication database – Carol and Jeff attending a meeting to discuss questions about a student publication database which would combine and extract student research, student grant, student publication data, etc and also track things like student employment after graduation. Trying to define the problem and figure out the players involved.

2. Student advisory group. A student advisory group will be formed to discuss student technology issues. Terry and Mike will be on this group as well.

3. Update on budget: Carol continued her overview of the library budget. Area Director’s need to look at the spreadsheet Carol sent, review possible cuts with managers, along with identifying potential savings this year (i.e give money back to the College).

4. Mills: Mary, Adam and Bryan met with Michael Geisler and Mackie Gaines to be updated on the current status with language schools at Mills. Mary shared notes from this meeting, and is currently serving as LIS liaison. There are many conversations that have yet to begin surrounding this. Some major points that need resolving:

Segue
Budget timeline
Library support

Kids’ Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures

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Submitted by Shel Sax

This is a recently completed three-year collaborative project funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Carried out by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley, the digital youth project explores how kids use digital media in their everyday lives.

Digital Youth Media has the complete report as a white paper and a two page summary in pdf format. If you’ve wondered how today’s youth are using digital media, It is interesting reading.

LIS Authors

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Submitted by Judy Watts

Geospatial Technology Support in Small Academic Libraries: Time to Jump on Board?, by Carrie M. Macfarlane and Christopher M. Rodgers, Middlebury College, has just appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship. This article describes in some detail the work that Carrie did with GIS Interns Katie Clagett and Chris Rogers leading to the Google Earth and GIS support that is now offered by Digital Media Tutors in the Wilson Lab.

Congratulations to Carrie and Chris for producing a piece that is both entertaining and useful to other institutions attempting to find a way to offer support for geospatial technologies. What is described in the article represents a huge commitment by three very dedicated individuals – Carrie, Katie, and Chris – leading to the successful application of geospatial techniques across the curriculum. There were many challenges along the way, including rapidly developing technology and the end of funding for GIS interns, but the result is that students and faculty may now find a wide range of support to suit their needs. Kudos, too, to Joe Antonioli and the Digital Media tutors for stepping up to the challenge and adding yet more ways to help.

This year Cookie Night will be held on Tuesday, December 9th! Our students truly enjoy the home-baked goodies provided by LIS staff during a brief late night break from studying for their finals exams. So, take out the flour and sugar and let’s bake up a storm!

Cookies can be left in LIB250D during the day on Tuesday. Don’t forget to put your names on your dishes and trays.