Say goodbye to the traditional reference desk (pictured above) and say hello to a new combined service desk at the USF Tampa Library starting May 7th. Because of the need for more space for student seating and Writing Center consulting space, the first floor print reference collection has been moved to the fourth floor. Lesser-used reference materials remain in the basement. The location of the new service desk will be at the entrance to the USF Tampa Library (formerly the Circulation Desk). Advantages for the new services desk include the following:
- One efficient service point to take care of patrons without sending them elsewhere (i.e., avoiding the “USF Shuffle”)
- A new Reference Consultation Office available behind the desk for helping patrons needing more time-intensive research help
- Cross-training between circulation staff and reference librarians for quicker, higher quality service to patrons
- Stronger collaboration and communication among all public service members
Many thanks to the RR2 Taskforce and their hard work in coordinating and implementing the One Desk concept. They include Megan Sheffield, Project Manager, Zoraya Betanacourt, Carol Ann Borchert, Barbara Lewis, Susan Silver, Dennis Smith, and Drew Smith. Stay tuned to more updates about the new Library Services Desk.
USF Faculty and Staff Campaign organizers for the Tampa Library, Matt Torrence and Andy Huse, along with our Development representatives Merrell Dickey and Mary Sweet, sponsored an “edible (lunch) thank-you” on April 19 from 11:30-1:30 pm. for those who have given to the campaign this year, along with an appeal to others who may not yet have donated. Andy and Matt offered yummy grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, and homemade tomato soup (Thanks, Andy!). As you know, library support for the USF Faculty and Staff Campaign is important, and every donation, no matter how small, can make a difference. If you haven’t given to the campaign yet, it’s not too late to contact Matt Torrence or Andy Huse, or consult the FSC’s website. The hardest part is in deciding what cause at USF you want to support the most! Pictured here are Andy Huse and Patrick Crookston reaching out for one of Andy’s famous grill cheese sandwiches, while Matt Torrence looks on.
The USF Tampa Library’s Dion Boucicault Theatre Collection is one of the largest and most important public collections of the Boucicault materials in the world. Once dubbed “Irish Shakespeare,” Boucicault was one of the most prolific playwrights of the 19th century. One of Boucicault’s favorite aphorisms was: “plays are not written, they are rewritten;” it is clear that he practiced what he preached. Many of Boucicault’s plays such as “Arrah-na-Pogue” and “the Octoroon,” were altered dramatically between performances, while others, such as “Robert Emmet” and “The Amadan” were amended due to poor reviews after a performance. Whatever the reason for their alteration, the printed and published plays of Dion Boucicault available to scholars are not an adequate representation of the output of this most prolific 19th centur playwright.
Using the USF collection, Matt Knight has been transcribing Boucicault’s plays from prompt books, sketch books and foolscap notes to present the plays in the form that Boucicault intended. For example, scholars will soon be able to access hitherto unpublished plays, as well as view updated versions of Boucicault’s best-known works online. Versions of “The Shaughraun,” “Suilamore, or Life in Galway,” “The Amadan,” “Cushla Machree,” and “Robert Emmet” are already complete and contain many intriguing features, both in terms of what material was added, and, often what was excised. It is hoped that Matt’s work at USF Special and Digital Collections will aid scholarship in Victorian-era theatre worldwide, and demonstrate what valuable resources exist in the USF Tampa Library. Many thanks to Matt Knight for this informative submission!!
For more about the Dion Boucicault Theatre Collection and The Shaughraun, see this previous post from February 2010 Off the Shelf.
Melanie Griffin, Special Collections, reports in an eCodex posting (the awesome Special Collections blog) that YA author Tammar Stein visited the Hipple Collection of Young Adult Literature in order to donate an editorial typescript of her last novel, Kindred (Knopf, 2011). Tammar also provided the library with updates about her latest book. All of this was facilitated by Professor of English Education, Joan Kaywell, who is the founder of the Ted Hipple Collection and a great supporter of the USF Tampa Library.
Pictured here are Joan (left) and Tammar (right). See also Melanie’s recent post from eCodex Behind the Scenes with the Hipple Collection of Young Adult Literature.
Illustrated in the photo above are student technology fees at work. The long, Starbuck’s length line of students you see in the Learning Commons are students waiting to obtain their free printouts from printers (which have been subsidized by technology fees). Given the economic challenges students have faced in 2011-12, it’s great to see that USF supports them in their basic need for technology cost reductions (printing, textbook affordability e-resources, laptop checkouts, scanners) as much as for new and innovative technology projects. Now, if there were something we could do about those long lines…
The USF Libraries has trial access to the Alexander Street Press collection, Oral History Online until June 5, 2012. Oral History Online provides in-depth indexing to more than 2,700 collections of Oral History in English from around the world. The collection also provides keyword searching of more than 329,400 pages of full-text by close to 10,000 individuals from all walks of life. It also contains pointers to over 4,200 audio and video files and almost 19,000 bibliographic records. Please try it out and send any comments/feedback to Barbara Lewis (bilewis@usf.edu), Special Collections or Rue McKenzie (rmckenzie@usf.edu), Academic Resources.
Now in its seventh year ER&L (Electronic Resources and Libraries), sold out for the second year in a row. This is a conference with about 600 attendees dedicated to those working in e-resources management and digital services. There are an additional 100 attendees that attend the virtual conference. Presentations are voted in by attendees at various levels: live conference, live conference with two librarians tweeting out during the session, virtual conference, and conference archive.
Monica Metz-Wiseman, Coordinator of Electronic Collections, was voted in at all levels to present: “The Textbook Affordability Crisis and the Academic Library: Exploring Alternatives”. With the current textbook affordability crisis in the U.S., the session explored possible roles for academic librarians in meeting this challenge and examined four case studies: Berkeley, University of Michigan, Indiana University and the University of South Florida. Pictured below is the cool twitter feed displayed for the conference attendees.
USF Tampa’s genealogy expert, Drew Smith, was recently interviewed on the local NBC news about the release of the 1940 Census. The interview with Jeff Patterson of NBC aired on Thursday, April 5th. It’s also available on YouTube (see link below).
http://youtu.be/zSYUzeUygWo
The 2012 Information Fluency Conference, held at the University of Central Florida on March 14-16, 2012 featured a keynote address, plenary sessions, and concurrent sessions with presentations on the various aspects of Information Fluency. This year’s theme was “Information Fluency & the Digital Divides.” In 2001, Everett M. Rogers said in his work, “The Digital Divide”, that “The digital divide is the gap that exists between individuals advantaged by the Internet and those individuals relatively disadvantaged by the Internet” (2001 7:96). Through a Round Table discussion at the Information Fluency Conference, Sarasota Librarian Christa Fowler and Dr. Lora Kosten engaged educators in conversation about reducing the Digital Divides. “In this fast paced technological world, now more than ever, we must recognize students as individuals. Accordingly, assumptions should not be made about students’ skills and capabilities in technology at the onset of a course. It is imperative that we identify student’s strengths and weakness in order to enhance our teaching and bring them to the highest possible level of computer literacy. In order to expand our instructional repertoire’, we must first assess our student’s level of computer skills in relation to information fluency. Additionally, we must keep in mind that while measuring student capabilities in a higher education environment, it is equally important to recognize one’s own level of computer literacy.”
Round table participants discussed assessing student technology skills, along with strategies for helping students advance these skills. In addition, participants set personal goals for infusing new instructional technology into coursework.
