Library Gazette

Sha Li Zhong, the Associate Dean for Collections & Technical Services at UNCG came with two librarians from China that are currently participating in their Visiting Scholars program on Thursday, Oct. 1. While Sha Li was meeting with Wanda, I was asked to show the Chinese librarians around. It was quite exciting for me, since I never met a librarian from China before.

They have only been in the States for a week, so they were extremely happy to be able to converse with me in Chinese. I started the tour from the ground floor - Starbucks. They were impressed with the coffee shop and started taking pictures. The manager came out right away and explained that it is against company policy to take pictures of their menu and their food. That was news to us. She explained that people steal their menu and recipes all the time, so they have to be careful.

Next to the all night study rooms, we toured the Rare Books department, Reference department, Circulation, Media Lab, stacks, more study rooms, and the atrium. The Rare Books Reading Room really blew them away; they were taken by the grandeur of the room. They liked the way we make use of the atrium. They told me that they have an atrium in their library too, but just a few chairs. The small group study rooms were a hit with them. Through the whole time, they were taking pictures and making comments about how they could transform their library with what they learned in ZSR.

I also showed them the library homepage. They were impressed by the pictures of new books and films. They also liked the Texting/Emailing/Citing/Putting Hold and Recall options for titles in the online catalog.

The walk to the Quad was nice. They thought our campus is beautiful and they wanted to take some souvenir home. However, after some long consideration, they gave up, because they are all made in China!

One of the best part of working with librarians from other institutions is we can exchange information and learn about each other’s practices - how they do overdues and ILL, etc. It was very interesting to find out that the professional librarians there get THREE months off! Two in the summer and one in the winter, when the school is not in session. “Who runs the library?” I asked. They informed me since there are so many of them - sixty, they each work five days in the summer to cover the operation. Now, that’s a good life! As if this was not enough to shock me, they told me that each librarian gets “heat compensation money” in the summer if they come in to work - about $25 each month. Not much, they said. I asked if the building is not air conditioned. They said that it is and the money is to cover their “stress” having to endure the heat while commuting to and from work. Having experienced the awful combination of heat and high humidity of subtropical climate, I can sympathize with that.

All and all, I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with them. I believed they saw it as very beneficial and interesting, as did I.

Wake Forest undergrads Corinne Ung, Alana Wilson, Aaron Green, and Marshall Milliken completed the first video project in the ITC Filmstudio late last week. After two days of filming and over six additional hours worth of editing and compiling, the students, with assistance from ITC, created an evening news program for a Spanish class project. Utilizing the green screen setup in the Filmstudio, the students anchor their newscast in front of a Mexico City skyline, conduct an interview in an office setting, and even appear live on location as a street brawl breaks out in the background, each scene created right here in ZSR. Below is the final product, please watch and enjoy!

A special thanks to Corinne Ung, Alana Wilson, Aaron Green, and Marshall Milliken for allowing us to show this video online, as well as to IS, Rick Matthews, and Yip Ching-Wan for making this Filmstudio a reality. We hope to see even more creative use of our facilities in the future.

Right in time for spring graduation, Mark Taylor wrote an op-ed piece for the NYT Sunday edition called End the University as we know it in which he calls for major restructuring of the higher education system. On first glance it is an interesting read in which Taylor calls for more collaboration and interdisciplinary work (two things that libraries are pretty good at). I was struck by his discussion of the role of educational technology in higher education and the impact of technology on student work particularly in light of the increased call for educational technology support that we have seen over the past few semesters.

Granted, along with these ideas, he suggests some pretty controversial changes to higher education including mandatory retirement(!) and a move away from traditional departments. He also comments that universities are training people for jobs that don’t exist or are already filled to capacity. These are some weighty suggestions so read at your own risk

This morning our ITC filming studio had its inaugural use this morning. Our own production engineer Barry Davis worked with students to film in front of a green screen so that they can superimpose an image of Mexico City.

Many thanks to Barry for taking on the heavy lifting of this project and to making sure that our students get the support they need for their video projects. If you have always wanted to be filmed in a far away place without leaving ZSR, we now have the equipment and the expertise!

Yesterday I gave a talk on Blended Learning through the ITC. The formal description of the program was “Many students experience a disconnect between their experience in the classroom and their personal interactions on the web. One way to address this is the integration of tools that students already use with regularity. This presentation will explain how to do this with an introduction to blended learning, and it will cover how blended learning techniques can be used to strengthen the academic experience. Blended learning techniques can lead to a more engaged and communicative class and help prepare students for the changing work force.” The presentation was based on the following, though a bit toned down for our audience:

I attempted to introduce some generational trends, discuss a little bit of learning theory, and talk about some solutions that we can implement. I also tried to sell the library’s blog and wiki program, myself as someone who can help faculty figure out what makes the most sense for their class, and the library as a resource for technology training.

The content appeared to be newer for the group than I expected, but I did get a few requests for follow up meetings, so I’m excited about that!

A few people said they would like to come but weren’t able to make it. Giz and I are planning to offer the session again in late summer and in the fall if you’d like to try to make it!

For the first time in ITC history, we have instituted a fine structure to encourage our student patrons to return cameras, camcorders and projectors on time. We have offered loans on digital equipment and accessories for many years, but are limited by budget on the number of items we can buy. We depend on our users to return borrowed equipment on time so that it is available for others to check out. Unfortunately, some students don’t appreciate the dilemma and often keep the equipment far over the due date.

After attempting other methods to persuade users to be timely, we have decided that it is time to use a fine system to promote on-time returns. This policy will apply to undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty and staff will not be charged fines because, traditionally, they are conscientious about meeting due dates for equipment.

The 3 day loan period with no renewal will stay in effect. When a user checks out a piece of equipment or accessory item, a customer checkout receipt will be generated that shows the due date. A hard copy notice explaining the new policy will be included with each item. A day before it is due, a courtesy reminder will be emailed to the user. Once it is overdue, the fine will accrue on a daily basis for a two week period. Overdue notices showing the accrued charge will be sent daily. After two weeks, it will be declared lost and a lost fee will incur. If the student returns the item at that time, the lost charge will be forgiven, but the fine is still owed.

The fine/lost fee schedule is:

Camera: Fine of $5.00/day overdue; $150 lost/replacement fee

Camcorder: Fine of $5.00/day overdue; $500 lost/replacement fee

Projector: Fine of $10.00/day overdue; $800 lost/replacement fee

Accessories: Fine of $1.00/day overdue; $50 lost/replacement fee
(cords and cables, power supplies, projector screens, tripods, headphones)

Proceeds from collected fines will be used to increase the equipment loaner pool.

New 46″ Sharp LCD Monitor and TV in ITC Screening Room

With classroom, meeting room and group study space at a premium in the library, we have been slowly trying to upfit the ITC screening room so it can offer flexibility for a variety of uses. Last year we replaced the furniture but weren’t funded to upgrade the audiovisual equipment. So, this month we dipped into our own budget and purchased a 46″ Sharp LCD/TV with a VHS and DVD-R unit. Now this room can be used for group viewing of movies, presentation practice where their laptop can project, LIB100 classes, BI sessions and faculty/staff meetings.

You’ll also see that we’ve installed a 37″ LCD HDTV in the ITC lobby. This is the first permanent installation of a public viewing television in the library. We plan to broadcast news, weather and sporting events.