Comments Off on Status Update on Student Employees in Reference

By Scott Pfitzinger, March 23, 2009 11:27 am

The process of developing a new program for employing and training students to work at the Reference Desk is continuing and nearing complete definition. Here are some updates:

• The students who will eventually be working at what is now the Reference Desk will cover all the hours the Desk is open (10:00am – 10:00pm MTWR, 10:00am – 5:00pm F, 5:00pm – 10:00pm Sun) and will also work in the I.T. department from 9:00am – 5:00pm M-F. Julianne and I will be creating a pool of students who will work mostly either in Reference or in I.T., but will also spend some time in the other area.
• After much bandying of words and experimenting with titles, we ended up deciding that we preferred Information Commons Associate for the student position title. “Associate” makes the position sound much more professional than “Student Assistant” and the more we played with “Information Commons,” the more we liked it. Julianne has already been calling her space the “Instructional Technology Commons” and we came up with a vision for the Information Commons, while having a main hub in the library (esp. the Reference Dept.), being essentially a virtual space with various physical manifestations. Students can enter the Information Commons virtually from their dorm room, chat with Info Commons Associates online (or liaison librarians for that matter), browse the Digital Commons, or physically visit the Information Commons in Irwin or Jordan (or eventually other campus locations).
• Julianne and I plan on finalizing the job description and the program’s description and mission this week. This will allow us to start advertising and hiring students early in April.
• The Info Commons Associates will be coming back to Butler a week before classes start. We will spend that Thursday and Friday training them on basic tech support for the computers and software we have, research skills (info literacy), customer service skills, and how to recognize when to turn over a student’s research question to a liaison librarian.
• In the future we plan to involve the more experienced students in the training of their peers. Our goal is to create an internship style of program that will lead to students taking portfolios and local “certifications” with them when they graduate.

At the next librarians meeting, the details will all be in place and I will present more information on the program.

Comments Off on Butler Librarians and Valparaiso Librarians Enjoy Joint Retreat over Spring Break

By Scott Pfitzinger, March 16, 2009 12:03 pm

The Butler Librarians spent Tuesday (March 10th) of Spring Break
on retreat with their librarian colleagues from Valparaiso
University.  Both schools are members of the “Affinity
Group,” a group of thirty-three private academic
libraries chosen because of the similiarities among their schools in terms
of size, student population, and curricula.  The two-fold purpose of
the Affinity Group is to encourage its members to share annual statistical
data and to provide a forum for the deans/directors of the libraries to meet
each year to discuss various topics of interest relating to academic
libraries.  The idea for the Butler-Valpo retreat grew out of
conversations held between Butler’s Dean Lewis Miller and
Valparaiso’s Dean Richard AmRhein at the Affinity Group Conferences.  To
minimize travel time, the retreat took place at Ivy Tech Community College
in Lafayette.

The Butler and Valparaiso librarians shared their
knowledge, experiences, and ideas relating to a variety of topics,
including the changing face of reference interactions and services, information
literacy instruction, digital imaging programs (including “Content
DM” and “Berkeley Electronic Press”), and faculty status for
librarians.  Retreat participants found the sessions both enjoyable
and informative!

Comments Off on Irwin Library creates new Conversation/Reading Space

By sneal, March 12, 2009 3:59 pm

During Spring Break, the area where Irwin’s copiers and microfilm/microfiche machines were formerly housed has been rearranged to create an additional conversation/reading alcove.  The space is conducive to conversation or studying and highlights Indiana-related books contributed by Butler alum, Howard Caldwell, ’50.  The microfilm/microfiche machines have been relocated to the northwest corner of the first floor of Irwin; simply inquire at the Check-out Desk if you need assistance in locating them.

So, stop by and take advantage of Irwin’s latest study/conversation nook!

Comments Off on Reception Photos from Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Activity

By Scott Pfitzinger, March 12, 2009 11:59 am

The reception for the Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Activity was held the evening of Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. Everyone who attended seemed to thoroughly enjoy the food, atmosphere, music, discussion, and especially the speaker, Paul Valliere. Below are some pictures from the reception. You may click them to see a large version.

Comments Off on General Logons

By Scott Pfitzinger, March 9, 2009 10:49 am

Now that we have a secure place for posting things like passwords, here are the new logons for libpub and libalum:

libpub | libpub@)09
libalum | libalum@)09

(those are both “2009” but with the first two digits holding the shift key)

Also, this is a reminder that anyone visiting the library with their own wireless laptop can now get on the “BU Guest Wireless” network without a logon.