Polk Library News
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How do you transform 13,806 square feet of a 1970s reference room into a modern research and study space? First and foremost, you listen to students. From surveys, conversations and observations, this is what students told us they wanted to do in a remodeled reference room before we started planning Polk 101:
Students not only gave the library clear direction for the renovation of the old reference room. They, through the Oshkosh Student Association (OSA), gave us invaluable support for the project. In addition, a small group of student leaders reviewed the many layout options for Polk 101 and gave the library great feedback on what would work best. I think it is fair to say that this is a project that was not only done for students but with students! Student reaction to Polk 101 – the place for students to begin their research - has been enthusiastic. The new carpet, furnishings and technology are great, but the room really comes alive when students use and are excited by the room. There are many people to thank for the success of the remodeling, but I would like to mention a few. Of course the students and OSA deserve a great deal of thanks. Chancellor Wells gave great support to this project to improve the learning environment for students. JoAnn Rife (Facilities Management) and Sarah Neises (Polk Library) did an outstanding job leading, planning and implementing this project. Polk Library and Facilities Management staffs did numerous important jobs as the old room was dismantled and Polk 101 became a reality. Finally, Information Technology staff made major efforts to get the room functioning for the start of the semester. Thanks to numerous Academic Computing staff and Bruce Noebel from Telecommunications. For some before and after pictures, see http://tinyurl.com/5u5r9l .
Since beginning my employment as the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Records Manager in May of this year, I have met many helpful and hardworking employees who daily create and receive records. Their knowledge of the records they create is essential in assisting me to schedule this institution's public records as mandated by the UW System. As state employees we all share statutory responsibility for the preservation and destruction of public records. Here are the most common questions I'm asked about my work as Records Manager. What is a public record? In Wisconsin, public records include all materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any state employee while in connection with the transaction of public business. What isn't a public record? In Wisconsin, a record does not include duplicates, notices, invitations, routing slips and envelopes, personal material or drafts prepared for a supervisor. What about electronic records? No exception. In Wisconsin, databases, imaged records, electronic documents and email are all public records if they are connected to the transaction of public business. This also includes voicemail, text messages and instant messages. What about destroying records in my office? If they are personal records, they should be destroyed when they are no longer useful. If they are public records, it's illegal for any UWO employee to destroy a public record in their office without an approved record schedule. How does an office establish an approved record schedule? This is my job. I will work with any office that requests a record schedule for records created in their office. Why is records management located in Polk Library? Records management is part of the University Archives Program (P334) which seeks to preserve historically significant records. Records management helps to identify these materials. Most records, however, are not historically significant and need to be scheduled for destruction.
Polk Library's Technical Services department is pleased to announce the hiring of Ciara Healy as a temporary replacement for Technical Services librarian Deb Duncan as Deb moves to the College of Nursing to work on a special project. Ciara was previously a librarian at Augusta Technical College in Augusta, GA. She has also worked as a philosopher. Ciara's appreciation of the library catalog makes her a great candidate for this position. She will be working on an academic year contract through June 2009. In that time, Ciara hopes to facilitate easier access to the electronic serials collection, in addition to reference and instruction work.
Good News! At its August meeting, the Board of Regents included a 6 million dollar annual investment, for online journals and databases, in the system's biennial state budget request for fiscal year 2010 – 11. If enacted into law, the budget initiative, called the UW Digital Commons, will dramatically increase the quality and quantity of the world's best research materials available for UW faculty and students through an expanded shared electronic collection of resources. This proposal has received tremendous support from faculty across the UW System. Most faculty senates in the system, including the UW Oshkosh Faculty Senate, passed resolutions last spring endorsing the proposal. Several faculty members from UW Oshkosh played important roles in promoting the proposal by appearing in an informational video and providing background to a local Regent. Chancellor Wells has been very supportive of this budget initiative also. The UW Digital Commons is off to a good start by making it into the system's biennial budget request, but it still has a long way to go to become law in tight budget times. UW System Library Directors are working with System Administration and individual campus administrations to make one point very clear. The budget proposal is not for libraries. None of the money would go into new library staff, facilities or equipment. It would all go to bringing 6 million dollars worth of new, online research resources to faculty and students at UW Oshkosh and every other campus in the UW System. I will keep you informed as the proposal moves through the budget and legislative process and will ask for your support at appropriate times. Please contact me if you have any questions.
A retirement reception at the library goes terribly wrong when the guest of honor, Darth V. Deer, is found murdered in the group study room. Who was responsible? Was it Oscar A. Ward, the stepped-upon audiovisual assistant, who was also found to be blackmailed by the despicable Dr. Deer? Was it Agatha Lucas-Spielberg, the undergraduate student who couldn't bear another semester in Dr. Deer's classes? Or was it Toni Wyn-Neer, the theater director who despised Deer and was seen threatening Deer in Reeve Union with a butter knife? Over 40 students gathered in Polk Library on Friday, September 5th to discover who committed this crime. The students ran through the library with flashlights, looking for clues in videos, books, government documents, e-reserves, and even YouTube. Mounting evidence pointed to Cecily Bea Deamil, an assistant professor in Deer's department whose chances at tenure had been completely ruined by him. UW Oshkosh University Police arrived with the final clinching evidence from the "crime lab" -- Deamil's fingerprints were found at the scene of the crime -- and the perpetrator was handcuffed and taken away. For more photographs from the 6th annual Polk Library Murder Mystery, visit this site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48209584@N00/sets/72157594335873853/
Summer is often the season when vendors “upgrade” and revise the search interfaces and features of the library's subscription databases. The aim is to improve the search ability or appearance of the database. Some of our database vendors made visible changes in recent months, notably EBSCO and Project Muse. EBSCO is our vendor for such familiar subscription databases as PsycInfo, CINAHL, MLA Bibliography, ERIC, America: History and Life, and others (as well as their own products like Academic Search Complete). When you next search any of these databases, you will notice that the search screen contains some new options. Prominently featured is an option to change the type of search that is done. Our search type defaults to Boolean or phrase searching, which is something we try to teach our students because it offers greater precision in tailoring search results. Now it is possible, if you prefer, to search in a way that would be more like Google or Yahoo, by finding just “all of the words,” “any of the words,” or “related words.” New limits have been added in some databases, like “References available,” “Exclude dissertations” (in PsycInfo and MLA), and “Research article” (in CINAHL). Changing databases or adding new ones to search is easier. Some features are not as useful. The suggested subject terms at the left side are now very broad (in PsycInfo, one search offered “Education” as an alternative subject). For more useful suggested subject terms, expand the second section of subject terms (sometimes labeled as "Major Headings", sometimes as "Thesaurus terms"). In some databases, if the little box at the top, “Suggest subject terms” is checked, entering a search will only allow you to browse subject headings. To search the word or phrase you typed in and see results right away, take the checkmark out of the “Suggest” box. Project Muse is one of the databases (like JSTOR) for which libraries can purchase different levels of subscriptions, which include different groups of journals. The new interface for Muse now defaults to searching all the journals in their collection— not necessarily the ones in our subscription. If searching in Muse, article references with a light-green box next to the full text link should be available full text; articles with a light-gray box by them may not be available. In those cases, use the "Find It" link to check for other access or to request via interlibrary loan. If you run across other inconvenient changes or glitches in databases, let us know, and we will see if we can get the vendor to change them back or fix the problems.
On July 1, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) changed its name to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. At the same time a new agency, the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, was created. The new agency will take over some of the duties and responsibilities of DHFS and also some from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. In a message from Governor Doyle appearing on the agency's web site (http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/), the governor explains that the agency is the “first state agency focused exclusively on promoting the safety, economic and social well-being of kids and families of the state." He goes on to say in his message that the agency “brings together key programs that serve children and families - such as child welfare, child support, child care and Wisconsin Works (W-2) - to ensure that everyone gets the support they need to succeed.” The authorization for the change comes from sections of Act 20 from 2007, which is the Executive Budget act of the 2007 legislature. The last time DHFS underwent a name change was on July 1,1996 when its name was changed from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. That name change facilitated, in part, the creation of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Welcome back, students and staff! My name is Leah Bruckner, and I am the student coordinator of the Browsing Room in Polk Library. Many excellent and thrilling books fill the shelves in the Browsing Room. We receive magazines, a newspaper, and new books every day. We are always open to your suggestions on any books you would like to add to the Browsing Room Collection. Check out all the books and more when you visit the Browsing Room on the north side of Polk Library on the second floor. Here are some new titles in the collection:
Enjoy the read!
Some updates in the library building and the circulation area this semester:
The UW Oshkosh Archives and Area Research Center this summer received the papers of U.S. Congressman William Albert Steiger (R-Oshkosh) from the Wisconsin Historical Society. Steiger, who represented Wisconsin's Sixth Congressional District from 1967-1978, was principally known for his work establishing OSHA and reducing capital gains taxation. Largely a progressive republican, Steiger's positions on issues were unpredictable and not always to his party's liking. A popular legislator at home, Steiger's career was cut short by a fatal heart attack at the age of 40. The collection comes to Polk Library as part of an effort of the Wisconsin Historical Society to repatriot representative's papers in their home districts. The 95 cubic foot collection will require substantial reprocessing work to preserve the collection for the future. UW Oshkosh archivist Joshua Ranger believes this work would allow for several meaningful internships for students who have an interest in Congressional history or archival work. He also plans to apply for local grants to pay for the archival materials needed to correctly house the collection.
Staff Highlights
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October 2008 issue, printer-friendly version (pdf)
Articles in this issue:
~Regents Back Expansion of Online Resources
~Updates in Databases, Summer 2008
~Government Document News: Major Wisconsin Agency Renamed
~What's New in Circulation this Semester?