Its central status in the Penn State community puts the University Libraries in a unique position to do many things. One of these is global outreach, which is where Mark Mattson, global partnerships and outreach librarian, comes in.
Open educational resources (OER) are transforming the landscape of higher education, allowing for more accessible and affordable learning. At Penn State Harrisburg, geology students are using digital rock kits and an open-access textbook in place of traditional rock packages and text, a change that has fueled student engagement.
During finals week, Penn State University Libraries is offering fun and relaxing De-Stress Fest activities to help students at the University Park campus relax and ease stress as they study for finals and complete end-of-semester papers and projects. In addition, extended hours at most Libraries locations University-wide are in effect through Friday, May 3, with Pattee Library and Paterno Library offering continuous 24-hour access.
A new exhibition, “The Secret Lives of Girls and Women,” examines the spectrum of such “secrets” as found in the archival materials from Penn State University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Located in the Special Collections Exhibition Gallery, 104 Paterno Library, on Penn State’s University Park campus, the exhibition is on display now through Sept. 1.
Just a few clues and keywords will describe wrapped books during the University Libraries’ “Blind Date with a Book” through the month of February. Shelves in Pattee Library's Franklin Atrium, as well as several pop-up locations around Penn State’s University Park campus, will be filled with both fiction and nonfiction books available for students to take on a reading date.
Penn State University Libraries will host a “Lean & Green: Green Gifts on a Lean Budget” workshop from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Nov. 6 in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library, on the University Park campus. This do-it-yourself gift-making workshop will be taught by Sylvia Rushing, of The Makery in State College, to instruct students on the art of creating succulent mini kokedama, or Japanese moss ball, crafts.
Penn State University Libraries will celebrate GIS Day on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at an event aimed at the broader Penn State community — students, staff, faculty and community members — who are interested in learning about how geospatial information is being used on campus and beyond.
Penn State University Libraries and experts from the Patent and Trademark Resource Center will hold a full-day seminar on Nov. 14 to celebrate a 40-year partnership. The seminar will take place in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, on the University Park campus or via MediaSite. Inventors, entrepreneurs, educators, students and legal professionals are encouraged to attend.
The Pennsylvania Center for the Book has announced the 2019 Letters About Literature contest, a nationwide event sponsored by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. Students in grades four to 12 are invited to submit to the annual Letters About Literature Writing Contest, and each state will recognize and award prizes to its winners.
The Search Bar, a drop-in collaborative support center staffed entirely by technology tutors, writing tutors and peer research consultants, offers both valuable expertise to students working on projects and writing assignments, and educational learning opportunities for staff. Located in Sidewater Commons, on the first floor of Pattee Library, the glass-enclosed workspace offers peer-to-peer services as part of a collaboration between the University Libraries, Penn State Learning and Penn State Technology Services.
A team led by Penn State University Libraries, in collaboration with the University of Missouri–Kansas City University Libraries, was recently awarded $99,429 in grant funds to host two meetings to explore labor issues that inform on the experiences of grant-funded digital laborers in the libraries, archives and museums communities, and aims to develop ethical labor practices for grant-funded positions.
Public concern about police integrity, the regulation of physical force in law enforcement, and racial discrimination in policing and law are some of the topics to be explored during the upcoming Ethics of Policing conference taking place Sept. 20-22 at various locations on the Penn State University Park campus. The conference will feature several keynote events that are free and open to the public.
The University Libraries held its annual Libraries Awards ceremony May 15 in Paterno Library's Foster Auditorium. Five employees were honored for their outstanding contributions toward the success of the Libraries’ operations, diversity and inclusion, and innovation.
Melissa Leaym-Fernandez, a teacher at Flint, Michigan Community Schools, has been awarded the Judy Chicago Art Education Award for her submission titled "The Power of our Mothers." She was presented with the award in a ceremony at Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park, on Tuesday, April 17.
The University Libraries will hold a spring 2018 International Write-In event on Sunday, April 22, in Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library on the University Park campus. The event, broken into two sessions, encourages participants to use dedicated time to work on and complete writing assignments and projects throughout the evening. Session one is scheduled from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. and session two from 8 p.m. to midnight.
