Category: Students

Publishing student work openly: the GREAT Day Proceedings

GREATDayEvery year, GREAT Day (Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement & Talent Day) marks a college-wide symposium celebrating the creative and scholarly endeavors of our students.

For the past several years, SUNY Geneseo has published the conference proceedings of the GREAT Day presentations held every April.  The proceedings are designed to be a student-led publication, compiled and edited by a series of student editors and originally advised by Dr. E. Richie VanVliet of the Languages & Literatures department.  In 2011 the publication found a home in Milne Library when Dr. Van Vliet retired. Since the 2011 Proceedings, Milne Library has worked with two wonderful student editors, Stephanie Iasiello and Amy Bishop, to compile and edit the student work from GREAT Day presentations and poster sessions.  In the spring of every year, the Library publishes the edited proceedings of the previous year’s event.

Beginning in 2009, the Proceedings were published in print through the Amazon CreateSpace platform, and in 2011, the Proceedings were also made open access and freely available electronically through Milne’s journal publishing platform, Open Journal Systems (OJS).  http://ojs.geneseo.edu

Student submissions for the 2013 Proceedings are in the process of being reviewed  for publication — you still have time to contribute your paper!  Submitting is easy, and instructions are found on our website. Please contact the GREAT Day Proceedings journal managers (Daniel Ross, Academic Excellence Librarian [email protected] or Allison Brown, Editor & Production Manager [email protected]) for more information.

Milne Library Partners with SUNY Geneseo’s L.I.V.E.S. Program

Ellen and Melissa 1 sized for blog

Milne’s L.I.V.E.S. interns, Ellen and Melissa

Perhaps you’ve noticed some regular faces here in Milne Library? We’re talking about  our interns, Ellen and Melissa!

The Fall 2012 semester was the second opportunity for Milne Library to welcome Interns from SUNY Geneseo’s L.I.V.E.S. Program.  The L.I.V.E.S. ProgramSM (Learning Independence, Vocational and Educational Skills) Mission Statement:

To provide an opportunity for students with intellectual and/or other developmental disabilities to learn independence, vocational skills, and functional educational (academic) skills within an inclusive educational community supported by university students, educators, administrators, and community leaders.

Ellen and Melissa are working with Service Desk Students and Staff and the Staff reports they have enjoyed the experience tremendously.  Ellen has been partnering with Coleen Hopkins scanning, organizing and re-shelving while Melissa has been under the direction of Mary Fran Tiede at the Service Desk.  Melissa does check-in/check-out, retrieving Reserve and IDS materials, etc.  Patty Hoffman has also been instrumental in working with both students.  Normally the L.I.V.E.S. Interns spend one semester in a position but we are pleased to have both students return for the Spring 2013 Semester. 

Ellen and Melissa have each written an article in The LIVES Program News and Updates newsletter about their internships at Milne Library.  Take a look at the Fall 2012 issue on the L.I.V.E.S. webpage.

 

~ written by Colleen Hopkins

Geoscience rock collections go online with Omeka

Earlier this month, senior Geological Sciences major Amanda Lanik presented her work creating a digital catalog at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Amanda used the free open source digital content platform Omeka to create an online catalog of the rock samples used to teach petrology, the study of the origin and composition of rocks. The Omeka platform is quite versatile and has been used for many digital library projects around the world.

Working with geological sciences faculty and Milne Library staff, Amanda designed the site template, added rock data and uploaded pictures of the samples.

In her GSA presentation, Amanda described how the new catalog can be searched by rock name, time period or description.  Users can also browse individual rock suites and can find samples from particular locations by selecting locations on a map.

In the future, this online collection can be used by teachers and students to create custom collections of materials and make direct connections between rocks in the Geneseo collection and the geoscience literature.

The Geneseo Geosciences Collections website

The Geneseo Geosciences Collections website

The growing online collection can be viewed at the Geneseo Geosciences Collections site. The abstract of Amanda’s presentation, as well as additional links can also be found online.

Dr. Dori Farthing (Geological Sciences) and Bonnie Swoger (Milne Library) served as advisors on the project, with technical assistance from Milne Library’s Corey Ha and Joe Easterly.

Research Help @Milne

Librarian Sherry Rhodes, helping out a student in our new Research Consultation space in the Center for Academic Excellence

Are you taking advantage of one of Milne Library’s best kept secrets?  The Reference (or Research) Librarians at SUNY Geneseo frequently hear from their professorial partners, as well as campus tour guides, that we are a gem to be discovered and utilized heavily.  They compare (and praise) our level of service to that of past experiences they have had at other (many times, distinguished) universities.  But don’t take your professors’ word for it!   See just what your classmates and peers have to say.

Sparked by Fall 2011 observations of students in need of research help at the Service Desk and Reference Desk, Anna Wilson, a recently graduated Spanish major with a minor in Latin American Studies, interviewed and filmed fellow students regarding their awareness and experience with Milne Library’s Research Librarians.  In anticipation of her participant observation study, she wrote,”I predict that many of the students in the library are as in the dark about what goes on at the reference desk as I was until this (Fall 2011) semester.”

Does this statement represent your awareness about who the Reference Librarians are and what we can help you with?  If so, be sure to watch Anna’s video and then come see us when you are in need of research help!

Librarian Kim Hoffman works on searching with a student.

Reference Librarians are on duty for nearly all hours that the library is open with official desk duty in the Center for Academic Excellence from 10 am – 5 pm (Mon-Thurs), 10 am – 2 pm (Fri) and 10 am – 2 pm (Sat) and on-call reference assistance as early as 8 am and as late as 1 am.  Just ask for help at the Service Desk and a librarian will be around to help.

Additionally, our very popular Research Consultation service (as well as our Technology Consultation service) offers students the opportunity to make one-on-one appointments with a specialist when the time is convenient for you or you and your group.  Both services offer a dedicated time slot to focus solely on your research project needs, without having to compete with other students’ questions.

As the due dates for your research projects approach and the semester gets busier and busier, see what assistance (and time savings) a Reference Librarian can offer you!

Grand larceny suspects…

2012 RYSAG camp

Did you know that some of your favorite librarians and professors were suspected of grand larceny this summer?  It’s true!  An exclusive art auction of valued Works Progress Administration (WPA) paintings took place in mid-July, four of the coveted objects went “missing,” and further hijinks ensued across campus. Welcome to the Rochester Young Scholars’ Academy of Geneseo (RYSAG)!

Now in its seventh year, SUNY Geneseo invited over 60 Rochester City School District (RCSD) students, from middle and high school levels, to become “college kids,” if only for two warm summertime weeks.  Milne Library (along with Fraser Study Center) served as Command Central where many classes and crime scenes occurred.  As in past summers, Milne Library offered up space, technology, camp infrastructure, teaching staff and the most suspicious of characters.  Two such individuals — among a few others outside of the library — were brought to “trial” on the final day of the academic camp, where they faced their peers and listened to the charges brought against them.  The culminating “grand jury hearing” was the highlight of two intense weeks of study and play. RCSD students investigated crime scenes surrounding various art thefts through such coursework and activities as forensic mapping, tagging and bagging of crime scene artifacts; lab work that analyzed chromatography, hair samples, and fingerprints; information gathering through biographical background research of suspects and witnesses and through critical analysis of suspect interviews; and persuasive communication delivery through public speaking, complemented by visual imagery created through technology training.

This was the second time that the RYSAG camp based its theme on Crime Scene Investigation (CSI); the first time was the inaugural camp experience in 2007.  Other themes and challenges RCSD students have been faced with include progress vs. preservation through the results of a campus-based archaeological dig; cost vs. environmental sustainability as drafts of an eco-athletic stadium were proposed; and proactive conflict management as a formidable population was due to engulf the Geneseo’s village community.

New Copiers and Microform Scanners Come to Milne

Copiers

Gone are the days of bringing coins to Milne Library or asking for change at the service desk in order to use the copy machines in Milne. New for the start of the Fall 2012 semester, students, staff and faculty will be able to use the copiers in Milne simply by entering their SUNY Geneseo username and password on a touch screen display or by passing their SUNY Geneseo ID cards in front of an attached card reader. Cost of the copies will be automatically deducted from their printer balance.

Copier

Coin Free Copiers

Each floor of the library has one copier:

Lower Floor: black & white copier located along the wall between the Microforms and Indexes & Guides.
Main Floor: color/black & white copier located in the study area. This copier automatically detects whether you are printing color or black and white and charges the appropriate amount.
Upper Floor: black & white copier located in the new Census and Data Demographics Data room.

Community guests will have access to the copiers too. They will need to stop at the Service Desk in Milne so a staff member can get them logged in to the copier.

 

Microform Readers

If you have been hesitant to view and scan microform (microfilm, microfiche & microcard) because of  big, bulky equipment, hesitate no more.

ST ViewScan

ST ViewScan Microform Scanner

Milne Library has replaced its large microform readers/scanners with two state-of- the-art, all-digital  ST ViewScan scanners, giving users greater flexibility in how they scan microform. These scanners, located on the lower level, are fast and produce excellent high quality scans.

ST ViewScan Scanner Station

ST ViewScan Scanner Station

The scanners are equipped with their own MS Windows software that is easy to use so you can get the exact scan you need, plus the ability to easily save your scans (right to your Google Drive, if you like). Stop in soon and give one a try — you won’t be disappointed.

Submit your GREAT Day work for publication!

Students, if you are participating in GREAT Day this year you should consider submitting your presentation for publication in the 2012 GREAT Day Proceedings!  Begin by reading the submission guidelines, where you will be asked first to register for an account at OJS (Open Journal Systems), the online system we are using to publish the Proceedings.  You’ll want  to discuss this opportunity with your GREAT Day presentation adviser, and make sure you have his or her support in submitting your paper for publication.

The 2012 Proceedings will be published in the rigorous style of an academic journal. Every paper submitted will be reviewed by a faculty panel, and only the best will be chosen to represent Geneseo. This means it will be even more impressive when you list this publication on your resume! You will be contacted with the outcome of the review process by the end of summer.

If you have problems submitting your paper, please contact librarians Sue Ann Brainard ([email protected]) or Joe Easterly ([email protected]) for help.

Storytelling in Milne on Nov. 29, 2011

On Tuesday, November 29th, Milne Library will host a Storytelling Event for children and their caregivers! This event is open to SUNY Geneseo faculty, staff and students as well as the Geneseo community.

Come listen to stories about chipmunks, Native Americans and the Oregon Trail performed by School of Education students — and be entertained by songs and read-alouds performed by members of the Young Children’s Council.

Storytelling will last from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm, with refreshments provided. The event will take place in the Teacher Education Resource Center, located on the lower-level of Milne Library.

Take time to read, and discuss, a good book

Dear student, is your overworked brain screaming for a break?  Do you miss reading just for yourself, just for pleasure?  Maybe you have a list a mile long of all the great books you’re going to read when you “get the chance”?  Well, now’s your chance! Geneseo’s Book Club invites you to a discussion of their first book of the semester, Walter Moers’s The City of Dreaming Books, on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. beginning this Sunday (Oct. 23) in Milne 104.  A copy or two may still be available in the stacks at PT2673.O293 S73 2008.

Publisher’s Weekly calls The City of Dreaming Books “a delightfully imaginative melange of Shel Silverstein zaniness and oddball anthropomorphism a la Terry Pratchett’s Discworld … a wonderfully whimsical story that will appeal to readers of all ages.”

City of Dreaming Books

Geneseo's Book Club's first pick of the semester

Student organizer Chelsea Pullano and Milne Library have partnered to sponsor the book club, intended to give students the opportunity to round out their lives a bit with regular, lively discussions of good books in a friendly and relaxed setting.  The Club plans to spend a few weeks on Moers’s book, and then decide on what to read next.  Milne Library will purchase copies of the books to loan, but it’s first come, first served – so join the group this Sunday and claim your spot around the table!  Refreshments will be provided.  Contact Chelsea at [email protected] for more information.

2011 Peace Poetry Contest

Peace. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Samantha Celera

On May 12th of this year, the winners of the 2011 Genesee Valley Peace Poetry Contest shared their poems at SUNY Geneseo’s Alice Austin Theater. Nearly 900 poems were submitted by children in public and private schools of the Genesee valley in grades K- 8.

Check out the original post with video on the Geneseo English Department News blog!

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