|
A MESSAGE FROM MICHAEL CRUMPTON, INTERIM DEAN |
|
Welcome back!!! This time of year is typically full of that kind of greeting, but this year has many differences. It has been great having students in the building again and seeing the beginnings of a new academic year and in some cases with new freshmen, witnessing the start of their academic journey.
However, this year’s number of students coming into the library is reduced. In fact coming to the library has been in some ways discouraged, to maintain our social distancing standards and reduce building density. Over the summer, many of us worked hard to prepare the physical space for a COVID environment, as well as others who worked hard to transition our points of contact to virtual options. Those students coming into the library are wearing face coverings, and doing a good job, so that point of contact is different and muted from normal interaction.
Virtual communication also has its challenges, especially when there is no video to provide visual cues or connections that support the intended information needed or desired response. But, it is the best practice right now for keeping our faculty and students safe, so we are doing a lot of “Welcome Back Virtually!!!”
Our numbers prove that our students are still here and need us to help them navigate through these unusual times in order to pursue their academic ambitions. So far in the beginning of this semester, what we have lost in walk-ins we have made up for virtually, including the following services:
- Chat and email reference
- Researching and connecting with materials
- Providing library instruction and webinars
- Zoom or virtual consultations
- Creating tutorials and libguides as needed
- Teaching and assisting with campus classes via Canvas
With virtual communication, timeliness is important. Our chats are answered within 12 seconds, and we spend an average of nine minutes with students per chat.
These changes to our services are significant and add a virtual value to who we are as an academic partner for both students and faculty. If you are not a student or faculty member, during these times of reduced contact, options are available, such as the Open Educational Resources (OERS), which are freely available virtually to connect anyone to useful resources.
We are glad to see our students back, physically and virtually. We hope to see everyone back eventually, but in the meantime, we will make the best with our virtual resources and connections. Stay safe and healthy, and remember the University Libraries is still here for you in a variety of ways.
Michael Crumpton, MLIS, SHRM-SCP
Interim Dean and Associate Professor
|
|
|
HARLOW AND MURPHY CHOSEN AS ACRL MEMBERS OF THE WEEK BY THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION |
|
|
"I have had a variety of different jobs throughout my career in academics, but working with online and distance students is where I truly found my place as a librarian because it combines many things I love: creating and managing online learning objects, helping students and faculty, and working with many different types of librarians and higher education faculty, staff, and administrators. I am also a mom to two daughters, and having them now see my work as a librarian during COVID 19 has brought joy and challenges that I will always remember."
|
|
|
"As a visual art librarian, in thinking about generating and facilitating access to information for students, I am really interested in the places where art making, the study of art, and the experience of art intersect with access — and how I can expand access to those processes. My experiences with teaching critical visual literacy concepts to students in the creative disciplines can just as easily be applied to interdisciplinary workshops, using the same domains of knowledge and material resources that support art students’ information needs on those topics."
|
|
|
UNCG ALUMNI & FRIENDS BOOK CLUB |
|
|
The UNCG Alumni & Friends book club is currently reading Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist. This summer has seen an unprecedented groundswell of support for the racial justice movement in America. Sparked by the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonnna Taylor and George Floyd, uprisings across the country have led to challenging and critical discussions around race and equity. One of the ways everyone can work towards a more equitable future is to educate themselves on how that future is built. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist provides one part of that roadmap, and we can't wait to begin discussing it with you. Two more virtual discussion sessions remain for this book concluding with chapters 12, 13, 14 and 15 on September 17, 2020 and an end-of-book discussion on October 1.
Photo courtesy of Sandeep Darji
|
|
|
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR OER |
|
Initiatives to raise awareness of open educational resources are working — with more faculty choosing OER over traditional textbooks, survey finds. Advocates say pandemic and recession are also driving interest.
Initiatives to raise awareness of open educational resources — free and openly licensed teaching and learning materials — are having a measurable impact on the number of faculty members using OER in their classrooms.
Many colleges, systems, states and multi-state regional compacts have launched OER programs in recent years — creating policies that promote the use of the resources, launching publicity campaigns to increase understanding of how to find and use them, and dedicating funding to help instructors work OER into their lessons or develop their own openly licensed materials.
Story by Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed
Image courtesy of Sutee Sodsai
|
|
|
WEB DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP SERIES |
|
The Digital Media Commons (DMC) is offering a special series on Web Development this semester. Are you interested in creating your own website?
This 10-week virtual series will walk attendees through HTML and CSS and is part self-guided, partly directed learning with weekly coding hours.
The DMC provides multimedia virtual instruction, consultation and troubleshooting to support UNCG'S campus curriculum and enhances and develops visual literacy skills.
Image courtesy of James Osborne
|
|
|
ONLINE LEARNING AND RESEARCH EVENTS FOR FALL |
|
|
|
|
Election Day is just around the corner, November 3, and early voting in North Carolina begins on October 15 and ends on October 31, 2020. This year, many individuals are taking advantage of early voting, in order to cast their vote remotely — all from the comfort of their home.
Librarians in the Research, Outreach and Instruction Department have curated a list of resources, including books, films and podcasts. All of these resources are available through University Libraries.
|
|
|
AN EVENING WITH LAILA LALAMI |
|
|
HAPPY HALF HOUR WITH MARY KAY ANDREWS |
|
Macmillan Publishers is celebrating the work of Mary Kay Andrews with the queen of beach reads herself! They will host a virtual Happy Half Hour with Andrews and talk about books, life and fun in the sun, as well as her new book, Hello Summer! Andrews is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 novels, including Sunset Beach, Summer Rental, Save the Date, Beach Town, The High Tide Club, The Weekenders, Savannah Blues and The Beach House Cookbook.
|
|
|
DMC HOSTS ARTIST TALK SERIES |
|
The Digital Media Commons (DMC) will host three artist talk series this fall as part of its Flick! Experimental Film Festival 2020. All events will be held virtually via Zoom and feature two faculty from UNC Greensboro's Department of Media Studies, including Professor Michael Frierson and Assistant Professor Jennida Chase, as well as Los Angeles-based photographer Adrian White.
The festival has been an annual event since 2015 and was created by the DMC. It is dedicated to promoting and encouraging the production and exhibition of experimental, innovative and creative short films and offers alternative points of view and processes of filmmaking to the mainstream media. For a complete schedule and registration information, click the button below.
|
|
|
SAVE THE DATE: WOMEN VETERANS LUNCHEON
NOVEMBER 6, 2020
|
|
The Women Veterans Luncheon is going virtual! Save the date for this online event on November 6, 2020 featuring keynote speaker Deshauna Barber, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN). Barber was appointed CEO by the Board of Directors of SWAN in January, 2020. In her role, she is responsible for the overall management and direction of the organization. Barber is also an Army Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and an award-winning international speaker, coach and entrepreneur. This year's event will feature dramatic readings of letters from the collections and more! Registration information will be available soon. For questions or more information, contact wvhp@uncg.edu.
|
|
|
MULTIMEDIA WORKSHOP SERIES: FALL 2020 |
|
|
Find your information here.
|
|
|
This email is an official communication from UNC Greensboro. You may verify official university emails by checking the Verified Campus Communications Repository (VCCR). If you have questions about the VCCR, or the authenticity of an email message you have received, please contact the sender of the message or search the UNCG website for "VCCR." For more information, contact Hollie Stevenson-Parrish, director of communications and marketing for UNCG University Libraries, at hdsteven@uncg.edu or visit our website at library.uncg.edu.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
