Library Newsletter Spring 2020

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2020 Message from the Dean of the Library and Learning Technologies Susan M. Ryan In “normal” times, I would be writing to tell you about all of the exciting things going on at the duPont-Ball Library. Instead, our building sits empty as we stay at home and practice social distancing while supporting the Stetson community virtually. All of us at the library know that our primary mission is excellent academic support for our students and faculty. With so many of our collections (e-books, e-journals, statistical and reference databases, streaming music, and streaming video) already online, we felt very comfortable that we could provide adequate resources to support classes and research. Our librarians were also well-versed in providing research services virtually – by phone, text, email, and online. We have long provided online research and course guides that steer students to our best information resources. So we just had to figure out how to shift services to our homes - which we have done. For those materials (print books, musical scores) and technologies (tablets, laptops, cameras, and microphones) that could not be provided virtually, we set up a system for students, faculty, and staff to request those items to be picked up at the library front door or received by mail. We think that has been working well. Even though we are not physically together, our librarians and library staff are all working hard from home and you will see in this newsletter how each of us is getting the job done – even with challenges and with a host of new at-home co-workers. I hope you will also see that exciting things are still happening at the virtual duPont-Ball Library. We are all well and we wish our library friends and supporters good health and the patience to get through the coming months. Library Research Prizes Each spring the library awards two research prizes: the Evans C. Johnson and the R. Neil Scott Research Prizes. The contest is sponsored by the library (and funded by donors in memory of the prizes’ namesakes) to encourage the thorough, effective, creative, and ethical use of research resources in first year student papers. Winners receive a monetary award and an engraved plaque. This year’s Evans C. Johnson Prize went to Maria Gaglio (above) for her paper Accuracies and Inaccuracies: Analysis of the Portrayal of Schizophrenia in the Major Motion Picture ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ written for Dr. Laura Crysel’s class, “Psychology of Popular Fiction.” Austin Hill (right) won the R. Neil Scott Prize for his paper, A Shift Away from Turfgrass Dominated Landscapes Will Improve Bee Health, for Dr. Sarah Cramer’s “The Secret Life of Bees” course. While COVID-19 kept us from presenting the award plaques in person, Maria and Austin received their monetary prizes by mail, and we expect to have our awards ceremony in the fall when we can celebrate these achievements in person. We congratulate these talented students. Ear Guards for Healthcare Workers Many people around the Stetson and DeLand communities know that our library has many 3D printers in our Innovation Lab. So it was not surprising that we received many calls for us to print personal protection equipment (PPE), ventilator parts, and other items for healthcare workers. While we were anxious to contribute to the fight again COVID-19, safely printing PPE or medical parts requires very particular types of files and plastics that would be difficult for us to obtain. Dr. Michele Skelton, who teaches health sciences at Stetson, came to us, however, with a viable idea for a healthcare comfort item that we could readily produce with what we had in stock. A number of Dr. Skelton’s former students who work in local hospitals told her about the severe ear irritation from face masks worn for long hours. Michele found a public-domain design for a 3D-printed ear guard that was worn at the back of the head. The guards could be printed in an environmentally-safe plastic in large numbers relatively quickly. The library’s Innovation Lab staff, Tony Ganus (top right) and Chris Finkle (below), volunteered to print both from home and in our temporarily closed Lab and within days had printed 300 guards. They used eight printers running non-stop for a couple of full days. After the guards came off the printers, they were sanitized and individually bagged for distribution. Not only did Volusia County healthcare workers receive the ear guards, they also received a food-truck delivered meal arranged by Stetson with funding from the Pargh Foundation. The feedback we received was fantastic, and Tony and Chris and the library staff followed up by printing and bagging 400 additional guards. Alumnus Dr. Christopher Riccard (class of 2008 - seen above left with Dr. Michele Skelton) was one of the local doctors to receive a catered meal and an ear guard. The library is proud to have contributed in a small way to this “thank you” to our frontline medical personnel. Stetson’s CO V ID-19 Timeline March 9  Students return from Spring Break March 12  Stetson announces that March 14 will be the last day of face-to-face classes  Classes cancelled March 16 and 17 to transition to online  Students given the option of moving home or staying on campus March 18  Online courses begin  Library, Dining, Counseling, Health Services remain open March 19  Commencement postponed March 21  Gyms closed, food services changed to take out only, students asked not to gather in groups of 10 or more March 21  The library’s research help service, Ask A Librarian, moves completely online, mainly via email. Some library personnel begin working from home. March 23 to March 27  Library hours reduced to 8 am to 8 pm, Monday - Thursday, 8 am to 5 pm Friday  Students, faculty, and staff must use Stetson ID card to swipe into library  Library begins shipping books to students who moved off campus March 30 to April 3  Stetson begins shifting to essential personnel working on campus  Library building closes to non-library personnel  Library materials are pick up only, Monday through Friday from 1 pm to 5 pm April 4 to present  In-library pick-up for tech equipment, equipment returns, and ILL material are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, by appointment only  Books and DVDs are sent to campus mailboxes or to home addresses  All other library services done remotely and virtually April 23 & 30, 2020  Library makes 700 face mask ear guards for distribution to local healthcare workers We surveyed library personnel on their experiences while working from home. Here are the results, with some industrious at-home projects thrown in for good measure. Work from home. About half of our staff are working from home while the other half are working from both home and in the library (which is currently closed). Homeschooling. A few of our library staff have children doing their public schooling online. When asked about the most difficult subject to teach, we got these responses: “History.” “Math! I have two boys that both got their permits in February and March. They aren't liking that they can't learn to drive! “Does home-daycare count as homeschooling? The most difficult subject is currently, ‘Don't eat that!’” “Patience.” Job changes. We asked our library staff about how their jobs have changed since moving to a home office. We received some very interesting and thoughtful responses. “Some days are busier than others. I miss interacting with students and coworkers. Things seem to take longer to complete (e.g., waiting for people to respond to emails, etc.).” “It's odd, because 90% of my job depends wholly on the existence of a library full of needy patrons. It boils down in many ways to customer service and a friendly face. Having 90% of your job taken away, you might imagine I do almost nothing, but instead it often feels as if I am working more, anxiously trying to fill the gaps in what was once a regular schedule. I take fewer and shorter breaks, and despite the fact that I do many of the same break-ish things at work as I do working from home (heating up food, reading The New Yorker, shooting my mom an email, etc.), I often take these periods of time out of my time sheet and put in an additional hour or half hour in webinars, graphic design, weeding [library materials] - anything more work-related at all to compensate.” “I've been lucky so far because everything I need to work on right now are things that I can easily do remotely. If circumstances don't change as fall approaches, I will have the added challenge of figuring out how to deliver effective library instruction in an online setting.” Engagement and Learning Librarian, Hunter Murphy, handles the library’s social media from home “Most of my duties involved being ‘on call’ to help out and address problems whenever they arose in the building, as well as doing routine maintenance and supervision of tech. With the building closed, I've had to shift from that sort of spontaneous work to exclusively working on pre-planned projects, which previously only took up a fraction of my shifts.” “My job has always included many elements which can be performed remotely, but I am much busier now. And the fact that my office is also where I live now makes it that much harder to separate life from work. The impulse to always be working is difficult to ignore and finding a work/life balance at home is one of the biggest challenges. A friend of mine is an academic editor for Harvard Business Review and he always says that he works more from home than he ever did in an office. I did not believe him until I was thrust into a similar situation.” Working from and spending more time at home. Because working from home is a new experience for many, we asked what people enjoy most about it. With everyone limiting their activities to essential trips only, we asked if anyone has started a new project or hobby. Some people are gardening. “We have started a small garden which has been a new learning experience.” “I've definitely been working a lot on my garden. I have oregano, basil (right), a pineapple, an avocado, a pitcher plant, and several succulents growing out on my balcony! They're all alive too, which is very exciting. I'm getting back into learning guitar as well, and have been working my way through all the television series and movies I said years ago I would watch.” Others are enjoying spending less time commuting and a more flexible schedule. “I painted the kitchen walls and cabinets. This was the perfect time to do it because I could get some work done in between coats and didn't have to scrub all the paint off myself first. My dog is still getting used to the new house and I think having his humans home is helping with this transition.” “No commute time and less impact on the environment; wearing sweatpants to work; the cats!; ability to make my own schedule; easier to focus.” “I love being able to get up an hour later and skip the hour drive each way to work! No projects at home for me; my husband, however, has done a ton of projects on his wish list. I am focusing on the massive amounts of MBA homework.” “I've enjoyed setting my own hours - normally I have to work 5 pm to 2 am, which is a little rough, or 8 am to 5 pm, which is way, way more rough. Now I can have a happy medium.” “I enjoy being able to work on some heavy-thinking projects free from disruptions. I find I'm actually less motivated to put time into my creative hobbies (and I have many). Having life abruptly get uprooted has put a huge block on my creativity.” “I'm thinking about learning French through Mango (one of the library's databases). And I am having a fence installed outside for my [at home] co-workers.” “I like the option to take a lunch break and watch a 1/2 hour show while eating. I watched the most recent season of Nailed It on Netflix when I first started working from home. Laughing in the middle of the day is helpful!” Archivist Kelly Larson is documenting the COVID-19 experiences of the Stetson community “One thing I’ve learned from this experience is how extensive and astonishing our online resources are, from the research guides created by librarians, to the vast digital archives, as well as the databases and streaming services with movies, music, eBooks, images, and multimedia. It’s been a great time to explore our collection online and to promote these resources to students, faculty, and staff. I’m currently working on many online projects regarding teaching and engagement.” “Despite the challenges of working remotely, this is a great opportunity to tackle the archives' backlog, so I have been organizing, cataloging, and preserving our record collections and subject files. Additionally, I am actively collecting COVID-19 materials, and launched the Stetson COVID-19 Memory Project so that we have a record of Stetson's experience with the pandemic for future researchers.” “I'm learning Adobe Illustrator in my spare time.” Final Comments: “This too shall pass and I won’t have to shop around to 3-4 stores to find a roll of toilet paper!” “I feel really lucky to work in a place that has made accommodations to let us keep doing our work safely from home. Thank you!” “I got the chance to come into the library to help out with the 3D printing of mask ear guards for healthcare workers!” “It’s great being able to crank up music to help me focus while working solo in the library. Definitely something I will miss if we ever get back to pre-Covid times.” “These past few weeks have been the most unusual chapters in my library career. This is my 20th year working full-time in libraries, and I celebrated my one-year anniversary with Stetson by working from home. Not in 100 years would I have imagined this scenario, but I, like the rest of my library colleagues, am making the most of the situation.” “I appreciate the support you have all shown toward our library and our employees.” “I do miss interacting with Stetson students and colleagues. I look forward to a time when it is safe for us all to be together in the Library again!” “The library (and Stetson) has been very generous to its employees and I truly feel like [they have] my best interest at heart.” John B. Stetson says, “Wear a Mask!” Meet Some of Our New Co-Workers Other: @ “I often find it really difficult to stop working. It's very easy to work on and off for twelve hours without a real incentive, like going home, to clock out." @ “I just moved and haven't unpacked everything yet. So when I need to find this thing or that thing I often have to do a lot of digging around.” @ “Toddler chaos.” @“I don't have an ergonomic table/desk or chair. I'm using a laptop and brought my keyboard and mouse home to reduce arm pain.” @“I am missing my co-workers!” @ “Staying connected to co-workers.” duPont-Ball Library • Stetson Univer sity • 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8418 • DeLand, FL 32723 (386)822-7183 • stetson.edu/librar y • facebook.com/StetsonLibrary 6 1 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 About the same - just another day in the life Extremely - I'm a social butterfly Not at all - what should I binge watch next? Has social distancing been difficult for you? 3 3 4 8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Internet connection Computer Staying focused Other What is the biggest challenge to doing your job from home? (Choose all that apply)