Tech Services Alerts Added to StaffWeb 
Beth Juhl, Web Services Librarian, reports that Tech Services Alerts have been added to StaffWeb’s main page. (Check out 365 McIlroy for a screen shot, or visit StaffWeb and scroll down – the new section is on the right.) The log shows current, known issues with electronic resources, the library catalog, Find it!, and related resources. There is also a link there to the full Tech Services Alerts page to report new issues or to search the archive. This system is based on the LibAnswers platform that also powers our public-facing Ask a Librarian page. Please let Beth Juhl or Mandi Smith know if you have suggestions for reporting or documenting electronic resource problems. Awesome, right?! Thanks to Web Services and the Tech Services teams!
Photographs from Special Collections Featured in The Washington Post
Quotes from correspondence and photographs from the Diane D. Blair Papers (MC 1632), housed in Special Collections, were featured in a recent Washington Post article, “From press paranoia to affairs: A Hillary confidante’s letters reveal a window into her friend’s life.” Though the article is meant to give a more intimate portrait of the current Democratic presidential nominee, it also reveals a lot about Blair. Blair came to Arkansas in 1963 and graduated with a MA from U of A’s Political Science Department in 1967. She joined the political science faculty the following year. Blair was voted Outstanding Faculty Member by students in 1976 and 1978, and she is the namesake of The Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society, established by an act of US Congress in 2001. Her career also included extensive public service and she was a founding member of the University of Arkansas Press.
Updates and Revisions Make ScholarWorks@UARK Even Better
Melody Herr, Head of the Office of Scholarly Communication, reports that a “new and improved” ScholarWorks website recently launched. Please visit ScholarWorks@UARK (I can watch that map all day) and check out the accompanying submission guide. Herr, along with Cedar Middleton, Institutional Repository Coordinator, will provide an overview of ScholarWorks for all Libraries’ personnel on Thursday, 9/1 at 10am, in Mullins Library room 486, and repeat the same performance on Thursday, 9/8 at 2pm in Mullins Library room102. Please feel free to attend whichever session best suits your schedule. Thanks, Melody!
Save the Date – Know & Go: How Springshare Puts UX Into Customer Service
Kathleen Lehman, User Experience Librarian, invites all Libraries personnel to an Amigos/Springshare hosted webinar, Know & Go: How Springshare Puts UX Into Customer Service, on Monday, 9/19 from 1:30pm-2:30pm in MULN 302B. This webinar will benefit anyone who performs customer service in Libraries (yes, that means you), touching on all formats of exchanges – from face-to-face, email, online and social media – while providing techniques and sharing successful outcomes. Thanks, Kathleen!
SPEC Kit 351: Affordable Course Content and Open Educational Resources
Lora Lennertz, Director for Academic and Research Services, reports that the webinar, Affordable Course Content and Open Educational Resources, will be offered on Wednesday, 8/17 from 12-12:45pm in MULN 486. This webinar presents the findings of the most recent ARL SPEC survey. The SPEC Kit explores the degree to which ARL member institutions advocate, support, and develop affordable course content and open educational resources (ACC/OER). Lennertz reports that our circulating copy is in the process of being routed; however, the document is now available electronically at the link above. Thank you, Lora!
Reminders and Such:
- Fall Social Media Strategy Meeting: Attend a quick brainstorming session for back-to-school social media planning this Thursday, August 18 at 2:00pm in MULN 472B. Help the Libraries’ ad hoc social media committee gather ideas for the Content Calendar, decide about Snapchat, and more! All interested Libraries’ personnel are invited to attend. Email me for more info.
- Please remember to COPY the person or people who are serving as your back-ups in your out-of-office emails to me. It provides not only an excellent last minute confirmation for you, but is also a handy way for me to procure the contact info that I add to each entry. Thank you!
Calendar of Libraries’ Events – Mark Your Personal Calendars!
| Date | Event |
| 8/16 | Mullins Library Scavenger Hunt w/ UARK Housing, 2-5pm, MULN |
| 8/17 | Info Tours of Mullins Begin, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, MULN West Lobby |
| 8/17 | Libraries Staff Meeting, 2:30pm, MULN 104 |
| 8/17 | Webinar: Affordable Course Content and OERs, 12pm, MULN 486 |
| 8/18 | Rescheduled Social Media Meeting, 2-2:55pm, MULN 472B |
| 8/22 | Fall 2016 Classes Begin – Help-A-Hog, 7:30am-3pm, MULN West Lobby |
| 8/23 | Help-A-Hog, 7:30am-3pm, MULN West Lobby |
| 8/23 | Open Access Interest Group Meeting, 3pm, MULN 486 |
| 8/25 | Razorbash, 11am-2pm, Union Mall |
| 9/1 | ScholarWorks@UARK Overview, 10am, MULN 486 |
| 9/2 | QuickSearch Implementation Event, 10-12pm, MULN |
| 9/8 | ScholarWorks@UARK Overview, 2pm, MULN 102 |
| 9/19 | Webinar: How Springshare Puts UX Into Customer Service, 1:30pm, MULN 302B |
| 9/24 | Deadline for ArLA Award Nominations (Contact Elaine Thornton) |
| 9/27 | Open Access Interest Group Meeting, 3pm, MULN 486 |
| 10/7 | SAA’s “Implementing ‘More Product, Less Process’ #1752” |
| 10/9-10/15 | Save the Date: Homecoming 2016 |
Out of Office Notices
| Name | Will be Out | Need Anything, Please Contact (479-575-XXXX) |
| Trent Garner | 8/12-8/16 | Libraries IT, 575-7990 |
| Lora Lennertz | 8/14-8/19 | Joel Thornton, 5-3176 |
| Elsie Nguyen | 8/15-9/1 | Kathy Riggle, 5-3080 / Jeff Banks, 5-4769 |