12/23/2014 Ellsworth Foundation Gift 1 Architecture joins P 4 P 2 Encores 7 University News 11 People 11 Jobs 19 Polar Archives receives donation from Lincoln Ellsworth Foundation The Polar Archives is pleased to announce it has received a $9,000 gift from the Lincoln Ellsworth Foundation. The foundation has been supporting the Polar Archives with an annual gift since 1995. Gifts have ranged from $7,500 to $21,500, and can be used completely at Polar’s discretion. The foundation states that “the recognition which potential donees accord to Lincoln Ellsworth’s achievements and the interest they demonstrate in perpetuating and enhancing his reputation are among the factors which the Trustees consider in determining gifts.” Lincoln Ellsworth (1880-1951) was a wealthy adventurer, and financed as well as took part in numerous polar expeditions in both the Arctic and Antarctic rRegions. Though the Ellsworth Papers are not held by the Polar Archives, there are numerous collections that we do own that contain Ellsworth materials, most notably the Papers of Sir George Hubert Wilkins. Minimum Wage changes take effect Ohio’s minimum wage will increase from $7.95 to $8.15/hour. All biweekly employees currently under the new minimum wage will be automatically increased to the new hourly rate effective at the beginning of pay period 15, which is December 28, 2014. Supervisors will be notified of the student employees affected by the change by December 31, 2014. Please consider any impacts this change may have on your student budget. IT Projects for January-March 2015 Set The Libraries’ Information Technology team has put together its project priority plan for the first quarter of 2015. The results can be seen on the IT blog. 1 From the Director—Happy Holidays! The final blog post for 2014 from Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Carol Diedrichs includes links to both the Libraries’ holiday video and Carol’s annual letter to the Libraries’ donors and friends. Committee Info being added to Staff Directory Committees will be added to the Staff Directory tonight. Go to the staff directory at: https://library.osu.edu/staffd and click on the Committees tab and you will be able to view members of each committee. Unfortunately at this time, we cannot indicate the chair of the committee. We will add this feature in the future. Architecture Library joins in Pause 4 Paws The Architecture Library welcomed special canine guests Reese, Joey, and Allie to its first Pause 4 Paws event. Therapy dogs visited the library during finals week to provide stress relief for our students. The event drew in over 100 students who had a great time interacting with the animals while taking a study break. The library will be a regular host of this event for future semesters. The Architecture Library staff would like to thank Allie’s handler, Timothy Fulton, as well as the handlers from Pickerington Pet Pals 4H Club. We also appreciate the volunteer support from Jan Wagner and our student assistants who helped make the event a success. 2 Complimentary Tickets - 2013 Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo There are limited complimentary tickets available to the 2015 Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, January 9-11, 2015. If you are interested please stop by 305 Thompson, Room 305 to pick up tickets. News you’ve seen before… 2015 Committee Assignments Announced From Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Carol Diedrichs: In November we asked all of you to consider serving on one or more of the Libraries committees and working groups. These groups play a key role in moving our libraries forward and accomplishing the goals set forth in our strategic plan. I want to thank each of you who volunteered for your willingness to serve the Libraries in this additional capacity. Know that the work carried out by each of these groups and committees is vital and appreciated. Here are the committee appointments for 2015: https://library.osu.edu/document- registry/docs/397. The coming year marks the fourth year of the new committee structure established by the Executive Committee for University Libraries. The Executive Committee has reviewed each committee and working group, revised committee charges if needed and added goals for 2015. The Committee Chair and Member Responsibilities document was prepared to outline expectations and responsibilities for committee chairs and members. I encourage you to review it before you begin work. I look forward to the good work of our committees as we move forward on the five strategic planning themes: services, collections, library as an intellectual crossroads, infrastructure, and innovative leadership. All committee charges have been finalized and are posted at: http://library.osu.edu/about/committees/university-libraries-committee- structure/ . We were fortunate to have a large number of excellent volunteers. If you were not appointed this time, I encourage you to volunteer in the future and I look forward to your continued involvement. Thanks again to all who volunteered to serve. Responding to emergencies sessions set University Libraries will be offering sessions on Monday, January 5, to help Libraries faculty and staff understand their responsibilities when an emergency situation takes place. Do you know what to do in the event of a power failure, blizzard, or tornado? The sessions will review expectations in emergency situations, as well as a review of available information to help faculty and staff determine the steps to take during an emergency. The sessions will be at 10 a.m. in Room 122 at the Tech Center, and in Room 150 A/B at the Thompson Library at 2 p.m. 3 Facilities Work at Thompson during Break There are three projects that will commence during the December semester break that Library Facilities would like for you to be made aware of. The Semester Breaks are the best opportunity for large building projects to occur. 1) Cork Floor Repair and Replacement--This will be the most visible project, and will take place starting Thursday Dec. 18 and continuing until completed approximately Jan. 8. The Grand Reading Room (200) and the three floors with cork corridors (2nd, 3rd and 4th floors) will all have work done to repair and refurbish the cork surface. Much of the work will occur after 6 p.m. closing, but cure times may cause staff areas to be inaccessible, OR re-routed for at least the morning hours after the area is treated. We expect the Grand Reading Room (200) work to be carried out December 18- 26. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floor corridors are to be worked on December 29-January 8. Facilities staff will do our best to keep you up to date and informed on when your floor may be inaccessible, or the route you may need to take to get to your office, restrooms, and exits. 2) Terrazzo Refurbishment--Terrazzo work will take place on Thursday, December 18 and Friday, December 19. This work involves cleaning and refinishing the Two Security Desk floors and the three public Elevator Floors. Schedule is as follows: • Thursday, December 18, east, west (desks) and one tower elevator • Friday, December 19, NE and remaining tower elevator This work will generate some noise, but mostly after closing. 3) Monumental Mechoshade Repair in Buckeye Reading Room (260)--This work is tentatively scheduled for the week of January 5-9. There will be scaffolding setup and takedown with associated noise. Regular Semester Break activities, including carpet spot cleaning in public areas, as well as table, floor, and glass cleaning will also take place. We try to maximize the break for all this work, as it is the best and least disruptive timeframe for our faculty, staff, student, and visitor users. Unfortunately it can and will be disruptive to our regular building staff. Expect some noise, fumes and access issues during the break. We will continue to update when we can. WorldCat@OSU and Connexion unavailable Saturday, January 3, 2015 for a technology upgrade On Saturday, January 3, OCLC has scheduled a technology upgrade to support system performance and reliability. During this upgrade, all OCLC services will be unavailable on 3 January 2015, from 12:01 a.m. to 3 p.m., U.S. Eastern Standard Time (approximately 15 hours). 4 An alert will be on the library home page notifying users that WorldCat@OSU will be unavailable most of the day. Users can continue to search our collections using the “Books and More” tab. If you have any questions or concerns, please submit a request to Hub. Biometric Health Screenings January 26 On January 26, 2015, the OSU Health Plan’s Health Promotion Specialists will be in Thompson Library, Room 150A, from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. to do onsite biometric health screenings. Remember, if you have had a physical within the past 12 months, you can use those values to complete your Personal Health Assessment (PHA) at www.yp4h.osu.edu. Completing your PHA will allow you to receive your health care premium credit reduction, as well as make you eligible for cash-back incentives when you participate in YourPlanForHealth activities. IMPORTANT - If the PHA is not completed by the deadlines indicated below, the medical plan choice defaults to the Basic PPO Plan, and the PHA premium credit is forfeited. Medical Plans Summary and Comparison for 2015 are available here. • Recent and New Hires – Deadline to complete PHA: 60 days from your hire date • Current Employees – Deadline to complete PHA for the 2016 Plan Year: September 30 Registration is now open online for the January 26 screenings. In order to register for your screening, go to www.yp4h.osu.edu.