Morning of October 30 - No Power at NJIT

When I turned on the TV this morning Governor Christie said that 95% of Newark had no power.  As of now NJIT is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.  I was able to access the University Home Page but the library home page was down at 8:15 AM.  I could also not access the NJIT e-mail.

I am sure that the NJIT Department of Public Safety will make an announcement about the status of NJIT on Wednesday.

This is my personal blog and I am not making an official announcement of the university.

Information Literacy - Just 15 minutes of Fame

Tomorrow for the first time I will be teaching to a class in the Information Systems Department.  The specific course is IS350 – Computers, Society and Ethics.  The students have to choose one of 6 topics to debate:

1    1.      That the Total Information Awareness program be authorized and funded by Congress
2.       Should the United States implement a Smart National ID Card?
3.       Should Congress authorize states to allow voting in elections via the Internet
4.       Should systems such as APACHE (Acute Physiology Age and Chronic Health Evaluation) be installed in all large hospitals in the U.S.
5.       Should consumers be explicitly informed of the existence of a “black box” in a newly purchased car and be given the option of having it removed or disabled prior to purchase or any time thereafter.
6.       Should companies be forced to implement green techniques by means of regulatory procedures.

Here is the problem.  I am only given 15 minutes to address the class on how to find information to answer these questions.  I’ll have to do my best and invite the students to speak to me or other librarians if they have questions.

What to Worry About When Planning a Professional Meeting

I just received some posters from the American Chemical Society to begin to promote the ACS on Campus event forDecember 5.  At this point it is just a preliminary announcement to keep the date open.  There are always worries when planning a professional meeting:

·         The biggest one is how many people will come.  This of course is very difficult to predict.  When I plan events for the METRO Science Librarians SIG the attendance ranged from 6 to 30.  There is always an excuse for people not coming.

·         The second worry is the weather.  December 5 is likely too early for a major snowstorm.  In any event, I expect most of the attendees will be from NJIT or Rutgers-Newark

·         One of the speakers can’t make it at the last minute.

My late Dad always told me to take things one day at a time.  I also read that in the Dale Carnegie book.  Don’t Worry Be Happy!

Some Random Thoughts on a Tuesday Morning

I did not mind working yesterday which was Columbus Day.  I can't complain since we get Fridays off during the summer and the week off between Christmas and New Years.  The public transportation in New York and New Jersey was on a regular weekday schedule.

Students in Chemical Engineering 396 completed their assignment to use technical databases to find relevant articles.  I had time to grade only 2 papers, but I perused through the others and noted that although students were given the choice to use either Scopus or Scifinder Scholar, only 1 out of 20 used Scifinder.  During the lecture I discussed both equally and considered the advantages and disadvantages of both.  I really think that students did not want to set up an account for Scifinder and remember another username and password.  They preferred to follow the path of least resistance and searched Scopus.  Chemical Abstracts Service is very protective of their database, and just do not want anyone to walk up to a public computer in an academic library to search Scifinder.

I am home this morning since I am working on the late shift.  The number of substantial reference transactions at the desk continues to decline.  Last Tuesday nobody approached the reference desk between 5 PM and 7 PM.  Oh well.

STELLA Unconference is Coming to Brooklyn College Nov 9-10

STELLA is an acronym for Science Technology and Engineering Library Leaders in Action.  There was an unconference in Denver in 2010, but one is coming to Brooklyn College on November 9th and 10th.  As of today 75 people have signed up.  The organizers state that registration will be capped at 80.

Registration

Ideas for Sessions

I would like to thank the organizers in advance for all the work they have done so far:

Jeffra Diane Bussmann (California State University, East Bay)
Jill Cirasella (Brooklyn College)
Neil Dazet (Brooklyn College)
Joseph Kraus (University of Denver)
Margaret Smith (NYU)