2012

Co-op Reflections: Our Time at Snell

As the semester comes to an end, so do two co-ops in Snell Library. I have been working as the marketing and events planner, and Brittany Tassone has been working in the Digital Media Commons Studio. We have taken some time to think back on our experience here and offer advice to the new co-ops that will take our place in January.  Thank you to Snell Library and our co-workers for two great co-op experiences. – Jen Jen: As the marketing and events co-op I planned Meet the Author events, assisted library staff with many other projects and events, and used Snell’s social media pages to promote library happenings and communicate with the Northeastern community. I gained a lot of marketing experience from this co-op. The Northeastern community is very diverse, and it was valuable for me to have to promote events and campaigns to such an audience. As a Northeastern student, I benefitted from working with different academic departments and student groups, and I feel much more connected to my university as a result. I was not sure what to expect at an on-campus co-op, but it turned out to have been an incredible advantage. I was able to have more freedom and work on a wide range of projects at Snell, and was never stuck with boring or repetitive tasks. My favorite things about this job are that that I did something different every day, gained such a wide spectrum of experience, and got to work with a great group of people. My advice to the next Marketing and Events co-op is to get the most that you can out of working in this position. If you have a good deal of experience when you start, then take on a bit more and come up with new ideas for events and promotions. Also, stay organized and be confident!   Brittany: My co-op experience at the DMCS definitely was a good fit for me professionally. I was able to use my creative skills and design some unique promotional material, motion, and website graphics, but I was also able to assist in other student’s project, providing them with help that was crucial for it to be the best itcould be. I did experience some trials during my work, and learned that in the business of customer service you definitely need a lot of patience, and willingness to help. Those are qualities that I feel I possess, making my position here definitely a benefit for the DMCS. Having people that don’t necessarily speak English, or don’t have a large knowledge base about design software could be frustrating at times, but working with different types ofpeople is a lesson that I feel everyone should learn. It was beneficial for me because I know in the future I will definitely have to work with all types of different people to create designs for the intended audience. The best part about working at the DMCS would have to be the great atmosphere my superiors and co-workers created for me. I was able to work on my designs without a huge rush on time, making the transition into my first co-op comfortable for me. My advice to future co-ops would to be to practice using the design software like Adobe Suite, Final Cut, and the iLife suite, as much as possible. It will be very helpful when answering questions in the future.

Congratulations to Keaton Zavis, our iPad winner!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer our survey about technology in Snell Library. In addition to ten lucky winners of Dunkin Donuts gift cards, we raffled a new iPad which was won by Keaton Zavis, shown at left today receiving his iPad from Dean of University Libraries Will Wakeling. Congratulations to all our winners, and to all of the over 100 people who took the time to participate in the survey, we’ll be sure to publish the results on this blog. Your feedback will help us make Snell even better in the new year!

Onward and upward with SpringerLink

It’s 6am on a cold November morning, and I know I’m not the only one awake.  As I am writing this, a few Northeastern researchers are online with me, and are currently reading: *A book chapter about the semantic web *An article about arterial fibrillation *An article about human trafficking How do I know this?  Because Springer, the venerable German publisher of chiefly scientific research, has recently updated its SpringerLink web site. The content on the new site is the same solid high-quality research they’ve always had, searchable and easily linkable, with full text PDFs available DRM-free, even for ebook chapters, to NU affiliates. But the new site has this “Recent Activity” feature.  It’s anonymous, but anyone, including you, can see a little window into what’s being read on SpringerLink at Northeastern right now.  More importantly, the new SpringerLink site has a cleaned-up layout and style that displays better in a variety of browsers.  The search results page now shows results at the individual book chapter level, with a “look inside” feature for content not licensed by our library that you may want to purchase.  The “advanced search” has been revamped and is easier to use. We do have a warning about the new site: If you’ve been a “power user” of Springer Link in the past, you may have set up a “My Account” feature to save your searches, tag your results, and keep a history of any personal orders. Please be aware that your “My Account” on the old SpringerLink will NOT be migrated to the new site. (Unfortunately Springer claims that privacy rules prohibit them from notifying account-holders individually.) You’ll have to set up a new account on the new site and start all over.  The new “My Account” also allows you to log in from anywhere, not just through the NU Libraries. Currently both the old and the new Springer Link sites are available, so “My Account” users should log in over the Thanksgiving break and save what’s in your old account. Beginning sometime Monday morning, 11/26, you’ll be redirected to the new site and the old site and old account information will no longer be available. So give the new Springer Link a test drive. Have fun seeing the “Recent Activity” of researchers at NU. I just checked, and it’s now a book about genetically modified plants and an article about Harry Potter from an education journal. I’m sure when you log in it will be something completely different!

Free Admission to Touch History

The Annual International Antiquarian Book Fair is coming to Boston this weekend, November 16th-18th, at the Hynes Convention Center.  The 3-day event offers visitors an exciting opportunity to view, handle, and purchase rare books, manuscripts, and collectibles, including a signed photograph by John F. Kennedy, a first edition of The History of Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells (1910), and Miles Davis’ autographed musical manuscript.  The event will also include seminars and panel discussions. On Sunday, November 18th, all students with a student ID will have free admission.  Be sure to bring your books, free appraisals will be available Sunday from 1-3PM. For more information, please visit the Book Fair website: http://bostonbookfair.com/

How Children Succeed: A conversation with author Paul Tough

Author Paul Tough By Emily Huizenga Journalist Paul Tough visited Snell Library November 8th to discuss his latest book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. Emily Mann of the Human Services department gave Tough a brief introduction, describing his book as “one with humor and substance, one that questions conventions.” Tough began his discussion of How Children Succeed with the suggestion that parents and educators have been emphasizing “the wrong skills and activities in the cognitive development of kids.” He described his travels around the country when writing the book: talking to researchers, educators, and students at both private academies and inner-city schools, studying everything from chess players to lab rats. Ultimately, he concluded that “character education,” not just test scores, may be key to children’s success. He laughed, admitting that when he wasn’t doing research for his book he couldn’t help but think of his own son, then just an infant, as “a little experiment subject.” Tough Tough emphasized one discovery that he said even he found surprising. He said, “If we want children to succeed, we must first let them fail.” He explained the stress-response system, which children develop at infancy. While “too much damage can last a lifetime,” some conflict and stress is necessary so kids can develop what researchers are now calling “grit.” Tough likened the idea to the difference between exercising on a treadmill and exercising by climbing a mountain: both will get you in shape, but only one has the added stress of the possibility of failure. This, he said, is key to fostering seven character strengths some educators are now deeming important to success: optimism, zest, curiosity, social intelligence, gratitude, self-control, and grit. “What we have in this country is an adversity gap,” Tough said, explaining some kids need more chances to fail, more “inner strength,” while others need more nurturing, more care. In both cases, Tough said, the common denominator is the caregiver. Read more in the e-book of How Children Succeed in the library’s collection here.   We would like to thank Human Services for bringing Paul Tough to campus, and a huge thank you to Paul Tough for such an engaging author talk!