February 2004
Volume 25
(back issues)

In this Issue

Promotions

Kathleen Bauer
Eli Interface Librarian
Kline Science Library
2/23/04

Departing Employees

Pauline Orlando
Catalog Assistant
Cataloging
1/30/04

Staff Member in Focus

Joe Simone
Sterling Security

Yale Career
Many employees are already familiar with his face as they pass by him each day and some of us know him by name. Joe Simone is a Sterling Memorial Library security guard posted at the Wall Street entrance of the Sterling Memorial Library. He has worked at Yale University since January 1996 and in May 2000 he retired for two years. He decided to return to work in August 2002. Previous to Yale Joe owned his own painting company for 30 years.

Background
Joe grew up only two blocks away from the Sterling Memorial Library on Ashmun Street. He attended St. Mary's Grammar and High School and spent two years at South Central Community College. Joe joined the US Army Airborne and was stationed in Europe for 2 years during the Korean War. When he returned he moved to Chicago for a year and a half for a job. Joe finally returned to New Haven and married his next-door sweetheart, Rosemarie. They have been married for 47 years with a daughter Michele and a 12 year-old grandson named Joey.

Hobbies
I can't even describe Yale Hockey as Joe's hobby, as it is more a passion and a devotion. Joe loves Yale Hockey. He has been following the team for 25 years. He has always liked hockey and the college atmosphere. He enjoys watching the freshman start their college career and play hockey. Joe follows each player's career after they graduate and is proud to see them develop into great men off the ice.

His devotion starts by meeting them at the rink and going to home games. It continues as he also attends away games. The away games are not always local, but Joe still is in attendance. He has flown to every away game. He has been to Denver, North Dakota, New Jersey, Brown, Boston, Harvard. His devotion goes to the final extreme as this year he had planned to spend Christmas in Denver, missing his first Christmas with his wife. The team was playing on December 26th and Joe could only get a ticket to Denver on Christmas day. Unfortunately Joe had to have surgery and was unable to attend the game the day after Christmas.

Joe misses very few games; he did not attend one game due to a storm and he was dearly missed. The announcers of the game know Joe well and when Joe missed the game, they said on the air, "We know you're listening Joe and we hope to hear from you after the game".

Joe has been called the "godfather" of the team and he is invited to the hockey practices and their final banquet which is usually only attended by parents.

Joe does enjoy all sports but hockey is his favorite. He also enjoys plants and gardening.He has a plant collection at work and at home. He brings in some of the plants from his collection of over 30 at home to enjoy at work. Everyone stops and talks to Joe.

So if you didn't know Joe already, you do now, so say hi when you leave Sterling.

Joe's Plant Collection in Sterling

Staff Submissions

Staff Article

~An article submitted by a staff member, modeling a magazine information column. ~

Dear Ms. Manners,

I work in a lovely place, with wonderful, well-behaved people, with the exception of one bad habit: sometimes some of my colleagues can be a little selfish, without realizing it. Please let me explain.

The management of the lovely place where I work, periodically hosts get-togethers for everyone, called "Staff Teas." This is a wonderful event, where staff members from all departments come together and talk, drink coffee or tea, and nibble on pastries and other treats. The problem is, the participants who come first don't seem to realize that some people, me included, can't make it until the tea hour is half over, and eat more than their fair share. By the time I can get there, all the goodies have already been eaten!!!

Is there a way to let my early-bird colleagues know that, while nibbling on the goodies provided is encouraged, saving some for colleagues who can't come until later is the polite thing to do?

Hungry in New Haven

Dear Hungry in New Haven,

This is a tricky problem, because your colleagues, who are eating all the goodies before you can get there, probably don't realize the error of their ways. Of course, one simply can't approach the offending group and shout, "You're hogging all the pastries! Leave some for us!" Perhaps publishing this letter in your organization's newsletter might get the point across to them? Or maybe the generous management team might consider conserving some treats until halfway through the event. I hope these suggestions help.

Sincerely,

Ms. Manners

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Births

Bonnie Turner is the proud grandmother of Benjamin Owen Wallace.
Bonnie tells us, " He was born on Jan. 21, 8 lbs 4 oz, 20 " long, very healthy, long black hair and a delight to us all".

Congratulations Bonnie!

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A Word From the University Librarian

A note on the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the World Summit on the Information Society

Many people will think of IFLA as a remote organization, barely impinging on our own working lives except when, once a year, a few lucky people from Yale University Library get to attend the conference in some far-flung part of the world. I thought you might be interested to hear about the World Summit on the Information Society, which met in Geneva in December. There follow two brief reports from IFLA headquarters. As you can see, IFLA is deeply engaged in promoting the importance and the work of libraries in a global context. It's really pleasing to know that Yale librarians contribute to this important work in various ways, through their work on committees and participation in conferences; humbling, too, to see how much is going on, all over the world, that we probably know too little about. It would be great to hear reports and perspectives from some of the other members of Yale library staff who are involved in international work. Meanwhile, here's just a flavor, from the IFLA viewpoint, of the World Summit on the Information Society:

Libraries@the Heart of the Information Society
IFLA Issues from World Summit 10-12 December 2003, nr 2

Wednesday, 10th of December, is the International Day of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Opening Day of the World Summit. UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, welcomed Heads of States, delegates and participants with these words: " We are going through a historic transformation in the way we live, learn, work, communicate and do business. We must do so not passively, but as makers of our own destiny. Technology has produced the information age. Now it is up to all of us to build an information society."
The World Summit opened in an optimistic atmosphere, as the draft texts of the Declaration of Principles and the Action Plan, now were presented without brackets. This means that the basic text can be adopted on Friday.

Good news for the library field: the efforts of IFLA and many colleagues in national library associations have resulted in final texts in which libraries are mentioned. This will provide a useful basis for follow up actions for the second part of the World Summit in Tunis 2005.

IFLA's main session took place Wednesday afternoon, with a range of presentations by Kay Raseroka (IFLA president), Alex Byrne (IFLA president-elect), Genevieve Clavel-Morrin (National Library of Switzerland), Sinikka Sipilä (Finnish Library Association) and Sjoerd Koopman (IFLA Headquarters) on various topics.
Swiss colleagues brought in leaflets and the recent publication on the IFLA Pre-Summit Conference. We had our doubts about how many people would find their way to our room and would be interested in libraries, as it coincided with the Official Opening and so many other programmes. Fortunately, about 100 participants attended and came up with interesting questions as an input to a lively debate.

IFLA was also present at the session organized by the Swiss UNESCO Commission: "Content Professionals Bridging the Digital Divide". This cooperation of scientists, journalists, archivists and librarians in many different countries demonstrates the need to form partnerships outside our traditional field. Charles Batambuze (secretary-general of the Uganda Library Association) showed the bookmobile project with printing on demand, thus demonstrating the creative use of ICT in library services.

In the UNESCO programme on Cultural Diversity, Marianne Scott (past chair of CLM, Canada) spoke on the difficult copyright issue from the point of view of libraries and library users. She was a good match to Hugh Jones from the Copyright Council to the Publishers Association, striking the fine balance between the right holders and the legitimate rights of users.

In the evening we went to the City Library of Geneva, where Swiss colleagues had organised a public lecture on the miracles of new technology and our imagination. Kay Raseroka took the opportunity to thank the Swiss library community for their enormous efforts and dedication to library advocacy at the World Summit.
Libraries@the Heart of the Information Society
IFLA Issues from World Summit 10-12 December 2003
Nr. 3 - December 12
On this Thursday, the national delegates made their statements about the Information Society, lining up for the final discussions. The whole day long, ministers from all sorts of departments (economics, education, foreign affairs, research) stressed various aspects of developing the information society: trade agreements, human rights, but first and foremost the necessity of bridging the information gap between the rich and the poor. The key issue of financing equitable access remains unsolved: a Digital Solidarity Fund proposed by the developing world or the trade agreements and public-private partnerships as defended by e.g. the European Union.
After those formal speeches, flocks of dignitaries and media people went to the large exhibition, where many countries have impressive stands, showing their ICT-projects and national strategies.
* The exhibition features a wealth of displays by governments, international organizations, commercial entities and NGO's. It demonstrates the keen interest of business firms, such as Microsoft, Nokia, and Hewlett Packard, to take part in developing ICT facilities in the developing world, inviting the public sector to partner with them. Civil Society doubts whether these interests are going beyond creating new markets. Therefore, in many other stands the social and cultural aspects, including poverty reduction are in focus.
* For instance, the Mali stand displays the creation of a broadband internet service to Timbuktu (900 km from Benako) which is now being used to link a school in the desert at Timbuktu to one on a mountain in Switzerland. It also features a project to digitize ancient manuscripts, dating from the ninth century on Arabic and European law, medicine, environmental matters and other topics.
* The exhibition is also a true global meeting place. Surrounded by large paper walls depicting colourful marketplaces from Asia, Africa and Latin America, Finnish colleagues had a wonderful surprise. They met with Nonkululeko Woko and Felicity Nxumalo whom they had trained in the late eighties at a Finnish project in Tanzania for South African exiles. Both gained their library science degrees through the programme and are now members of the South African Government delegation to the Summit!
* Four Round Tables are organized to provide participating governments, the opportunity to share the vision of the Information Society along with leaders from intergovernmental organizations, civil society and business sector entities. One of them addressed 'ICT as a tool to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (UN)'. The main idea is to change the digital divide into digital opportunities for poverty reduction, job creation, capacity building and sustainable development. Examples are Bangladesh with a special task force for ICT development in schools, and a major online service project in Rumania, which proves that national E-strategies can work.
* The IFLA-delegation also attended the Civil Society meeting where the Declaration 'Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs' was adopted. This joint action stresses the need of shaping a people-centered, inclusive and equitable information society.
We would like to conclude our reports from Geneva by repeating Kofi Annan's quote from Robert Oppenheimer: "The open society, the unrestricted access to knowledge, the unplanned and uninhibited association of men for its furtherance -- these are what may make a vast, complex, ever growing, ever changing, ever more specialized and expert technological world, nevertheless a world of human community."

More Information on the First Phase of WSIS Geneva, 10-12 December 2003 at:
http://www.ifla.org/III/wsis.html#3a

Join Alice, The University Librarian for Tea Time @ Spoon   February 26th 9:30-10:30 March 23rd 2:30-3:30 April 29th 2:30-3:30 May 25th 2:30-3:30 ~Locations will be announced in the future~ Remember Alice has Office hours every Monday between 8:30-9:30. Please call Antonia for an appointment @ 21818.

Library in Focus

Sterling Memorial Spoon

The Sterling Spoon has recently been renovated for all staff to enjoy. If you haven't had the opportunity please take the time to visit the spoon.

A sample of the window decorations in the spoon:

Jack Horner	The Cook	Jack Spratt & His Wife	The Queen of Hearts

HR in Focus

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Calendar of Events

 

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HR Updates

Service Awards
The 2004 Service Awards will be held on March 22, 2004 in the Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.. The following people are being recognized for having achieved their 5, 10, 15, or 20 year anniversary date
between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004:

Jennifer Aloi 5 Monte Bailey 5 Jeffrey Barnett 5 Steven Bernstein 5 Ruth Carruth 5 Renee Cawley 5 Stephen Cohen 5 Michael DiMassa 5 Joan Emmet 5 Christopher Fiorillo 5 Michael Frost 5 Aletia Garvey 5 Gareth Gibson 5 Charles Greenberg 5 Cindy Greenspun 5 Erika Heinen 5 Mary Holder 5 Salvatore Iannaccone 5 Susan Jaffe 5 Christopher Killheffer 5 Hans Kirsch 5 Lawrence Martins 5 John Monahan 5 Danelle Moon 5 Kevin Reed 5 Stephanie Schmitt 5 Joseph Simone 5 Gennifer Sindoni 5 Dawn Todd 5 Frank Boateng 10 Susan Brady 10 Nicole Bouche 10 Bernadette Cioffi 10

John Giamattei 10 Cynthia Ostroff 10 Erek Robinson 10 Judy Spak 10 Nanette Stahl 10 Bonnie Turner 10 Christine Weideman 10 Elizabeth Beaudin 15 Shana Jackson 15 Magan Jain 15 Laura Johnson 15 Marie Kozak 15 Tatjana Lorkovic 15 Beatrice Luh 15 Alice Marsh 15 Brian Mendez 15 Barbara Olszowa 15 Ngadi Osadebe 15 Steven Oyler 15 George Page 15 Margaret Powell 15 Nancy Redding Vincent Rosarbo 15 Sandra Weber 15 Araceli Cruz 20 Judith Cummings 20 Christine de Vallet 20 Elena Gusev 20 Melvin Jones 20 Sandra Peterson 20 Regina Romero 20 Karl Schrom 20

 

For questions concerning the service awards, please contact Bernadette Cioffi at x21810 or e-mail bernadette.cioffi@yale.edu or Victoria Gambardella at x21810 or e-mail victoria.gambardella@yale.edu.

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Suggestions and Comments
Send all comments to the Editor, Jessica Linicus

If you would like something or someone featured in the next Library Links, please contact me at Jessica.Linicus@yale.edu.

Library Human Resources hopes you enjoyed this issue of Library Links.
You can also contact one of the members of the Library Links Committee.

~Robin Gordon~Randy Main~Marybeth Bean~Nicole Benevento~Susan Brady~Lynn Sette~George Stranz~Pedro Soto~Julie Niemeyer~Tanya Allen~Emily Horning~Diane Ducharme~Ceasar Zapata~Claire Halloran~

Wellness in Focus

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Humor in Focus

Wellness Now

Let's Not Take it too Seriously:
How to use Humor to Defuse Stress

Your six-year-old chooses this morning to decide he isn’t going to school. The 45 minutes it takes to cajole and threaten him with time-outs and loss of TV privileges means you miss that project meeting you spent months setting up.

Finally you get to work prepared to crank out some apologetic e-mails and your computer crashes, taking your last three weeks of work with it. Trembling with righteous indignation, you prepare to reach for the phone and scream at the tech support people.

Just then, a coworker wearing Groucho Marx glasses and a clown wig pokes her head into your cubicle, tosses a rubber chicken into your lap, and hands you a bag of Hershey’s Kisses. In spite of yourself, you feel a smile coming on, toss the rubber chicken back, and have a laugh as you munch the chocolates.
Five minutes later, the world is once again a beautiful place.

Diversionary Humor
The above intervention is an example of diversionary humor, one of the most effective ways of defusing stress. Diversionary humor involves doing things that create humorous distractions during times of high stress, thus giving people a break from the situation and a chance to cool down.

The logic here is that when we’re under stress, physiological arousal occurs in the body, making it hard for us to think clearly or rationally. We also tend to regress into unproductive behaviors like sulking, blaming, or running up a huge Visa bill.

Having a laugh interrupts this physiological cycle of arousal, restoring our sense of perspective and ability to think clearly. And science has proven that when we’re happy, the body recovers more quickly from the biological arousal of upsetting emotions.

Because of their ability to provide a quick laugh, props play an important role in diversionary humor. When I worked at the Vancouver Crisis Centre, we had baskets containing psychedelic plastic slinkies, koosh balls, play dough, and other toys in our phone room for the volunteers to use after a tough call. Diversionary humor involving props was promoted as part of our organizational culture, because we realized it was one of the quickest, most effective ways we had to reduce stress.

Why Props Make Sense
On describing to a client this strategy of using props, she commented that it seemed corny and infantile. She may be right, but the bottom line is that props work. I’ve taken my rubber chickens across North America, for use in presentations with bankers, loggers, accountants, health care professionals, teachers, senior executives, parole officers, etc., and they’ve never failed to get a laugh.

There’s something absurd about props that overcomes our rational adult programming and brings out the desire to laugh and play. It’s as if their presence gives us permission to slip out of our grown-up personas and experience an irrational moment or two of joy.

That’s another reason it’s important to have props in a workplace. They remind us of our joyful side. As adults, we know we’re supposed to slow down, enjoy life, and take things less seriously. But often we forget, especially at work. Having a clown mask or a rubber chicken in the office serves as a constant reminder of this, and in a stressful work environment we need all the playful reminders we can get.

A comprehensive stress-management program involves a lot of different tools, like effective planning, positive thinking, and self-management. Diversionary humor is another tool to add to your toolbox.
And like any new technique, it needs to be adapted to each individual and her environment. So take this basic principle and see how it fits in your workplace, or what you have to do to customize it.

Also realize that like any new skill, it takes time to master, and that it’s okay to make mistakes along the way.

For information go to www.psychocomic.com

by David Granirer MA, North America's Psychotherapist/Stand-up Comic

Article submitted by Jessica Linicus, Library Human Resources

Think Now

Yale Photos

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Yale pictures from the web

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