May 2005

Volume 38
Back Issues: Past Library Links Articles

In this Issue

New Library Staff

David McMahon
Social Science Libraries
Library Service Assistant
04/25/2005

Eva Bolkovac
Catalog Department
Librarian
04/25/2005

Harriet Bergmann
Collection Development
Coordinator
04/25/2005

Chi-Wah Chan
East Asia Collection
Librarian
05/02/2005

Daniel McHugh
Access Services
Library Service Assistant
05/02/2005

Evelyn Ma
Law Library
Librarian
05/02/2005

Lauren Brown
Access Services
Library Services Assistant
05/02/2005

Michael Patten
Access Services
Library Service Assistant
05/02/2005

Michael Rush
Beinecke Library
Librarian II
05/02/2005

William Ward
Library Shelving Facility
Materials Assistant
05/02/2005

Transfering Staff

Susan Karpuk
Law Library
Librarian
05/02/2005

Roy Hamilton
Library Shelving Facility
Materials Assistant
05/16/2005

Staff Service Awardees

In celebration of years of service to the Library and the University the following people will be honored at the Staff Recognition Reception will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at 2:00 p.m. This year's reception will be held in the Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall.

Staff Submissions

A Visit with Pope John Paul II

Anna Gutswa, a member of the SML Acquisitions Serials Support Team, had the privilege to meet Pope John Paul II in 1979. The late Pope was holding a conference for Polonia, Polish people who lived abroad, in Vatican City. Anna happened to be living in Rome at the time and was invited to attend the meeting.

Anna said Vatican City provided her with “a feeling of a beautiful art, ancient history and wealth.” She described a place “where Roman ruins are everywhere” and “incredible sculptures of Saints” line the streets. Some of the world’s greatest works of art, such as Michelangelo’s Pieta and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, are located within Vatican City.

At the conference, Bishop Wesoly (now Archbishop Wesoly) introduced Anna to the Pope. Wesoly in Polish means “happy,” which Anna thought was a funny name for a bishop. When Anna met the Pope, he asked Anna where she was coming from and where she was going. Anna told the Pope that she was going to the United States. Even though the conversation was brief, it was a “very moving moment” for Anna.

Anna described the Pope as being “very social.” She said, “You would not feel a formal distance from him. He was just like everyone else.”

Former President Clinton echoed Anna’s feelings about Pope John Paul II in a recent CBS News interview. Clinton remarked that the Pope “…was always just who he was.”

When asked about the Pope’s passing, Anna said, “My feeling of the Pope's passing is the loss of a great humanitarian.”

~ Submitted by George Stranz

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Library In Focus

WHAT’S NEW?


Never mind the riddle that asks, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
Try this one instead:
“What is new, shiny, and walked all over?”

It is the new floor covering in Access Services. The entire area behind the SML circulation desk and the flooring in the public catalog area had been there for as long as anyone could remember. It actually had potholes.

Replacement flooring was needed. The whole job was accomplished during Spring Break, between Friday, March 4 and Friday, March 11. The product is called Mamolium, made by the Forbo Company. JE&M Flooring, located in Bethany, CT installed approximately 280 yards of the material. How could that be done when those areas are filled with furniture, book trucks and people?

To begin, the “hold shelves,” notorious for their high circulation activity, were moved onto book trucks. After the 5:00 closing, a cortège of student workers rolled the trucks to CCL. Everything was logically arraigned behind the CCL circulation desk and was ready for checkout when CCL opened on Saturday morning.

The SML circulation desk was closed and cordoned off with yellow “Caution” tape and clearly marked with “No Service” signage.

The busy Privilege’s Office moved to the cloakroom that is in the SML nave.

Huge thanks go to Jim O’Toole and Hector Resto of Custodial Services and their Supervisor, Julie Renko who were extremely helpful. They carefully cleaned the circulation area. They cleaned crevasses that had not been reachable for quite some time. Every shelf, every desk, every truck was removed from the area.

Sue Crockford-Peters, Head of Access Services, moved her office to the L&B room for the week.

The card catalog area in the nave was cleared of furniture, computers, and the card catalogs.

Beneath the old tile floor that the JE&M Flooring workers replaced, was stubborn glue that required rugged scraping, removal, and conditioning before the new floor could be put down. The new floor had to be expertly fitted to the uneven bases of the stone columns behind the circulation desk.

For the whole week, Access Services combined what is usually a two-space circulation operation into one space.

When the job was completed, Sue Crockford-Peters called for a celebration of the unqualified success. At a staff meeting, a digital photo show of the reflooring process was displayed by Nathanael Shelley. He had followed the various stages of the job with a camera. To acknowledge the hard work and extreme patience of the Access Services Staff, a Supervisor, Amanda Patrick thoughtfully prepared an authentic English High Tea. The staff sampled teas, cucumber sandwiches, cheesecake, and three types of scones enhanced by a choice of jams and fresh whipped cream. The empty plates were almost as shiny as the incredible new floor. Come by and take a look at the floor! It is expected to last for over fifty years.

~ Submitted by Claire Halloran

The hold shelves were moved onto 12 book trucks	Old flooring has potholes
Circulation desk cordoned off and clearly marked No Service	Sunlight falls on new floor covering, expertly fitted to the uneven bases of columns
At the party: Pearlene Ford, Lisa Thomas, Mei Huang	At the party: the delicacies

Event Highlights

Learning Plan Success Panel

The Learning Plan Success Panel eas heldTuesday, April 12 from 2- 3:30pm in the SML Lecture Hall to showcase what Library staff have been accomplishing through the Learning Plan program since its inception 2 years ago. Panelists represented a wide range of interests and activities.

This panel was hosted by LytBytes, a sub-committee of the Staff Training and Organizational Development Committee.

HR in Focus

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New Look for Sterling Security Guards

In an effort to increase the security visibility within the library, the security guards at Sterling have new uniforms. In addition to the uniforms, the guards have also participated in workshops on customer service, radio policy and procedure, and security policy and procedure. The new look and formalized workshops are an effort to promote a positive attitude and to provide patrons and staff with the reassurance that their safety and security requirements are being addressed in a professional manner.

New Orientation Program for International Scholars

The Offices of International Affairs and International Students and Scholars cordially invite all new international scholars to attend a special orientation session on Yale and the greater New Haven area. These orientation sessions, designed to be of benefit to both the short-term visitor and longer-term international scholar, will be held every second and fourth Thursday of the month from 8:30-9:30 am at the Visitor Center, located at 149 Elm Street. A tour of the Yale campus will follow at 9:45 am. The remaining orientation programs for the spring 2005 semester will be held on May 12 and May 26, 2005. For additional information, please contact OISS at 2-2305 or oiss@yale.edu. International scholars under Yale's visa sponsorship must also be sure to visit OISS upon arrival.

Upcoming Events

Please join us next week for two very special events at the Medical Library:

Annual Associates Lecture Presented by Douglas Melton

On Wednesday, May 4, Douglas Melton, a leading researcher in the field of human
embryonic stem cells, will present the keynote address for the 57th annual
lecture sponsored by the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Associates.
Melton is the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard University
and investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is also co-director of Harvard’s
Stem Cell Institute.

The lecture “The Future of Pancreatic Stem Cells and Diabetes” will begin at 4:00
p.m. in Harkness Auditorium. A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3:00 p.m. will mark
the opening of the adjunct exhibit “Stem Cells ­ Potential Clinical Applications in the
Medical Library. A reception in the Medical Historical Library follows the lecture.

Birthday Bash at the Medical Library

Please join us on Thursday, May 5, as the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
celebrates its 64th birthday! Activities begin at 11:00 and continue to 4:00.

Special mini-classes run from 11-2:30 ­ samplings include “Getting the most from your PDA,”
“Cool PubMed Tricks,” and “Blogging ­ a Guided Tour.” We’re also offering a Mini Med School with
dissection (of your research question) and surgical knots (how to tie a bowtie).

Visit our WOW Room to see the latest in computing technology, preview
our redesigned web site, and learn some fun facts about the library. Take
special tours of art in the library and see some of our historical treasures.

Or just come to hear the Ultrasounds sing (1:00 p.m.), eat cake (3:00 p.m.), meet
our helpful staff and win prizes (all day). For a full list of activities,
see: http://www.med.yale.edu/library/new/items/bash.html

Lynn Sette
Medical Library

Yale Holiday Calendar

Learning Plan Highlights

If you have a Learning Plan success that you would like to share, contact Shaundolyn Slaughter at 432-1810.

For more information on the Learning Plan go to: http://www.library.yale.edu/training/stod/learningplan.html

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Humor

Hopkins

Although he was a qualified meteorologist, Hopkins ran up a terrible record of forecasting for the TV news program. He became something of a local joke when a newspaper began keeping a record of his predictions and showed that he'd been wrong almost three hundred times in a single year.

That kind of notoriety was enough to get him fired.

He moved to another part of the country and applied for a similar job. One blank on the job application called for the reason for leaving his previous position.

Hopkins wrote, "The climate didn't agree with me."

Space Mountain

A seven-year-old little girl was excited when she went to Disney World for the first time. She headed straight for Space Mountain. Her parents were worried that the roller coaster would be too scary for her, but she insisted.

To her delight, she rode it twice.

The next year the family returned to Magic Kingdom, and the little girl, now eight, again raced to Space Mountain.

As they stood in line, though, the little girl was soberly studying the signs that warn about the ride's speed.

"Dad," she said, "I don't think I want to go."

Her dad asked her why she would be nervous when she had enjoyed herself last time.

She replied, "This year I can read better!"

Walking on Water

Jacob heard a rumor that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all walked on water on their 21st birthdays.

So, on his 21st birthday, Jacob his good friend Brian headed out to the lake. "If they did it, I can too!" he insisted.

When Jacob and Brian arrived at the lake, they rented a boat and began paddling. When the got to the middle of the lake, Jacob stepped off of the side of the boat... and nearly drowned.

Furious and somewhat shamed, he and Brian headed for home.

When Jacob arrived back at the family farm, he asked his grandmother for an explanation. "Grandma, why can I not walk on water like my father, and his father, and his father before him?"

The feeble old grandmother took Jacob by the hands, looked into his eyes, and explained, "That's because your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were born in January... you were born in July, dear."

These are brought to you from the following web site:
http://todayschuckle.com/

The next is not humor. It is a reminder to hang-in-there and keep smiling.

B e s t S e l l i n g R e j e c t s
Best Selling Books Rejected By 12 or More Publishers

Dubliners - James Joyce (London: Grant Richards 1914).
Joyce would not allow any changes to be made in his book of 15 short stories which depict Dublin in its most sordid light. After rejections from 22 different publishers it was finally published in 1914 by Grant Richards. On the first release, the entire run was bought by an individual who had them promptly burnt - an exercise in burning a heretic.

Heaven Knows, Mr Allison - Charles Shawe (New York: Crown 1952)
This humorous novel about an American marine in the South Pacific was rejected by virtually every Australian publisher and by about 20 British firms over a 3 year period. After an American agent was found it was promptly printed and was made into a popular film in 1957.

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull - Richard Bach (New York: Macmillan 1970)
Deeemed unpromising by 18 publishers, the first issue in 1970 of 7500 copies snowballed into sales of over 7 million in the US alone by 1975.

The Peter Principle - Laurence Peter (New York: William Morrow 1969)
16 publishers rejected Peter's now famous book about the rise of individuals to their levels of incompetence.

Dune - Frank Herbert (Radnor Pa: Chilton 1965)
This massive science-fiction tale was rejected by 13 publishers with comments like "too slow" and "too long. It has since won the 2 highest awards in science-fiction with sales in the tens of millions.

Lust For Life - Irving Stone (London & New York: Longmans Green & Co. 1934)
After 17 rejections, this book became a spectacular success with a popular film version in 1956.

Kon-Tiki - Thor Heyerdahl (Chicago: Rand McNally 1950)
Over 20 rejections for this title before succeeding with multimillion sales and Oscar awards for the documentary film.

Auntie Mame - Patrick Dennis (New York: Vanguard 1955)
17 rejections before Vanguard accepted it.

Lorna Doone - Richard Doddridge Blackmore (London: Sampson Law 1869)
18 rejections before finally being printed and has since remained in print.

M*A*S*H - Richard Hooker (New York: William Morrow 1968)
21 rejections later, Morrow publishes it and the rest is history.

This information is brought to you from the following web site:
http://www.bohemiabooks.com.au/

~Submitted by Claire Halloran

Vacation Planning Hints

Now that it has actually stopped snowing (we hope!), we might all be more in the mood to be planning summer getaways.

The major travel guide sites are a good place to start. While they are definitely hoping to persuade you to go out and purchase the printed guide, and the site designs reflect this, you can use them to research particular destinations in some detail, and to find useful links to further information on other sites. Navigating these is not always a joy, as the screens can be dense with ads for “hot deals” and “booking engine partners,” but it can be worth it.

http://www.fodors.com

http://www.frommers.com

http://www.lonelyplanet.com

http://www.roughguides.com

Travel & Leisure magazine and the Travel Channel also have websites:

http://www.travelandleisure.com

http://travel.discovery.com

All of these, of course, are highly polished and edited sites. If you’re looking for
completely unedited, highly personal recommendations and reviews, no site beats TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/

The site promises “unbiased reviews of hotels, resorts and vacations” and it delivers quantity, if not objectivity. You can find everything from discussion boards to hotel and restaurant reviews to traveler photos for practically anywhere in the world. A great way to get a sense for how well a destination lives up to its billing in the tourist brochures and official guidebooks.

Finally, if you’re traveling outside the US, for everything you always wanted to know about vaccination requirements, importing cured meat, and official travel warnings, check:

http://www.state.gov/travel/

For health advisories, check: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/

And don’t forget to share your pictures with us when you get back!

~ Diane Ducharme

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