Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 9, 2008
The Kisber Library is always looking for ways to let you know what’s going on with us, so we can serve you better. To better achieve that aim, we’re starting this library blog.
As we communicate with you, please keep in touch with us. We welcome all feedback.
After all, the Kisber Library is here for you!
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: November 23, 2009
This is not the first time that I’ve written on this subject, but the holidays are always a good time to reflect on how much we’ve been given and how much need is out there. Plus, at the holidays, there are so many easy ways to give. My mail box has been full of requests from charities each day. At the grocery store, I can buy a box of food to give to the local hungry.
And it appears that the need is great. A recent article in The New York Times states that hunger in the United States is at a fourteen-year high.
Many of us are truly fortunate. Our main concern for the holiday is that we don’t eat too much or gain too much weight. In such abundance, it only makes sense that we make room in our hearts for those who are hungry. Please give to your favorite charity this season.
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: November 16, 2009
Like most of my colleagues today, I came into work to find that our internet was down. That meant no access to library databases, students’ course shells, or even the simplest Google search. Now, no time is a good time for a college to be without the Internet. But this seemed an especially bad time: there were many, many students who had papers due and who needed research help or just access to their course shells to turn those papers in.
Most people handled the inconvenience well. The librarians guided students to little-used reference materials and found them books on the shelves for their research. In most cases, we all found ways to work around the problem.
Still, there were a few frayed tempers. We in the library were continuously asked when the internet was going to be fixed and if we were trying to fix it. “This is just messed up,” was a refrain that we heard over and over again.
A day like today is a good reminder that when things can’t be changed, perhaps the best solution is to change our attitude. Now, I have nothing against change. I think change is good!
But no amount of railing against the system today would have brought the internet up any faster. The only logical solution was to accept what was happening and find ways to get work done without it. That’s what happened in the library, and I’m sure it happened all over our campus as well. Having a general attitude of acceptance might not make a bad day a good one, but it surely can make a bad day manageable. And sometimes that’s victory enough.
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: November 9, 2009
A recent article in The New York Times reported on a study in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography on the very real and harmful effects of workplace gossip.
But my topic today is not on the evils of workplace gossip or gossip in general. We may have all been taught that gossip is bad, but chances are we all indulge in it occasionally. And we know the difference between the occasional gossip that maybe bonds folks together and that which intends to do damage. My topic today is how to avoid the gossiper who is obviously wanting to do the latter.
The malicious workplace gossiper is depending on two things: one that you will agree and help spread the rumors but also that you won’t report him or her to the subject of the gossip. Therefore, the gossiper is usually eager to get you to say something as well. So one of the most basic ways to get rid of such a person is to simply not agree. Saying something like, “Oh, well, I like that decision” or “I’ve always been treated fairly by our boss” can send such a person running. So why don’t more of us do it? One reason is that we’re often afraid of becoming that person’s next target.
A second approach might be to turn the gossip into a serious discussion. Malicious gossipers are usually not interested in solving a problem, but in blaming someone else. Asking “what do you think should have been done” often turns the conversation in another direction.
A third approach which worked for a friend of mine (at least during the month of January) was to say loudly when someone started in on gossip, “Oh no. My resolution for this year was not to talk about people” and then to walk off.
There is probably no simple answer, but being aware when gossip starts to turn malicious can help us keep our workplaces happier.
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: November 2, 2009
I had an interesting encounter with a colleague today. She was telling me about a problem, and I suggested something she should do to solve it. She was quite put out with me. “I just need to talk,” she said. “I want sympathy right now. That’s really something you should work on.”
Which it is. On the whole Mars/Venus thing, I usually come down more on the male side. When people tell me problems, my first instinct is to find a way to solve them, especially in the workplace.
I wonder at what point in our development does communication get so messed up? My three-year-old buddy has no problem. She says what she thinks, and if she asks for something, that’s what she wants, not something else. But for most of us, communication, with both loved ones and co-workers, ranks high on our problem list.
In this month’s O magazine, Tim Jarvis gives some pointers in “Hear Me, Hear Me.” One tip is to simply start noticing how people react to you. Now my colleague made it easy for me. She told me plain out that I wasn’t being sensitive to her problem and that what she needed was sympathy not solutions. But most of the time, the signs are more subtle. Here are some of Jarvis’s tips:
These tips just scratch the surface. There are tomes and tomes of books written on communication skills. And I recommend that you take a look at some of them. But if you don’t, just remember that old saying: God gave us two ears but one mouth. So spend twice as much time listening as talking.
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 30, 2009
Becky Brothers
English Faculty
Recommends
Fair and Tender Ladies
By
Lee Smith
Why?
“This novel opens our eyes to the empty little towns and Wal-mart-paralyzed hamlets across Appalachia. Smith dives deep into mountain folk past and brings the old ways up to air. We see where all our precious heritage has slipped away to. I love this book because it shows just how advanced these disrespected communities are. And I love it because it serves as a cautionary tale we would all do well to heed.”
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 26, 2009
Studies have shown that regular contact with nature increases a sense of well-being as well as reduces stress. But in the midst of a busy work and family life, days can go by without any real time enjoying the natural world. So this week, make an effort to enjoy the outside. Fall is a perfect time, since the weather is not too hot or cold and the trees are changing colors.
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 23, 2009

Sally Robertson
Librarian
Recommends
You are Here: Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That does to Our Planet
By
Thomas M. Kostigen
Why?
“ Because, it goes around the world and tells what is happening in some key cities and how we are all connected by the six degree principle. The first city Jerusalem, where the 3 major religions started, is being affected by the changing climate which is destroying our past. It is a very well written and eye opening book for anyone at all concerned about our planet Earth.”
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 16, 2009

Wayne Neuendorf
Music Technology Faculty
Recommends
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom
By
Peter Guralnick
Why?
“This is the definitive history of rhythm & blues and soul music in the American South.”
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 13, 2009
The Monday Motivator yesterday talked about narrowing down choices in life as a way of increasing happiness. But the same is also true when conducting research. When I was in high school, I could occasionally get away with telling my teacher that I couldn’t find enough sources. Now, if a student used that excuse, he or she would be laughed out of the room. For example, a search on “depression” in Academic Search Premier brings up 87,917 hits. Pretty overwhelming, isn’t it? So how do you narrow down your sources so that you can get what you need. There are some quick and easy tips that will help:
Then suddenly you’re down to 16,760. Still a lot. So let’s go to our next step.
Remember it’s not the number of sources that count. It’s the quality!
Posted by: JollyLibrarian on: October 12, 2009
You might think that the title this week is a typo. We all like having choices. No one wants to be told what to wear, what career to pursue, what church to go to, or even what television show to watch. But research shows that after a certain amount, people’s happiness actually decreases when faced with a myriad of choices.
Why?
So in the world of too many choices, how do we wisely limit ours?