Food for Thought Day

Libraries colleagues enjoyed a great half-day of food and food for thought, featuring Karen Hunt and Anna Post.

If you were away, please see Lori Holiff for a copy of the DVD that Roger kindly made.

Thanks also to Marcie and Scott and Peter Blackmer for helping with the details of the day.

New Liber Newsletter

Check it out!
http://library.uvm.edu/sc/newsletter/liber_46_final.pdf

What are Scott and Selene Looking At?

The new chum line!

Why?

I have been asked why we are having a staff/faculty development half-day, and I thought I'd take a moment to explain.

Essentially, from my point of view here in the Dean's Office, I see our Libraries' colleagues doing a heck (can I say hell?) of a lot of work. And it occurred to me that we need a half-day to be entertained, and maybe even learn something new--outside our normal experience--as a reward. I proposed the idea to Mara and the Dean's Council and they said, "go for it."

So, next Tuesday, we can all relax, share some food and some food for thought. I've found a few interesting speakers: Karen Hunt who is coming up from Duke (at no charge other than airfare, as a favor to me) to talk about Diversity in Libraries. I served in the Peace Corps in Kenya with her, and I assure you that she is fascinating.

Also, Ron Citorik, who works for Office Environments, will tell us how to make our work stations more comfortable. His tips have helped me improve my posture and keyboarding position. I hope he can have the same effect on you.

Then, Anna Post from the Emily Post Institute (which is right here in Burlington!) will give us a bit of advice for dealing effectively with unwanted patron behavior. She is a UVM alumni and is very excited to return to campus just for us.

And, to be sure we all know what to do when the alarm goes off, Albert Joy and Lesley Boucher will review emergency procedures with us. I was a little iffy on that protocol myself, so I decided to seize this opportunity for that purpose as well. Thanks Albert and Lesley!

Roger Wiberg has kindly agreed to video tape the whole thing for those who are traveling next week. And Marcie is going to help me with tech support.

So, I hope that helps clarify an even that is meant, above all, to be fun. Why? Because you deserve it.

Bonus Time with Karen Hunt: Brown Bag Lunch on Monday, Nov. 22

Next Tuesday, November 23, is our staff and faculty development 1/2-day featuring
Karen Hunt, Director of the John Hope Franklin Research Center at
Duke, as our keynote speaker. Karen will ALSO host a brown bag lunch on
Monday at Noon in the Dean's Conference Room for anyone who would like
to spend some informal time with her.

Here's a bit more about Karen:

Before her current position, Karen Jean Hunt was the African Studies
and African American Studies Librarian at Duke University. Hunt grew
up in Detroit, Michigan. A graduate of Mumford High School, Class of
1974, she enlisted in the United States Air Force at 17. Stationed at
Norton Air Force Base, in San Bernardino, California, she was an
active member of the Norton AFB Honor Guard and Drill Team.

Leaving the military in 1980, she attended California State University
Long Beach. Hunt graduated with a B.A. in English (Creative Writing),
in 1983, and enrolled in a graduate English program at Wright State
University in Dayton, Ohio.

In 1985, Hunt joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Kenya for two
years. Returning to Wright State in 1988, Hunt received her M.A. in
Public History in 1989.

After a year at the National Archives and Records Administration, Hunt
relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1991. In 1992, she returned to
Michigan to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan.
Graduating from the School of Information and Library Studies in
eleven months, Hunt began work at The College of William and Mary in
the fall of 1993.

In 1996, she became the California State University Archivist and Head
of the Department of Special Collections and University Archivist for
California State University, Dominguez Hills.

In 1997, she created the California State University Archives
Association. Leaving California in 2002, Hunt moved cross-country,
relocating to Durham, North Carolina. Along with her employment at
Duke, Hunt is a volunteer for the American Red Cross.

Staff Development Day: Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010

Staff Development Day is good to go! Join your colleagues at 8:30 a.m. in the Bailey/Howe Staff Lounge for a half-day of entertainment and enlightenment. For those who cannot attend, we will record the speeches by Karen Hunt and Anna Post. We regret, however, not being able to save the leftover food.


For more information on the Duke University Libraries, where Karen is the Librarian for African Studies and African American Studies, please click here.

For more information on Anna Post and the Post Institute's Business Seminars, please click here.