York College Library in 2021-2022
Chief Librarian Njoki Kinyatti
Despite the setbacks from COVID-19, library faculty and staff remained committed to supporting the educational mission of York College by providing access to quality resources and services, fostering a learning environment that met the research needs of our diverse academic community. Although the past year was challenging, the library team managed to maintain uninterrupted services through virtual chat reference which greatly benefitted students and faculty. It is also important to note, that through the collaboration, coordination and shared information with our sister CUNY libraries, we were successful in supporting students and faculty engaged in distance learning. York College Library’s dedicated team provided seamless access to online scholarly resources, offered chat reference, research consultations, and provided information literacy instruction in new ways. Our primary goal is to provide an atmosphere that meets the needs of all our users, hence we continue to update our resources and the methods with which we deliver our services. For example, over the past year we began expanding our print reserve collection to include electronic reserves. This is a project that will help students to access their course reading materials online without having to travel to campus.
As we come to an end of one of the most unprecedented academic years, I would like to express my gratitude to a dynamic team of library faculty and staff for their unwavering dedication to serve York College community even in the midst of COVID-19. Delivering library services to our valuable users would not have been possible without your team effort. Thank you for your continued support and for going above and beyond. The road ahead remains challenging, but we are committed to successfully navigating it together in the spirit of One York. My personal goal is to continue advocating for additional resources to support the college’s curriculum for both graduate and undergraduate programs. I look forward to a successful 2021-2022 academic year with hope for improved investment in library resources.
On behalf of the library, I would like to thank Mr. Claudio Lindow, Interim Chief Information Officer and his team for their hard work and continued support. The library also appreciates the hard work and commitment from Buildings and Grounds Custodian Workers, Campus Planning, Receiving, and Public Safety departments.
Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2021! We look forward to welcoming back returning students and meeting new freshmen in Fall 2021. I wish everyone a restful and safe summer holiday!
Interlibrary Loan Basics
— Di Su, Interlibrary Loan Librarian
York College Library offers Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service to our students, faculty, and staff. ILL is a resource-sharing activity among networked libraries. If a book or an article is needed but our library does not own it, we can use ILL to request it within the network. York College Library belongs to OCLC, the largest library network in the world.
To enjoy the service, you need to create an ILLiad account. Use this form to register. You must be a York-related patron and have a valid CUNY Empl ID. York College email address is highly recommended for a speedy verification process.
Sometimes, we received interlibrary loan requests that were not necessary. For example, the requested article was actually available through our databases (the library subscribes to 258 databases). The benefits of getting articles by yourself are obvious: 1) you get the articles right away while ILL takes days, if not weeks, to fill your requests, thus it saves your time; 2) it feels good that you have successfully completed an information seeking and retrieving process, thus you enjoy a kind of self-satisfaction.
Therefore, before you place your request, do the following first.
Of course, this is not to say that you shouldn’t use our ILL service. We are happy and ready to assist you with your information needs. To contact ILL service division, please email to ycill@york.cuny.edu.
Dropbox's app is getting an update—turn your smartphone into a PDF scanner and record screen activity from your desktop
— Mohammed J Sarwar, System Administrator & Liaison to the IT Department
Students, faculty, and administrative staff at the City University of New York, CUNY-Wide are provided free access to Dropbox. You can use this tool to store and access files from various devices, share files with others, and collaborate on content. Faculty and staff have access to unlimited Dropbox storage (students have a maximum of 15 GB), which allows them to organize and archive all of their work in one location without having to worry about hard drive space.
The username for your CUNY Login account will appear as Firstname.Lastname##@login.cuny.edu, where "##" is the last 2+ digits of your CUNY EMPLID.
Scanning and screen recording features allow users to store images, files, folders, and records on the cloud
While the pandemic is occurring, those who don't want to use public resources can still scan documents into Dropbox using their personal mobile devices, since they're not required to touch anything but their devices. Dropbox Scan makes it easy to convert receipts, ID cards, photos, whiteboards, and more into digital images, PDF, and PNG files on your mobile device or computer. When you turn on the screenshot feature, screenshots will automatically be saved to your Dropbox account under the Screenshots folder. Screen recording files are saved in the Dropbox Capture folder and the Dropbox link is copied into your clipboard for sharing.
Scanning documents with the Dropbox Scan feature
You can download, store, and share these files from a desktop or mobile device in a few clicks automatically convert physical documents into PDF or PNG files, and edit and resize them directly with Dropbox. You can share these files via email, text, or messenger. The edges of the document will be outlined in blue using this feature. You can organize your files more effectively with Dropbox's smart suggestions for file names and folders based on recent scanning. As part of its scanning capabilities, Dropbox also uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to enable easy retrieval of content later. In the search bar, you can also type terms or keywords to see a shortlist of relevant content. A thumbnail preview can also be used to find content. Click here to download a Dropbox mobile app that accesses Dropbox's Scan document feature.
Scan documents using the Dropbox mobile app
Open the “Dropbox” app on your mobile device.
Tap the “+” (plus) icon.
Tap “Scan Document”.
Take a picture or document of the content that you wish to scan.
If desired, make edits or scan additional pages.
Tap “Next”.
Make adjustments as necessary to the "settings".
Tap “Save”.
When you are done scanning, choose your Dropbox folder with smart naming and suggestions. Learn more by visiting the CUNY Training Resources.
Screen recording, camera, and audio for Dropbox
In a global pandemic, especially since more and more schools, colleges, departments, and libraries are going online, it is essential to have a screening app that allows faculty to record lectures, tutorials, and other activities. Dropbox, a feature that lets CUNY faculty and staff jot down everything they need and stays on top of everything, is now available as a free tool to all CUNY faculty and staff. You can record your computer screen, your face, and your voice with Dropbox's Screen recorder. Additionally, you can include notes, drawings, annotations, or shapes like arrows to highlight important information. The only thing you need is a computer and a webcam. To install Dropbox Capture, go to Dropbox Capture and click on the download button.
Record your screen, face, and voice on Dropbox Capture
1. Open the “Dropbox Capture” app on your desktop device.
2. Click the Screen recording “+” (plus) icon camera.
3. Choose your preferred option—
(Click to record your entire screen or drag to record parts of it).
4. Click "Start recording" to start the recording
5. Click "Stop recording" to end the recording
6. When it is done, it is "copied to clipboard".
7. To share, click on the down arrow and choose "Share with Dropbox".
8. Adding an email address, name, or other information will allow you to share this file— then click "Share file."
9. Customize the "Link for viewing" under "Settings" (e.g.It might be possible to control access to this link (for example, to disable it on a certain date, or to prevent downloading)
a. Viewing a file requires clicking the "eye" icon,
b. copying links requires clicking the "chain" icon, and
c. deleting files requires clicking the "bin" icon
Note: This feature is only available on Mac and Windows computers, except Windows 10 in S mode.
If you’re on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or higher, you’ll see a notification that says “Dropbox would like to access files in your Desktop folder.” Click OK to ensure Dropbox saves your screenshots.
References
Dropbox –. (n.d.). The City University of New York. Retrieved June 3, 2021, from https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/technology-services/dropbox/
The Dropbox app for Windows 10 in S mode. Help center. (n.d.). https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/desktop/s-mode
What's New in Electronic Resources?
— Meredith Powers, Electronic Resources Librarian
More than ever, York Library relied heavily on electronic subscriptions and services this year in order to best support students and faculty engaged in distance learning. We worked with the CUNY Office of Library Services (OLS) and other CUNY libraries to streamline, upgrade, and consolidate our chat reference services, and we expanded our online capabilities. Students and faculty benefited from our early jump into virtual library services, and our Frequently Asked Questions page highlights a lot of useful information about using databases, finding resources, or getting help from a librarian.
But we didn't just expand our services— over the past year we were able to add new resources to further support York College. All of our databases, ebooks, and digital materials can be accessed from anywhere in the world—all you need to do is enter your CUNY login credentials whenever prompted, whether you are coming directly from databases or OneSearch. Let’s take a look at some of the new & expanded online resources we have to offer!
Newspapers
Ebooks
Using Ex Libris Alma to Develop Course Reserves at York College CUNY
— Tokunbo Adeshina, Adjunct Librarian & Todd Simpson, Reference Librarian
York College Library received its first funding from the Open Education Resources (OER) grant to develop an electronic reserve collection in Spring 2021. With 100% of the library's reserve collection in print format, York Library adjunct librarians Tokunbo Adeshina and Désirée Yael Vester were tasked to create a workflow system for developing e-reserves.
This project also presented a key decision-making moment between two competing library management platforms: Springshare's e-Reserve and Alma's Course Reserves. The library has a limited number of course reserves already in Springshare's e-Reserves. However, all of CUNY has recently transitioned to using Ex Libris Alma for library services, and it includes additional options for new kinds of reserves.
York Library adjunct librarian Tokunbo Adeshina worked on developing course reserves within Alma and he explains that “developing course reserve without Leganto is a bit tricky. The library is solely responsible for managing reading lists and updating course reserve records within Alma.” However, he noted that the reward of having one centralized location for users to find information outweighs concerns about the workload. “Once I was able to configure course information retrieved from the Information Technology department into Alma’s course information field, everything else just came together," and Adeshina recommends using Alma course reserves for the following reasons:
Detailed guidance on finding or requesting course reserves is available in a new research guide also developed by Adeshina and Vester. Our process is still evolving, but York Library is proud to offer new ways to make reserve materials available to York students.
All CUNY students, faculty, and staff have access to applications and services in the outbreak of a COVID-19 pandemic
— Mohammed J Sarwar, System Administrator & Liaison to the IT Department
With the use of off-campus installations of Adobe Acrobat, Snagit, and Camtasia, faculty, staff, and students now have more application tool options in this COVID-limited environment.
Even in the face of pandemic, York College Library, in collaboration with CUNY-wide, is working hard to modernize its IT services, improve cybersecurity, and make York College's Library more accessible. The campus is preparing technology facilities, such as virtual and cloud versions of many applications, for the return of students, faculty, and staff. As part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak last year, York College students, faculty, and staff had access to Adobe Creative Cloud, Camtasia, Snagit, and other applications on virtual machines, which will continue to be available in the coming semesters.
Adobe Creative Cloud— access it online and remotely
CUNY students and faculty have been unable to use Adobe applications in York classrooms and computer labs due to an unprecedented situation. During this time, students will be able to access Adobe Creative Cloud via remote access and cloud storage, as well as the ability to sync files from their computer, smartphone, and any other mobile device. The files you upload are instantly accessible on all connected devices and on the Creative Cloud Files page. Therefore, you can easily complete assignments remotely from any location. Applications licensed by CUNY are available only to students who are enrolled in classes requiring the use of Adobe Creative Cloud and who have cuny Login credentials.
The following steps will help you install Adobe Creative Cloud on your personal device:
Open your device's browser and then visit https://creativecloud.adobe.com
You will be directed to Adobe's Sign In page.
2. Enter your CUNY Login username in the Email address field
Login with the following format (FirstName.LastName##@login.cuny.edu) and then click Next.
This page displays the CUNY Web Applications Login page.
3. Enter the following information and click Login
Username— Enter your CUNY Login username (firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu).
Password— Enter your CUNY Login password.
You are directed to the Creative Cloud website.
4. Select the application you want to download from the Creative Cloud website.
To view all apps, click the Apps menu at the top of the page.
Snagit— captures images, records video and audio, and annotates
The Snagit application is a screen-recording tool with tools for capturing images, snipping, and recording video and audio. As virtual classes, activities, and events are prevalent in pandemics, CUNY has acquired licenses for Snagit for faculty and staff members to record, edit, and share screen recordings. Screen captures created with Snagit can either be distributed directly or via CUNY cloud storage services such as Dropbox or OneDrive. The screen captures can also be played online during meetings through Blackboard Collaborate or Zoom.
This tool provides quite a few useful features—
The most commonly used features of Snagit include Capture ("screenshot") all or part of your screen, Record webcam, Create video from a series of screenshots, Add audio, etc.
Here's how to get Snagit—
To use Snagit, a specific computer is needed, as well as the college's software licensing guidelines and download instructions. After completing the online Snagit Request form, York College's site license coordinator will contact you with the download instructions.
If you need assistance installing Snagit or any additional information about tutorials, visit the CUNY-specific Snagit information site.
Camtasia— to improve teaching, tutorials, and lessons
It is a screen recording and video editing program available both for Windows and Mac Operating Systems. Due to the increasing popularity of distance learning, CUNY has obtained a site license for Camtasia. The software can be used by all faculty and staff at CUNY-Wide to develop lesson plans, tutorials, and software instructions. In Camtasia, users can use a variety of templates and effects to create educational or demonstration videos. In addition, faculty presentations can be played during online meetings on Blackboard Collaborate or Zoom through Camtasia, shared via CUNY's cloud storage, and at CUNY's cloud servers. Additionally, the presentation's video can be uploaded directly to YouTube, Vimeo, and Screencast.
Here's how you can get Camtasia—
By completing York College's Camtasia Request form, the software site license coordinator will send an email with instructions for downloading Camtasia. You can find instructions and technical support tutorials at TechSmith's Help Center if you require assistance with Camtasia.
Office365 for Education— is available to students, faculty, and staff
In the Microsoft Office 365 for Education program, students at participating colleges have free access to Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus. This software can be installed on personal devices such as laptops and desktops, tablets, and smartphones. It includes the widely used Microsoft programs Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Students interested in participating in the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus program can check the college website's technology section or contact their college Help Desk.
Faculty and students can sign in online at https://login.microsoftonline.com, or download the application by selecting "install office" from the webpage.
Virtual Desktop Applications— access them anywhere, anytime
The CUNY Virtual Desktop is a free program that is available to all CUNY students and faculty. It allows students and faculty to remotely access the following software at any time and anywhere. The applications include ArcGIS, SPSS, SAS, Mathematica, Maplesoft, Matlab, and more. Students, faculty, and staff can launch these applications using CUNY Login credentials from their personal computers and local devices.
To learn more about Virtual Desktop and to learn how to install it, please visit the Virtual Desktop Installation page. If you are having trouble with installation or connection, please contact the IT Service Desk or email Jahed Sarwar for assistance or guidance.
Circulation update
— Scott Sheidlower, Professor/Head of Circulation
First of all, we will be very glad to see you back. Any library books you have will not be overdue since March of 2020. But please return them as quickly as you can when we reopen. The library’s lower level will be closed and you will have to make your book requests to circulation, who will retrieve books for you. When the library is closed, it will be cleaned, including the computers. Although they will be cleaned before your arrival, you will also have access to sanitary wipes to clean the computers off before you sit at them as needed. To use the library space, you will need to use a reservation system to reserve your spot. The reserve books will be mainly online. Circulation will do its best to help you be as successful as you can be.
York College Library Faculty Scholarship, AY2020-2021
Book
Brown, R., & Sheidlower, S. (2021). Seeking to understand: A journey into disability studies and libraries. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press.
Book chapter
Tzanova, S. (2021). Citizen science in the United States. In B. J. McNicol (Ed.), Sustainable Planet: Issues and Solutions for Our Environment’s Future (Vol. 2, 567-575). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Diao, J. (2020). The conception, implementation, and assessment of case-based learning in an information literacy class. International Journal of Librarianship, 5(1): 108-127. doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2020.vol5.1.156
Diao, J. (2021). Instructional design with the ICE approach in academic libraries: A framework that integrates assessing, learning, and teaching. Journal of Academic Librarianship. Advance online publication, 5 pp. doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102402
Diao, J. (2021). A lexical and syntactic study of research article titles in library science and scientometrics. Scientometrics, 126(7): 6041-6058. doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04018-6
Diao, J., Tzanova, S., & Bishop, A. (2021). Wikipedia and Scholarpedia: A comparative case study and its implications for information literacy. Codex, 6(1): 5-31.
Simpson, T. (2020). No library is an island: How a consortium of academic libraries transitioned to a remote-only service model. Qualitative & Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 9(3): 511-520.
Encyclopedia articles
Simpson, T. (2021). Burton, LeVar (1957-). In D. J. Leonard & S. Troutman (Eds.), Race in American Television: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation (Vol. 1, 86-88). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.
Tzanova, S. (2021). Computational neuroscience. In P. L. Frana & M. J. Klein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence: The Past, Present, and Future of AI (pp. 95-98). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Tzanova, S. (2021). Knowledge engineering. In P. L. Frana & M. J. Klein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence: The Past, Present, and Future of AI (pp. 200-204). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Tzanova, S. (2021, March 18). Application of cloud technologies in science education. Proceedings of the New Perspectives in Science Education International Conference.
Other articles
Drobnicki, J. A. (2020, Fall). Researching and writing during a pandemic. LibWire, 14. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/newsletter/fall2020
Drobnicki, J. A. (2021, February 9.) Richard P. Harmond. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_P._Harmond
Kinyatti, N. (2020, Fall). Greetings from the Chief Librarian: York College Library in 2020-2021. LibWire, 14. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/newsletter/fall2020
Shirazi, R., Almeida, N., Drobnicki, J., Sellie, A., & Tompkins, E. (2020, August 18). UFS budget brief: The impact of Covid-19 on CUNY library collections. Prepared for the UFS Committee on Libraries and Information Technology by the Ad Hoc Collections Advisory Group.
Drobnicki, J. A. (2020, August 7). Walter L. Willigan. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_L._Willigan
Book reviews
Tzanova, S. (2020, September 25). [Review of the book The era of Internet of things: Towards a smart world, by K. S. Mohamed]. Computing Reviews.
Tzanova, S. (2021, February 10). [Review of the book eDemocracy & eGovernment: Stages of a democratic knowledge society, by A. Meier and L. Terán]. Computing Reviews.
Presentations
Diao, J. (2021, April 29). A quick self-assessment of case-based learning in an information literacy classroom. CUNY Office of Library Services’ Assessment Committee, “Reassessment” Spring Fair [virtual].
Diao, J., Drobnicki, J., Kinyatti, N., Powers, M., Sheidlower, S., Simpson, T., Su, D., & Tzanova, S. (Co-presenters). (2021, March 25). Welcome to the York College Library. Presented at a York College Professor 101 session [virtual].
Diao, J. (2021, May 6). What does a cataloger do in an information literacy classroom? Frog, jump and robot. Presented at the LACUNY Institute [virtual].
Su, D. (2021, May 11). Instruction coordinator at York. Presented at the CUNY Library Information Literacy Advisory Committee (LILAC) meeting [virtual].
Su, D. (2021, April 13). Using quiz for the library program assessment: Planning and procedures. Presented at the Information and Technology Literacy Assessment Workshop, General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC), York College [virtual].
Tzanova, S. (2021, March 18). Application of cloud technologies in science education. Presented at the New Perspectives in Science Education Conference [virtual].
Tzanova, S. (2021, April 16). Bulgarian libraries after the fall of communism. Presented at the Midwest Slavic Conference [virtual].
Tzanova, S. (2021, May 6). New roles of academic librarians in the era of open science. Presented at the LACUNY Institute [virtual].
Tzanova, S. (2020, July 22). Welcome to the York College Library. Presentation for a New Students’ Orientation, Nursing Department, York College [virtual].
Research guides
Diao, J. (2020). APA 6 vs. APA 7: Major changes. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/APA6APA7
Diao, J. (2020). Citation generators: Advantages and disadvantages. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/CitationGenerator
Drobnicki, J. A. (2020). Goodbye catalog, hello OneSearch. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/catalogs
Powers, M. (2020). Developing a research question. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/research
Powers, M. (2020). Google Scholar. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/scholar
Powers, M. (2021). Social work. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/socialwork
Powers, M. (2020). Virtual study rooms. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/studygroup
Simpson, T. (2020). OneSearch: Where to begin. Retrieved from https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/onesearch
Grants submitted
Diao, J. (2021). Nominal titles and colonic titles: A comparative study and their relations to assigned keywords. PSC-CUNY Research Award: $5,573.60 [funded].
Simpson, T. (2021). Circulation and access policies for NYCDOE high schools embedded on CUNY campuses. PSC-CUNY Research Award: $4,858.00 [funded].
Peer reviewer
Su, D. (2020). Peer reviewed 1 article for the American String Teacher journal.
Award
Diao, J. (2021). The CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research, Chinese American Librarians Association.
LibWire 2021 is published on behalf of York Library by Todd Simpson and Meredith Powers.