New staff

Sarah Kim has joined the Libraries staff in Access & Resource Sharing as a Technical Specialist in the Preservation Unit. She was employed as a work study student in Preservation during her undergraduate years at SU and recently worked as a library clerk in the circulation department at Onondaga Community College. Sarah holds a BA in Psychology from Syracuse University. She plans to take graduate classes in the Library & Information Science Master's Program.

Please welcome Sarah to the Libraries.

Staff meetings and presentations

Human Library

We are very excited to report that our second Human Library was a success! The event was a celebration of diversity, connection, and communication, as people of different cultures, backgrounds, and unique expertise talked with and learned from each other. Human books and readers discussed a wide variety of topics such as bullying, faith, poetry, autism, and Native American, Egyptian, and Indian cultures. While some of our human books discussed their challenging life experiences, the mood was one of positive energy, hope, and empowerment.

(For some more photos, you can also check out the LC Instagram account or LC Flickr album.)

Our Human Library event is part of a regional Human Library program taking place during April, the month in which National Library Week is celebrated, supported by the Central NY Library Resources Council (CLRC).

About 30 people from the SU campus and neighboring community "checked out" our 15 human books, with several readers even returning to check out additional books and "renewing" books for longer conversations. When human books were not circulating, they sat together in the "book room" (PGSC) and exchanged their stories with each other. Feedback from our human books and readers alike was extremely positive, and as was the case last year, many people requested that we offer this event again.

Thank you to everyone who helped plan and staff this event. This was a collaborative effort involving staff from several departments in the SU Libraries as well as the Disability Cultural Center, Office of Learning Communities, Office of Multicultural Affairs, iSchool, and Slutzker Center for International Services.

And thank you to everyone who helped support the Human Library by spreading the word or participating as human books or readers.

Update on University Wellness Initiative

Gail Grozalis, Executive Director of Faculty and Staff Wellness, who gave a presentation on the "University Wellness Initiative" during our Spring SULA program, thought that staff would be interested in some of the current and upcoming wellness events on the updated Wellness Initiative website.

You can register to receive updates about wellness offerings via the Wellness Contact Us page.

SUL Mentoring Program

SU honored as outstanding Toastmasters sponsor

Toastmasters International has recognized Syracuse University as an exceptional institution of higher education sponsor of Toastmasters clubs and their members. Toastmasters International President Mohammed Murad, of Dubai, UAE, will present the award on Monday, April 27, 2015 at noon in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons of Bird Library.

There are currently two Toastmasters clubs on campus with a third in the process of forming. The Orange Orators chartered in 2007 and has earned the designation of President's Distinguished Club for the past six years. It is comprised of staff and graduate students as well as community members. Master Toast, sponsored by the Whitman School of Management, began in 2013 with a group of graduate students and members of the Whitman staff. The newest club on campus is the Devil's Advocate Toastmasters at the SU School of Law, which plans to charter later this year.

Over the past eight years Syracuse University has generously provided startup support and helped spread awareness of the value of Toastmasters. SU continues to provide space for weekly meetings, as well as facilities and parking for speech contests, the Toastmaster Leadership Institute, and other special events.

Toastmasters International was established in 1924 as a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network. Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the organization has more than 313,000 members in over 14,650 clubs in 126 countries.

SULA Family Caregivers Committee

The SULA Family Caregivers Committee (a standing committee of SULA) is excited to announce its new website featuring university, local, and national resources, a program and events list, and national news on caregiving. It can be viewed at http://sulacares.syr.edu/ and can also be found on the Libraries staff web page under the heading "Library Services and Information".

Also, please mark your calendars: the SULA Family Caregivers Committee will sponsor a lunchtime "Conversation" on April 30 from 12:30-2 p.m. in the Hillyer Room. The inaugural "Conversation" will be a brown bag discussion of caregiving experiences among library staff members and include suggestions for ways we might help and support each other. Refreshments will be served.

Please contact us at sulacare@syr.edu with any questions or comments.

New Library grandbaby

Bobbi Gwilt (Administration) welcomed a granddaughter, Danielle Renee Mack on March 31. Danielle weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Siblings Farrah and Kyle are so excited; Farrah is happy to have a sister and Kyle is excited to be a big brother. Both mother and baby are doing fine.