The impact of COVID-19 demonstrated the importance of having consistent, online access to course materials. As faculty select course materials for the Spring semester, please consider searching the VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal to identify no-cost, online alternatives to print textbooks. The Portal contains over 200,000 titles from the Virtual Library of Virginia’s (VIVA’s) shared library collections, open access textbooks, and e-books available to UMW at no-cost. For more information, please contact Paul Boger, the Scholarly Communications Librarian at pboger@umw.edu.
Eagle Scholar – Faculty Making a Difference
Eagle Scholar is the open access institutional repository of UMW. Since it was launched in February 2018, 43 faculty have contributed their OER and open access books and articles. As a result, their work has been viewed in 119 countries at over 700 unique institutions. If you would like to share your professional work in Eagle Scholar, please contact the Simpson Library’s Scholarly Communications Team at: scholcom@umw.edu.
Staff Advisory Council Nominations
The Staff Advisory Council (SAC) is currently accepting nominations to fill eight positions. So that our representation reflects all parts of the UMW community, we invite you to nominate a deserving colleague(s) or yourself.
Openings:
- 5 Administrative Professional (3 year term)
- 1 Wage (3 year term)
- 1 Classified (3 year term)
- 1 Classified (1 year term)
SAC is an elected body of classified, wage, and administrative staff whose purpose is to:
- promote collaboration and ensure open communication throughout all levels of the University;
- provide an avenue for employee input and feedback and a means of participating in the design, development, and implementation of University programs, projects, and services;
- strengthen employee awareness of critical issues and provide a valuable perspective for the University community and administration on matters of significant concern to wage, classified, and administrative staff.
Please visit the SAC’s website for more information (http://sac.umwblogs.org/).
Nominations will be accepted through April 24, 2020. To nominate someone for the SAC, visit the SAC Nominations Page or paste the URL listed below into your internet browser: http://umw.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6EjYeGyrjTy7BE9.
Thank you for your participation.
SAC Elections Committee
Paul Boger – pboger@umw.edu
Maureen Aylward – maylward@umw.edup
Pam Lowery – plowery@umw.edu
Follow this link to the Nomination Form:
SAC Nominations
Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
http://umw.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6EjYeGyrjTy7BE9?Q_DL=jPhbdZF6Ab5OrM0_6EjYeGyrjTy7BE9_MLRP_094KkKHe4YulMuF&Q_CHL=email
Library Reading Lists
Use Leganto to create dynamic reading lists in Canvas! Leganto, a new service from the library, allows you to connect the library’s collection, websites, videos, and scanned documents all in one convenient location. This new feature is listed as “Library Reading Lists” in your Canvas course menu. Please contact Andrea Meckley (aklopsis@umw.edu, 540-654-1749) or Paul Boger (pboger@umw.edu, 540-286-8066) with questions.
VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal
The VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal is an online catalog to help Virginia public university faculty find open and affordable textbooks for their courses. Use of free e-books and other online materials will save UMW and other Virginia students hundreds of dollars in textbook purchases over their academic careers.
Faculty can select from more than 200,000 titles that include open access textbooks, e-books from VIVA’s shared library collections, and e-books that VIVA will purchase by request on behalf of public colleges and universities throughout the state.
The Textbook Portal allows faculty to view currently available titles as well as preview and make purchase requests for other full text e-books that are not currently available through UMW Libraries.
- Faculty Portal: https://libguides.umw.edu/OER
- Video Overview: https://youtu.be/l12wRQck-Is
E-books in the textbook portal have unlimited user access, so all students in a course can simultaneously access the book, download the book to their devices, or print chapters from the book at any time.
The Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) is the consortium of nonprofit academic libraries within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal is part of VIVA’s wide-scale Open and Affordable Initiatives to increase affordability in higher education, promote student success, and empower Virginia faculty to use and create high-quality educational materials that are free for students.
Questions about the textbook portal, or about affordable and open educational materials in general, can be sent to Paul Boger at pboger@umw.edu.
VIVA Course Redesign Grants
UMW Libraries is excited to announce that the second round of VIVA Course Redesign Grants is now open. These grants are designed to empower faculty at Virginia higher education institutions with the resources and time they need to redesign courses by swapping out expensive textbooks for open, no cost, or library options. These materials may be adopted as is, adapted, or created from scratch.
This program awards grants from $1,000-$30,000 to assist faculty members at any VIVA institution in transitioning to course materials available at no cost to students, such as OER textbooks and/or library resources. Proposals may involve one person or teams that include: teaching faculty, librarians, instructional designers, subject matter experts, editors, graphic designers, or others as needed. Applications that include multi-institutional partnerships are encouraged.
More information, including the full Request for Proposals, application details, and evaluation criteria are available at http://vivalib.org/courseredesign.
Applications are due September 30, 2019, and award notification will take place on December 9, 2019.
An informational webinar will be held at the following times, and will include a general introduction to the grants, the application process, and a Q&A:
- September 26, 2019, 1:00 p.m.: Register at https://vivalib.libcal.com/event/5492759.
Questions about the program may be submitted to viva@gmu.edu.
UMW faculty interested in utilizing Open Educational Resources (OER), no-cost, or low-cost learning resources can find additional resources on the Libraries’ OER Guide at: https://libguides.umw.edu/OER.
Room for rent in downtown Fredericksburg
Looking for a young professional or a college student to share house in downtown Fredericksburg. I have a 10 year old son who resides in the house with me. Must be responsible with rent and respectful towards house rules. Freshly painted bedroom, one shared bathroom, shared kitchen, washer/dryer, A/C, and plenty of street parking. Great location, walkable to downtown Fredericksburg. Easy access to I-95, Route 1, the train station, Quantico, UMW, and Dahlgren.
Rent is $750 a month which includes (gas, electric, water/sewage, trash removal, and internet). One month security deposit is needed. No smoking and no pets. Available August 15th.
Please contact me if interested or would like a tour. Phone is 703-881-2839 and email is birdiejennings@yahoo.com.
Stafford Library’s Welcome Back Table, Aug. 24-27
To kick off the new semester and celebrate the Stafford Campus’ 16th year as part of UMW, the Stafford Campus Library will have a “welcome back” table set-up for students in the North building atrium from Monday, Aug. 24 through Thursday, Aug., 27 from 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. New and returning students are encouraged to grab a pre-class snack, say “hi,” and ask your friendly campus librarians a question!
Stafford Library – Green Screen Room
A green screen room is now available at the Stafford Campus. This secure space has 4 iMacs and allows students to create videos using a green screen. This space is also available for presentation practice and group study. Room reservations are available at: http://libcal.umw.edu/booking/stafford.
Questions can be directed to stafflib@umw.edu.
Stafford Library – Services for Local Teachers
The Stafford Library has expanded its resources and extended its services to local Virginia educators. A library borrower’s card is now available for teachers at the reduced price of $25 and Virginia educators are welcome to use the materials in the Stafford Library’s new education curriculum collection.
Questions and comments can be directed to Paul Boger, Stafford Campus Library Manager, at pboger@umw.edu or 540-286-8066.