Alexandria Campus Learning and Technology Resources

Matt Todd Presides Over Virginia Library Association Annual Conference

2011-11-02T20:28:00.009-05:00

Matt Todd, Sylvia Rortvedt, Rebecca Kamen, Anne Anderson, Brandee Worsham

Alexandria Campus librarians, faculty and students were key participants in the Virginia Library Association conference in Portsmouth October 27-28, 2011.

The conference program was designed and laid out by Alexandria Campus graphic design students working in the NOVAStudio program, mentored by Professors Lisa Hill and Angela Terry. Association President Matt Todd conducted both general conference sessions and served on the conference planning committee.

The keynote address at the opening general session was delivered by Alexandria Campus Fine Arts Professor Rebecca Kamen, who described how her work has been influenced by books and supported by libraries, linking her interests in the history of science, the visual arts, the book as artifact, and the intersection of classroom instruction, the creation of art, and libraries as cultural repositories. Her address was later described by attendees as "outstanding," "out of the box," and "one of the most interesting of all conferences I have attended."

Sylvia Rortvedt (Associate Director of Learning and Technology Resources at the Alexandria Campus) joined Rebecca in a very well-received concurrent session on altered books that was the subject of a "Twitter" stream. See the April 2011 and April 2007 posts for more about the altered books exhibits in the Alexandria Campus Library. Two NOVA students donated artwork to the conference raffle in support of the VLA scholarship fund.

Altered Books Return to the Library for Earth Day

2011-04-29T13:26:00.013-05:00

Rebirth, by Christyn Gaffany

The second Altered Book Exhibit opened in the Alexandria Campus Library on Tuesday, April 26 with a reception. Dozens of students, faculty and staff, including Alexandria Provost Dr. Peter Maphumulo and Dean of Liberal Arts Jimmie McClellan, came to see the Altered Book and Poster Project Exhibition that was a collaboration between professors Denny May (English), Lisa Hill (Communication Design) and Rebecca Kamen (Fine Arts), and Angela Terry (Communication Design) and the library staff.

Denny May, Jim McClellan, Rebecca Kamen, Lisa Hill in front of the hanging garden

The sculptures were created by students in Art 132 and Art 140 and all incorporated repurposed copies of Bill McKibben's book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet.

While most of the sculptures are displayed on the library's reference shelves, "Eaarth Primer" (with plants growing out of composted soil made from the pages of the books) hangs over the popular reading collection. The altered book exhibit will remain on view in the library until summer.

Here are a selection of the sculptures, photographed by Britt Conley.

The Tiger's Book, Roger J. Barbaran Antezano

Plant a Tree, Save the Eaarth, by Holly Dodson

Art Eaarth, by Chris Smith

Farewell to IS&D's Lisa Stedge

2011-04-04T13:34:00.010-05:00

Lisa & IS&D staff

The Alexandria Campus bids farewell to Lisa Stedge, who resigned from the college in April 2011 after more than thirteen years of outstanding services to the LRS/ESS division. She wishes her colleagues all the best and looks forward to new adventures.

Alexandria Campus History Goes Online

2011-02-17T11:00:00.006-05:00

The Alexandria Campus has launched a new campus history website that tells the story of the campus through digitized student publications, Campus Council minutes, photographs, commencement programs and more. You can explore it at http://www.nvcc.edu/depts/alexandria/history/

Library specialist David Anderson organized and is carrying out the project with the help of student Saqib Afzal and campus webmaster Art Lin.

Virginia Libraries, the quarterly journal of the Virginia Library Association, published an article by David about this project in its Fall 2010 issue. “Building Digital Archives Collections at Northern Virginia Community College” describes how he digitized items of enduring historical value from the Alexandria Campus Library archives. As David wrote in the article, “…a digital collection should tell the story of thematically similar cultural objects… We are continuing to work to achieve our goal of building a… digital collection that can serve to capture NOVA’s history for years to come.” Read more about this project to save and expand access to the Alexandria Campus historical materials at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/VALib/v56_n4/pdf/anderson.pdf

Congratulations and a very big THANK YOU to David!

Meet Our New Interim Dean

2011-01-14T13:52:00.003-05:00

Educational Support Services welcomes Frances Villagran-Glover as our Interim Dean.

Ms. Villagran-Glover is no stranger the Educational Support Services; she has worked at the Alexandria Campus since 2006 in several positions including Evening Administrator and Acting Dean of Students, and in those roles interacted frequently with ESS staff and services.

Ms. Villagran-Glover has worked for four other community college organizations: Arizona Western College, San Antonio College, Fresno City College, and the American Association of Community Colleges, where she managed two national grant projects with Microsoft and SBC Telecommunications. She also worked for Prince William County as an instructional technologist.

A native Texan, Ms. Villagran-Glover earned a B.S. in Community Health Education from Texas A&M University. She also holds a M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University and is currently in the process of completing her doctoral dissertation at George Mason University.

She is married to LtCol Robert Glover, USMC (Ret). They are the proud parents of seven children, fondly referred to as the A-Team: three are in college (two went to NOVA), two are in high school, one is in 2nd grade and the boss is in preschool.

In her spare time, Ms. Villagran-Glover like to create photo books and videos.

Farewell to the Daves

2010-11-15T14:15:00.008-05:00

Dave Lavis

Dave Williams

Two retirements in November mark the end of an era. Since 1971, Dave Lavis has served the campus in what was Audio-Visual Services and became Instructional Support and Development. Since 1973, Dr. David Williams has served as the Coordinator of Audio-Visual Services, then Director of Learning Resource Services and ultimately, Dean of Educational Support Services.

Both Daves worked for every provost at the Alexandria Campus -- Dr. Bisdorf, Dr. Netherton, Dr. Wyles, Dr. Gueverra and Dr. Maphumulo. They guided their units through changes in technologies, staffing and responsibilities, and provided leadership at the campus, the college and the Virginia Community College System level. They survived nights on campus when it was too icy to drive home and months without air conditioning in the summer. They were problem-solvers, and they always had time to listen. They will be remembered for their leadership, helpfulness and good humor.

Best wishes for happy and fulfilling and well-earned retirements, Dave and Dave!

Alexandria staff at the LRS Peer Group meeting

2010-10-16T08:17:00.004-05:00

The Alexandria Campus ESS staff offered a variety of presentations at the VCCS LRS Peer Group meeting in Richmond on October 14-15, 2010. ESS Dean Dave Williams co-chaired the event with VCCS Director of Library Automation Gene Damon.

Front row: Dave Lavis, Jean Hogan, Sally Cool, Steven Cool; Back row: Kevin O'Hagan, Dave Williams, Sylvia Rortvedt, David Anderson

Dave Lavis (IS&D) collaborated with Steven Cool from the Woodbridge campus on Classroom Presentation Systems. Librarian Jean Hogan participated in the Library Instruction Panel, and Dave Williams and Sylvia Rortvedt led a discussion on Space Planning in VCCS Learning Resource Facilities.

Poster sessions offered by ESS staff generated lots of interest and discussion among the participants. David Anderson (Arlington Center Library) described our project to create a digital archive of important campus history documents, and Jean Hogan and Kevin O'Hagan demonstrated the library's convenient storage and retrieval system for its large collection of DVDs and CDs.

Congratulations to all the Alexandria Campus presenters for their many contributions to an informative and worthwhile conference!

Alexandria Campus Library in the news

2010-10-06T08:28:00.005-05:00

The Alexandria Campus Library was featured on a recent Fox News segment about community colleges. Their story on the Alexandria Campus was prompted by the White House Summit on Community Colleges on October 5 which included presentations by President Barack Obama and Alexandria Campus faculty member Dr. Jill Biden.

Librarian Anne Anderson teaching an ESL class

The news story includes interviews with three Alexandria Campus students and Liberal Arts Dean Jim McClellan as well as footage of a typically busy afternoon in the Library.

Testing welcomes Amira Al-Khulaidy

2010-09-15T08:57:00.004-05:00

Welcome to new Testing staff member Amira Al-Khulaidy!

A former NOVA student at the Alexandria Campus, Amira earned an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts before transferring to Columbia University where she majored in English and Philosophy. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching old movies, and learning new recipes. She is glad to be back in Virginia, especially during the beautiful fall season. She is also looking forward to being back at the Alexandria campus, and working in the Testing Center.

Goodbye and Hello!

2010-09-03T15:17:00.006-05:00

It was "goodbye" and "hello" in the Learning Lab and Testing Services this summer. Adella Brunner, Learning Lab Supervisor, retired and Thom Hilanto was selected as the next Supervisor.

Adella worked at the campus for 29 years and was recognized as a leader within the testing units college-wide. During her tenure Testing Services at Alexandria was repeatedly recognized in campus and college surveys for excellent customer service. She will be missed!

Thom has worked in Testing as an Instructor Trainer since Fall 2007 and started in his new role as Supervisor during the summer.

The Alexandria Campus was very fortunate to have Adella's expertise and good humor in Testing Services for many years. We warmly welcome Thom and anticipate continued excellence in this important service of learning resources at the Alexandria Campus.

The Library Was Floored

2010-06-09T11:01:00.004-05:00

L to R: Anne Anderson, Jean Hogan, Matt Todd, Sylvia Rortvedt, Brandee Worsham, Kevin O'Hagan

The Alexandria Campus Library has just completed a major project which included asbestos abatement and new flooring throughout the public and staff areas of the library -- carpet squares in most areas, and durable ceramic tile in the library entrance to match the tile in the Bisdorf Phase I lobby.

To complete the abatement work, every one of our 60,000+ volumes was packed in thousands of crates or carts and all of the shelving was moved. See the Alexandria Campus Library blog for photos of the library during the project.

During the four weeks that the library was closed, library staff provided services including reserves and reference in an adjacent classroom. We ordered many books from other campuses for students and relied on our substantial collection of online periodicals, reference sources and ebooks. Students were referred to the Open Computer Center for computing and printing needs, and library staff made extensive use of the wireless network and Adjunct Faculty work room. Several staff members volunteered to work at other campus libraries or Media Processing during this period.

It was a LOT of work but on June 7 the library reopened, on time and on budget thanks to excellent coordination by Kathy Clement, our Facilities Contracts Coordinator. In addition to the new flooring, we have all new study chairs on the main level.

Those 60,000 books are back on the shelves, and we are still enjoying the new carpet smell!

Learning Labs welcome Bob Curran

2010-06-02T15:05:00.003-05:00

Bob Curran is a new full-time Instructional Assistant in the Learning Labs. Under direction from the IT department, he will provide technical support for the labs. He comes to NVCC having spent the past six years working in a variety of educational positions. During that time, he taught 5th grade in DC public schools, ESL in the US and Japan, and worked in corporate communications as a trainer with Verizon Wireless. When not providing support to NVCC test takers, Bob enjoys mixing cocktails, listening to jazz, and debating politics – preferably in that order. A Philly native, he and his wife reside in Alexandria.

National Library Week at the Alexandria Campus

2010-04-19T10:50:00.004-05:00

The Alexandria Campus Library launched National Library Week on April 6 with a presentation at the Alexandria Campus Honors Hour by librarian and faculty emerita Mimi Gronlund on her recently-published biography of her father, Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark: A Life of Service. Tom Clark served as U.S. Attorney General in the years immediately after World War II, and President Truman appointed him to the Supreme Court where he served as an Associate Justice from 1949 to 1967. A large group gathered to hear Mimi speak about her father’s career and her experience of writing the book, and many stayed to purchase a copy and have it signed by the author.

Mimi Gronlund, Neva Herrington, Charlie Errico

Mimi was a librarian at the Alexandria Campus from 1976 to 1998. She was an active participant in campus and college life and a recipient of the “Open Moment” fellowship, established in honor of Dean Cecil Shuler on his retirement. The fellowship provided the opportunity to begin her research at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri.

For more information about the book and author, go to http://www.tomcclark.com/

Alexandria Library specialist Jane Maddan submitted a cake to the Annandale Campus Library's inaugural Edible Book Festival held on April 1. Her entry, a Queen of Hearts Cake for the book Alice in Wonderland, won the prize for Most Beautiful Cake. Congratulations, Jane!

70 Years of Experience and Service

2010-03-29T09:45:00.008-05:00

Abid Mahmood, Bruce Carroll, Matt Todd & Jean Hogan

Four staff members in Educational Support Services were honored at the annual awards luncheon for their service to the college. Abid Mahmood, Open Computer Center Supervisor, and Matt Todd, Collection Development Librarian, received 10-year awards. Bruce Carroll, Technology & Circulation Librarian, received the 15-year award, and Media Librarian Jean Hogan was recognized for 35 years of service. Yes, that adds up to 70 years of service to the campus!

The Alexandria Campus benefits from the experience and dedication of all the ESS staff, and we're especially pleased to recognize the landmark anniversaries of these four. Congratulations, Abid, Matt, Bruce and Jean!

Learning Labs Welcome New Staff

2010-03-12T12:36:00.006-05:00

The Alexandria Campus Learning Labs welcome two new employees this month.

Evita Byrd is the new part-time Instructional Assistant in the Learning Labs. She will be working in the evenings and on Saturdays. Evita is originally from Richmond, VA. After attending the University of Virginia (UVa), she taught ESL in Istanbul, Turkey and in Richmond, VA. She then returned to UVa for a masters degree. Evita now lives in Herndon, VA with her husband and daughter. She is very excited to join NOVA's staff!

Dawn Titafi is a new full-time Instructional Assistant in the Learning Labs. She has been a licensed educator for seventeen years. In that time, she has taught for public, private and international schools from the elementary to college level. Ever since earning her Masters in Education five years ago, she has been teaching low intermediate to advanced ESL at NOVA's Annandale Campus. In her spare time she likes to garden, and some of her interests include herbal medicine, international relations, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience. She and her husband have been married for twelve years and they enjoy going to Morocco. She is thrilled to be working full time at the Alexandria Campus.

Music in the Library

2010-03-02T11:33:00.003-05:00

It was standing room only in the Alexandria Campus Library on Tuesday, February 23, when Alexandria music faculty member Harvey Jacobson presented a short concert of some of Scott Joplin’s piano rags. The noon concert was part of the campus Black History Month celebration and it was enthusiastically received by the audience of students, faculty and staff.

Mr. Jacobson talked about Scott Joplin’s contributions to American music, and the Library prepared a display of books and music by and about African-American musicians including Joplin (http://www.nvcc.edu/alexandria/library/hottopics/blackmusic.htm).

NOVA Leads in Technology Support

2009-11-23T14:35:00.004-05:00

NOVA has been named one of the top community colleges in the United States for offering "exceptional technology support to students and educators." The Center for Digital Education and Converge magazine ranked NOVA as second in the United States among large community colleges (those with more than 7,500 students).

Alexandria Campus students and staff interact with technology in all of the service areas of Educational Support Services:

IT provides computers and keep them running wherever the campus needs them;

IS&D ensures that classroom technology is up-to-date and working for faculty;

OCC offers software and tech support to students days, nights and weekends;

Learning Labs and Testing use new technologies for improving reading, writing and testing;

Library's website and online databases extend our resources and instruction to far beyond the Library's walls, 24/7

NOVA was joined in the large-school category by Tidewater Community College, and seven other Virginia Community Colleges were represented in the mid-sized and small college groups (Rappahannock, Lord Fairfax, Mountain Empire, Southwest Virginia, Patrick Henry, Piedmont Virginia, and Dabney S. Lancaster).

Congratulations to NOVA and our VCCS colleagues for leading the way in educational technology!

Matt Todd Elected VLA President

2009-11-03T09:59:00.009-05:00

Matt Todd, Collection Development Librarian at the Alexandria Campus, has been elected Vice-President/President Elect of the Virginia Library Association.

Results of the statewide elections were announced at the October 30 General Session of the 2009 Virginia Library Association Conference in Williamsburg.

Matt is the first community college librarian to serve as President and is also the youngest person ever elected to that office. His presidential term will begin in 2010. He has been active in VLA for 10 years, having served on the Region V committee since 2001 and serving on the Executive Board as Treasurer in 2008-09.

L to R, Sandra Beeson (MPS), Matt Todd (AL), Sylvia Rortvedt (AL), Carol Sinwell (AN). Not pictured: Julie Combs (WO).

Four other NOVA librarians attended the conference. Alexandria Librarian and Associate Director Sylvia Rortvedt and Annandale Acting Director of Educational Support Services Carol Sinwell presented a session on succession planning, and Sylvia participated on a library directors' Q&A panel.

2009-10-02T13:49:00.008-05:00

Educational Support Services has a new bulletin board. Library specialist Marion Mirehouse led the project to create a new bulletin board describing the resources and services provided by the Library, Testing and Learning Lab, Open Computer Center, IT, Webmaster and Instructional Support & Development units that comprise learning resources at the Alexandria Campus. The bulletin board is located on the Bisdorf third floor, in the hallway leading to Testing.

Kim Gross, Marion Mirehouse and Kevin O'Hagan

Marion conceived and developed the theme "Let the ESS put you on the road to SUCCESS." Created with help from Kim Gross, Kevin O'Hagan, Adella Brunner and Lisa Stedge, the new bulletin board describes the services offered by the ESS units along with photos of the staff. The ESS management team (Dr. Dave Williams and the heads of each unit) hovers in a helicopter above the winding road to success.

Marion has completed numerous bulletin boards for ESS during her tenure at the campus and creates new seasonal displays in the library as well. Check out her latest balloon festival landscape behind the circulation desk!

Goodbye and Hello in the Learning Lab

2009-08-20T16:23:00.006-05:00

Alexandria Campus Testing Services bids farewell to Trainer and Instructor Erin Sumego. Erin has received a scholarship to continue her Master's degree program in education at George Mason University on a full-time basis. We are very sorry to see her leave but wish her well in her new endeavors!

Erin Sumego and Thom Hilanto

The good news is that Thom Hilanto, who began working in the Learning Lab on a part-time basis in Fall 2007, will transition to full-time at the beginning of the fall semester. To learn more about Thom, see the December 4, 2007 post.

Alumni Federation Honors Anne Anderson

2009-08-12T11:28:00.005-05:00

Librarian Anne Anderson was honored by the Northern Virginia Community College Alumni Federation at its Spring 2009 banquet honoring NOVA Faculty of the Year nominees.

Anne was one of twelve faculty members from the Alexandria Campus nominated for the Faculty of the Year award for 2008-2009. The student in her LBR 105 class who made the nomination noted that she "clearly puts the needs of her students first...she is an outstanding motivator with a deep interest in teaching."

Congratulations, Anne!

Alexandria Campus Hosts Successful LRS Professional Development Day

2009-06-17T16:53:00.011-05:00

On Friday, May 15, the Alexandria Campus hosted 136 people from Learning Resources units from all campuses, plus staff from ELI, the Technical Applications Center, IT, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Human Resources for a day of professional development centered on the theme "Hot Technology, Cool NOVA."

The day's activities included a welcome from Alexandria Campus Provost Dr. Jonathan Gueverra (with his bag of 20 years of examples of then-hot new technologies) and a keynote address, "Hot Technologies 2009" by Corinne Hoisington from Central Virginia Community College.

She also presented sessions on Google tools and applications, and a preview of Windows 7 and Office 2010. Other sessions focused on new technologies for online tutoring and testing, planning for new libraries, examples of how LRS staff are using Web 2.0 tools across the college, Second Life, multicultural/multigenerational relations, and strategies for dealing with the challenging student.

Breakfast and a salad lunch kept the participants' energy up for a full day of learning and networking. The online evaluation survey confirmed a very high level of satisfaction with the overall program and individual sessions.

Thanks to Planning Committee co-chairs Sandra Beeson from Media Processing Services and Ruth Stanton from the Medical Education Campus for their hard work in making this a very successful day of professional development. In the words of some attendees, it was "...the best LRS day I have ever attended" and "Better than New Horizons."

Learning Resources Staff Learn

2009-04-11T13:14:00.020-05:00

Alexandria Campus Learning Resources staff keep on learning.

Dean of Educational Support Services Dave Williams, IS&D Supervisor Dave Lavis, and librarians Bruce Carroll and Jean Hogan attended the VCCS New Horizons conference in Roanoke April 1-3. Bruce and Jean participated in a session on library resources and services and helped staff an "ask your librarian" table near the vendors' exhibits.

Dave Williams, Dave Lavis, librarian Sylvia Rortvedt and Nan Peck, NOVA's Acting Coordinator of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, attended the Chronicle Technology Forum in Arlington on April 6. This event, sponsored by the Chronicle of Higher Education, focused on new technologies in higher ed including Facebook, Twitter, Google, and more. One session featured staff from the VCCS System Office presenting on the VCCS move to Google for student email and other applications. Sylvia particularly enjoyed the session on building and renovating libraries to strengthen the library's role in student learning.

On March 30 - April 1, librarians Matt Todd and Sylvia Rortvedt and library specialist David Anderson from the Arlington Center attended the Computers in Libraries conference in Arlington. Social networking, useful new websites, open source software and ways to embed library resources in Blackboard were some of the hot topics at this conference.

Erin Sumego was the Alexandria Campus nominee to attend the VCCS Classified Staff Leadership Academy which was held in Staunton, Virginia May 27-29. The Academy included workshops, discussion groups, training sessions and small group projects designed to enhance the leadership skills of this select group of classified staff from across Virginia's community college system.

Librarian Bruce Carroll attended the national ELUNA conference in Richmond in May. ELUNA stands for ExLibris Users of North America, and ExLibris is the integrated library system used by all of the VCCS college libraries. Bruce has led our campus library staff through several ExLibris upgrades to our circulation system and at the conference learned what changes and upgrades are in store for our library systems.

In May, library specialists Jane Maddan, Marion Mirehouse and Twynell Kimble attended the Virginia Library Association's annual Paraprofessional Conference near Richmond. They attended sessions on topics ranging from Google Scholar and Google Books to basic book repair, services to deaf and hard-of-hearing library patrons to Civil War history collections in Virginia libraries.

Learning Resources Takes the Heat

2009-03-27T11:14:00.006-05:00

It's warm in many LRS units now and it's going to get hotter as long-delayed work on the Phase I HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system is carried out this spring. The work requires turning off the chiller and air handler for Phase I. When this was announced, LRS staff stepped up to find ways to minimize the impact on Phase I computer lab spaces too hot for instruction and testing.

Under the guidance of Dave Williams, Dean of Educational Support Services, administrators and staff responsible for computing and testing space in Phase I worked together to find new locations for classes taught in computer labs. Open Computer Center Supervisor Abid Mahmood's team found new locations in Phase II and III labs for all of the IT classes, including the Open Computer Center, and Testing Supervisor Adella Brunner identified space for classes that had been meeting in the Writing Center.

Testing Services have temporarily moved to Room 161 in order to provide students an air-conditioned space for campus, ELI and placement testing.

Marilyn Odaka, Adella Brunner and Erin Friga

in front of the temporary Testing Center, Room 161

Alternative locations for open computer labs are now available during the day (8am - 4pm) Monday-Thursday and all day Friday and Saturday. Details are on the Open Computer Center webpage.

While the library is too large to move elsewhere on campus, lots of big fans have been brought in to deal with the heat.

The HVAC work is scheduled to be completed by late June, and AC may come online on some floors before then.

NOVA Named as One of the Top Tech-Smart Community Colleges

2008-10-28T10:03:00.008-05:00

Northern Virginia Community College has been ranked second in a list of the top tech-smart community colleges with enrollments over 7,500. Factors considered in the survey ranged "from online admissions, student access to transcripts and grades, information security and infrastructure, to weather and campus security alerts and online library capabilities."

The list, a result of a survey conducted by the Center for Digital Education and the American Association for Community Colleges, includes Tidewater Community College, also part of the Virginia Community College System, among the top ten colleges in the group of largest colleges. Rappahannock, Blue Ridge and Dabney S. Lancaster Community Colleges in Virginia also made the top ten list in their size categories.

The NOVA Libraries provide online access to our catalog of books and media and over 200 article and reference databases. All NOVA students and staff have off-campus access to our resources. Campus libraries have their own websites with information specific to that campus. At Alexandria, that includes links to the library blog and the online library tour.

Congratulations to NOVA and IT Services!

What the Library Did This Summer

2008-08-27T14:26:00.010-05:00

It's a very moving story.

Alexandria Campus Library staff have been planning how the space left vacant by the Counseling and Financial Aid offices' move to Phase III could be converted into much-needed additional library space for students. In Fall 2007 the Library staff conducted surveys and focus groups to gather student input about possible uses of re-purposed space. Student feedback was assembled to create a plan for the creative reuse of library space. What did we do?

We created a reading area -- dubbed "the living room" by some students and staff -- with a large display of current magazines, our popular reading collection of books and audiobooks, today's newspapers and our new books cart. Comfortable chairs and benches make this an inviting and relaxing area.

We opened five group study rooms in what had been the small Counseling booths. Students have been asking for spaces for small groups to study together in the library for years, and we expect these to be very popular. Each room has a network drop for laptop use.

The librarians waved goodbye to their old office space and moved into the former Counseling office area.

L to R: Anne Anderson, Jean Hogan, Matt Todd, Bruce Carroll

That left us with space to create a new quiet study room room which includes some wired carrels for laptop use.

The librarians' move also created additional space in our existing office areas for circulation and acquisitions staff.

What's the verdict? Student and faculty reaction so far has been very positive. Responses include

“It looks and sounds like a Library in here now!"
“Please buy more of these chairs.”
"It looks very professional."
"I love it. Very accommodating."
"I adore your taste in decor!"
"Finally, we can rest while reading books, newspapers or magazines. This is what was missing to be a complete library. I love the silence and the chairs...Thank you NOVA!"

Please visit us soon, and tell us what you think -- in person, or post a comment on this blog.

How Are We Doing?

2008-06-02T14:37:00.006-05:00

That's what we asked our users in a series of surveys this spring.

Alexandria Campus IT Services, Instructional Support and Development and Learning Lab/Testing sent surveys to faculty and staff to measure satisfaction with their services.

97% were somewhat or very satisfied with the IT services they received.

92% rated the overall quality of IS&D services and staff support as very good or excellent.

100% of the faculty who replied rated Learning Lab/Testing services as above average or excellent.

Students and faculty/staff survey responses from the Library and Open Computer Center were also very positive.

90% of the Library survey respondents were somewhat or very satisfied with library services overall.

97% of the Open Computer Center users indicated they were satisfied with OCC services.

We're pleased with these high levels of satisfaction with LRS services, but equally important to us are the comments about how we could improve our services. Your suggestions included

Longer evening hours in IS&D
A world map in the Arlington Center Library
More computers and lab space for classroom work in the Learning Lab
More quiet study space, some small group study rooms, easier-to-use campus wireless and more computers in the library
More computers in the OCC and more individual work space at each computer
Concern about the impact of network security changes on faculty use of instructional computing resources

And finally, a few comments we're happy to share with you:

"IS&D support have been there whenever I needed them..."
"The [Library] staff ROCK."
"Everyone's very kind here."

LRS Staff Participates in New Horizons Conference

2008-04-23T08:57:00.006-05:00

Four members of the Alexandria Campus LRS staff attended the 2008 VCCS New Horizons conference in Roanoke April 9-11. Open Computer Center Supervisor Abid Mahmood gave a presentation with Business Division Dean John Min on the new Global Trading Center, and LRS Director Dave Williams, Dave Lavis (Instructional Support & Development), and Bruce Carroll (Library) attended the conference sessions on a wide range of topics related to the integration of technology in teaching, learning and administration in the VCCS.

Hector Revollo (WO), Abid Mahmood, Dave Williams, Sally Cool (WO), Dave Lavis and Steven Cool (WO) at New Horizons.

105 Years of Service

2008-04-22T11:26:00.007-05:00

Dave Williams, Kevin O'Hagan, Van Robertson
Marion Mirehouse, Lisa Stedge, Van Ky (inset)

Six Alexandria Learning Resources staff members were honored for ten, thirty and thirty-five years of service to NOVA at the Service Awards Luncheon in March. They represented the Library, Instructional Support & Development, IT Services and LRS administration and collectively add up to more than 100 years of experience and service to Alexandria Campus students, faculty and staff. Congratulations and thank you to Dave, Kevin, Van R, Marion, Lisa and Van K!

Librarian Anne Anderson is a Published Photographer

2008-03-05T11:29:00.002-05:00

Librarian Anne Anderson has won an 'Honorable Mention' in Virginia Wildlife magazine's annual photo contest. Anne's photo of a water lily was taken at Huntley Meadows.

The Alexandria Campus Library has a subscription to Virginia Wildlife, where you can see the other prize-winning photos in the March 2008 issue.

Arlington Center Website Grows

2008-01-31T15:51:00.000-05:00

Take a look at the Arlington Center website, which has a fresh look and now includes information on the Library, Testing, Counseling, Financial Aid, programs and courses offered at Arlington, the shuttle bus schedule between Alexandria and Arlington and more.

Library Specialist David Anderson has updated and expanded the the Arlington Center website with assistance from Alexandria Campus webmaster Art Lin. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements to the Arlington Center website, David welcomes your ideas. You can contact him at daanderson@nvcc.edu.

Meet Tom Hilanto in Testing

2007-12-04T22:38:00.000-05:00

The LRS welcomes Tom Hilanto, who works evenings in Testing. Read his brief autobiography below, and stop by in Testing between 4 and 8pm to meet Tom in person.

"I was born in 1969 in Baghdad, Iraq as part of a small Christian community known as Chaldeans. After about five years of living in Baghdad, my family moved to the US – Detroit MI - 'to pursue the American Dream.' Most of my primary, secondary, and college education has taken place in the US. My undergraduate degree was in International Business with a Minor in French received as a joint program from San Diego State University and ESSEC, a private business school in Cergy-Pontoise, France. I’m currently working on completing my MA in Applied Linguistics, part of which was completed at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. God willing, at the end of April 2008, I will be a papa for the first time!"

Alexandria LRS Supports VCCS Peer Group Meeting

2007-11-07T12:44:00.000-05:00

Alexandria Campus LRS faculty and staff were key participants in the VCCS Peer Group Meeting for Learning Resources and Distance Learning, held in Glen Allen, Virginia October 18-19 and attended by more than 150 people from community colleges throughout the state.

LRS Director Dr. David Williams was a Co-Chair of the Planning Committee, and several sessions were presented by Alexandria faculty and staff:

Matt Todd, Sylvia Rortvedt and Brandee Worsham from the Library presented Generations @ Work

Adella Brunner from Testing and Maureen Madden, formerly in Testing and now at ELI, presented Distance Learning and Testing: Solving Student Problems

Matt Todd offered a poster session on Marketing Your Library for Little or No Expense

NOVA Librarians Present at State Conference

2007-11-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

Four NOVA librarians gave presentations at the annual conference of the Virginia Library Association at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia November 1-2, 2007.

Matt Todd, Ellen Wertman, Sylvia Rortvedt, Nan Peck, Irene Osterman

From the Alexandria Campus, Matt Todd and Sylvia Rortvedt presented "Re-Tool Your Library with Radical Trust." They discussed the concept of radical trust and consumer engagement in marketing and how those principles and social networking tools can improve user services in libraries.

Annandale's Ellen Wertman presented the session "Staying Safe in CyberSpace" and Irene Osterman, also from Annandale, participated in the program "Humor at Work."

And the non-librarian in the picture above? Nan Peck, speech faculty member from Annandale, coordinator of the college's new faculty orientation program and champion of librarians and library services in teaching and learning at NOVA. It was great (and just a little bit scary) to have a speech faculty member in the audience for the "Radical Trust" presentation; thanks for your feedback Nan!

Jeremy Withnell Joins Library Staff

2007-10-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Withnell has joined the Alexandria Campus Library staff as a part-time evening reference assistant. Look for Jeremy on Monday and Wednesday evenings in the Library, and please introduce yourself to him.

Jeremy is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a major in ancient and medieval history, and he brings experience working in their McKeldin Library and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Library. As a student at Maryland he was active in international and intercultural programs and activities, and while studying in England he worked in the British Museum Shop and a pub.

Welcome, Jeremy!

Learning 2.0 for Learning Resources Staff

2007-10-10T08:41:00.000-05:00

Back row: Dave Babel, Van Robertson, Matt Todd, Daniel Hileman
Front row: Lisa Stedge, Brandee Worsham, Art Lin, Rick Steeber, Anne Anderson

The Learning Resource Services staff has a strong reputation for implementing and sharing new technologies, databases and services with Alexandria Campus faculty, students and staff. But how do we learn what's new and useful?

The LRS staff took advantage of the non-instructional day on Tuesday, October 9 to participate in an in-service activity where we taught each other about some new, cool and useful technologies with specific examples of how we are applying them in our work. The project started over the summer, when all LRS staff were encouraged to explore Learning 2.0, "a discovery learning program designed to encourage staff to explore new technologies" developed by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. We then invited our staff to volunteer to share any new thing they had learned about and tried out with the rest of the LRS.

Fortified with coffee, juice and bagels, we embarked on a whirlwind tour of new technologies and how they might be used, including

Rick Steeber and Anne Anderson on wikis, including a demo of the Library's Assignment Alert wiki

Brandee Worsham on using Google Calendar

Matt Todd on finding out who's reading your blog and how they got there

Aimen Aberra on widgets and tagging your favorite blogs

Daniel Hileman on audio books

Dave Babel on Virtual Machine (do you need more than one operating system on your PC?)

Art Lin with a sneak preview of the new NVCC website

Lisa Stedge on Flickr and SnapFish, and how a biology faculty member is incorporating this in her class, plus how to upload your videos to YouTube

Van Robertson on MovieMaker and its use by students for a class assignment

It was an enlightening morning with lots of "ah-ha!" moments and conversations about how these new and often free resources can be integrated into our services in support of the LRS mission to provide comprehensive and effective instructional support to the Alexandria Campus community in an environment conducive to learning.

We had a great time learning together. If you're curious about any of these, take a look at the Learning 2.0 website, or contact the LRS presenter. We look forward to sharing what we've learned with you!

Meet the Learning Lab's Jack Palmer

2007-10-03T16:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Jack Palmer, who joins us full time as the I.T. and web liaison Trainer and Instructor in the LRS and Learning Lab. Jack has been working in Testing part-time since 2001. He comes to us from the Department of Homeland Security where he administered the intranet web site and internal automated archiving system for his immediate office. As process owner of these systems, he maintained the relevancy of the data and web content, which was accessible by all office staff nationally. Prior to that, Jack worked for the U.S. Marshalls Service and the U.S. Customs Service.

Jack is originally from Akron, Ohio and moved to the Washington area in 1974. He has been married to his wife Trudy for 33 years and they have five children, most of whom have graduated from college. Both he and his wife have been deeply involved with coaching their children on various local sports teams, and both have been Board of Directors' officers on several local youth club organizations.

Global Trading Center Debuts in the OCC

2007-09-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

The Open Computer Center is pleased to announce the addition of the new Global Capital Trading Center. This new state-of-the-art room features three 65-inch LCD Displays, stock tickers relaying the latest global economic information and 22 brand-new computers with dual 17-inch LCD monitors. This Center is located in room 159 of the Bisdorf building.

The Global Capital Trading Center was designed in conjunction with Dr. John Min, Dean of the Business Technologies Division at the Alexandria Campus, as a multiple-use facility. Classes in business, economics and finance will be offered in it during the morning and evenings. In ther afternoons, the Center will be used for workshops and demonstrations with presenters from both the college and the private sector. These will be open to NVCC students and the community.

OCC Manager Abid Mahmood and his staff invite you to come and see the latest application of technology in support of the academic mission of the Alexandria Campus.

Library Featured in "Virginia Libraries" article

2007-09-27T10:37:00.001-05:00

The Alexandria Campus Library is featured in the July-September 2007 issue of Virginia Libraries, a quarterly journal published by the Virginia Library Association to "develop, promote, and improve library and information services and the profession of librarianship." The article, by Associate LRS Director Sylvia Rortvedt describes the altered books project, led by art faculty members Lisa Hill and Rebecca Kamen, and the resulting exhibit in the Library during Summer 2007.

Student Jorge Vasquez' piece, "The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci" is featured on the cover of the journal. The article will be available online in the future, but if you can't wait to see it, come into the Library and see it on our bulletin board near the entrance.

For more about the altered books exhibit, see the April 17, 2007 posting on this blog.

VaCIE-VCCS Participant Lisa Stedge

2007-09-27T09:48:00.000-05:00

Linda Renfrew and Lisa Stedge at James Watt College, Scotland

Instructional Support and Development’s Lisa J. Stedge was honored to be accepted into the major undertaking of the VaCIE-VCCS International Exchange Program (2005-2006), during which she learned a great deal. Lisa concluded her participation in the exchange program by examining what she learned from the exchange program and sharing it with others. Lisa created, edited, planned, rehearsed, and presented a robust and thorough presentation, which included over 165 Microsoft PowerPoint slides complete with hands-on visual aids, video, music, and more, to the Alexandria Campus of NVCC in February of 2007. She then volunteered to revamp her presentation and offer it the New Horizons Conference (2007) in Roanoke, VA. Lisa’s presentations focused on facts about Scotland and its James Watt College, as well as teaching and learning in a global community, working with students with disabilities, fostering respect for differences, and encouraging the study of foreign cultures.

Would you like to learn more about the VaCIE-VCCS International Exchange Program? Contact Lisa to find out more about her experience.

Welcome to our new Webmaster!

2007-09-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

The Alexandria Campus has a new webmaster, Dr. Art Lin, who joins us this month.

Dr. Lin served as a webmaster at George Mason University for over eight years and has worked as a web consultant in the private sector as well. He has created more than twenty web sites and several thousand web pages for GMU, the federal government, businesses and non-profits. He is also a recent graduate of GMU's Public Policy doctoral program.

Art looks forward to working with the faculty and staff of the Alexandria Campus in his role as our new webmaster. You can find him in his office inside the Learning Lab, Room 332.

Learning Resources at the Arlington Center

2007-08-22T15:32:00.000-05:00

The Alexandria Campus Learning Resources staff have been involved in the planning and support of the Arlington Center since its inception. Wednesday, August 22nd marked an important new phase in this relationship with the opening of the Arlington Center Library.

David Anderson has been hired to coordinate and manage library services at Arlington, and in the early afternoon on August 22nd, student Bassem Nammari became the first person to check out a book from the Arlington Center Library. The Library will be open in the afternoons and evenings until 7:30pm, as well as some Saturday hours; the exact schedule will be determined over the next month based on student use and staff resources. To check on the Library schedule, call 703.933.5058.

David Anderson (seated) checks out the first book to Bassem Nammari

David is not new to NOVA, having worked evenings part-time in the Library at the Alexandria Campus for the past year. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has worked in libraries at John Tyler Community College, VCU and American University. David has been accepted into the master's program in library and information science and the University of Maryland.

David is the newest Arlington Center employee, and another LRS staff member is one of first. IT Specialist Abdul Askaryar has been at the Arlington Center for the past year and continues to be instrumental in its operation, ensuring that computing resources are available for classes, labs, the library, testing and Arlington Center staff.

David Anderson and Abdul Askaryar in the Arlington Center Library

Watch for more news and updates from the Arlington Center. We are planning a "grand opening" for the Library this fall; in the meantime, please visit Arlington and see what Abdul and David are doing to extend learning resources to this new location, serving (as of today) 810 students.

Furniture and Learning

2007-06-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

What does furniture have to do with learning? A great deal, we think. The Alexandria Campus Library is pleased to announce the installation of 22 new wired study carrels on the upper level of the Library.

Each carrel provides electrical power and a network cord so students can plug in their laptop and have access to the NOVA Libraries catalog and databases, the web and their word processing or other personal software. The large carrels provide plenty of workspace in which to spread out a laptop, papers and books.

In the Spring 2007 Library survey, "more computers" was the most frequent request. These wired carrels will help meet that need by giving the many students who come to campus with their own laptop a good space to work. The Library also plans to try out an in-library laptop loan program next year.

A recent study at Sewanee (University of the South) on study behavior and student engagement described the positive effect of "studying along" -- that is, working independently in a library alongside others kept students more focused and on task. The study noted that this was "...another reminder of how pervasively learning is also socializing, of how exceptionally strong the social dimensions of learning are." We expect these new wired carrels will foster that practice of "study along" at the Alexandria Campus.

And there's more.

The Library has also added six "standup" computer stations for those times when you need a computer for just a few minutes -- to look for a book in the catalog, check your class schedule in NovaConnect, or find a location in Mapquest, for example. That brings to 50 the number of public computers in the Library.

Come see the new furniture in action (and check out our new Popular Reading collection while you're here).

Computers on the Move

2007-06-14T11:05:00.001-05:00

First, a pop quiz. Approximately how many computers does the Alexandria Campus have?

800

1,000

1,500

2,200

(See below for the answer.)

This year the Alexandria Campus IT staff have ordered 417 new computers and are in the process of installing them and migrating many others to new locations. There are PCs with Microsoft Windows, Macs with Mac OS, and laptops with docking stations for mobile computing and remote access. They are going to faculty and staff offices, student labs including science, CAD and automotive, classrooms and the new Global Capital Trading Center in Room 159.

If you're like me, you anticipate your new computer with excitement (hooray, a flat-panel monitor!) and some fear (will I lose my important stuff?). Our campus IT staff will work with you for a smooth transition, whether it's the computer on your desk or the entire lab in your department.

Pop quiz answer: 1,500

"Sauntering Scholars" Race for the Cure

2007-06-04T13:33:00.000-05:00

The Sauntering Scholars of NVCC participated in the Susan G. National Komen Race for the Cure in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 2. The 5K event drew over 40,000 participants and raised over $2.6 million to fund breast cancer research and support patient programs in medically underserved areas of the National Capital Region.

Maureen Madden, Learning Lab Instructional Assistant, and English faculty member Kathy Wax are co-captains of the NVCC Sauntering Scholars. The group has participated in the Race for the Cure for over eight years, and the Alexandria Campus LRS was well-represented Saturday morning.

NVCC Sauntering Scholars at the start of the race

Spotlight on the Open Computer Center

2007-05-31T16:02:00.000-05:00

The Open Computer Center (OCC) offers students technology training that will enhance their ability to effectively use computers. NVCC LAN logon and email training teach them how to use computer resources to effectively communicate with their professors. Sessions on Microsoft Word and PowerPoint provide instruction in how to use these tools to prepare papers and presentations in formats required in their courses.

Check out our current offerings on the OCC website. These and many more workshops are available on a scheduled basis in the Open Computer Center. Students can also drop in and receive individualized answers to their technology questions.

Faculty, what are YOUR students’ technology needs? How can we help? Call or email Abid Mahmood, OCC Supervisor (703.845.6042) with your questions or ideas. We want to work with you to ensure that your students know about and take advantage of all we have to offer.

A Center for Academic Excellence at the Alexandria Campus

2007-04-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

Provost Dr. Jonathan Gueverra has convened a task force to make recommendations for the creation of a Center for Academic Excellence at the Alexandria Campus and has tapped several LRS staff members to lead this effort. Librarian Matt Todd is chairing the task force and Abid Mahmood, Supervisor of the Open Computer Center, is also a member.

What might a Center for Academic Excellence do? It could include (but not be limited to) tutoring services, academic advice, space for interactive and collaborative learning, reading and writing center services, support for diverse learning styles and for students new to higher education in the U.S, and more. This is an opportunity to create, consolidate or re-tool a wide range of services to support student success at the Alexandria Campus.

Here's how you can help. The task force has been asked to prepare short, medium and long-term recommendations for characteristics and services of a student-focused center for academic support. What do YOU think this center should include? What do YOUR students need? Let us know what you think. You can post a comment here, or send an email to Matt Todd, or talk to any of the task force members: Robtrice Brawner, George Gonchar, Lucy Holsonbake, Talia Jones, Cate Keaser, Abid Mahmood, Kim Rutledge, and Amy Wang. Thanks for sharing your ideas with us.

Altered Books in the Library

2007-04-17T13:21:00.000-05:00

In celebration of National Library Week, Communication Design and Fine Arts program students at the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College present TEXT, IMAGE & FORM: The Altered Book Project. Conceived to foster a multi-cultural exchange of creative concepts through teaching, dialogue and hands-on work, the project is founded on NOVA's international relationships and commitment to global learning.

This is the first time the library has hosted an art exhibit, and the opening reception on Monday, April 16 was well-attended by the student artists, their families and friends, and faculty and staff. The exhibit continues to May 7 in the Alexandria Campus Library, Bisdorf 232. Don't miss this opportunity to see this creative and fascinating exhibit!

A Campus Conversation on Learning Resources

2007-04-13T19:33:00.000-05:00

The LRS hosted an open forum on academic support services on Thursday, April 12. Over 30 members of the campus community including faculty from English, Information Technology, Math and and Counseling, students, staff from Continuing Education and Workforce Development and Student Services and provost Dr. Jonathan Gueverra joined the LRS staff for a conversation on how the campus could extend and improve services for students.

What can we do better? What do we need more of on campus? Here are a few of the ideas:
* Create a Linux lab
* Increased collaboration between credit and CEWD programs
* Encourage and support reading development for all students

See the whole list here.

What do YOU think should be added to the list? What do YOUR students need? Join the conversation. Reply with a comment on this blog, or send an email to LRS Director Dave Williams at dwilliams@nvcc.edu

Welcome to the Alexandria Campus LRS Blog

2007-04-13T19:28:00.000-05:00

Hello! We're glad you found us. Here's where you can find out what's new in Learning Resources at the Alexandria Campus.

We welcome your questions and comments. Check back often to find out what we're doing to support students and faculty at the Alexandria Campus.