UNews - General Services

Malinsky returns to familiar setting

trevor.kenney — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:21:52 +0000

Supervisor, Access Service is a new position in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library, but the person occupying it is not new to the U of L at all. Jesse Malinsky (BA '98) assumed the role in August and is proud to return to his alma mater.

"To say I was pleased to be able to come back and work here is an understatement," says Malinsky. "The position offers me the opportunity to create and try something new in the library field."

Prior to returning to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Malinsky worked seven years with Medicine Hat College (MHC) Library Services. During his time there he functioned as the library services specialist. That position's responsibilities included delivering academic writing and library instruction, providing information services, developing and supporting library systems and web services, and more.

Jesse Malinsky is most at home walking the library floor, making sure its patrons are being served well.

"MHC and the U of L are partners in the libraries' integrated library system. While there, I often liaised with the staff at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says Malinsky. "Before arriving here, I knew they were a dedicated and talented group. They are always asking, "How can we be better?" The needs of the students are always the first priority."

Returning to Lethbridge represents a return to his roots in the library. Before working in Medicine Hat, Malinsky was employed at Lethbridge College as the evening circulation supervisor before later migrating to information services.

"My role in Medicine Hat was arguably more analytical and technical in nature. My new position here requires those skills as well, but there is also a greater human dynamic when working in public service," he says.

As the supervisor of Access Service, Malinsky's responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations of the General Services Desk, Document Delivery Services/Interlibrary Loans, stacks maintenance and participation in a variety of library committees.

"I am very fortunate to work with a great group of people, who are dedicated to delivering the best service possible to the patrons of the library," he says. "I was worried that I would lose touch with students because I wouldn't be in a classroom or in information services, but I'm pleasantly surprised that this isn't the case."

As the supervisor, he also has the opportunity to oversee 15 to 20 student assistants.

"They definitely keep me busy, and pleasantly so. It is good to have a keen group of students with a broad variety of studies – it helps keep me sharp and hopefully more in tune with students' needs," he says.

Malinsky is usually easy to spot in the library. You can find him zipping among the levels, and is almost always wearing a necktie.

"Yes, the tie is my signature," he says. "I've been wearing them almost daily for the past 10 years. At Medicine Hat, a co-worker said, "I started here five years ago and about 6 to 8 guys wore ties. You are the last." I took a little pride in that."

He has in excess of 50 ties in his collection, none of which have books or cartoon characters on them, and uses a variety of knots to tie them – though the Pratt/Shelby is his knot of choice.

While some may question the continuing value of libraries in today's easy to access information age, Malinsky does not hesitate to tout its virtues.

"I still see the library as an ivory tower," he says. "Academic libraries contribute to and facilitate academic/intellectual discourse. We provide human services to access, evaluate and organize information to enhance the academic achievement of our patrons. Though it is more complex than that, it is a sad day if we cannot find value in those simple concepts."

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Malinsky returns to familiar setting

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:43:31 +0000

"To say I was pleased to be able to come back and work here is an understatement," says Malinsky. "The position offers me the opportunity to create and try something new in the library field."

Jesse Malinsky is most at home walking the library floor, making sure its patrons are being served well.

As the supervisor, he also has the opportunity to oversee 15 to 20 student assistants.

Malinsky is usually easy to spot in the library. You can find him zipping among the levels, and is almost always wearing a necktie.

He has in excess of 50 ties in his collection, none of which have books or cartoon characters on them, and uses a variety of knots to tie them – though the Pratt/Shelby is his knot of choice.

While some may question the continuing value of libraries in today's easy to access information age, Malinsky does not hesitate to tout its virtues.

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Library projects have students helping students

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:57:39 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library is involved in a pair of recent initiatives that highlight its commitment to student service.

A pilot project launched in early March is aimed to provide improved IT support in the library, especially on evenings and weekends. Computer-related questions are often asked at the Information & Research Assistance Desk or the General Services Desk, which are staffed by librarians and technical services staff whose expertise may not be in this area. While the library has an internal IT staff that takes calls during the day, this resource is unavailable after hours. Enter the Peer-Assisted Technology Support Students (PATTS).

A group of seven, newly-hired student assistants, several of whom have new media or previous computer experience, have been trained in both hardware and software issues that library staff often encounter. Software questions include those regarding Microsoft Office, Blackboard/WebCT and Moodle; while hardware issues they will be able to handle include printing problems, microfiche scanning and printing, projector and laptop use in group work rooms, problems with library computer stations, as well as the circulating equipment such as laptops, digital cameras, projectors and video cameras.

"The library has 176 distributed (sit-down) computer stations and 33 (stand-up) public access stations, which are very highly used," says Jeremy Pierson, the Technical Specialist in the library responsible for hiring and training the students. "The PATSS program will hopefully alleviate the number of technical questions received at the other service desks and provide not only improved service after-hours, but quicker response times during the day when IT staff aren't always available to immediately respond."

Pierson notes that students are often the best people to help their peers with technical issues, as they are more familiar with course software and can often be more tech-savvy.

The PATSS station will be in a highly visible location when entering the library, immediately beside the Information & Research Assistance Desk. It will be staffed from 1 p.m. to close on weekdays and during all library opening hours on weekends, including extended hours which begin closer to exam time.

The library also recently received nine new circulating Macintosh laptops, purchased by the ULSU through their Quality Initiatives Proposal fund. These replace the five laptops which were purchased with this fund in 2007-2008. Circulating laptops are a high-demand item, and requests for Macs especially, has been growing.

Through both the introduction of PATSS and the increased availability of student-use laptops, the library has partnered with students to continue to improve the library's technical services to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community.

Library projects have students helping students

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:48:51 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library is involved in a pair of recent initiatives that highlight its commitment to student service.

A pilot project launched in early March is aimed to provide improved IT support in the library, especially on evenings and weekends. Computer-related questions are often asked at the Information & Research Assistance Desk or the General Services Desk, which are staffed by librarians and technical services staff whose expertise may not be in this area. While the library has an internal IT staff that takes calls during the day, this resource is unavailable after hours. Enter the Peer-Assisted Technology Support Students (PATTS).

A group of seven, newly-hired student assistants, several of whom have new media or previous computer experience, have been trained in both hardware and software issues that library staff often encounter. Software questions include those regarding Microsoft Office, Blackboard/WebCT and Moodle; while hardware issues they will be able to handle include printing problems, microfiche scanning and printing, projector and laptop use in group work rooms, problems with library computer stations, as well as the circulating equipment such as laptops, digital cameras, projectors and video cameras.

"The library has 176 distributed (sit-down) computer stations and 33 (stand-up) public access stations, which are very highly used," says Jeremy Pierson, the Technical Specialist in the library responsible for hiring and training the students. "The PATSS program will hopefully alleviate the number of technical questions received at the other service desks and provide not only improved service after-hours, but quicker response times during the day when IT staff aren't always available to immediately respond."

Pierson notes that students are often the best people to help their peers with technical issues, as they are more familiar with course software and can often be more tech-savvy.

The PATSS station will be in a highly visible location when entering the library, immediately beside the Information & Research Assistance Desk. It will be staffed from 1 p.m. to close on weekdays and during all library opening hours on weekends, including extended hours which begin closer to exam time.

The library also recently received nine new circulating Macintosh laptops, purchased by the ULSU through their Quality Initiatives Proposal fund. These replace the five laptops which were purchased with this fund in 2007-2008. Circulating laptops are a high-demand item, and requests for Macs especially, has been growing.

Through both the introduction of PATSS and the increased availability of student-use laptops, the library has partnered with students to continue to improve the library's technical services to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Northern Lights

trevor.kenney — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:18:13 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library's current display, Northern Light, highlights life in the Arctic, covering topics such as history, health, art, literature, hunting traditions, environmental issues, social issues and more. The display ties in with the current art display in the Helen Christou Gallery: The Arctic Landscape: Inuit prints from the U of L Art Collection. For more information on life in the Arctic, head to the library, look over the materials and check out any items that may be of interest. Or ask the General Services Desk and the library staff will retrieve items.

UNews - General Services

Malinsky returns to familiar setting

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Malinsky returns to familiar setting

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Library projects have students helping students

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Library projects have students helping students

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Northern Lights

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