Alyssa Wichers (left) is taught how to use EBSCOhost by Library Assistant Elizabeth Fox

The library assistants at the Hilton M. Briggs Library make it their business to help students in their research. The library research assistants are also known as librarians at the Briggs Library.

If there is anything a student needs to find for research, a research assistant can check online databases or files of documentation to aid a student in his or her quest for information.

The assistants will then help locate the indicated information. If the information is not in the library, then they can get the resource from another library. Research assistants find out first what it is that a student needs and then what level of information the student needs.

Library administration is a complex system. The chief university librarian – the director of Briggs Library – oversees everything. There are a total of 12 faculty members. Their educational background must include two Master’s degrees in library science or associated programs.

The faculty is split into three units of service. These units are Public Services, Technical Services and the University Archives. A department head oversees each service unit. In each service department, research assistants are tasked with making documents available to the public, as well aiding students in locating government documents and microfilm, documents, or journals for students’ research.

The Briggs Library is also a federal depository library, an institution made by the Federal Depository Library Program. This means that the library receives federal documents from the government printing office for free, with the stipulation that those documents are checked out and used without restriction.

‘Trying to educate students’

Vickie Mix, assistant professor and government documents librarian, oversees the library’s adherence to the federal depository guidelines under Title XLIV of the United States Library Code. These guidelines include making documents public and reporting library conditions.

Mix said the Briggs Library receives about 76 percent of federally distributed documents. This makes the Briggs Library the largest depository library in South Dakota.

“We’re trying to educate students into becoming more information literate,” said Mix. “They must not only learn how to find information, but they must also learn to accomplish specific research purposes in an academic, ethical and decipherable way.”

One online resource used is the InterLibrary Loan, or ILLiad, which can be found on Desire2Learn. With this system, students can get items from other libraries on loan, sometimes costing up to $20; however, journal articles are free.

According to Mix, along with the ILLiad, the library has started to produce more video tutorials and software. Podcasts and other web-based technologies are new ways to deliver services to students.

“Today, we have such marvelous tools,” said Mix. “We now have online chat and real-time virtual reference. Currently, it’s called Meebo. We’ve been engaged with that for about a decade now.”

Service points students in right direction

The Technical Services branch includes acquisitions, cataloging and serials, which all point students in the direction of the right sources they need to find. Librarians in cataloging create catalog records, organize information by labeling those records and make bar codes for each record. Those in the Acquisitions Department are the ones who buy the books that are not government documents or serials.

The Serials Department purchases the serial numbers, which help identify resources appropriate for information services to have. The Public Services Department then makes those resources available.

Material accessible anywhere

The University Archives Department processes and preserves documents important to a student’s historical research. Objects like staples, clips and newspaper clippings are removed from documents because of their acidic components that might damage the documents.

Stephen Van Bruen, Archives Department head, and Ruby Wilson, a Daschle Project associate, make sure every document in the archives collection is in PDF documents on the library website. Students can check those PDF files out and print them anytime off campus, so they do not have to go to the library.

Program Assistant Tracia Hogue recently transferred from the Department of Engineering Technology and Management to the Department of Plant Science, bringing with her energetic personality.

“I was and am very social, I’ve always been social,” said Hogue. “I definitely enjoy being around people.”

In her hometown of White, S.D., Hogue has been an active member in the White Community Club, which raises money to put back into the community.

“I don’t really participate in it anymore,” said Hogue. “But I am still working as the secretary treasurer. So, I’m not done yet.”

Question: What is your history with SDSU?

Answer: Back in 2001, I applied for a secretarial position in engineering technology and management. That’s where I started. And I stayed there for 10 years. And now, I just recently moved into this position in the Department of Plant Science over a month ago.

Q: How did you move from electrical engineering to plant science?

A: It was a job opening. You could say it was just a step up for me. So, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to move to plant science.

Q: What are your everyday tasks as a plant science program assistant?

A: Well, I am just starting out, you know, I’m learning things everyday. I do the PARs [Personnel Action Requests], which is for a faculty member who changes his or her title, if he or she changes her wage, anything like that is included in the PARs. And then, I also do fund exchanges, which are basically moving funds around and paying people, stuff like that. I keep track of all the personnel files. We have about 160 to 170 people in the department. It’s a task and a half. (Laughs) So, I am you know, like I said, new to this. It’s a whole new thing, quite different from what I did in the engineering building. Over there, I dealt mostly with students. So instead of keeping track with faculty and grad students and employees, I was keeping track of students. This would help me keep watch of their credits and, you know, things like that. So, as far as the change, now I’m taking care of people’s salaries versus taking care of a student’s grade-point average and credits. So it’s kind of along the same lines, but a little different. And it’s, of course, important because we want people to get paid.

Q: What made you pick SDSU as a place to work, and were you looking at any other colleges to work for?

A: No. Because I have lived here for so long, this is where I grew up, and I left and came back for a short time to raise my kids in White. So, no, I really wasn’t looking at any other colleges to work in. But I kind of was looking at the long-term retirement plan and things like that. And when I first started working here, I didn’t know for sure if I’d get to work with students, but I like to work with students. Well, I like to work with people, period. It doesn’t matter if it’s students or faculty. I just like to be around people. So, I had worked at a job in a warehouse here in Brookings. And that hurt my back. So, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do any sort of physical work anymore. So then, I thought I would look here and eventually landed the job. Then, a couple years after I worked here, there was an opportunity for me to take classes. So – and I wasn’t looking back at getting my degree – I was just looking at some classes that might further my knowledge in my job. And so, I looked at some computer classes. I like to work with computers and do all that kind of stuff. So, I had one class. And then, I just decided, well, you know, this is kind of nice. So, then, I took another class. Eventually, the instructors in my department where I worked had encouraged me to go back to school, and so I did. And so I graduated in May 2010 and earned a degree in electronics engineering and technology. And so, I would have never done that, had I not come to SDSU to work.

Q: What do you think about when reflecting back on that experience?

A: I look at that as really sort of a good thing. Now, I’m working on my degree in counseling. On the other side of the spectrum, you know. (Laughs) So, I went from engineering to counseling, and so I just like the diversity in that. But like I said, I like to work with people.

Students check out Macs in the SDSU Bookstore. The new Apple store has had sustained success since students moved in three weeks ago.

The SDSU Apple Store has become a convenience for both students and faculty since it opened this summer. That convenience has reflected in sales and general buzz for one of 30 Apple stores opening on college campuses nationwide.

Now, there is easy access to computers and other technical gear.

“Things weren’t very active here, starting out right after new student orientation,” said Stephen Brua, marketing coordinator for the SDSU bookstore. “As time went on, business really started to pick up. We’ve sold close to 50 Macbooks. The iPads have been selling, too. Recently, we just blew our whole inventory of 13-inch and 15-inch computers.”

Brua has been a part of the Apple Store’s development since opening. He said the notion of the Store had been lingering for quite some time.

Other accessories seeing high sales are headphone brands like Skullcandy and UrbanEars. According to David Hubbard, employee and iPad expert, the latter brand has been a big seller.

Smaller ticket items, such as laptop cases, wireless keyboards and styluses, have sold out. Prices on Mac computers are also comparative to other suppliers.

“The store does a good job supplying students with items at competitive prices,” Hubbard said.

Compared with other computer stores, the SDSU Apple Store prices items like Macbooks from $200 to $250 less. Software like Microsoft Office Pro costs about $100, whereas other suppliers tag it to $150.

The Apple Store works in conjunction with the eSDSU Laptop Center. Five Mac repairmen are employed there in case hard drives need to be replaced or have crashed. These repairs are all free of charge.

Training sessions are given at basic, intermediate and advanced levels. These are for those who want to learn computer use or graphic design.

Plant Science Interim Department Head Tom Cheesbrough discusses his past present and future.

Newly appointed Plant Science Interim Department Head Tom Cheesbrough is no stranger to the SDSU campus. Cheesbrough has been part of university faculty for 20 years.

He has moved often, most recently just four weeks ago.
“As you can see with my office, I have a lot of unpacking yet to do,” said Cheesbrough.

Cardboard boxes sit in every nook and cranny of his new second floor office. It isn’t too drastic a move for Cheesbrough though.

“My original office was down on the first floor,” he said.

Q: What has been your history with SDSU?

A: Well, faculty positions – usually the hiring for faculty positions – takes six months to a year to be confirmed. So, when I came here, I had been applying for a number of positions. Then I came here at the end of the spring semester and was interviewed. I was offered the job in June, and then I was here for the upcoming fall semester. That was when they had expanded, and they were in the process of building the Northern Plains Biostress Lab. That’s how I started out.

Q: How did you start out?

A: When I first started out teaching at SDSU, I started off as an assistant biology professor, you know, doing research and teaching. Then, I became head of the biology department and that was for eight years. Then, last year, I was the interim director for research and personnel. This year, I became the Plant Science Interim Department Head.

Q: What are your everyday tasks as the interim head of the plant science department?

A: Everyday tasks really – for a department head – are a mixture of things. I teach one class this semester: the freshmen orientation class of plant science (PS-101). As a department head, you spend a lot of your time in personnel issues and interacting with people. We spend a fair amount of time in management, doing budgets, and all those other sort of things. Also, we interact with the public on the topic of plant science. It’s definitely different from a typical faculty position.

Q: What are some of the tasks you are doing right now as the department head?

A: Probably the things that are occupying my time the most, right now, are that we have had a number of faculty, who either retired or they left. And so, we are in the midst of trying to hire new staff members. That takes a bit of time, and then, the rest of my tasks are all management kinds of things. You know, whether it is a student needing something signed, various paperwork, etc.

Q: You obviously enjoy doing what you are doing now. Was there a moment in your life that made you want to do what you are doing?

A: (Laughs) Well, a moment in my life … I think a lot of things lead up to you choosing a career in science. I’ve always liked science since I was very young. I was one of those kids who, in grade school, thought he wanted to become a chemist. So, there wasn’t just one thing that led up to that decision in my life.

Q: Before coming to Brookings, what was your education?

A: I received my bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of Wyoming. Then I did my doctorate in biochemistry at Purdue. Then, I went for a post-doctorate. Also, I had a faculty stint at Washington State University.

Q: What is some of your prior work experience?

A: Up until I came to SDSU, most of my focus was research-driven. When I worked with the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), I was a research scientist down there for a while.

Q: I take it you have moved around a lot, then?

A: Yes. I’m kind of an interesting case, there. I came to Brookings a long time ago, by way of Illinois. That was when I was with the USDA, right in Peoria. Before that, it was Washington State. Before that, it was Indiana. So . . . (laughs) I moved quite frequently.

Q: What brought you to Brookings?

A: My family and I chose to come here because where we were living was not a very good place for my kids to grow up in and go to school. Illinois, at the time, had a 25 percent unemployment rate and there was also a lot of gang activity. The schools really showed the results of those two factors.

Q: So what have you enjoyed about Brookings and the SDSU campus over the years?

A: I think it’s been a great place to live in. Like I said, the place we were living before had an abundance of unemployment and gang activity. So, it’s been nice having my wife and kids stay in a friendly environment. Also, with SDSU, it’s been interesting to watch the campus grow. I guess what I like most about this campus is the interaction with people: the students, the faculty. They are all very friendly and very interactive.

Name: Tom Cheesbrough
Hometown: Peoria, Ill.
Age: 59
Family: Wife, Valerie; daughters, Vanessa and Shan

USD alumnus Carri Hales joined the SDSU faculty last july as a math instructor. Hales said she is enjoying the campus and Brookings thus far. This will be her first experience as a university instructor.

vividly.

“My parents talk about my sixth birthday when I woke up and sat on the couch and said I was going to be a teacher,” Hales said. “And I’ve never wanted to be anything else.“

“Sometimes I would make my younger brother sit in a desk, and I made him do math problems. Then, I would grade them. It’s a memory he still doesn’t like to this day.”

Hales enjoys the SDSU campus and Brookings community, and she finds collaborating with co-workers exciting.

Question: What is your prior education and experience before landing at SDSU?

Answer: I received my undergraduate degree for math education at USD. They have a program called the Professional Development Center Program, in which you go and teach in a school for a year while the teachers you replaced in that spot are getting their master’s. So, I finished mine in one year, with secondary education in curriculum and instruction. After that year, I started teaching in Yankton and was there for 12 years, teaching math and physical science. During that time, I got my second master’s in mathematics from the university. And now I’m here.

Q:  You mentioned wanting to become a teacher when you were six. Did the inspiration just come to you?

A: I enjoyed going to school. When I was a kindergartener, you know, that was probably it: you love school and that whole type of thing. And I don’t know if that was just the influence. But that whole early experience is what I really liked.

Q: Were there any outside influences in your wanting to become a teacher?

A: Oh, yeah. Through K-12 and through college, there were different teachers who would teach a certain way, and I would be like, ‘Oh, that was really cool.’ The method they would use for their instruction and I would be, like, ‘Wow, I really understood that myself.’ Or, I’d see how they interacted with other students. There’s a ton of them who all made me who I am.

Q: What got you interested in math education?

A: Actually, when I started college I wanted to go into elementary education. I started out and after my first year of college, I had already gone through Calculus II. My advisor said, ‘You know, have you ever thought about teaching math?’ And I really hadn’t thought about doing that, of doing something specific. But then I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I kind of like it.’ So that gave me the thought of going into math education. My instructor said, ‘Well, we’ll try this next year, see what you think.’ So, I hadn’t planned on it, but I kind of fell into it.

Q: What brought you to SDSU?

A: I really liked the college atmosphere, but I didn’t want to go straight into teaching at college. I wanted to go teach at the high school level. But I worked my way up and started looking at different campuses. I knew I wanted to stay close by my hometown. That was the limitation I set for myself. Then, I saw an opening at SDSU and thought it fit very well in what I was doing. That is what brought me here.

Q: What was preparation like for you before the start of the semester?

A: I didn’t get hired until July. I didn’t move until the first part of August. I had never been to Brookings and the SDSU campus. So, being from USD, it was something else to try to find everything, like where buildings were, where to park, and all those things. It was quite a lot to get acquainted to.

Q: What is your impression of Brookings so far?

A: This is a welcoming and friendly community, wherever you go. The aesthetics of the community are very welcoming. Driving around with all the gorgeous flowers and everything to see, it just makes you feel at home. All the people I have met on campus so far have been very helpful.

Q: What do you think of the SDSU campus?

A: It’s been different. I was used to a very compact walking campus. So, here, where it’s more spread out, that took a lot of getting used to. You’re going: OK, is it going to be faster to walk this way? Or, should I drive? Am I going to be able to find a parking spot? Which lots can I park in? That was a little different for me than it just being a walking campus. Like, with USD, once on campus you’re on campus and you know where to go. But here, it’s like hmm, OK, which way should I do this? (Laughs) It’s going to be quite a time this winter.

Q: What’s it like working with the faculty, especially with your fellow math lab instructors?

A: It’s been great for me coming in and being able to have so many people that I can go and talk with. It’s been quite a great collaboration, making sure [class] is successful. In Yankton, we did a computer based recovery credit program, so I’ve been used to having computer-based programs. That helps a lot with the stuff you run into, with the classes here.