Features
— American Customs of Celebrating St. Patricks Day— Saint Patrick
Marcy's Musings
— Our Iceberg is MeltingRestaurant Review
— Some Wee Little Tasties to Go with All that Good Green BeerSpotlight
— Who's That Pretty Baby?Kudos
— Thanks for a Job Well Done— 2006 Performance Award Winners
— Peep Award Winners
The Straight Scoop
— Communications Survey 2006Features
American Customs of Celebrating St. Patricks Day
Here are a few Fun Facts about American customs of celebrating the day:
Festivities can begin up to a week before Saint Patrick’s Day. Many popular Irish entertainers go on tour at this time.
Colleges and universities have special Irish programs: poets, violinists: fiddlers, singers, dancers, actors, historians, storytellers and Celtic folklorists.
The highlight of the American celebration is the afternoon St. Paddy’s Day Parade in larger cities, such as New York, Chicago and Boston, which were the traditional settling places of the early Irish immigrants to America. Boston’s Parade is the oldest in this country and began in 1737.
Evenings are filled with dinners, dances, and celebrations in homes, restaurants, pubs, and Irish clubs. Many American bars serve green beer (a custom not shared in Ireland!)
Shamrock-shaped cookies are eaten by the ton and shamrocks are worn in pin form as well as other jewelry.
Many people also get into the spirit of the day by wearing green clothing and sending St. Patrick’s Day cards to friends and family. Green Mardi Gras beads are a new custom just appearing on the scene.
A final interesting fact about the people who started it all:
There are more Americans of Irish descent than the Irish. There are 4 million people on the island of Ireland and 40 million in the USA!
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.
Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish Christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."
Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name.
There are several accounts of Saint Patrick's death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D. His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the "evil eye." Another account says that St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury, England and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey. Today, many Catholic places of worship all around the world are named after St. Patrick, including cathedrals in New York and Dublin city.
Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations.
Submitted by:
Diane Kennedy
http://www.st-patricks-day.com/index.asp
Have some fun with this word search in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick's Day Word Search
Marcy's Musings
Our Iceberg is Melting
Change is all around us:
• Virtually, with new technology and improvements that our users have come to expect
• Physically, the campus landscape is changing directly around us, and within the library building itself there are changes (walls of reference coming down, computer cluster moving to the first floor from the second, just to name a few)
• Organizationally, there are departments that are assessing workflows, processing, and the best ways to re-invent themselves in order to meet our users expectations
So I thought it would be appropriate for me to review a new book on the "eight-step process of successful change" entitled Our Iceberg is Melting. If you liked "March of the Penguins" and "Happy Feet" then this is the perfect book for you. It is the story of a colony of penguins who haven't changed for many, many generations. Then one day one of them learns that the iceberg they have lived on for hundreds of years "appears" to be melting, and worried about their future, he suggests to the head penguins that they need to move. The ensuing fable is a great way to get people thinking about change and one of the authors just happens to be John Kotter, author of the best-selling management book "Leading Change" (library copy HD 58.8 .K65 1996)
Here is the eight-step process -- the authors give it to you at the end of the book, just in case you want to "get right to the good stuff" but I highly recommend reading the book first.
The Eight-Step Process:
1.) Create a sense of urgency
2.) Pull together the guiding team
3.) Develop the change vision and strategy
4.) Communicate for understanding and buy in
5.) Empower others to act
6.) Produce short-term wins
7.) Don't let up
8.) Create a new culture
Here are some great sources (all accessed 3/5/07) on change management to get you started:
http://www.whomovedmycheese.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management
http://home.att.net/~nickols/change.htm
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/30/toolbox5.html
http://www.strategy-business.com/media/file/resilience-04-15-04.pdf
http://www.bpubs.com/Management_Science/Change_Management/
Marcy Simons
Restaurant Review
Some Wee Little Tasties to Go with All that Good Green Beer
Instead of reviewing a restaurant here are some St. Paddy's Recipes
IRISH COTTAGE BREAD
1/2c. All-Bran Cereal
1/2c. Rolled Oats
2c. Flour
1t. Baking Soda
1/2t. Salt
1t. Caraway Seeds
1/2c. Sugar
2T. Vegetable Oil
1 1/2c. Buttermilk
Mix together all the dry ingredients, then add the oil and buttermilk. Blend well. Pour batter into a greased pie or cake pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
LAMB STEW
2lbs. Cubeb Boneless Lamb
2T. Vegetable Oil
2 1/2c. Water
1 1/2t. Salt
1/4t. Pepper
1/4t. Dried Thyme
3 medium Potatoes – halved
6 small White Onions
2c. Frozen Peas
1/2c. Mushrooms – sliced large
1c. Light Cream
1/4c. Flour
Brown lamb in margarine in large Dutch oven or heavy saucepan with tight- fitting cover. Add water, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Skim off excess fat. Add potatoes and onions. Simmer covered, 30 minutes. Add peas and mushrooms. Simmer covered 15 minutes, or until lamb and vegetables are tender. Blend cream into flour; stir into bubbling stew and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. 6 servings.
IRISH POTATO LALLY
1/2lb. White Potatoes –peeled, boiled and mashed fine, cool to room temp
1/4lb. Butter – melted
4c. Sugar
8oz. Blanched Almonds – crushed
1T. Orange Extract*
6 Eggs – separated
4oz. Whiskey
2 Prepared, unbaked pie crusts
Mash the potatoes until lump-free. Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs and beat separately; the yolks until lemon-colored, the whites until stiff. Add the almonds, orange extract, sugar and egg yolks to the potatoes; mix well, then add the glass of whiskey, and when combined, gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula. Have ready 2 pie crusts and fill them with the mixture.)
Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes.
* May substitute 1c. dried sweetened cranberries, if desired
This last recipe is guaranteed to bring the leprechauns out of hiding!!
Spotlight
Who's That Pretty Baby?
Pretty as a picture and "Loves to Read" can you guess whose baby this is?
The Straight Scoop
Communications Survey 2006
In July 2006, Lou Wetherbee conducted the Library’s second survey on internal communication. Thanks to all of you who participated. The first survey took place in March 2004. That survey indicated that information flowed fairly smoothly across the library and between departments, but that vertical communication was less fluid.
Lou Wetherbee has analyzed the results of this Summers Survey. In general, she has noted improvements in seven areas:
• Receiving timely information need to do "my job"
• Personal understanding of the role of each staff member in the overall library effort
• achieving broader staff representation on committees
• in the perception of staff that they can freely communicate with Jennifer
• in the perception of the library web site (UL@ND) as a good place to find answers on policy questions or procedures.
• in understanding by staff that communication is a shared responsibility of supervisors and staff members.
• the responsiveness of departments to each other when asked for information.
Although the scores in these areas improved, there seems to be some slippage in other areas.
• staff comfort in communicating with their immediate supervisors and with the associate directors.
• faculty participation in librarywide meetings.
• the comfort of employees in all categories with disagreeing with their co-workers in public meetings.
Of the nine listed actions taken to improve internal communication (and morale) after the last survey, six received very positive ratings. These included: the Town Hall Meetings, the May Institute, the Directors lunches, Open Forums, the Staff Newsletter, and the PEEPS Program.
Other actions were less successful. 34-40% of the respondents didn’t recognize the other three listed actions, (library policy template, committee charge templates, and communication expectations for decision-makers). Among those who did know these items, the opinion about their effectiveness was fairly evenly split .
Some responses were ambiguous. On April 11 (time to be set), Lou Wetherbee will host an open meeting to allow individuals to offer additional input and to suggest specific behavioral changes that could further improve communication . More details will be posted in April.
KUDOS
Thanks for a Job Well Done
The press release described the flood at the Hesburgh Library on Monday, February 5, 2007. It described the fantastic job done by the library staff and faculty together with employees from the fire department, security police department, facilities maintenance, and risk management and safety, in minimizing the flood damage and cleaning up after the damage. The library was closed for less than seven hours, which is a tribute to the speed with which you accomplished the job.
Overall, the damage to books was relatively minor. Although about 1,500 books were slightly wet, only about 100 required further preservation treatment for water damage. The value of the preventive actions taken is seen in the much larger number books (about 8,500) removed from the shelves during the flood as well as the many stack ranges covered with heavy draped heavy plastic sheeting over the shelves so as to protect additional thousands of books from water damage. We owe special thanks to the Preservation Department' for making sure we are prepared for disasters of this kind with adequate supplies and a checklist of what has to be done when flooding occurs.
I am very proud of the responsive and responsible way in which all of you worked together - calmly, smoothly and effectively - to ensure the security of as much of our collections as was humanly possible. You did a wonderful job and we are grateful to you. I was not there that Monday as I was in Quebec City representing Indiana libraries of all kinds at the OCLC Members Council meeting. Dan Marmion called me right away so I knew of the problem. I also knew the library was in good hands - yours. Thank you very much.
Jennifer Younger
Edward H. Arnold Director of University Libraries
See pictures http://libstaff.library.nd.edu/break_time/images/water_damage/index.htm
2006 Performance Award Winners
The 2006 Performance Recognition Awards were presented on January 11, 2007
If you missed who won check out:
http://libstaff.library.nd.edu/recognition/2006/index.shtml
Peep Award Winners
And the Winners Are:
November: Carol Brach
December: Karen Malling
January: Diane Kennedy