2013 - Patent and Trademark Resource Center Association

Honolulu, HI

Hawaii State Library - Federal Documents Section
Submitted by: Stewart Chun

Aloha to all of you and hope you are coping with the severe weather changes we are reading about in Hawaii. Emily Dovermann, Arlene Nagamine and I have been trying to reestablish our PubWEST connection. Our old Cassis computer was starting to give us problems, so I thought this would be the time to try and get an updated computer and operating system in place since Windows XP is scheduled to be unsupported in a few years. Continue reading

Houston, Texas

Fondren Library
Submitted by: Esther Crawford

We were delighted to host an America Invents Act Roadshow event on September 26, 2012. It was a full house with approximately 156 attendees.

Little Rock, AR

Arkansas State Library
Submitted by: Daniel McKay

In September of 2012, we hired Daniel McKay as our new Reference/Patent & Trademark Librarian. Michael Strickland will continue to serve as the PTRC representative. April brings us another reference librarian, Jessica McGrath, who will soon begin preliminary training to assist patrons in our PTRC.

Within the last year, we renamed the division that manages our PTRC from “Library Services” to “Information Services” and moved the location of our patent desk from the 2nd to the 1st floor of the Arkansas State Library. Continue reading

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Public Library
Submitted by: Stella Mittelbach

On September 14, 2012, staff from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office put on an all-day program at Los Angeles Public Library about the American Invents Act and the event was also webcast. Approximately 75 people, mostly attorneys, paralegals, and inventors, attended the presentation. Patent reform coordinator, Janet Gongola, and five other speakers, including two administrative patent judges, explained the many provisions and proposed rules of the new law.

Louisville, KY

Louisville Free Public Library
Submitted by: Rae Shepherd-Shlechter

To begin with, the Louisville Metro Inventors Council is no longer active. Louisville still has its SCORE, Small Business Development Center, Community Ventures, Incorporated, its own Innovation and Commercialization Center (handled by Enterprise Corp.), LVL1 (a new hacker space), and me, Rae Shepherd-Shlechter, the Patents and Trademarks Librarian. My focus continues to be on the independent inventor and to help with the successful commercialization of whatever intellectual property he/she creates. I am very lucky to have so much support from the small business community and remain delighted that these groups continue to send me so many referrals. Continue reading

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis Central, Hennepin County Library System
Submitted by: Walt Johnson

No big or drastic changes at Minneapolis Central (Hennepin County library system) during 2012. A couple highlights:

For the first time I did a couple “patent talks” at one of our suburban libraries in addition to my monthly class downtown. Turnout was good and I’ll continue to do more during 2013. In September Minneapolis Central was one of eight PTRCs to host the AIA Roadshow. Between the attendees at the library and those who viewed it online, Continue reading

Morgantown, West Virginia

Evansdale Library, West Virginia University
Submitted by: Marian Armour-Gemmen

Evansdale Library at West Virginia University has been a depository since 1991. The Evansdale Library serves Engineering, Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, Education, Creative Arts and Physical Education. I continue to work with university departments and the WVU Office of Technology Transfer as well as independent inventors. Different department I have spoken to about patent and trademarks include Horticulture, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, General Engineering and Law.

My interaction with the Law School has been quite extensive this year. Continue reading

Orono, ME

University of Maine
Submitted by: Martin Wallace

Established in 1993, the Orono, Maine PTRC is located at the Raymond H. Fogler Library’s Science & Engineering Center at the University of Maine. I have been the PTRC representative since August 2006, assisting patrons from both the University and from around the state.

2012-2013 has been pretty much business as usual at the Orono PTRC, with one notable exception. In September I arranged a visit by Craig Morris, Managing Attorney for Trademarks Outreach at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Continue reading

Piscataway, NJ

Rutgers University, Library of Science and Medicine
Submitted by: Ellen Calhoun and Connie Wu

“Chemistry research at Rutgers #1 in the nation for federal funding” – read all about it at http://vpr.rutgers.edu/news/node/86. The Rutgers University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology has been among the top ten universities for research grants for over five years, but this is the first time it has reached number one status. Plans are underway for a new building for the department. Meanwhile the Library of Science and Medicine is conducting a search for the Chemistry and Physics Librarian position, Continue reading

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Submitted by: Irene Yelovich

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has been a PTRC since 1902. I’m now entering my third year as CLP’s patent librarian, and I’ve begun to focus more on how to attract people to our PTRC resources. To that end, in January we hosted an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law for a short presentation and a question and answer session about patents, trademarks, and copyright. Also in January, I started offering a bi-monthly class in the library’s PC Center that goes over the basics of what we can help people with and introduces them to the USPTO’s “12-step” patent searching strategy. Continue reading

Riverside, CA

University of California, Riverside
Submitted by: Julie Mason

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) Libraries recently celebrated our 5-year anniversary as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. The PTRC resides in the recently named Raymond L. Orbach Science Library located in the heart of the science and engineering schools on campus. The PTRC was established at UCR to stimulate economic development and technology transfer within southern California. UCR is the only PTRC within the University of California 10-campus system and one of three centers located in southern California. Continue reading

Rochester, NY

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County
Submitted by: Kate Meddaugh

First of all, let me tell you how much I look forward to attending this year’s seminar! It’s been a few years since I have gone, and I can’t wait to see all of the familiar faces and new ones as well. I am excited to learn about all of the changes that are coming for the US patent system. Jay Osborne will be attending again this year as well.

Our PTRC, inaugurated in 1999, Continue reading

Salt Lake City, UT

University of Utah, Marriott Library
Submitted by: Dave Morrison

The Salt Lake City PTRC is part of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. The Marriott Library was first designated a Patent Depository Library (PDL) in 1984; rebranded as a PTDL library; and most recently we have become one of the Patent and Trademarks Resource Centers. We have also been a federal depository library since 1893; a U.S. Department of Energy depository; United Nations, European Union, World Trade Organization and UNESCO depository; Continue reading

San Diego, CA

San Diego Public Library
Submitted by: Gary Klockenga

Gary Klockenga, Government Publications Librarian, is the new PTRC representative. He will be attending the 2013 conference in Alexandria.

In the coming months, we’ll be moving to our new building. We are looking forward to the many new features and spaces the new building will offer. Two floors of the building will be home to a new charter high school; we anticipate many possibilities for interaction with the students and faculty. Continue reading

Seattle, WA

University of Washington, Engineering Library
Submitted by: Christina Byrne

The Seattle PTRC is located in the Engineering Library at the University of Washington.

The last year has been one of building improvements. The first phase of our “re-imagination” of the first floor of the Engineering Library is nearly complete. Our reference collection and the PTRC are located on our first floor. The floor also is the primary business center of the library, with circulation, reference and reserve, in addition to computer workstations, Continue reading

Smithtown, NY

Smithtown Library
Submitted by: Will Salas

The Smithtown Library officially opened its PTRC operations on Jan 10, 2013. Guest speakers Neil Massong and Tom Turner where on hand as well as 61 patrons to discover what PTRC have to offer.

On March 19 The Smithtown Library hosted the Inventors and Entrepreneur’s Club of Suffolk County. Over 40 inventors, small business owners, IP professionals and curious patrons were in attendance.

That’s it for now!