Martha Gunter- New "Campus Mail Supervisor"

Did you know that there's a new Campus Mail Supervisor in town? With the retirement of Brad Prescott, whose 13 years of dedicated service are greatly appreciated, Martha Gunter has enthusiastically stepped into the role and is already rocking and rolling! Here's a little about Martha--

Martha has been working at Print & Mail for the past 5 years as a mail sorter.  She's been married to Pat, who works in the bindery, for 19 years, they are parents to 5 children and 6 grandchildren (though you would never know it by looking at them... how do they stay so young-looking?!)

Martha's favorite part of her job is getting to know the students she works with. "I feel like they are my own kids; like I am a mom to them. In fact my own kids get jealous sometimes because I make stuff for the kids here and they wonder why I'm not making it for them!"

Martha's philosophy on life? Simple - "Always do your best no matter what it is; cleaning trash or being president of the United States."

What mail tips does Martha have for campus? "Make sure you have a proper address. And if you aren't sure what building people are in, give us a call. We love to help!"

What's on her playlist? "I like all kinds of music, well, except Gansta Rap. But mostly I'm listening to talk radio! I hope people won't judge me because of that!"

Martha's favorite thing about BYU is the spirit here. And the people. "Everyone's friendly and try to take care of each other. It's a nice community."

Martha walks about 4 miles a day delivering mail. So next time you run into Martha, congratulate her on her new position. She is awesome!!!

Printing Your Family History Workshop

Just about every month (on the first Wednesday of the month) we hold a free workshop here at the University Press Building on how to prepare your Family History for printing. This workshop is taught by our very own Carol Holland, who has helped hundreds of people get their Family Histories printed. (We print thousands of volumes of family histories every year!!!)

One of the big reasons why we hold this workshop is to help people plan and prepare their files correct, right from the get-go, so they don't put tons of hours into writing and preparing their book only to be told they need to start over.

Some of the topics discussed are:

-Basic File Preparation
-Image Scanning
-Binding Options
-File Submission

There are always lots more topics discussed from the questions that get asked by the attendees. We have all kinds of people attend- both young and old, those that are just getting excited to start, and those that have years of experience. Either way, we'd love to have you attend, too.

And we always serve yummy refreshments!!!

Sign up at here or call 801-422-1469 if you have any questions about the workshop.

Next free workshop will be held Wednesday September 5th. Hope to see you there!

GradWorks Online Theses and Dissertations

A few months ago we were approached by the Graduate Studies Department about printing and binding theses and dissertations for graduate students. The library had been helping students acquire personal copies, but recently they decided to just obtain a copy for their own collection, leaving students to find their own way to obtain personal copies.

Our phenomenal I.T. staff created  a program, GradWorks Online, to upload files, choose cover colors, including gold or silver foil for cover text, and to choose single or double-sided printing. You can also choose to have your book printed in B/W and color, or just in black and white only. And, we now sew the books with our new sewing equipment!

Wow! the books look great!!!

What's amazing is that we have already printed and bound HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of copies!!!

 What's also nice is that GradWorks Online doesn't just have to be for a thesis or a dissertation; if you want to publish a paper, scholarly work, or if you have something else you are excited to published and have hardbound (and have a book that looks stunning!), this is a great way to do it.

Visit GradWorksonline.com and see how easy it is to use.

Top Ten (plus two) Photo Book Ideas

Are you excited to make a photo book but just don’t know what you want to make a book about? You’re not alone on that one! Here are our Top Ten (plus two) ideas for a photo book:

 1.Wedding Sign-In Book. Every couple has a sign-in book at their reception, but why not make it special with pictures of the bride and groom and plenty of space for guests to write a message? A great way to capture memories that can be treasured for generations!

 2.Graduation Book. It’s a happy day when school is finally done, and here is a way to relive the memories for years to come. Make sure to take lots of pictures with friends and family, scenes from campus, your special final projects, or anything else that would make your school experience memorable. You can also access and use our BYU Photo Library, with over 100 images of the campus and campus life. Click here to view the pictures.

 3.Baby Book. Nothing is as exciting as the arrival of a new baby! Have you been taking monthly pictures and documenting your growing belly? Did you get a shot of the ultrasound? (Those are always fun to include in your book) Get lots of pictures of the glorious day that baby arrives, special visitors, and when mom and baby come home.

 4.Vacation Book. Going on a road trip? Make sure to capture every detail by taking pictures and notes! What was your travel music playlist? What airlines did you fly? What hotel did you stay in? What was the name of that little dive of a restaurant you ate at? The more details you include, the more unique your book will be. A vacation book will allow you to relive the experience again and again!

 5.Cook Book. Do you have a list of “family favorite” recipes? How about a secret recipe from Grandma, or Uncle John’s special barbeque sauce? Gather your favorite recipes and put them in a book. Type up the recipe and take pictures of the finished dish, and even shots of cooking the dish. Include a picture of who supplied the recipe, and write a little blurb about them.

 6.Family Reunion Book. Are you planning a family reunion? Remind everyone to bring their cameras! Group pictures, shots of individuals, oldest and youngest, fun activities, beautiful locations, special memories, heck, family reunions are a great chance for some fantastic pictures and stories.

7.Holiday Book. Well, it’s only the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Be creative and make a book of family traditions, Christmas recipes, favorite Greeting Cards from the past, all the lights, special ornaments, or just the joy of Christmas morning. So many possibilities…

 8.Family Memory/History Book. Is there a box full of old pictures lying around or an old scrapbook that has seen better days? Break out the scanner and get those pictures into digital files then make a book of family memories. This is also a great way to preserve some family history, too. Ask questions, get names and dates, get stories, and compile it all together in one book!

9.A Book for Grandparents. Here is a fun gift to make, and what grandparent wouldn’t like to receive a book of pictures of their grandkids?! Include quotes from the grandkids as to why they love grandma and grandpa.

10.Year Book. What did you do last year? This is a great way to go month by month and highlight all the experiences you’ve had with family and friends. Or make a book of all the holiday events throughout the year; barbeques, fireworks, trick-or-treating, dad carving the turkey, Easter egg hunts. How about choosing the 10 Biggest Events of the Year? There are so many possibilities.

 Here are two Bonus Ideas!

11.Portfolio. Have you created some fantastic artwork this year? Designed new clothes? Styled hair and makeup? How about your best graphic design projects? Taken some amazing pictures? Create a hard bound portfolio to show off your best work.

12.Missionary Memory Book. Make all those pictures you took on your mission accessible by putting them in a book! And make an extra copy for mom and dad, too. We hope this gets your creative juices flowing. Download CougarPix and get started. If you have any questions feel free to call us! 801-422-2741

It's Graduation and Wedding Season!

Spring has sprung and it is a wonderful time of the year (except for the allergy sufferers!). And with the pollen, we have lots of excitement in the air; lots of folks are graduating and many happy couples are getting married. We have designed cards for both occasions in CougarPix. The graduation cards have the BYU seal on them and you can add your photo and tell the world who you are, when you are graduating, and anything else you'd like! Watch how easy it is... We also have designed a number of Wedding Cards. Again, these are easy to use in the CougarPix program. We have had a number of couples also design wedding sign-in books. They are very popular and look great! What a fun way to for all your visitors to wish you joy on your wedding day! Here's a quick video on making wedding cards... Visit CougarPix to download the program and get started!