May you live in interesting times...

I know intellectually that change is good, but this semester has to be the changin'-est one EVER. We now have a new School of Business Library at Owings Mills and a brand new Librarian to manage it, Sara Godbee. She has lots on her plate, and is stepping up to the challenge wonderfully. Getting there has been very interesting: we had to weed, select titles and ship them over to the new site. There is now small functional Paralegal Collection on-site at Owings Mills, along with a small Current Periodicals collection and business reference titles. Today saw the installation of printing in the Instruction Lab there. And, we have 3 new student Library Assistants, who are woman-ing and man-ning the front desk until 10 PM during the week (except Friday), and on weekends. In the works are extended hours for 5 days a week, so stay tuned for developments on that front. Meanwhile, at the main Library on the Greenspring campus, things are jumpin'! The Reserves Desk is busier than ever, with additional students pouring in to view media titles, check their email, attend instruction sessions, study, or just hang out. We are fortunate to have a little more seating space to accomodate them. Is it just my imagination, or is the frenzy beginning earlier this Fall than it has in other years? The good news is, we are still a place where students want to work and relax. Watch for news about our efforts to glean information from SU's students about how they want the renovated library at Greenspring to look and feel!

Welcome Back!

If you are reading this, you are thinking about the Fall Semester, right around the corner. Here's what's up in the Library!

Sara Godbee will join our Library Team on September 2d as the first School of Business Librarian. Sara comes to us from the University of Maryland University College where she worked in Access Services. This is her second career: prior to obtaining her Master of Library Science degree, Sara was a market research analyst, and has a strong background in this area. She also loves to cook!

Sara will be in charge of the new Library. Stop by and say hello. BTW, both Sara, and our own Sue Bonsteel and Gina Phillips are on the program for "How in the world? Getting Students to Think Critically", sponsored by MILEX (Maryland Information Literacy Exchange) on Friday, October 24, 2008, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. View the program at http://www.milexmd.org/conference08.html. It looks excellent!

The main Library at the Greenspring Campus has some new exhibits: one on the Baltimore Speaker Series (sponsored by Stevenson University), and one on graphic novels. You'll also notice that our Periodicals collections have moved to the second floor, in the space vacated by the Paralegal collection, which is now housed in the School of Busienss Library. Near the new Periodicals area there is some nice comfy furniture, for relaxing in while you read your latest journal, magazine, or newspaper. The removal of Periodicals from the overcrowded first floor area has freed up a little space for badly-needed student seating. We hope you like these improvements. Stop by and see us soon!

Summer in the Library

Library staff are busy with projects as usual, either tying up projects from the end of Spring Semester, or getting ready for Fall. The big news is, of course, our new University status and the name change. University status will have an impact on the library collections in terms of supporting expanded programs. This fall, we plan to begin a new Liaison model in which a librarian will be assigned to a department or program. We hope that this new approach will facilitate communication acorss the entire University and enable us to improve our responsiveness to program needs. Watch for details on this important change in this blog.

We will also unveil a new web page (with help from Jenn Brechin in the IS Dept.): I am excited that students and faculty will be able to begin searching resources like the SHARC Catalog, Central Search and the Full Text journal Locater RIGHT ON THE FRONT PAGE! No extra clicking required. Can't wait for that! And finally, our long-awaited School of Business and Leadership Library will open. In tandem with the move of some departments to the new SBL Building, we will be able to open a dedicated Archives Room that will also house the Center for Experiential History. So, lots of positive changes are coming.

Have a great summer!