Happy New Year!

Welcome back, or simply welcome for those who are new to Stevenson University! Both libraries (Greenspring and the School of Business) will close early this week, and regular hours will resume when classes begin on January 12th. I want to remind you that if you have a need for Reserve material to be made available to your students, please contact a library staff member as soon as possible. We have been busy over the Winter Break updating the Library website, adding databases, and getting things ready for you and your students. We are also responding to suggestions we have received from students in Dr. Leeanne Bell's OCO class last semester, so watch for some improvements. One that we are working on is creating a group media viewing room on the first floor. New computers were purchased by the IT Department (thank you to Tom Hopkins and the IT Staff for this) and installed in the LRC 17 Library Instruction Room. The new machines, in addition to upgraded wiring, should make the LRC 17 lab comparable in terms of speed with any lab on the Greenspring Campus. Again, thanks to IT, we expanded wireless coverage to the Library Second Floor. And last but not least, we were able to purchase a new microfilm machine: this baby makes it possible to email yourself a tiff format image of your article! Watch for announcements of library tours and workshops during the first few weeks of the semester. Have a great Spring Semester and please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

What students think about the library...

It's been quite some time since I posted. It has been quite the busy Fall semester, and we are glad that students are using the libraries. The library at the School of Business has REALLY been busy: in one week, Sara Godbee's records indicate over 900 students came into the library at Owings Mills. We are guessing that many students living in the residence halls enjoy the convenience of a quiet library in which to study, do reserve readings, computing work, and meet with study groups located just across the parking lot from the dorms. What this indicates is that we need to do some thinking about other library sites on that campus.

Meanwhile, at the Greenspring Campus, things are jumping. Now that papers are due, the reference librarians are busily helping students locate materials. My most challenging question came from a SU student looking for primary source materials relating to the Byzantine Empire. Such fun! Really, I so enjoy the student contact, and a challenging question or two to enliven my work day. Today is even busier because 3 of my staff are presenting or otherwise involved with the MILEX conference!

What I really want to talk about is how excited the library staff are about working with Dr. Leeane Bell and her Proxemics classes. These students are learning about space and human communication, and how the two interact with each other, and they are applying what they have learned to help us to design and reconfigure the Greenspring Campus Library. One "aha" moment came when students revealed that they feel self-conscious entering that library because of the layout, and that they hesitate to ask for help because of the way the large Reserves Desk is set up. Who knew! We have lived with that setup for probably 15 years or more! And we have just gotten accustomed to it. The fact that Dr. Bell's students are willing to open and up and tell us what they think will result in a better functioning library for future generations of SU students! Thanks, guys!

Faculty who may be reading this, stand by to hear about a new Renovation Committee. I will be putting this together in partnership with faculty on the Learning Beyond Committee and of course the FLAC (Faculty Library Advisory Committee) soon.

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!