Welcome back!

We are on the cusp of a new year and a new semester at Stevenson U. May it be for you, faculty and students, a time of insight and creativity, laughter and joy! I am looking forward to hearing Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, on January 17th. As many of you know, I have always been interested in healthy food, in particular, vegetarian choices, so this speaker will be of great interest. I am also giving a Booktalk on one of my favorite guilty pleasure authors, Sue Grafton, who just came out with V is for Vengeance. The book was quite a page-turner, so this discussion will be a lot of fun. Keep in mind that the library staff are ready and willing to help with your research needs. Have a great semester!

Our CSA Project

You may have seen emails in the daily announcements inviting the Stevenson Community to participate in our community supported agriculture project. The veggies that arrived today were so colorful, Sue Bonsteel and I just had to take some pictures to share with you so you could see what you are missing! By all accounts, the folks who have participated in this venture have been thrilled with their weekly delivery from One Straw Farm. Several participants have commented that they are learning how to cook new things, and that the taste of these fresh organic vegetables is incredible fresh and flavorful. I am hopeful that we will be able to continue this next summer.

Summer in the Library

Commencement is tomorrow, and the library staff are getting ready for a busy summer of skill refreshment punctuated by a couple of retreats. We will see students, which is always nice, but they'll come in larger groups toward the middle of the summer season. Next week, we'll have a Summon demo, preparatory to choosing a discovery system for the SHARC catalog: the overlay of a discovery system like Summon should enable students to have a more google-like experience searching the catalog and our subscription databases. Other projects: we're picking out a new pattern for anticipated carpet replacement (come and vote for your favorite from the samples available near the library entry); working on a self-guided audio tour that will feature use of QR Codes; I'll be leading a kick-off Deep Dive workshop on the Learning Commons model; library staff will also take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator soon to prepare for a discussion on team-building to be led by Maureen Sullivan in July. Lots going on! Have a great summer!