CONTENTS |
The Collection Connection The Tale of Dewey Decimal by Nicholas Minnich Partnership. 1.a. The fact or condition of being a partner; association or participation; companionship. [ Oxford English Dictionary] Each year the library continues to grow and develop in exciting, and sometimes unanticipated ways. With each new partnership in the academic endeavor, we are finding richness, depth, and an increased ability to meet students where they are engaging with information. This year has been, for the library, a year of partnerships. Over the summer the library worked with the Office of Information Technology, the Martin Art Gallery, the Media and Communications and Art departments, the Development Office, and AT&T to create a new Information Commons. Bringing first level production software to the students along with new ways to present, preserve, and manipulate information for the faculty, the newly designed space is alive with information resources, professional and student art exhibits, and co-located journals, newspapers and films. The library is adding the element of engagement through increased outreach sessions to discuss ways the new technologies fit into pedagogical philosophies and increased information literacy sessions to assist in the discovery, gathering, sharing and creating of information. In addition, as Allentown citizens, Muhlenberg recognizes that this facility provides another link to the many community groups and schools in the Lehigh Valley. Already, local high schools are bringing students in to gain a college level research experience and faculties are signing up to engage students with electronic interactive teaching tools. The kick-off for this new space, was a real sign of partnership from across the campus. Over 200 students participated in the 20th Anniversary Celebration/Information Commons opening through the book passing, the musical performances, the author readings, the Banned Books day, the Trexler Memories video project, and the YouTube contest. The celebration highlighted the spirit of community the space provides. Real life for the library has come from the engaged presence of faculty and students, local authors, writing tutors, and Muhlenberg staff who are facilitating thoughtful conversation, collaborative project building, and active partnerships in learning. A second collaboration emerged over the last year that is having an equally positive affect on the development of our students. Long hidden in the lower levels of the library, the Writing Center's placement did not provide the right type of space for active engagement. Under the leadership of David Rossenwasser and Jill Stephen, the newly co-located Writing Center along with Public Outreach Librarians combined facilities to become the Writing and Information Consultation Center. With each distinct group serving a different purpose, this new co-location of activities is providing opportunities for referrals, collaborative discussions, and cross training. Library staff have expressed a renewed understanding of the role of the tutors and ways that library information resources can be used to assist tutors in their work. Constantly evolving the new partnership with the Writing Center is creating opportunities both anticipated, and unanticipated, to participate in conversations, bring students to the library, and creatively think about the ways spaces enhance related experiences. While there are many other partnerships to mention, I would be remiss if I overlooked one final group of people who are working with the library each day to make this year's goals possible. The Library Committee and Library Liaisons have been charged with an important duty this year as we engage in judicious rebuilding of the library collection. This five-year endeavor, supported by the College Trustees and Administration, is providing an opportunity to rebuild the depth and breadth of the campus information resources and to carefully consider what is needed to support today's curricular needs. The Library Committee and Liaisons have been actively engaging in selection training, guidelines development and collection reviews in order to strengthen the collections and further develop our selection criteria. These, often hidden, partners with the library are to be commended for their serious engagement in these endeavors. As each aspect of the library grows, so does the formation of the shared vision for the campus and the academic role today's libraries play in this vision. Partnerships, such as those talked about here, are helping these visions become realities.
At Muhlenberg College, both the librarians and the faculty play a significant role in developing the library's collections. With so many involved in the process, building and maintaining collections where the whole is greater than (or at least equal to) the sum of its parts presents quite a challenge. Last December, Trexler Library took the first step toward a comprehensive approach to collection building when the Library Committee approved the Trexler Library Collection Development Policy. This policy established the curriculum as the driving force behind what we should collect. Through the year, the library has been working guidelines to help everyone--librarians, faculty, and administration--get a better feel for how we can ensure the collection supports curricular needs and to establish collecting priorities. A month ago, the library took another big step forward when the Library Committee approved a basic template for subject collecting guidelines. Each academic division of the college will have a guideline constructed by the subject specialist librarian for the division. As each librarian goes through the exercise of creating these subject guidelines, he or she will put together an overview of the collections for the division drawing from objective measures including the Course Catalog, Source Book, library statistics, and outside collecting tools. The resulting picture will show how each subject area fits into the collection as a whole and lay out the strengths and weaknesses of our current collections. Next the librarian will work in communication with the academic department liaison to establish collecting priorities by subject and format. These guidelines will not be used in isolation. Other ongoing collection management activities, such as the collection evaluation project being conducted on a department by department basis, will work in conjunction with these guidelines to help us improve the collections, as well as fine tune our goals and priorities. We at the library are excited by the potential benefits of this comprehensive approach. Most notably, we expect to create a more accessible browsing collection and to reduce the need for students and faculty to loan from other libraries.
Thanks to Lisa DeVuono, Interim Reference Librarian Lisa DeVuono, Interim Reference Librarian for Fall Semester 2008, has worked in health-related fields for many years. As a medical librarian, she worked at the Delaware Academy of Medicine, and at ECRI, a non-profit evidence-based research and publishing company. In her role as lay chaplain at Jefferson University Hospital she supported patients, families and staff facing life-threatening illness and death. She has also been a group facilitator for poetry therapy in many arenas, including working with those living with cancer; as well as mental illness. She has been a creativity coach for the Artist Conference Network, a nationwide coaching community for artists of all kinds, and her poetry has been published in several literary reviews. Her current chapbook, published by Pudding House Press, is entitled Poems from the Playground of Risk. She lives in Upper Milford with her husband Michael London, Business Professor at Muhlenberg College.
Thank you Lisa for your excellent work with faculty, staff, and students throughout the fall semester.We will miss working with you.
Please Welcome Rachel Hamelers The library is pleased to announce that Rachel Hamelers has been hired for the Reference Services/Sciences Librarian position. In addition to overseeing and developing a reference services program, Rachel will serve as subject specialist to the Sciences. Rachel comes to the position with a strong background in medical services most recently working as a Research Coordinator at Columbia University's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and prior to that at Sloan-Kettering. Please stop over and welcome Rachel as she arrives in early January. Our thanks to all who served as members of the search committee!
WICC (Writing and Information Consultation Center Trexler Library and the Writing Center are pleased to introduce the Writing and Information Consultation Center. Located on Level A of Trexler Library, students can visit the WICC at any time during the writing and research process to get one-on-one assistance from Writing Center tutors and library staff in a one-stop shop for all their writing and research needs.
MDID Art Images: A Campus-Wide Resource
Prophecy, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, 1955, Private collection MDID Art Images is a collection of digital images that supports teaching and research on the Muhlenberg campus. The collection is maintained by the library and is comprised of more than 1250 high resolution images of art and architecture. Many of images have social, cultural, and historical significance.
Hagia Sophia (the Church of Divine Wisdom), 532-537, Saskia Ltd. The usage agreement allows for noncommercial uses, such as teaching, conference presentations, and portfolios, by Muhlenberg College faculty, students and staff. Use in publications to the open web and elsewhere, and commercial use, require permission of the vendor. We encourage you to browse the collection and draw on this wonderful resource. To access MDID, visit http://mdid.muhlenberg.edu from any PC on campus, then choose "Guest Login" to search or browse the entire collection. Email questions about MDID to kcannon@muhlenberg.edu.
|
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
