Funny how the campus environment magically transforms the latter part of August. Although Summer people-traffic at the University is traditionally light, library faculty and staff have been working through the Summer implementing Strategic Planning initiatives. At both the Medical Center Library and the Pius XII Memorial Library, students and faculty will return refreshed from Summer vacations to new information resources and some physical plant changes.
As mentioned in the previous blog post, the Medical Center Library continues to institute the Digital Electronic Resources Initiative. The result, to date, has been the expansion of online databases, electronic journals, and e-books in the medical field for students and faculty. This Initiative brings us one step closer to the “anytime, anywhere” model of access to medical information.
Several upgrades to the Pius Library building have been completed over the Summer. In addition to Cafe Libros re-opening for the Fall semester, students and faculty will discover that the Writing Center has a brand new space and that there is a new Testing Center. Both are located on the third floor of the Anheuser Busch wing. The Writing Center is for use by students needing assistance in developing and revising their papers and projects. The Testing Center is for use by students who need specific environments within which to take tests and exams as well as for students who may miss an exam in a course. The Graduate Writing Center continues to be located on the 5th floor (room 503) of Pius Library.
One of the goals in our Strategic Plan is to provide various opportunities to engage the campus and surrounding communities. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Patricia Gregory, Assistant University Librarian for Research and Assessment, and Dr. Julia Leiberman, Professor in Modern & Classical Languages, received a grant from the American Library Association to support a reading and discussion series. “Neighbors: The World Next Door” is a series of 5 sessions led by a local scholar. Participants in each session will discuss a specific book related to Jewish Literature. A complete list of sessions are listed on the University Libraries web site http://slulink.slu.edu/ along with a podcast of Dr. Gregory and Dr. Lieberman talking about this project.
For a brief overview of the many other exciting projects, services, and resources that have been implemented for this new semester, take a look at the University Libraries first issue of our e-newsletter at: http://slulink.slu.edu/newsletters/9_07.pdf This new publication will appear on the University Libraries web site monthly.
Looking at our Strategic Plan goals and objectives, the faculty librarians and staff of the University Libraries have made great leaps in implementing key information services and library resources. Going forward in the coming year we will be working on an active off-site storage facility that will house about 500,000 historical bound journal volumes; continue to digitize our rare and unique materials; and re-invent library spaces as information hubs and as gathering places to share ideas and create new knowledge. The overall goal is always to provide the SLU community with the best in information resources and library services, both in physical and virtual environments.
