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It's that bitter-sweet time
of year again, when we have to say goodbye to about a third of our
student workers as they graduate and move on. We are so proud of what
they have accomplished, but we also always wish they didn't have to
leave! Angela Mircsov started at the library as a freshman, LaToya
Jones and Shawna Warner
as sophomores, and Culeta Byars, Latisha Grier, Ryan Young and Laura
Podeschi all came to us
during their junior year.
On May 10 this year, the library held its
annual picnic for our student workers (this year's treat: pizza.) Six of the
seven library student workers who are graduating this spring lined up for
Amanda Pippitt ( (left to right): LaToya, Shawna, Culeta,
Angela (holding a pizza slice), Latisha and Ryan.
Laura came to the party too, but later.
For the second year in a row, we have invited
the graduating students to each suggest $35 worth of books for the library to
purchase in one of her or his personal interest areas. Through the
wonders of technology, we produce individual book plates that say "Selected
for Staley Library, Millikin University, by student worker [name], Class of
2006." The following are the selections so far.
- LaToya:
Ntozake Shange's For colored girls who have considered suicide when the
rainbow is enuf (video and book).
- Laura: Inner game of tennis,
by W. Timothy Gallwey;
Stargirl,
by Jerry Spinelli.
- Angie: Peanuts: the art of Charles Schulz,
by Charles Schulz.
- Culeta: Nursing Care Plans, by Marilynn E. Doenges (newest edition).
As a parting gift, Angela donated several of
her paintings to Millikin. One of those paintings (right) now
provides a dramatic focus at the library circulation desk. |
Painting by Angela Mircsov |
We were gratified to receive 125 responses to our online library web
site questionnaire during April and May. The majority of the responses (87, or 74.4%)
came from students, including seven PACE students. In answering "From
where do you access the Library web site? (choose all that apply)", 91
said "From a computer elsewhere on campus", exactly the same
number said they use it in the library (22 of those from a laptop, either
their own or borrowed from the library), while 70 said they also use the
library web site from off campus. Three-fourths of the respondents said they
find the site to be either "easy" (39.8%) or "somewhat
easy" to use. Many helpful suggestions were provided to help us make
the site even more useful as we redesign it this summer.
Here are the full
results of the survey.
One suggestion that came up half a dozen
times, and that has been made by others before, is to have some portion of
the periodicals archive database
JSTOR added to the
library's resources. Using some year-end money, we will now be able to do
so: we will provide electronic archival runs of
125 journal titles
in the Arts & Sciences for Millikin researchers come fall 2006.
The summer 2006 will see physical
changes in the library over the summer as well. We make such changes every summer, of
course; but this year's should be even bigger than earlier enhancements.
Stay tuned for the particulars!
Here's some of what we did earlier in years:
2005 (mostly staff space changes, though
we did install a new security gate),
2004 (furniture
and shelving shifts on the main and second floors to improve comfort of study
areas; creation of slanted New Books display),
September 2002
(installed oak end panels on 82 stacks for looks and stability),
April 2002 (newer furniture
throughout the building, from Illinois Wesleyan),
August 2001 (new Archives room on the main floor, newly consolidated
music listening/shelving area on third floor), and September
1999 (new sofa groupings
for study areas, among other changes).
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Our student workers are not the only ones producing
Millikin graduates this year, of
course: Two of the library's support staff
members, Gavena Dahlman and Marsha Leach, will be graduating from PACE.
Fortunately, however,
their graduation does not mean that they are leaving! Gavena has been
accepted to the UIUC
Graduate School of Library and
Information Science (GSLIS); but she will be continuing at Staley Library
while she pursues that additional qualification. We
are very proud of both Gavena and Marsha! In this picture, they pose with
Karin Borei at the PACE graduation reception on May 12 at the Decatur Club.
Marsha and Gavena have also selected books for the
library:
- Gavena: Cowgirls of the rodeo, by
Mary Lou Lecompte;
Riding Buffaloes and Broncos: Rodeo and Native Traditions in the Northern
Great Plains, by Allison Fuss Mellis. (The latter was immediately borrowed
by a student for a class paper.)
- Marsha: My house is killing me:
home guide for families with allergies and asthma, by
Jeffrey C. May ; CS
Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia (DVD) ; Just as I
am: Billy Graham by Billy Graham.
(If you ever doubted that Marsha finds bargains - all that for $35!)
In case you missed seeing these, here are the pictures from when Gavena
was named Millikin Employee of the Month
for April 2006. Quite a spring for Gavena!
 We
have added two image databases to our web resources this year, one in the
fall 2005 and one this spring. Both are listed with the art databases that
are linked from the library's home page under the "Periodicals
Databases
by
subject."
Saskia
Digital Image Archives:
30,000 digital images of paintings,
sculpture and architecture, including images from many important
collections: the Prado, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Uffizi, and the
Louvre as well as archaeological sites in Greece, Italy, Turkey, and
Egypt. (Provider:
Scholars Resource/CONTENTdm)
Bridgeman
Art Library:
Over 17,000 individual works of art including fine
art, design, antiques, maps, architecture, furniture, glass, ceramics,
archaeological artifacts, from national museums and private collections.
(Provider: Xrefer Plus)
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Print materials are still being added to Millikin's North Central
Association
Self-Study Resource Room for the many committees and other groups involved in the
self study process. Amanda Pippitt is spearheading this work. |
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  Contrary
to the May 7, 2006 Herald & Review article (p.E1), we do not buy books
because of their decorative value. In fact, rather than the article's advice
that "books smarten up your rooms," we intend that books should "smarten up"
YOU! Throughout this past academic year, we have added over
2,000 new volumes to the library's collection; and every month we list
for you what those are as we catalog them for you. April's titles are
the latest to be listed.
(Oh: you wondered about the decorating tips? You can buy books by the yard,
you can shelve them by color, you can stack them on the floor in baskets
because "[t]he casual arrangement makes them inviting" - and, imagine this,
"As a decorating technique, they work even better when they've been read"!
And then there are "Tips for collecting": you should buy stuff that interests
you. There are actually people who are paid to come up with these ideas...)
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And, enjoy
your summer!
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Karin Borei
University Librarian
and
Director of International Programs
kborei@mail.millikin.edu |
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Staley
Library newsletter May 2006
