New in Staley Library! Millikin University

Library staff
This summer we have said a reluctant goodbye to a long-time member of the library staff and welcomed a new staff member, both in the same week.

At the end of June, Linda Chitwood, Cataloging Associate since October 1991, retired to spend more time with her grand-children and the rest of her family. We will miss Linda a great deal, not least all the wonderful stories she would entertain us with!

Greg Sullivan is our new Cataloging Associate, selected from over thirty applicants. In May 2007, Greg earned his Master of Library Science degree May from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he focused on cataloging coursework. Most recently he worked as a graduate assistant in the UIUC Math Library, processing gift materials and creating brief bibliographic records.

Matt	Rachel
Our summer student workers provide support in all areas of the library's day-to-day services, including covering the Circulation Desk, shelving books, and providing Interlibrary Loans. Before starting his summer work schedule, Matt participated in Millikin's Introduction to Astronomy through Observation and Astrophotography summer immersion course.

photo: Amanda Pippitt

At our student pizza party in May, our then-seniors posed for a picture. Front row: Lyndsay & Vakisha. Back row: Matt, Natalie & Emily. The four women have since scattered, but Matt is completing two majors (physics as well as chemistry) and will graduate later.

On May 12, Brad Leach married his high-school sweetheart Jenn in Peoria, with his father Terry officiating. Brad was a student worker in the library for several years, Brad's mother Marsha has been Office Manager at the library since June 2000; and she, Brad and Terry are all Millikin grads. Some of the library staff attended the festive wedding on a perfect spring day.

New books & other materials

Earlier newsletters

Library services
Have you seen the English Department's 2007 Summer Reading List? The library already owned many of the titles, and we have ordered most of the rest. A selection is on display next to the stand-up email workstations at the front of the library's main floor, and all may be checked out.

Six more libraries’ catalogs have been added to I-Share, Staley Library's integrated library system. This brings the number of Illinois academic institutions participating in I-Share to 71. The new I-Share participants are:

Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges
Knox College, Galesburg
Monmouth College, Monmouth
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing, Peoria
Trinity International University, Deerfield

As a result, there are now over 9 million unique titles, many with multiple ownership, listed in the I-Share Universal Catalog. Most of these can be borrowed on interlibrary loan directly through our online catalog, or through a visit to any one of the 71 member libraries. (Bring your Millikin ID.)

You may have already noticed some recent enhancements we have implemented in the online catalog: book reviews, author notes, and images of book jackets. A title search for Cigarette Century illustrates these new features.

The library's home page, under "Featured Resources", currently highlights the many subject-specific new research guides that the librarians continue to develop.

As 16 students make ready to leave for their Fall 2007 semester adventures in various parts of the world, including London, Amsterdam, France, Italy, Argentina, Australia and Taiwan, 14 students have already signed up to spend the Spring 2008 semester in Thailand with Millikin professors Kevin Murphy and Jo Ellen Jacobs. The deadline for applying for Spring semester 2008 semester study abroad is October 1, 2007.

In early July, I had the good fortune of joining a small group of international programs administrators on a three-day familiarization tour in the Netherlands of Webster University's Leiden campus. "The visit was designed for [us] to gain firsthand knowledge of Webster’s programs, facilities, and staff in Leiden, and acquire a better understanding of the rich culture in which the campus operates." The visit met those objectives and more! In the pictures below, we pose in front of the canal-side headquarters and near what will be the new student dormitory, take a rainy-day city walking tour, and linger at an outdoor café table outside our hotel. Yes that is a McDonald's you see in that last picture - but we did not go in!

Here's the view from a Walden Leiden classroom

Karin Borei
University Librarian
and Director of International Programs
kborei@millikin.edu

Staley Library Millikin University 1184 West Main, Decatur, IL 62522 phone 217-424-6214 fax 217-424-3992	At Brad's wedding	©2001+ by Millikin University Board of Trustees MU web disclaimer Comments? Send us a message
The library has been publishing electronic newsletters since September 1999.