Spring 2019 Missouri branch library update
Posted: May 31, 2019
The Missouri branch library is in the middle of the usual mix of hello-and-goodbye for this time of year, planning to bid our graduating and departing students farewell for the next parts of their education or careers while welcoming the new. This year, we are planning to make some changes over the summer that we hope will be beneficial to everyone.
The library is working to consolidate all of the recent print books on the first floor to make it easier to find copies of your textbooks and recent references, if you wish to consult them. We will keep the Whole Person Collection in the same location. The basement shelves will retain the most useful older books and the older journals that are still being consulted as we continue to remove the less useful ones.
Much more excitingly for most of our students, we will also begin to add new study furniture and arrangements: we are in the process of selecting and ordering new single-user study furniture for the quiet zone in the basement. We hope to further define the basement as a quiet zone and retain the upper story for group study space.
The library is also going to re-launch the technology study room on the ground floor as a focus point for accessibility, analytical, and artistic software. We have added a number of useful programs and tools to that space, including a brand new computer with extra capacity, software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, Natural Reader, MeshMixer, SPSS, and Zoom Pro; a new scanner; new soundproofing; and more. This room will go onto a library-run reservation system that will still allow spontaneous use (you’ll need to request the key at the desk), but prioritize reservations for use of the specialized equipment. A more detailed article will follow when the room formally launches as a service.
The library is also delighted to be sponsoring a new student club on the Missouri campus focused on 3D printing: the Still 3D Club!
We have hired student staff for the summer term and are pleased to have many returning student workers in the fall. We are also holding a few vacancies open for new students or for students who decide they’d like to try working in the library, so if you are interested, please contact Debra Loguda-Summers, CLSS, library public services manager.
Enjoy your summer, and come visit us!
By Susan E. Swogger, MLIS, Missouri campus branch library manager, liaison librarian for A.T. Still University (ATSU)-College of Graduate Health Studies & ATSU-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health