Proctor Library’s “Extended Hours for Finals” coincides with the celebration of National Library Week

This week the Proctor Library begins a period of two weeks of extended operating hours in order to provide students with more time and more access to library resources in preparation for final exams and for the completion of final projects. It is only fitting that this same week is also “National Library Week” a period of time for the celebration of the many contributions of libraries, librarians, and library workers in communities, schools and academic campuses nationwide. The week’s theme this year is “Worlds Connect @ Your Library.”

As in all the many different types of libraries, the Proctor Library’s mission is to serve a variety of needs of our library users. During the next two weeks, students will use the Library for both individual and group study in preparation for exams, for completion of individual and group projects, for rehearsals of oral presentations, for last minute research for papers using resources inside the Library, for accessing licensed databases remotely, and for seeking assistance from the reference librarians to help in the completion of remaining portions of their work.

Also of note this week is that Tuesday April 14, has been designated “National Library Workers Day” as a day to remember the contributions of ALL those library workers, who make all the library services possible.

In the Proctor Library these workers include not only the librarians, but also the staff library assistants, the student library assistants, the housekeepers, and the security officers. Each and every one help ensure the service and learning environment that students and other members of the Flagler College community expect and enjoy from the Proctor Library. I hope all will recognize the contribution of all of these workers on National Library Workers Day and also during the next two weeks when the library workers are dedicating extra efforts and extra hours to help students during final projects and exams.

Importance of St. Augustine residents and MLK Day

The month of January has slipped by much too quickly. Classes no sooner began when we shifted our concentration to Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 19, followed by the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20.

Martin Luther King Day was given special recognition by Flagler College this year. Beginning this year the College will observe Martin Luther King Day every year, not only to honor the personal work of Dr. King but equally important to honor the work of St. Augustine’s residents as part of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly during the 1960s. This new observance is the result of a resolution passed the Faculty Senate and approved by the President of Flagler College in fall 2008.

I believe it to be very important for the Flagler College community to be aware of the work of those St. Augustine residents who are being honored by the College’s observance of Martin Luther King Day. The work of the residents, particularly during the years 1963 and 1964, contributed significantly to the Civil Right Movement and ultimately to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed and signed by President Lyndon Johnson in the summer of 1964.

The Proctor Library's collections contain several resources that provide excellent looks at that period of time in St. Augustine history, as well as years both before and beyond.

One of the more interesting items is the documentary film Dare Not Walk Alone. This film was written, directed and produced by Flagler College alumnus Jeremy Dean, and co-produced by Dr. James Gilmore, a former faculty member in the College’s Communication Department. The Library currently has four DVD copies of this documentary. Two copies are available for normal circulation from our Audio-Visual Collection (Call Number is F319.S2 D37 2008) and two copies are available in our Permanent Reserve Collection for use inside the Library only. Any member of the Library staff can help retrieve one of these copies.

More detailed information about happenings during the historic period can be found within the following two books:

If it takes all summer : Martin Luther King, the KKK, and states’ rights in St. Augustine, 1964, by Dan Warren. Call number is F319.S2 W365 2008

Racial change and community crisis : St. Augustine, Florida, 1877-1980, by David Colburn. Call number is F319.S2 C65 1991.

All are recommended, and I hope members of the Flagler College community will take some time to review at least one of the resources.

End of the Semester Excitement

The fall semester ends this week and almost everyone with whom I speak feels this semester has just flown by. We're not exactly sure what may have caused this, but the feeling is widespread. Throughout the semester our efforts are always targeted on helping the students use library tools for research and other projects. At this point, however, only a few papers and projects remain, and it is time to make sure the students are welcomed and comfortable coming to the Library to study individually and in groups, in order to be ready for their final exams...and even to finish their last minute papers. As I check our daily gate counts and as I take my walks on the floors, I am very pleased with what I am observing. We certainly have not scared too many students away, because our gate count has jumped from a average of about 2,600 entrances a day to well over 3,000 entrances on several days the last few weeks.

Even a couple end-of-the-year mishaps that one could never predict have been dealt with. We were able to deal with a two hour website outage by shifting our access to a different server. And even an elevator breakdown on two separate days did not deter one of our education classes from meeting on both days. They simply set up camp on one end of the first floor, and this created no apparent problem.

It was also exciting for all of us when we realized that right in the midst of exam preparations our trusty gate counter was about to turn over another million. One of our frequent library users, who will graduate this spring, became the six millionth person to enter the Library since it first opened in fall 1996.

#6,000,000

At the same time study groups have been gathering throughout the Library, and it always fun for me to see how the groups settle into the various areas. Some settled into the seating groups and laptop computers appeared everywhere.

My favorite thus far has been a large group I recognized using our group study rooms for two separate nights. The rooms typically top out at about 14 students, but I'm pretty certain the group exceeded 16 and they all seemed to be dilligently working at the three tables that they had separated in the room. Again, a lot of laptops were seen there.

Now students working individually were accommodated too. Most used our standard study carrels, but some preferred the floor. For one student we even got a chance to use a chair we have been sampling. It separates into a close-to-the-floor seat and the base becomes a table that can hold a laptop.

It has been fun to observe, and I may even some additional observations in the remaining days before finals end and the semester comes to an end.

Give them only one choice…and they may take the second.

Give them only one choice…and they may take the second or maybe even the third.

Yes, I know I probably should be writing about something more academic, but I just can’t help sharing some of my observations from around the Library. I took note of two things this week that just seemed to fit together for me.

Ever since the walkway along on Sevilla Street in front of the Library was reconfigured and the new concrete poured, many students and other pedestrians making the turn from Valencia Street toward the Library have decided to take a shortcut across the grass instead of walking the extra couple yards to follow the paved walk. Now, after a year has passed and the dirt path was obviously becoming a part of the landscape, it became clear that it was time for the College to pour a new permanent concrete path there. It was completed last week, and it looks and works great. It gives the students two nice alternatives.

I also heard a very interesting theory proposed by the wife of one of our librarians. It is her theory that only grass turf--never concrete walkways--should be installed on any newly landscaped area. Then, when dirt paths start to appear in areas where people are actually walking, the concrete walkways can be installed in their proper location. I love the theory!

Also during the past week, when making my normal morning inspection walks through the Library, I became more aware of another clear example of our library users not always taking the first choice offered to them. Instead of taking the study chair immediately available to them, they recognize over time that they may actually have alternatives and they will often choose the chair most comfortable for them—especially if they are going to be spending an extended period in the Library.

There are presently about eight different chair styles on the second floor, and these are based in specific locations. The so-called “comfy”overstuffed chairs and some high back leather chair make up the lounge areas by the big windows. The study carrels and work tables have straight wooden chairs (both armless and with arms). Two of the group study rooms have task chairs (both armless and with arms), and the other two rooms have wide conference style chairs. There are even two tall stools used with the technology stations in the group study rooms.

One would expect students to use the chairs in the locations in which they are originally placed, and normally that is the case, but almost every day the different style of chairs are moved to new locations and obviously used by students (or others) who prefer a particular chair.

Most moves are obvious. The softer chair usually with arms, are the ones moved the most. Now I would have never expected that any of the straight back, hard wood chairs would be moved into spaces to replace softer chairs, but it happens quite often. And even our tall stools occasionally move. I am still trying to figure out who prefers the higher rather than the normal height chair and why.

Of course, our approach is that whatever makes a student comfortable using the Library is OK with us. In fact I was considering setting up all our chairs in front of the elevator and just letting each student take along his/her favorite chair.

Just kidding!! But it would be interesting to see.

Are things disappearing from the Proctor Library?

Are we aware that things are disappearing from the Library? Those of you who frequent the Library will notice that some very familiar items have been disappearing this semester. These include paintings from the gallery space on the first floor, microfilm reels and microfilm equipment from the Research Room, and even books from the collections. Fortunately for us all the removals of these items have been planned.

Gallery wall minus Flagler Era paintings

For example, this past week eight Flagler era paintings were removed from the gallery area on the first floor of the Library in order to provide the opportunity for the College to enhance the security environment for these historic treasures. Hopefully the paintings will either be returned soon in a much more secure mode, or else we may substitute a similar collection of quality art pieces to be exhibited in the gallery space.

Our removal of microfilm reels and microfilm equipment has been much slower. Last spring we determined that we needed some of the space then occupied by the microfilm to create a quiet study area in the Research Room. At the same time there was also a need to expand the adjacent room which houses technology equipment, so plans were initiated to convert the remaining freed up floor space to that purpose. We were able to make both of these spaces available because students have substantially reduced their use of microfilm as a result of the more efficient access to journal page images provided today via subscriptions to the electronic databases-- particularly JSTOR, Proquest, Ebscohost, and Wilson Omnifile. We were able to reduce our microfilm holdings from 17 cabinets down to only 3 cabinets, and need only 2 reader printers (of the original 6) to access the remaining microfilm. As a result, we ended up with approximately 6,000 reels (75 storage boxes) of microfilm, 14 microfilm cabinets, and 4 reader printers to be removed.

Surplus reader printers & cabinets

Finding “good homes” for the microfilm and its associated equipment has been interesting. Florida’s Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library Services was the first to pick up 6 of our microfilm cabinets to store the master cassette recordings of their talking books. Our local St. Augustine Foundation, accepted one of our reader-printers, and now is finally able to print copies of their valuable historic microfilm at their own location. The remaining 3 reader-printers and one cabinet will soon be provided to the St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library, and the Florida State Library in Tallahassee will be the recipient of the final 7 cabinets.

75 boxes of surplus reels of microfilm

Our 6,000 reels of microfilm are also disappearing, but a bit slower. Seven years worth of the New York Times and twenty-five years of the William & Mary Quarterly will help the Volusia County Public Library fill in some gaps in their coverage. Unfortunately we did have a setback recently. We had geared up to provide 31 years of the New York Times, and our holdings of 14 separate political and international affairs journals to the University of Kurdistan Hawler Library in Erbil, Iraq via a very special cooperative effort involving the Southeast Florida Library and Information Network (SEFLIN), Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Library, and the U.S. Army Civil Affairs in Iraq. However, after an initial shipment of five boxes to SEFLIN, we had to suspend subsequent shipments because the U.S. Army Civil Affairs unit has left the Erbil area. We maintain hope that a new delivery channel can soon be established, and that we will be able to continue to help the cooperative effort of SEFLIN and FAU to enhance the English language holdings in that Iraq library.

University of Kurdistan Hawler Library

Finally, as we continue to review sections of our books collection for both currency and relevancy, we identify books that we judge to no longer belong or be needed in our collection and we “weed” them out. These weeded books are disposed of in three different directions. Damaged books and those including information which is out of date are permanently disposed of. Books that still have a market value and have the potential to earn some funds that can be used to purchase new books for the Library are being set aside and will soon be shipped to a used book broker. All remaining books are moved to book carts that are periodically moved out to the lobby of the Library and made available as “give away" books for all members of the Flagler community.

Carts of "give away" books

So things really are disappearing from the Proctor Library. But at least for the items described above the removal is carefully planned and controlled.

40th Anniversary

What a memorable and fun day! Today the College has been busy celebrating our 40th Anniversary with a party on the west lawn just in front of the entrance to the Library. Most classes have been cancelled for the day, and students and others from the college community have been enjoying the food, music, games, and even the speeches that are part of the anniversary party.



Yes, our 40th Anniversary…with our beginning point being the year 1968. Naturally these past 40 years have been very important to the College, and as I reflected a bit, it suddenly occurred to me that these years have been very important for me personally as well. Just as the College was beginning its history in fall 1968, I was also beginning my career in libraries in fall 1968 serving in my first librarian position, as the assistant librarian at a high school in New Jersey. So now 40 years later the College and I are both celebrating our 40th anniversary at the same time. What a coincidence.

As we finish these 40 years I would love to be able to document the College’s history in images, but that is outside my sphere. However, the College’s library has had its own history and I thought I would briefly share some images of what I have found to be an interesting evolution of the physical library over the 40 years.

The historic Hotel Ponce de Leon, the centerpiece of the campus, was the home of the first two “editions” of the library.

The Original Library (1968) was located in the hotel’s solarium on the fourth floor.

Library users could even enjoy the solarium’s outside deck.

As the library’s collection grew, it had to be moved in 1972 to a larger space, the hotel’s Grand Parlor, which is now known as the Flagler Room.

In 1982, the Grand Parlor (Flagler Room) was able to regain its beautiful spaces, as the library was moved to neighboring Kenan Hall. The library, then known as the Louise Wise Lewis Library, consisted of three levels and its entry was on the 3rd floor of Kenan Hall. The ceiling heights had to be low to allow the library to fit its three levels between floors 2 & 3 in Kenan.

Finally, in 1996 the College completed construction of our present, free-standing library, the Proctor Library, named in honor of then President, now Chancellor, William L. Proctor.

I fortunately had the privilege of joining the College in 1996, and as a result I also have had the privilege of enjoying the legacy of the College and the evolution of the College library. Happy 40th Anniversary Flagler College.

Research Room reconfigured into "quiet space"

In my April 2008 blog I described how pleased I was about our students’ suggestions concerning the importance of carving out some quiet space in the Library, which like most academic libraries has become an active but somewhat noisy learning place. Actually back in October 2007 an individual student had emailed the Library with an especially compelling argument for more quiet in the Library, so we had already started some planning for setting aside and configuring some better quiet space, but the significant number of student suggestions received in response to the Library’s Biennial Student Survey, Spring 2008 (and from a quick follow up survey) reinforced the need for us to establish a clearly designated quiet room and prompted us to action this summer in reconfiguring Room 133, the glass enclosed O’Keefe Research Room, as a “Quiet Room.”


Room 133 had formerly been referred to by many simply as the “microfilm room” because as one looked into the room much of the floor space was taken up by 8 separate microfilm reader/printer machines and 16 very large cabinets containing microfilm reels holding our historical back file of journal issues. In addition, the perimeter of the room was filled with 16 computer workstations, so the room could easily become a crowded, and even noisy, place as well.

With the increased availability of journal back files on the online electronic databases to which the Library subscribes, and the preference of students to access the issues online rather than on microfilm, we found no need to continue to take up unnecessary floor space, so we reviewed our holdings and reader/printer use, and we were able to cut down to only 2 reader/printers and 3 cabinets in the room. We also removed and relocated 7 computer workstations to an alternate space elsewhere on the first floor of the Library in order to leave carrel and table space for those wishing to work without the distraction of a desktop computer, or with tabletop space on which to use their own laptops. 9 computer workstations were left in the room.

So Library Room 133, the O’Keefe Research Room, is now designated as a “Quiet Room” with signage and posted rules targeted at providing a good space for individuals to engage in quiet work and study. The mixture of furnishings—a reduced number of computers and microfilm equipment, uncluttered study carrels and tables, and even a few individual chair arrangements—should make the area more conducive to this quiet work and study. Quiet will be monitored by the Library staff, and the staff will respond to any infractions.

We have been pleased to be able to respond to the suggestions of the students, and we look forward to this newly configured space complementing the noisier, but very active, other learning spaces throughout the Proctor Library.