Closed again

You may have noticed if you drove to the library today, we are closed until Thursday morning. I am sorry for the inconvenience. There is still some work being done to the roof of the library. The sealant they are using is being sucked in by the A/C which then distributes the fumes throughout the building. The fumes were especially bad downstairs and members of the circulation staff were reporting headaches and sore throats. I applaud those that were in charge that made the tough decision to close the branch after having been closed for an extended period before.

Changes

You may not be aware of this but the librarian profession is in a constant state of change. This excerpt of a good story on technology in libraries sums it up well: "“The librarian as information priest is as dead as Elvis,” Needham said. The whole “gestalt” of the academic library has been set up like a church, he said, with various parts of a reading room acting like “the stations of the cross,” all leading up to the “altar of the reference desk,” where “you make supplication and if you are found worthy, you will be helped.”"

I find this to very much be the case at the Morrison library. People don't come to the desk right off anymore. They tend to come to us when they get stuck. It is necessary to not only direct people to online resources and web sites but you have to know how to walk them through these resources and sites.