New and Noteworthy

Welcome to the fall quarter 2007! The Library has several new initiatives and staffing changes to tell you about as you use our services.

$75,000 Year-end Supplemental Funding for Library Acquisitions:  We are pleased to have received $75,000 year-end money to supplement our library acquisitions, and our library faculty have been discussing how we can best use this one-time fund to purchase library materials to meet your curricular needs in all formats, print, or digital.  Please let your liaisons know if you have titles that you wish us to purchase for the library.

Expansion of Streaming Videos: Last year, with the cooperation of MATS (Media and Academic Technology Services), we were able to purchase streaming rights to 47 video titles, and many of you appreciated this availability.  We will be able to add more streaming titles this year; we will announce new titles as we receive them.  Korey Brunetti, Digital Projects Librarian can be reached at korey.brunetti@csueastbay.edu in case you have questions about streaming videos.

CSU System-wide ATI (Accessible Technology Initiative): As you select course reserve materials from our collection, if you have students in your class who need an alternative format for printed materials, please work with Jason Chavez, Coordinator, Media Resources/Reserves. All new media items will be purchased captioned whenever possible; existing media materials will be captioned as needed.  Please work with us in advance if you use media resources in your course.

Creation of Emeriti Faculty Library Collection Endowment: The Emeriti Retired Faculty Association (ERFA) launched a project to create an endowment to help the library purchase information resources.  ERFA and the library signed a memorandum of understanding at the Emeriti Faculty reception on September 27, 2007.  This reception was sponsored by the Academic Senate, University Advancement, and the library.  You can also contribute to this fund by visiting “Give to the Library” on our home page.

Celebrating the First 50th Anniversary Exhibit:  If you have not visited the library yet, please come by and see the library exhibit, prepared by Richard Apple, in celebration of 50 years of the university.  You will see old photos of the original Hayward ranch site transforming to the present campus buildings - from the ground breaking to the construction of the Business and Technology building, with brief narratives, on ten large banners.  We are planning to change photographs throughout the year.  If you would like to share your experience with the university during the past 50 years, please send message or images to Dick Apple at richard.apple@csueastbay.edu.

Staffing Changes:  Jennifer Laherty, Coordinator of Collection Development, took a one-year leave of absence.  Dana Edwards will coordinate collection development services during the interim.  Laurie Isenberg, Systems Librarian, resigned at the beginning of September, and a new search will begin for this position shortly.  We are fortunate to have hired two one-year temporary full-time librarians for this academic year: John Bowman and Amy Hofer, who are teaching the Freshman Information Literacy course and working at the Reference Desk, as well as assisting with various projects for other librarians.

As for support staff, we have several changes resulting from retirement, transfer, and resignation. With the retirement of Lynn LaFleur, coordinator of Interlibrary Loan, Carolyn Chun assumed the responsibility for this unit. To many of you, Carolyn is a familiar face at the Circulation Desk, where she has been working for the past 15 years, both as a student and as a staff member. She will be happy to help you with any interlibrary loan requests you may have.

Jason Chavez was promoted to the coordinator position for the MRR (Media Resources/Reserves unit), replacing Dick Apple, who will be responsible for Special Collections/Archives. Brenda Gianni, our office manager, retired last December, and Samantha Springfield was hired for this position. Jennifer Greenwood also works in our office as the second staff member of our unit. Gladys Contreras moved to the Learning Commons. Three new library assistants, Metassebia Hailu (MRR), Patricia Medina, and Lisa Nguyen (Access Services), joined us during the summer.   Please join us in welcoming new staff and faculty to the library family.

Library Furniture Projects:  Just as your old classroom furniture was replaced with new furniture, we will be working with Facilities Management to upgrade our library furniture.  We were also informed that most of our library study space will get new carpeting.  Please look forward to visiting the library when we can show you our new look.

More Students Studying Late:  Last fall, at the request of Associated Students and with the funding support of the President, we were able to stay open later to accommodate students who need space to study.  We were pleasantly surprised that the number of students who used our Learning Commons and Lower Mall from 10:00 p.m. to midnight during the weekdays and 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 on Sundays increased throughout the year.  We are continuing the same late hours this fall, with assurance from the administration that we will be funded.

My Plan to Retire: As I look at the accomplishments during my tenure of the past seven years, and anticipate a positive outlook for the coming year, I informed the Provost and our staff that I would retire at the end of this academic year.  I still have many months to work with the university community to ensure a smooth transition for the library.  It has been a rewarding experience to work with all of you.

Myoung-ja Lee Kwon
University Librarian