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Library News for Spring 2005
Year of the Library Programs President Shi has declared 2004-05 "The Year of the Library" in celebration of the completion of the expansion and renovation of the James B. Duke Library. A wide variety of programs, including lectures, concerts, and other activities, have been planned. The theme of several of the programs is based on a quote from our dedication speaker, Vartan Gregorian: "A library is a mirror to the past and a window to the future." Spring term events include:
The Hamrick Study Lounge is now open 24/7 during the academic term. It can be accessed from the library patio using your Palacard. It can also be entered from the library lobby whenever the library is open. The Study Lounge provides seating for 50, including two group study rooms. It includes 12 computers, a printer, and a copier as well as vending machines with coffee, sodas, and snacks. Laptop computers are now available for use within the James B. Duke Library at the C&IS Help Desk on the lower level. Complete information is available on the Loaner Laptop Program page. Please join the library in thanking C&IS for making this service available!
Librarians have been working with science faculty members, architects, and others to plan a new science library as part of the expansion of science facilities and the renovation of Plyler Hall. To help visualize possibilities the university brought Alison Ricker, science librarian at Oberlin College, to campus to meet with faculty, students, librarians, and administrators. If you have ideas for the future science library, please contact Victoria Welborn, science librarian.
PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries), a consortium of over 50 South Carolina academic libraries of which Furman is a member, has “broken ground” on the South Carolina Virtual Academic Library by recently announcing two initiatives. First, PASCAL signed an annual license for a collection of 12 EBSCO databases that extend access to over 12,000 full-text titles in core academic disciplines, health sciences, and business. PASCAL's second initiative, "universal borrowing,” powered by Innovative Interfaces' INN-Reach solution, will create a virtual collection of over 12 million volumes that will make almost every book in every academic library in South Carolina available to a student or faculty member in any one of the academic libraries in the state, usually within 24 hours, regardless of the size or location of their technical college, four year college, university, or medical school. The programs are being funded through $2 million in lottery funds provided by the South Carolina General Assembly. Additional information is available from the Greenville News Online. The dedication ceremony for the expanded and renovated James B. Duke Library was held on Thursday, October 28 at 2:00 pm in the library atrium. Several hundred guests attended. Both photographs and a copy of the dedication program are available online. The featured speaker was Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation and former president of the New York Public Library and of Brown University. Dr. Gregorian is an Iranian immigrant with an extraordinary personal story. He is a noted historian, scholar, and leader in both libraries and higher education. Dr. Gregorian spoke on the role of libraries in education, access to and preservation of knowledge, and the lives of individuals. Other speakers included President David Shi, Mary Peace Sterling, Trustee Emerita, and daughter of Charlie Peace for whom the expansion is named, Dr. Barbara Matthews, daughter of Dr. Chesley Matthews a Furman alumni for whom the collections located on the ground level are named, Russel M. Robinson II, chairman of the board of The Duke Endowment, and Janis Bandelin, Director of Libraries. Additional information about the event is available from the Greenville News Online.
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