From the Director's Desk

Here is a quick recap of library activities for 2005-06:

• 627 people participated in our LibQUAL survey!

• Library staff collaborated with Religious Studies, English, International Business, Allied Health and Sports Medicine to improve the information resources in these targeted areas.

• 128 Information Literacy instruction classes were conducted -- reaching 1806 students.

• Librarians discussed with divisions and departments ways to incorporate information literacy into the 4X4 program review.

• Through an additional Verizon grant our Educational Resources Collection transformed its space complete with new furniture, computers, printer, television and an additional 800 new items.

• The third annual Tolle Lege Reception honored 29 Merrimack authors and 39 journal articles, 8 books and 3 book chapters were added to the collection.

• The Public Services Department redesigned the library website.

• The Media Center’s television station aired regularly scheduled student productions of a sports show and a Merrimack magazine.

• Six more celebrity READ posters created quite a stir as a popular item on campus.

• We added five more databases to increase online access to full-text articles: Academic Search Premier, Project Muse, Britannica Online, CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online), and the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Digital Library (coming soon!).

• The Library Advisory Committee continued to promote Academic Integrity by holding workshops on copyright issues and college cheating, and conducting student forums.

• Many thanks to the members of the Special Collection committee who defined and drafted a Special Collections policy for the Library.

But we don’t stop here. Just to name a few of our goals for the summer, we plan to:

• Assess the LibQUAL results and develop strategies for improvement
• Continue to discuss the importance of information literacy in 4x4 curriculum review
• Continue collection development assessment of targeted subject areas

Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe Summer!

~ Barbara Lachance, Library Director

Soon you will see our entire READ poster series gracing the walls of McQuade Library. Suggestions for next year's celebrities are welcome. Contact Kevin Salemme , Director of Media Services, with your ideas!

You Asked; We Heard!

Recent LibQual survey comments indicated that you wanted places for group & quiet study. Our new policy ensures that you have both!

Certain areas of the library are now designated either:

Silent Zones for solitary study
Group Zones for group meetings conducted at sensible noise levels

2nd Floor Periodicals Room

3rd Floor Augustinian Studies area

Basement Hallway area (single study carrols have been placed here)

All other areas of the library including the reference room, the atrium, the Education Resource Center (ERC), and other corners of library.

**Groups can now reserve seminar rooms. Go to the circulation desk to make a reservation.

See our policy listed here. To check if a seminar room is available, refer to our calendar.

The Reference and Instruction department had another busy year, teaching more than 120 library instruction classes to approximately 1800 students in courses across the curriculum. As academic departments continue to prepare for the college’s transition to a 4x4 course load, the library is also in the process of revising its library instruction program to integrate it into the new college curriculum. Librarians have been meeting with faculty in a number of different departments to discuss information literacy standards and our shared educational goals. Of particular importance is how librarians and teaching faculty can collaborate to ensure that Merrimack students graduate with the critical thinking and research skills necessary to succeed in our information driven society.

If you are a faculty member interested in learning more about information literacy and pedagogy, plan to attend the Post-Commencement Pedagogy Days later this month, where the librarians will be offering a workshop on this topic.