From the Director's Desk

Tolle Lege 2010 Authors

On Tuesday, February 2, McQuade Library hosted the seventh annual Tolle Lege reception. As many of you know, the library's Tolle Lege collection is a special collection of books and journal articles published by members of the Merrimack College community (faculty, administrators, alumni/ae, etc.). This annual reception recognizes authors who published works in the previous academic year. Thirty nine authors were honored this year for their publications, including our featured peakers: Dr. Aaron Bradshaw, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering; Dr. Rebecca Sachs Norris, Associate Professor and Chair of the Religious and Theological Studies; and Dr. Patricia Sendall, Professor of Management. All spoke passionately about their writing and research, but what struck me most was their commitment to including their students in their work. Each author shared anecdotes of getting students involved with field research, having students contribute material such as photographs to the publications, or pursuing research projects that investigate ways to better understand our students and in turn, to become better teachers.

This dedication to a student–centered approach to research is, for me, what makes Merrimack College such a special place. As I said at the ceremony, I never fail to come away from each Tolle Lege ceremony inspired by the extraordinary accomplishments of our community, and I am enormously proud that McQuade Library provides this opportunity to celebrate these accomplishments.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Michael Bell, Vice President for Academic Affairs, urged the audience to heed the call of the event's name: "Tolle Lege! Take up and read!" Take up and read the works of our community's authors, so that we might honor and celebrate their accomplishments year round. I encourage you to stop by McQuade Library and browse the Tolle Lege collection, located on the first floor of the Library in the Reference Room. I can assure you, you will find an impressive collection of diverse, interesting publications that will certainly inspire you to take up and read!

˜ Bridget Rawding

Tolle Lege 2009 Author List | Tolle Lege Bibliography 2009

What's Happening?

New Art Exhibit: Waves of Emocean by Adam Maganzini

Emocean Postcard

My art is a fusion of techniques that I have embodied from experience, experimentation, and consistent innovation. I try to apply all that I have learned about art, life, psychology, philosophy, and science to my work. My main focus is to provoke an emotional connection that prompts the viewer to see, feel, think about and appreciate life in a new way. My exhibit at Merrimack College's McQuade library will be open for the month of February and all are welcome. Visit my website for more information. Thank you.

˜ Adam Maganzini

Celebrate Women's Month in March!

Native American Poet and Musician Joy Harjo's Works on Display

Joy Harjo Photograph

For the college's annual spring celebration of Women's Month, the library will display the works of Native American poet and musician Joy Harjo. Harjo has published seven volumes of poetry and is an award winning scriptwriter. Internationally recognized for her artistry in a variety of disciplines including gender and spirituality, Harjo is a major voice in contemporary American poetry and performance. On March 23rd, she will speak and read from her work at the Women's and Gender Studies annual free luncheon. The same evening, she will perform her new one-woman play "Wings of Night Sky and Wings of Morning Light" in the Rogers Center. Stop by the Reference Room during the month of March and browse the breadth and depth of the work of this high-profile writer and performer.

Greening Merrimack

Greening Merrimack is McQuade Library's website promoting programs and resources related to campus sustainability initiatives at Merrimack College. It is funded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act), a Federal source of library funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

New Sustainability Films

These films were selected by Jon Lyon, Biology Professor and Sustainability Coordinator.

New Sustainability Poster

McQuade Library's latest poster series features Merrimack students going green. Erica Christensen, our Green Team leader, is our first campus celebrity. Photos are taken by Kevin Salemme, Director of Media Instructional Services.

Erica Christensen Greening Merrimack Poster

What's New?

Profile in Collaboration: The School for Advanced Studies and McQuade Library Target Services to Support Distance Education Students and Faculty

This semester Public Services Librarians have welcomed some new students to Merrimack in the library instruction program: Human Services Professionals and Massachusetts Firefighters. While you may not often see these students at the cafeteria or in classrooms, they are an increasingly important part of our community. Due to the power of the web and the distance education programs offered by SAS (School of Advanced Studies), these students are engaged in coursework to better prepare them to meet the ever–changing challenges of their workplaces. While many of these courses are conducted online, both of these groups of students met in the Alden classroom this year to refine research skills necessary to succeed in a Web 2.0 world. Each class also enjoyed access to a Subject LibGuide, available online, 24/7 to assist them with their studies.

If you teach a hybrid course and would like more information about how your students might benefit from research support services provided by the library staff, contact the Public Services Department.

LibGuides: A New and Improved Format for Providing Access to Resources and Delivering Information Literacy Instruction to Students Online

In the Fall of 2009, McQuade librarians quietly began using a new method of providing students access to the library's resources online through a software program called LibGuides. Used by more than 17,000 librarians at over 1,000 libraries worldwide, LibGuides enables librarians to create engaging and interactive online research guides on any topic imaginable. To test this new flexibility and creativity, the librarians began by developing course and assignment specific research guides to correspond with each course they taught.

The next step will be to transition all of the existing general Subject Guides from their text–heavy .html webpages to the more user–friendly, Web 2.0 LibGuides platform. "We are hoping to be able to complete the transition this summer and roll out the new Subject LibGuides for the Fall 2010 semester," said Melinda Raupach, Reference & Instruction Librarian. "LibGuides allows us to be more creative with how we provide access to the library's resources, as well as teach basic information literacy competencies to students, such as critical thinking and evaluation of print and electronic sources."

Please contact Lyena Chavez, Head of Public Services, if you would like to have a librarian work with your class in a formal instructional setting, or if you would simply like a special LibGuide created to support your course assignments.

Library Hours for Spring 2010

Weekday Time
Monday – Thursday 7:30a.m. – Midnight
Friday 7:30a.m. – 5:00p.m.
Saturday 10:00a.m. – 5:00p.m.
Sunday 11:00a.m. – Midnight
Exceptions:
See our website for special holiday and intersession hours

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