STL Special Library Spotlight (Space and Special Libraries) July 9, 2009
Posted by molisstudent in Library Stuff.Tags: compact shelving, space, special libraries
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In our visits to the various special libraries in the St. Louis area I have tended to always compare how the different institutions utilize the resources of technology and space. On Wednesday night, our Special Libraries class visited the U.S. Courts, 8th Circuit Library in downtown St. Louis at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse. Located on the 22nd floor of the 28 story building, the view alone made the library space impressive, but what impressed me was that it was the first library we visited that had space for their collection and room to grow while also having open space for studying and reference. While they did have compact shelving, as almost all libraries we have visited have, it was only for a small part of their collection that is not used frequently.
One of the reasons for such a great utilization of space for a library is that the librarians had a large amount of input to the design and layout of their workspace. In many of the previous libraries we have experienced this semester, space and lack of, or better use of has been an issue. A few libraries have had newer facilities, and the librarians there have still been unhappy with the space they now occupy. In these cases the librarians had very little input into the design and layout process, and the input most often came at the end of the process.
Some of the libraries we have visited have hopes for new facilities in the near future. If they are lucky, they will have the same experience as the U.S. Courts, 8th Circuit Library and have input into the design and layout process.
STL Special Library Spotlight: Kranzberg @ Washington University July 8, 2009
Posted by molisstudent in Library Stuff.Tags: Kranzberg
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What a great place! Our class went to this library on Monday night, listened to a lection, and then participated in a tour of the facility. While I felt that this library was small, in terms of size, there seemed to be several books and folios available for the art and architecture students to use. Also interesting were some of the Special Collections/Archives items displayed. I personally know very little about the subject of Art, and found the library very informative. Additionally, the library exuded a very “arty” personality, i.e., very clean, modern, and “cool” in a way that’s hard to really describe right. I liked it. JMR
Job Posting: Adjunct Librarian at Jefferson College July 7, 2009
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Jefferson College is seeking a part-time Adjunct Librarian at its Arnold location. Responsibilities include reference, bibliographic instruction, circulation, providing patron support with online library resources, and computer hardware and software. Primarily afternoon, evening and Saturday hours; twelve to sixteen hours per week.
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree required. Minimum of nine hours toward Master’s Degree in Library Science or toward certification as a school librarian. Experience with computer hardware, word processing, presentation software and spreadsheets required. Experience with library system software beneficial. Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Salary: $15.00 – $16.00 per hour; based on experience/education.
To Apply: Complete a Jefferson College Application for Employment or send a cover letter, resume, and list of three references to Director of Human Resources, 1000 Viking Drive, Hillsboro, MO 63050 by July 20, 2009.
AA/EOE
Food for Fines Returns July 6, 2009
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The St. Louis Public Library is proud to announce that it has teamed-up with the St. Louis Area Foodbank to present Food for Fines.
From July 1 through 31, adults can pay down their fines by bringing in canned goods to any St. Louis Public Library location. For every item brought in, $1 will be subtracted from overdue fines. A $25 limit applies and applies only to fines not on lost or damaged materials.
This is a great opportunity for patrons to give back to the community and get their Library record back in good standing. Patrons can then take full advantage of the great materials and programs the Library offers such as downloadable movies, computer classes, and Pageturners!
The Library is proud to partner with the St. Louis Area Foodbank in this effort. The St. Louis Area Foodbank is a nonprofit food distribution center for organizations that feed hungry people in the City of St. Louis, 13 counties in eastern Missouri, and 12 counties southwestern Illinois. In 2008, they provided 15 million pounds of food and personal care items to people throughout the area.
The Foodbank can accept:
* Canned Meats
* Peanut Butter
* Canned Fruits
* Beef Stew
* Canned Soup
* Baby Formula
* Canned Chili
* Hot & Cold Cereal
* Rice & Beans
* Powdered Milk
* Macaroni & Cheese
* Canned Vegetables
NO GLASS ITEMS, PLEASE!
Even if patrons don’t have fines, we’ll gladly accept items for the Foodbank.
For more information, call the Library’s Customer Service Department at 314-539-0342.
St. Louis Mercantile Library July 5, 2009
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As a student in Special Libraries class, with each visit I am beginning to understand my wants and needs as a librarian. For instance, I have been most excited about the St. Louis Mercantile Library because my interests are in history and historical items. However, when I first began my coursework, I only knew the Public Library setting and “knew” this was what I wanted to do. Now, that I know that I can have it all in one place (history, information access, and customer service) I am looking beyond the public and academic library setting. mp
STL Special Library Spotlight: Lifelong Learning July 5, 2009
Posted by molisstudent in Library Stuff.Tags: Lifelong Learning, special libraries, STL College of Pharmacy
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I continue to be struck by a comment the St. Louis College of Pharmacy presenter made: that pharmacists must be lifelong learners in order to succeed in their profession, and that one of the library’s goals was to teach students how to use research tools they’ll need for the rest of their lives.
This really could be said of all the libraries that we’ve visited. I expect most librarians would love all of their patrons to be lifelong learners, but it may be a bit closer to reality for special librarians. All of the medical field schools’ students must keep up on research in order to serve their patients. The Mercantile Library often serves train/transportation hobbyists and enthusiasts. The HOK Architectural Library and the Federal Reserve Bank Library’s patrons are architects and economists who must keep up to date on trends and data. Covenant Seminary’s library serves not only its students, but also the entire American Presbyterian Church community, and MLNC provides continuing education for librarians.
Having this specialized patron base doesn’t guarantee that patrons will automatically use the library as much as we might wish, but they should already have one foot in the proverbial door, since they know they need information on an ongoing basis. With good outreach, libraries can help form good lifelong learning habits.
STL Special Library Spotlight: The Federal Reserve July 3, 2009
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Our visit to this library was unique in several ways. We were required to pass through heavy security, including metal detectors which had not been the case at any other library. The library had recently moved, so we were able to see the old space as well as the new space. That was interesting in itself because of the differences in size, space usage, and design.
The library mainly serves the economists that work at the St. Louis Federal Reserve location, but has a impressive public outreach through several websites that seem very user friendly. The most interesting aspect of this library for me was its role in creating information that it then feeds to the user community.
The collection has a heavy emphasis on economic and financial materials, but also contains a larger amount of census documents, congressional hearings in paper form, a vast pamphlet collection, and archival materials that span the history of the Fed. It is currently digitizing many historical documents and will soon make them available via the Internet.
I found this to be a very interesting library because of its narrow emphasis on economic information and its role in creating and dispensing usable information. KH.
STL Special Libraries Spotlight: Federal Reserve Bank Library July 2, 2009
Posted by molisstudent in Library Stuff.Tags: Federal Reserve Bank, special libraries
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Last night the Special Libraries class visited the Federal Reserve Bank Library. The most impressive thing about the library to me was the outreach performed by the staff to the public at large. Though the library is a research library geared towards the economists working at the Federal Reserve Bank, the library also maintains an external Internet site geared towards the general public.
The external site contains many subsections, geared towards different sectors of the population. FRASER is a digital archive which contains economic documents.. FRED is full of economic data. LIBER8 is an economic information portal geared more towards students and generalists, and contains newsletters written by the research analysts working at the Federal Reserve Bank.
I had no idea that the Federal Reserve Bank offered such handy and interesting information to the public, though this doesn’t speak badly about their outreach – FRASER alone gets about one million hits a month! S.V.
STL Special Library Spotlight: Technology in Special Libraries June 30, 2009
Posted by molisstudent in Library Stuff.Tags: special libraries, technology
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At the beginning of our Special Libraries class our instructor informed us that Special Libraries were more than likely to be the most cutting edge. After a few weeks of visiting various special libraries, I find that this couldn’t be more true.
Almost all the libraries we have visited have found ways to creatively utilize technology to best serve their parent organization or the library’s community. Whether it was the HOK Library using blogs and networking applications to help their members communicate, the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Library ordering electronic versions of curriculum to save students money, or the Covenant Seminary Library loaning out free USB flash drives to their patrons I have been very impressed by the use of technology to help improve the services they offer.
As someone who is interested in applying library philosophy to new technologies, Special Libraries are very interesting.
