DuPont-Ball Lihr
STETSON
III N I V E R S I T Y
NEWSLETTER Fall 2007
Message from the Library Director
This past summer was especially busy as we
embarked on several renovations to make better
use of existing space. These summer projects
extended into fall, and the last of the furniture
was not in place until late October.
We reassigned use of some spaces on the main
floor and
completely
redid them.
The new "East
Room" (a
naming
opportunity just
waiting for a gift
to our Library
Endowment) is in the location of the old
Microforms Area. We partially enclosed it with
glass and furnished it with new tables, chairs,
and additional computers as a space for
collaborative learning using technology. The
students love it.
We removed some reference shelving to create
a space with round tables for small group study
and replaced the old metal shelving ends in that
area with
matching wood
panels,
creating an
open, attractive
place to study
and
transforming
the
appearance as
you walk into the building.
In the last issue, I wrote of the gift of the
congressional papers of alumnus E. Clay Shaw,
Jr. '61, who served thirteen terms in Congress.
We will celebrate this gift in the spring of 2008
with a special reception in Clay's honor.
In July I received a call from Max Cleland '64,
former Senator from Georgia and Administrator
of the Veterans Administration during the Carter
Administration. I have known Max for many
years, and he was one of my late husband's
students. Max said that his senatorial papers
are at the Russell Library at the University of
Georgia and his VA papers are at the Carter
Library, but he had a large collection of personal
photographs and memorabilia which we could
have if we were interested. Of course, we
accepted, and these items began to arrive
during the fall. We will celebrate this collection
in the fall of 2008, after we have had time to
catalog the items.
Our third summer renovation project was an
area for these
new
collections.
We will now
house
materials from
two of our
best-known
politically
active alumni - one a Republican and one a
Democrat - as part of our Special Collections in
the room I am currently calling the "Politicos
Room" (another naming opportunity). Special
meetings and student seminars will also be held
occasionally in this room.
The funding for these projects all came from our
Library Associates - even the infrastructure
changes such as electrical work and network
cabling came from you, our donors. You make it
possible for us to move forward and try to stay
ahead of our students' needs.
Betty Drees Johnson, Library Director and Professor
