DuPont-Ball Lihr
STETSON
[UNIVERSITY
NEWSLETTER Fall 2010
Message from the Director
Once again we started off the year with the
annual reception for Associates and faculty.
This year we were worried that our guests would
be trekking through mud and a still torn-up quad
in front of the library, but thanks to efforts of the
Facilities staff and special crews who seemed to
work 24/7, the quad, now renamed the Palm
Court, was finished about two days before, and
it looked beautiful.
Many of you have seen the newly landscaped
sections of campus, but the area in front of the
library and surrounding Holler Fountain has
changed immensely, while retaining its historic
beauty. The old library, Sampson Hall, is
suddenly displayed in all of its early 20th century
architectural glory. The new, hardy grass seems
to beckon
students to
come and
play frisbee,
lie around
and study or
talk-I've
even seen
some
hammocks
tied
between the new palm trees on weekends.
Suddenly the campus seems much more
appealing to pedestrians.
In the library we completely re-carpeted the
main area and added more lounge chairs and
drum tables. We removed the large "Starship
Enterprise" reference desk from the middle of
the atrium area, opening that section for more
seating for those who like to lounge while
studying or working on their laptops. There is
now an Information Desk as part of the front
Circulation Desk, and our research librarians are
on call via cell-phone.
are working on special projects. Among those is
the creation of finding aids for the vast E. Clay
Shaw ('61, '66 JD) collection of documents from
Clay's 26
years in
Congress. i^^^K
This summer,
as Stetson
experimented
with eleven
online
courses
during
summer session, our research librarians took
special training to assist in those online courses
as "embedded librarians." We see this
expanding as another way to help our students.
The library renovations and updates were
funded through special library funds, including
income from our recent endowment from the
estate of Mary Porter and the Enhancement
Fund which is built on individual contributions
ranging from $35 to thousands. All
contributions, of any size, add up and make
such improvements possible, whether to the
comfort and ambiance of the library or to the
research resources we are able to add. Thank
you to all of our library's friends.
On a more personal note, I notified the Provost
in September that I plan to retire September 1,
2011. This will still be about nine years past the
"normal" retirement age, but since becoming
Library Director eight years ago I've been too
busy to consider retiring. As we finish up some
major initiatives this year, I decided this was the
right time to pass along this great job to
someone younger. The university is organizing
search plans, and they have plenty of time to
find the right person. I'll let you know of their
progress in the spring 2011 Library Newsletter.
Since the informational type questions are now
handled at the front desk, the research librarians
Betty Drees Johnson, Library Director
