The Irwin Library faculty and staff will hold an open house on Tuesday, August 26, from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m. to show off several changes in the facility this fall, including added study space, collaborative workstations, and a new catalog that allows a worldwide search for materials.

 

 

Dean of the Libraries Julie Miller said the updates are part of the changing role of the academic library. Where libraries used to be largely about the circulation of books and periodicals, they are increasingly becoming a place for collaboration. 

“A big part of what librarians are doing now is helping faculty and students to navigate the changing information landscape,” she said. “Especially in the area of how to evaluate the information that’s out there to see whether it’s the information you need. Does it meet the criteria for being useful information? And, if you’re not finding the useful information, how to be better at searching for it. And also how to contribute to the information landscape in an ethical way.”

Among the changes in Irwin Library:

-The former circulation desk area is being turned into study space. The circulation desk will be merged with the information commons desk, where students can get research assistance. The desk has moved to the northeast side of the first floor.

-Several additions will be made to the computer area on the first floor, including two media workstations that have video and audio editing capability and two collaborative workstations. The latter have large, flat-panel monitors that let users attach different devices and work together on files projected on the monitor. “It’s wonderful for people who like to co-author because it gives you a nice way to look at what you’re working on together,” Miller said.

-The library has switched to a new management system called WorldCat Discovery that gives anyone searching the Butler catalog access to WorldCat’s worldwide library holdings. (For additional information, consult the WorldCat Discovery LibGuide.)

-The music reference collection, previously on the first floor, has moved to the second floor, and Music Librarian Sheri Stormes has moved to Irwin Library, room 130, in the southeast quadrant of the first floor.

-Laura Menard has joined the library faculty as Health Sciences Librarian serving the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She will provide health sciences information literacy instruction and deliver health sciences information through the latest technologies. She will also work with the Science, Technology, and Society program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Communication Sciences and Disorders majors in the College of Communication.

 

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822