A Note from the Dean

"They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom." - Confucius

Change is in the air in our libraries – significant change that will result in improved service, excellent facilities, and greater efficiencies. A change of historic proportion occurred in early March when the overall reorganization of the Academic Health Center resulted in the decision to merge the Health Sciences Library side of AIT&L (Academic Information Technology & Libraries) with University Libraries and the Information Technology services with UCit’s Instructional and Research Computing Department. This restructuring “returned” the Health Sciences Library (which serves the colleges of Allied Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy) to the central library system, which had been its organizational home until 1972, and it laid the groundwork for increased collaboration between the Libraries and UCit.

In looking ahead to the summer months, the first item on a robust list of facility improvements in the Libraries is the replacement of the roof of Langsam Library. Those of you who have witnessed the plastic sheeting throughout the bookstacks and the waste cans collecting leaks from rain and snow over the past 18 months know how critical this enormous repair is since it puts over 1,000,000 print volumes at risk – and inconveniences library users. The roof replacement will begin in early June and will take four to five months to complete.

Two major renovations of several years’ duration will come to an end in July and August with the re-opening of the Health Sciences Library in spectacularly new and renovated space in the Medical Sciences Building and the establishment of the expanded and renamed “CECH Library” within the handsomely renovated Teachers Dyer building of the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. (You can read more about the CECH Library in this newsletter. Photos of both libraries and further information will be provided on the Library Web site later this summer.)

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