The recent book sale in Davis Family Library has ended and all the books that are left over are waiting for you to come and take them away, FOR FREE!!!  Stop by Davis Family Library anytime before the Thanksgiving recess and help yourself.

Tuesday, Nov. 13th – Sunday, Nov. 18th, Davis Family Library, open at 9:00 AM on first day for Middlebury College ID holders, continuing on Wednesday during regular library open hours for anyone. The Davis Family Library will offer withdrawn and duplicate copies of books and other media for sale at great prices.   Choose from a wide variety of items for scholarly work or recreational reading, listening, and viewing.  This year’s sale will also include some used media playing equipment.  Proceeds from the sale are used to purchase new library materials. (Because the low price asked for materials is in part a service to the College community, anyone purchasing items on the first day of the sale will be required to show a Middlebury College ID.  Book dealers are not welcome to purchase items for resale on Tuesday, Nov. 13th). FMI, contact Joseph Watson 443-5487 jwatson@middlebury.edu

To mark National Preservation Week, the Preservation staff in Davis Family Library is hosting an Open House from 1-4:30pm on Thur., April 26^th.  Stop by our workshop in LIB135 to see the various ways we preserve the library’s collections  and to watch our conservation technician at work.  Bring in your own book and paper preservation problems for evaluation by the staff. See how a book goes from this… …. to this! Preservation Week is a collaborative effort supported by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association, Library of Congress and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  To learn more about it see http://www.atyourlibrary.org/passiton Consider coming by the Preservation Dept. on your way to the Annual Rucker Lecture at 4:30!  For more information contact Joseph Watson,  jwatson@middlebury.edu  443-5487

During Spring Break next week, starting on Monday 3/26, LIS will be shifting some collections in Davis Family Library in order to make room for an expansion of classroom LIB140 that is planned for June.  We’ve hired the same library moving company that moved the Music Library last year.  We expect the shift to be completed by Friday.

The Government Documents collection in the center of the Main Level will be consolidated to the eastern end of the compact shelving that it currently occupies.  This will open up three ranges of shelves at the western end of that section.  Monographs that are on shelves next to LIB140 on the Lower Level will then be moved to the newly vacated shelves in the center of the Main Level.  The collection will continue to be in the same order overall, but the break between the Main and Lower Levels will be slightly different.  All the print and online building guides will be updated to reflect the change.  See go/davismap for details.

If you need an item that is in the area being shifted by the moving company, simply place a request for the item at the Circulation Desk and it will be retrieved and held for you to pick up.

In response to complaints about people having cell phone conversations adjacent to quiet study areas in Davis Family Library, LIS recently purchased two cell phone booths. These almost completely sound-proof booths are proving to be quite popular. After consulting with LIS staff and the Student LIS Advisory Committee, and after seeking suggestions through this blog, we have relocated the two booths in Davis Family Library. They are both on the upper level in more low profile locations so there is less of an aesthetic impact on the architecture of the building. One is in the NE corner closest to Twilight Hall opposite elevator #2, and the other is in the SW corner closest to the Axinn Center next to group study room LIB301F. When you’re on the upper level of Davis Family Library and you want to make or receive a cell phone call, please take advantage of the private booths.  

We were going to wait to announce the new cell phone booths in Davis Family Library until we’d had a chance to evaluate them and decide on a permanent location for them, but Brittany beat us to the punch with this post on middblog. (Thanks Yiling Zhang for the great picture.) We’ve installed these in an attempt to solve two problems. For years we’ve had complaints about people having cell phone conversations adjacent to study areas. Other academic libraries like ours have successfully used cell phone booths like these to solve that problem. Also, there are about 30 staff members working in shared offices in Davis Family Library and these folks don’t have a private place for phone calls to their doctor, baby-sitter, etc. Part of the reason we acquired the cell phone booths was to enhance the work/life balance of these staff members. We got them at a deeply discounted price and we hope they’re worth it.  Only time will tell. In Brittany’s post she mentioned the location of the one on the upper level might not be ideal. If you have suggestions of better spots in Davis Family Library for these, please feel free to drop me a line at jwatson@middlebury.edu. Thanks!

When and where: Tuesday, November 15, through Sunday, November 20, Davis Family Library, open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, continuing during regular library open hours thereafter. The Davis Family Library will offer withdrawn and duplicate copies of books, music scores, and other media for sale at great prices.   Choose from a wide variety of items for scholarly work or recreational reading, listening, and viewing. Proceeds from this year’s sale will be donated to the Vermont Public Library Foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund, assisting libraries that were affected by the recent floods. (Because the low price asked for materials is in part a service to the college community, anyone purchasing items on the first day of the sale will be required to show a Middlebury College ID. Book dealers are not welcome to purchase items for resale on Tuesday, November 15). For more information, contact Joseph Watson, ext. 5487, jwatson@middlebury.edu And look for a small preview sale of antique/collectable/like new/especially nice items in the Atrium starting on Wednesday, November 9.

Please take a moment (well, one minute and forty five seconds to be exact) to watch this short video that explains how you can help preserve the library’s collection.  Thank you!!

Click here!