Posts by Joseph Watson

 
 
 

Upcoming Projects in Davis Library: shifting collections and installing more shelves.

February 28, 2011 by
Categories: Midd Blogosphere

It was announced last fall that the Music Library will be moving from the Mahaney Center for the Arts into Davis Family Library as soon as the semester ends in May. (For more details see http://sites.middlebury.edu/acrosscampus/2010/11/08/music-library-to-davis ) There’s a lot of preparation already under way and continuing in the coming weeks, and some of it may be noticeable to those working and studying in Davis Family Library.

The print collections from the Music Library will be placed on the upper level adjacent to the Panther Reading Room, overlooking Old Chapel.  The CD collection will be placed behind the Circulation Desk.  In order to make room for these collections in Davis, we’re adding a section of compact shelving in the SE corner of the lower level and shifting collections within the library.

A moving company will be arriving on Monday, March 14th to shift collections in the stacks and empty the shelves where the new shelving units are being installed.  On Thursday, March 24th a library shelving company will arrive, dismantle the fixed shelving, and then proceed with the installation of the compact shelving on the lower level. Some of this work will be very noisy, but we have timed the worst of it to take place during Spring Break.  Once the shelving is installed, the moving company will return on Monday, April 24th and continue shifting the collections.  The moving crews are accustomed to working in libraries where people are studying and will do their best to minimize the disruption; however there may be times when activity and noise is distracting.  Unfortunately, because we must be moved out of the CFA by June 1st, working during the semester is unavoidable.   The crews will routinely be working during the day, Mon-Fri, although there are a few times they’ll be working during the day on the weekend.  You should be able to count on the library being quiet after 5pm, and we have avoided having the movers here at all during exams.  Generally speaking, only those nearby the collections being shifted will notice the activity, and there will still be plenty of quiet study space available in the library.  Remember that the Music Library in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, The Armstrong Library in McCardell Bicentennial Hall, and the Axinn Center all have quiet study areas too.

If you need a book in an area where the movers are actively working, place a request at the Circulation Desk in person or by emailing library_circulation@middlebury.edu and it will be retrieved and held for you to pick up at the desk.

Both Facilities Services and Library & Information Services regret any inconvenience these projects may cause those studying in the library, and we thank you in advance for your patience with us, and your tolerance of any potential disruption.

Below please see an overview of the schedule.

Thanks!

Joseph

Joseph Watson,Preservation & Processing Manger, LIS Facilities Coor.

Monday, March 14th: moving crew arrives -

  • Backshift bound Periodicals
  • Move PT2623-Z into vacated compact shelving for temporary storage
  • Shifts G & H books on the upper level to make room for GV class books from CFA
  • Shift Oversize Collection to make room for GV oversize
  • Shift Reference Collection to compact
  • Move VHS collection to vacated compact shelving east of Government Documents

Thursday, March 24th: shelving installer arrives –

  • Knock down vacated fixed shelving in SE corner of lower level, staging components in the Harman Periodicals Reading Area
  • Install new compact shelving section in the SE corner of the lower level.  This is expected to take about 25 days.

Monday, April 24th: moving company returns and continues collection shifts –

  • Move Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese collections to new compact shelving
  • Shift Vermont Collection
  • Shift lower level monographs
  • Shift main level monographs

(Scheduled to complete this portion of work Tuesday, May 3rd)

On Wednesday, May 18th: moving company returns to complete the collections shifts and move Music Library –

  • Adjust shelving on main level to accept N class books and move N class books from upper level to main level
  • Adjust the shelving on the upper level to accept music print collections
  • Move Music Library from Mahaney to Davis.
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A New Bookplate for the Davis Family Library

September 10, 2010 by
Categories: Midd Blogosphere

DavisFamilyLibraryBookplate 2010
To coincide with the naming of the Davis Family Library and to honor Jim Davis and his family, the Office of College Advancement commissioned a new bookplate for the library.   Bookplates have been used for centuries to indicate ownership of a book.  The Latin phrase “ex libris” or “book of” is traditionally used, and the design of a bookplate often conveys information about the owner of a book, whether that owner is an individual or an institution.  The Middlebury College Library has had a variety of bookplates over the years and each branch library has its own bookplate.

Selecting an artist to create a small work of art that conveys specific information yet is interesting to look at, is a unique challenge.  LIS provided Pamela Fogg, Design Director in the Office of Communications, with an historical overview of the bookplates that have been used over the years and she researched potential artists.

Artist Antar Dayal was selected because he works in detailed line drawing and often uses allegorical themes that translated well to a bookplate design.   When he received the commission from Middlebury College in the Spring of 2009, Dayal was temporarily living in Hawaii because a wildfire had destroyed his studio and home in California.  His website www.dayalstudio.com features a blog and portfolio.

Library staff shared some ideas with the artist about what design elements might be included in the bookplate.  One of the library’s most distinctive architectural features is its shape, and Dayal referenced the shape of the building in the shape of the frame around the image.  One of the things people seem to enjoy most about being in the library is the view from the inside looking out to the verdant surroundings, and Dayal captured that feeling by drawing a book, as if held in one’s lap, with foliage beyond.

The new bookplate has been used in books being added to the library collections since the day of the library naming ceremony last spring.

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LIS Staff Relocation Plan, May 6th

May 6, 2010 by
Categories: Midd Blogosphere

In the interest of sharing this much anticipated plan with everyone as soon as possible, below please see the LIS Staff Relocation Plan that LIS Administration approved this afternoon.   It’s a working document, not a formal one, so please excuse any name abbreviations or spelling errors.  It shows where LIS staff will be located on three floors of the Davis Family Library.   In the coming days we will work with Facilities Services to turn this plan into a move schedule and we will share that schedule widely as soon as possible.

As you know, we are undertaking these moves as soon as possible because the College needs us to vacate the 2nd floor of Voter Hall so that it can be turned into student housing before students arrive for the fall semester.

Thanks to everyone who worked with their managers to help draft the plan, and thanks especially to those who were given few, if any options because our options were generally very limited.   Having said that however, I believe that many of the location changes will be improvements in the long run.  Thanks for your continued patience and forbearance.   Stay tuned….   and here it is….

LIS Staff Relocation Plan May 6th

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Upcoming LIS Office Moves

April 9, 2010 by
Categories: Midd Blogosphere

A few thoughts about the upcoming LIS office reassignments from your LIS Facilities Coordinator—

As you know, in the coming months many LIS staff will be moving offices. I think we would all agree that the timing of this reshuffle is less than ideal, but we must remember that it is triggered by the College’s need to react to the economic downturn. One way we’re doing that is by adding students to the enrollment without building new dorms. Because Voter 2nd floor was once used for student housing it can be returned to that purpose relatively quickly and efficiently, but that means that LIS staff members currently there need to move out so Voter can be renovated in time for the fall semester. I’ve been working with LIS Administration and Mary Stanley, the College Space Manager, to draft a relocation plan. With some creative thinking it looks like all the Voter 2nd floor folks will be able to fit into the Main Library.

As Mike Roy mentioned in a recent email, in order for this to happen, many of the LIS staff in the Main Library will also need to move. In most cases these moves will likely actually enhance adjacencies, allowing people who work most closely together to be near each other. In a few cases sacrifices will likely need to be made. Every effort is being made to accommodate everyone’s needs. I’m saying “likely” above because as I write this, the plan is in the draft stage. Once we’re sure that it’s possible for everyone to fit, the ADs will determine, in consultation with their managers and staff, exactly who will be sitting in exactly what chair. Once we know that, we’ll work with Facilities to set a move schedule. I do not now know exactly when that will be, but hopefully it will be soon.

While we will do all we can to customize the new spaces that people move into before moves take place, there will likely be instances when people move into a space that is not yet refined. Files could sit in boxes on the floor while we wait for a filing cabinet to be acquired. Books could sit on boxes on the floor while we wait for shelves to be installed. People may work at desks next to each other in open areas until dividers can be acquired to define spaces. Spring is an especially busy time for both Facilities Services and LIS. They will be just as busy and as stressed as we are. We must all strive to be patient and kind in our dealings with one another, pulling together, realizing that we are doing what needs to be done to solve the College’s current financial challenges.

Those who already know they’re moving, like the staff on Voter 2nd floor, could prepare now by cleaning out their offices and recycling everything that they don’t absolutely need to take with them. Everyone else, whether they think they might be moving or not, could do the same… it’s Spring after all! Stay tuned….

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PRESERVING OUR VALUABLE COLLECTIONS

March 23, 2010 by
Categories: Midd Blogosphere
Ginny Faust in the Conservation Workroom.

Ginny Faust in the Conservation Workroom.

While some of the work of LIS varies with the semesters and seasons, other work continues quietly at a regular pace and sometimes goes unnoticed. Ginny Faust, Binding and Conservation Technician, works to maintain and improve the condition of both the circulating and special collections of the libraries. Routine preservation activities like binding and reinforcement of new materials, repair of worn and damaged items, and repackaging of media materials have gone on for many years and the result of these activities is a library collection in generally excellent condition of which Middlebury can be proud.  In recent years we have expanded our work to include the conservation of selected Special Collections materials.  Ginny has taken classes and independently studied to improve her conservation skills.  We are now able to cost effectively complete conservation treatments in-house that we could not afford to outsource to a professional conservator.  To see examples of this important work please see the overview and gallery here.

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