Thursday, April 28, 2016

Library Renovation Plans

UPDATE - 8/17/16
Well, last Thursday the wall came down, and we could see the new space.  The rooms are just about complete (just some touch up will remain).  The new room scheduling system is ready to go.  You can schedule any of the 10 study rooms for two hours at a time (one two hour block per day), and up to two weeks in advance.  Our thanks to Library Systems in Oxford for making that possible for us.  Here is a list of the rooms and their capacities.  We're receiving new furniture today, and once the contractors finish up the last items on the punch list, we'll be ready to move in (hopefully on Monday the 22nd).  We'll have seating in the open space between the study rooms and offices for now, and we'll get the book collection moved back over during Winter break and Winter Term.  We're looking forward to starting off the semester with a whole new look!

John

UPDATE - 8/3/16
With the start of Fall Semester coming on the 29th, we are eager to have the new library space ready for use.  The contractors are on track to get us there, and several more items have been completed or are nearing completion.  The rooms are nearly finished, with painting completed and the carpet in place.  Some furniture has been added to the TEC Lab.  Glass is being delivered for the windows in each room, and should be installed shortly.  We have also laid the groundwork for a new online scheduling system for students, faculty, and staff to reserve the soon to be 10 study rooms.  Much more to come in the next couple of weeks.  Let me know if you have questions.

John


UPDATE - 7/11/16
We have come a long way with the renovation to date!  The old elevator has been removed, the rooms in the new space have been drywalled, and work in the lobby area on the restrooms and new elevator shaft are progressing.  Two time updates are that the rooms on the main floor of the library should be completed by the middle of August, and the new elevator will be ready by the end of December.  Things are looking good.  If you have questions, do not hesitate to let me know.

John


ORIGINAL POST - 4/28/16
The Gardner-Harvey Library has been undergoing a slow metamorphosis during this academic year, and the pace of our change is about to speed up.  Here is how your library experience may be affected as we complete Spring Semester and enter the summer.

Beginning on May 16th, a temporary wall will be constructed to separate the book stacks, the InfoDesk, and our public computer area from the renovation zone.  By the start of Fall Semester, eight study rooms, a new TEC Lab makerspace, and four staff offices will be added in the zone.  By November, a new elevator will be in place.  

For the summer, however, the library will be much smaller in size, and we will not have an elevator in service.  You will have full access to our collection, our computers, deliveries of library materials from Miami University and OhioLINK libraries, and assistance from the library staff.  We will be able to schedule the GRD 111 computer lab for your use, but STAR Lounges 1 and 2 will not be available as they are being used for temporary staff offices and storage. 

Most of the library will be fully open and furnished between now and the Thursday of Finals Week.  Starting on May 6th, the STAR Lounges will begin to be occupied by library staff.  On May 12th, we will begin the final move of furniture out of the renovation zone.

During Finals Week, the library staff will provide free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, lemonade, and mints for your enjoyment as you study.  Check our library hours page and note our special Saturday study hours on May 7th and our upcoming summer hours.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Thank you for putting up with our growing pains!

John

John J. Burke, MSLS
Library Director & Principal Librarian 
Gardner-Harvey Library
Miami University Middletown

burkejj@miamioh.edu
513-727-3293

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Stressed out? Contact the Library!

Everyone has a lot to do at the end of the semester. The library staff can help you with your final tasks before Finals Week.

  • Need one more source for your paper or project?
  • Want to have someone check your citations?
  • Looking for a quiet spot to write, create, or study?

These last-minute adjustments can improve a paper or project, and increase your grade.  Contact us today and we can help! Chat, text, e-mail, call, set up a meeting, or just drop by. Trust us, you'll feel better.



Image provided through a Creative Commons Attribution License by Thomas Haynie.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

May the 4th Be With You: Join us for an Open House and Star Wars Day at the TEC Lab!

Do you like making things?  Do you like Star Wars?  Would you like to see everything the TEC Lab has to offer?

Join us Wednesday, May 4th for an open house and a celebration of Star Wars Day (between 12pm and 2pm OR between 6pm and 8pm)!.  That's right . . . it's our first workshop with evening hours.

For Star Wars Day, we'll make Star Wars origami figures, and show off some other themed creations.

We'll also demonstrate all of the things you can make in the TEC Lab and all of the technology and gear we have to make them, including:

  • 3Doodler handheld creations
  • Google Cardboard smartphone virtual reality headsets
  • 3D printing
  • Book page crafts
  • LED light and battery projects
  • 3D scanning
  • Cameo Silhouette paper/fabric design cutter
  • Wood burning pens
  • Green screen
  • And our brand new laser engraver and cutter!

This is our last event for the semester, and it will count toward the 2 event minimum to qualify to win a Kindle Fire from the library this semester.  We will draw for a winner on May 5th.



Jedi Master Yoda image provided through a Creative Commons Attribution License by Pablo Garcia.

Friday, April 01, 2016

New books and DVDs added in March at the Gardner-Harvey Library!

See our new materials list of items we added to the collection in March! We added 130 books, e-books, DVDs, and other items during that time, thanks to your selections and suggestions. The list is sorted by call number, with items grouped roughly by subject area.

Here are five titles from the list, to give you an idea of what we've been buying:

  • The Internet of us : knowing more and understanding less in the age of Big Data 
  • From #BlackLivesMatter to Black liberation / Keeanga‐Yamahtta Taylor
  • Guns and contemporary society : the past, present, and future of firearms and firearm policy
  • Imbeciles : the Supreme Court, American eugenics, and the sterilization of Carrie Buck
  • Lit up : one reporter, three schools, twenty‐four books that can change lives / David Denby

This tag will show you all of the prior lists of new materials, in reverse chronological order. We are eager to hear from you about individual items you would like us to buy, or types of items we should be on the lookout for, or general subject areas we should build up in the collection. Your input will help us keep the collection working well for 2015/16 and beyond!

If you have a suggestion of something to order, please use our "Tell GHL to Buy It" form, email Jennifer Hicks (hicksjl2@miamioh.edu), or drop by the library with your request. And pass your general suggestions or comments about the collection to us in those same ways.

Thanks again for keeping our collection vibrant and your information needs met!