Chapter 5
Academic Programs

 

The Melvin J. Zahnow Library

Central to any academic enterprise is the library. Details of the extensive library expansion can be found in Chapter 4. It is important to note that during the whole 3-year renovation project, the library remained open, and provided exemplary service in the midst of debris, dust, cold, and noise. Although the library staff at times wore hard hats as well as overcoats during phases of the construction, they seized the opportunity to promote awareness and use of electronic resources and services and made special efforts to reach out to faculty and students with expanded resources:

The library staff also used the renovation to transform the way people think about and use the library. Instead of “a silent warehouse for books,” the library is increasingly viewed as a gateway to a variety of print and electronic materials and services.

This expansion of services is timely, since faculty use of instructional technology in the classroom has been steadily increasing. Faculty expect students to use a wide variety of course-related software programs and electronic resources to complete class assignments and projects. Students, in turn, have needed a place outside of class to get training and personal assistance in using such technology. The library has become that place. Teaching information literacy skills – the ability to locate, find, evaluate, and use information efficiently and effectively – has become a critical new responsibility for the library. This collaborative effort brings librarians and faculty together more than ever before and enables the library to support the curriculum in new ways.

Librarians teach students as they always have: one-on-one/side-by-side, but they also teach classes on effective research techniques and information literacy skills. Thanks to the construction and renovation project, the library now has a new Instruction Lab with 40 computers and a Smart Podium for the instructor. This past academic year, the library provided instruction for 3,800 students in 221 class sessions in the Instruction Lab.

The construction and renovation project also enabled the library to convert some existing space into a Student Technology Center. The space became available just as students were becoming more vocal about needing a place to go for tutoring and one-on-one assistance in the use of software their instructors were expecting them to use (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, web publishing and design software, etc.).

The Student Technology Center opened its doors in November 2002 and had its official Grand Opening in January 2003. In less than a year, the STC has logged more than 750 student tutoring sessions. The Center Coordinator and half-time Technology Trainer also visit classes by instructor request to teach an entire class how to use a particular software program to complete a class project or assignment (e.g., designing a web page; publishing an online newsletter). Approximately 600 students have been given in-class instruction by STC staff.

The library also has an increased number of desks and study carrels, in-library viewing/listening rooms, and 24 public access computer workstations, as well as new collaborative work rooms with network connections to help students collaborate on projects for classes. There are inviting, comfortable spaces where it is permissible to talk above a whisper and where users can browse through new books. Students, staff, and faculty can also gather in the new café, which also has network connections but lacks the distracting hubbub of other campus dining areas. The Roberta Allen Reading Room, on the fourth floor of the library, provides a congenial place for individual study, senior seminars, author readings, book discussion groups, student art exhibits, and other events aimed at drawing the community into the library.

Space for exhibits and displays that may appeal to the community beyond the university has also been expanded. For example, an exhibit based on a book by an SVSU history professor chronicles the life and photography of an important African-American family in Saginaw history. The University Archives & Special Collections contains materials on university and local history and houses a valuable collection of circus posters and some of the working papers of a best-selling author.

The Library Director serves on the Council of Deans and Directors. Through service on university committees, the library staff interacts outside the library with faculty and other members of the university community. The Director of the library chairs a Library Committee of faculty and staff to discuss current issues such as collection development, instructional support, and resource allocation. The Library Director also serves on the Teaching and Learning with Technology Roundtable (TLTR) and works closely with the Executive Director for Information Technology.

As a state-supported university, serving the region is an important part of SVSU’s mission. Thus reaching and serving the community beyond SVSU is an important part of the library’s mission as well. Community members may check out materials by obtaining a Guest Card.