3 minute read
From the Desk of Dean Schmand
Is summer one of your favorite times of year? The idea of a summer vacation at the beach and a little quieter time on campus is positively appealing, although not always realistic, at least for me. While I love summer, I honestly look forward to fall. Not only is it a fresh start to the academic year, but temperatures start to cool, the colors begin to change, and football returns. It is hard to believe that we just started the Fall 2023 semester. Now is a suitable time to reflect on what the library accomplished in the past year.
Walker Library faculty and staff have been busy supporting MTSU students and faculty with their courses and research projects, accessing both physical and online collections, providing a robust technology experience, and more. The library filled two vacant faculty positions: a new research and data librarian as well as an open education and student success librarian. Both are outstanding faculty advancing these library programs and initiatives. Plus, we welcomed several new staff members. You will learn more in this issue about the growth of our Digital Scholarship Initiatives (DSI) with the launch of MT Open Press. In January, MT Open Press published its first book, Privacy and Safety in Online Learning, an edited collection that contributes to the literature on online learning environments. DSI faculty and staff are working on publishing a second book.
Congratulations to Special Collections for becoming an official Government Publishing Office (GPO) Preservation Steward for government publications connected to the Distilling, Fermenting, and Brewing Collection. Additionally, Special Collections hosted two exhibits this year: “I may as well take one glass,” featuring items from that collection, and “A Serious Collection of Fun Books: Pop-Up and Movable Books, Past and Present.” Each year, I look forward to seeing how creative Special Collections gets with every new exhibit.
Throughout the past academic year, we saw increasing numbers of visitors to Walker Library, and we hope this trend will continue. During 2022, Walker Library saw 489,825 visits to the building. From January through June 2023, we had 244,206 visits. We placed 100 new Dell computers throughout our public computing spaces and will soon add another 20 new Mac minicomputers in our Makerspace. Use of our circulating laptops has grown now that we are offering two-week checkouts for more than half of our laptops.
As I look back on what we accomplished this past year, I am excited to consider the possibilities for the coming year and the user experiences we create for students and faculty. Walker Library faculty, staff, and student employees are deeply committed to providing a responsive and user-friendly experience to everyone across the University. I am honored to be part of such an amazing organization advancing the mission of Middle Tennessee State University.
