Information Update, Fall 2022

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Thirtieth Anniversary, 1992-2022

The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Library was dedicated on Sept. 25, 1992, which makes 2022 our 30th Anniversary! Over the past 30 years, the Library has held a special place in the heart of The University of Scranton and area community. In fact, the Library is both at the literal and figurative heart of campus, located centrally and serving all academic programs, students, faculty, staff, and community guests. Though it feels like we just celebrated our 20th anniversary, the truth is the changes have been substantial this past decade. I see this 30th milestone as an opportunity to reflect on the past and renew all the good that we do, while also an opportunity to look toward the future by leveraging our current personnel’s talents and abilities, and seeing how we need to evolve to meet the changing needs of our diverse community. As such, the 30th anniversary is an inflection point, and throughout the yearlong celebration, I hope to hear from the Library’s various constituents so that I can be sure we are heading in the right direction.

George Aulisio, Dean of the Library

A prelude to the 30th anniversary occurred in May when we celebrated the rededication of the Heritage Room as the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room. The rededication recognizes the legacy of Charles Kratz, Dean Emeritus of the Library and Information Fluency. Among Charles’ many contributions include setting the culture of the Library. To me, that culture includes being entrepreneurial and innovative, seeking regular feedback, and focusing on meeting the needs of the community we serve. In recognition of Charles’ service, the Library advocacy group that Charles founded in 1994, the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library, gifted $75,000 toward updating the features and student spaces in the room. The Friends’ gift will go a long way toward making the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room a comfortable place where students will want to spend many hours studying. The gift will also support transforming the room into a flexible event space. Having a functional event space will allow us to better showcase our fabulous Special Collections and our proud University history, while also being able to invite speakers, host the Environmental Art Show, and celebrate our students at events such as the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize ceremony.

Charles Kratz with Friends of the Library BoardMembers. From left, front row: Denise Gilroy, Mary McDonald, Phyllis Reinhardt, Carol Maculloch, Marian Farrell, Ph.D., Charles Kratz, Betsey Moylan, Bonnie Strohl, and Sheli Pratt-McHugh. From left, back row: George Aulisio, Kym Fetsko, Roy Domenico, Ph.D., Rosemary Shaver, Narda Tafuri, and Peter Tafuri.

As you can imagine, there is more we would like to do in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room that exceeds the $75,000 gift, including securing funding for new museumquality exhibit cases for The University of Scranton Archives and McHugh Family Special Collections. There are also four other floors of the library that need to adapt to meet the needs of today’s students. As everyone knows, the students of the 2020s learn, study, and research differently than the students of the 1990s. We continue to make incremental improvements to the building, services, and collections. Students have shared their wish lists and upgrade requests with us in our last two joint Library and IT surveys, and also through regular meetings with Student Government and meetings with representatives of special student populations. To help turn that student wish list into a reality, fundraising letters were sent to targeted groups and a website was created to help grow the Library’s 30th Anniversary Enhancement Fund. The website mentions a number of larger naming projects that we would like to do, but every donation will help us to achieve our aspirations of enhancing the Library and transforming it into the teaching, learning, and research space that our community needs. If you are able, I invite you to support our fundraising goals at www.scranton.edu/WML30.

Throughout the year, we will host several events to help us celebrate our 30th anniversary. In the fall, The University of Scranton Archives and McHugh Family Special Collections will host an exhibit on the history of the Library in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room. In the spring, we will host an exhibit on Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., and his legacy as both the 24th and 27th President of The University of Scranton. Father Pilarz’s first inauguration was in 2003, making 2023 the 20th anniversary of his joining the Scranton community.

On Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, we are honored to have Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated author and playwright Ayad Akhtar with us to receive the Royden B. Davis, S.J., Distinguished Author Award. Ayad joins a long list of accomplished authors that have received the award from the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library. We expect the evening gala and talk by Ayad to be a cannot miss event. For more information on the event and for sponsorship and ticket information, please visit our website at: www.scranton.edu/authaward.

Throughout the yearlong celebration, we will have a mix of events that showcase not only our history but also how we see ourselves evolving. Please consider joining us at an event or stopping by the Library to utilize our collections and services.

—George Aulisio, Dean of the Library

Rededication of the Heritage Room

Charles Kratz addresses the assembled guests.

On Friday, May 13, 2022, the Library kicked off its celebration of the Library’s 30th anniversary. In recognition of his years of service and dedication to the Library, University, and the greater Scranton community, Charles Kratz, Dean of Library & Information Fluency from 1991-2019, was acknowledged with the rededication of the fifth floor Heritage Room as the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room. The rededication ceremony included an invocation by the Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., and remarks from Provost Jeff Gingerich, Library Dean George Aulisio, and Dean Emeritus Charles Kratz.

Following the rededication ceremony, there was a cocktail reception in the newly named Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room, where Friends of the Library, the family of Charles Kratz, and the University community, including current and former Library faculty and staff, celebrated this momentous occasion.