Celebrate Libraries During National Library Week

One of our daughters recently asked me a question while she was working on a paper for school.  She asked, “Dad, how did you do any research before the Internet?  I mean what were libraries like without computers?”  My explanation was probably longer than she anticipated or wanted, as I recalled (in great detail) the routine of going to the card catalog and looking up a particular book on a little 3x5 index card and going through the “stacks” to find all the books I needed – time and again and again, as I could only carry so many books at one time while working on my dissertation.  Suffice it to say, things were very different and libraries have literally transformed themselves in the last twenty years – a transformation worth recognizing during National Library Week, which is this week April 13-19, 2014.

I’m so proud of our libraries and the staff that make them such a valuable resource at both our Utica and Rome Campuses.  Over the past several years, our librarians recognized the importance of the Internet and reduced the number of hard copy books in our collection; developed an amazing inter-library loan service that provides most any book on demand in a day or two; and added or upgraded computers to significantly better serve students.  Additionally, the renovations at our Utica Campus library added study rooms that are used regularly by students throughout the year.  Over the past several years, our library regularly ranks as one of the most highly regarded services at the College in comparison to others in the SUNY system on the Student Opinion Survey.

A campus library is an iconic element in the center of the academic experience.  We’re fortunate at MVCC to have an outstanding and forward-thinking library staff that we celebrate here during National Library Week.  To learn more about libraries at MVCC, watch our brief video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4PgkbSRdc

If you have any questions, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.