When I joined SU in 2001, Bird Library was quite different than it is today. Some of us will remember the walls on the first floor and the security gates, whose existence demonstrated a model of service that was no longer in vogue. I am heartened to see the physical changes that have occurred at Bird and Carnegie libraries, as well as the new services that have been implemented. I am pleased that members of this university, including Provost Eric Spina, see the library as playing a critical role on this campus, both for those students in Syracuse and our distance students located around the world.

As director of the Library and Information Science Program in the iSchool, I am pleased with the connections our graduate students and faculty have made with the library; connections that are getting stronger each day. Our students work in the SU Library (as well as other libraries on the Hill) and complete internships there. In fact, we are now working to develop a more coordinated internship program with the SU Library, which I hope will become a signature for both the library and the iSchool.

Librarians from the SU Library guest lecture in our classes, and some are developing their own classes that will become electives in our graduate program. Our students appreciate them bringing their experiences and knowledge into the classroom. And like other programs on campus, the librarian subject specialist associated with the iSchool holds office hours in Hinds Hall. Assisting students and faculty with their information needs on site is a service we greatly appreciate.

I want to thank Dean Suzanne Thorin for allowing and encouraging the bridges that are being built between the SU Library and the iSchool. I hope she will view those as part of her lasting legacy. Part of her legacy is also the improvements that are underway or under discussion, and I very much look forward to seeing them completed. The external review team raised issues that will need to be addressed to ensure a bright future for the library. Like others, I await opportunities to work with the library team on solving those issues and creating the world-class library SU deserves.

Respectfully,

Jill Hurst-Wahl

Director, Library and Information Science Program

School of Information Studies

Published on February 21, 2013 at 1:16 am