From the Director's Desk

Library Outreach

Library Outreach

Welcome back, Cats!

Welcome back to campus, Wildcats! Here are a few important library updates for the fall 2022 semester:

Cake that says "class of 26"
Class of 2026 “library cake” from the 2022 annual cake race.

Information Desk:
Stop by the information desk to say hello, ask a question, or check out library materials (in-person or at our self-service check out station).

Library Hours:
E.H. Little Library:
Fall Semester Hours (Aug. 27th-Dec. 15th)
CatCard Access 24/7 resumes at 8am Aug. 27th
Music Library: 7am-12am CatCard Access
Archives and Rare Book Room: By appointment. Email archives@davidson.edu for an appointment.

Room Reservations:
Group study rooms in the Library/Center for Teaching and Learning can be reserved in advance using our online booking form.

Request Research and Digital Project Help:
Schedule an appointment (we can meet both in person or virtually via Zoom) with library staff or a peer tutor: https://davidson.libguides.com/research-assistance; for Archives/Rare Books Research: email archives@davidson.edu; for help with Music Research: email Jon Hill, jmhill@davidson.edu

Equipment Checkout:
We have a variety of video and audio equipment available for checkout. To checkout equipment, use our equipment catalog. We also have phone and computer chargers available for checkout at the Information Desk.

Request & Pick-Up:
Need a book but worried it might not be available when you arrive at the library? It’s as easy as search, request, and pickup! Simply submit a request using the “Request this item” link in the library catalog, and we’ll pull the book from the shelf for you! Visit the information desk to pick up your items! Contact Joe Gutekanst (jogutekanst@davidson.edu) with questions.

Request Carrels and Lockers:
Looking for a dedicated place to study or to store your stuff? Library lockers and carrels can be requested for the 2021-2022 term. Due to availability, carrels are only available for request by Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. To request a carrel or locker, use our locker request form. There will be a short turnaround between submission and settling into your space. Direct questions to Meggie Lasher (melasher@davidson.edu).

Self-Checkout:
Check-out library items from anywhere in the library using your smartphone through the MeeScan App. Download the app at Download Meescan or stop by the self-checkout kiosk at the library’s Information Desk to get started. You can also use our self-checkout kiosk by the Information Desk for self-check-out.

Reserves PickUp:
Library materials placed on reserve by your professors will be available on the pickup shelf just past the Information Desk. Simply go to the shelf, checkout the material using the MeeScan app, self-checkout kiosk, or with a student employee at the Information Desk. Return your items through the app, kiosk, or Information Desk.

Interlibrary Loan:
ILL services are in full swing! Most requests for articles, book chapters, and other resources will be filled electronically. Physical items will be available for pickup at the front desk. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Gutekanst at ill@davidson.edu.

Library Questions? Send them our way!
Chat/Text your question: https://davidson.libguides.com/libchat or text 704-308-3732

Technology & Innovation Questions:
Get answers from our T&I friends by searching the T&I Knowledge Base https://support.ti.davidson.edu/, Email ti@davidson.edu anytime, or call 704-894-2900 M-F 8am-5pm.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter or Instagram for all of the latest and greatest library updates!

Library Outreach

New Outreach Coordinator: Welcome, Sydney!

As we approach another new semester (and all the excitement that a fresh start brings!), I’d like to take a moment to introduce our newest team member. Please welcome Sydney Adams to the role of Library Outreach Coordinator. In this role, Sydney will help to connect the Davidson College community to the library’s network of experts, services, and resources. She will foster student engagement with the library, coordinate library outreach efforts, and develop library programming that celebrates the diversity of the Davidson College experience.

Sydney Adams, long brown hair and brown eyes, wearing glasses and a white shirt.
Sydney Adams, Library Outreach Coordinator

Sydney is a recent graduate of the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC-Chapel Hill, Sydney worked as a graduate assistant at the Park Library where she facilitated information literacy instruction, offered research support, and coordinated outreach for students in the School of Journalism and Media. Sydney also held internships with Duke University Libraries and NC State University Libraries while in library school. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Clemson University in 2020. While there, Sydney worked as an outreach intern with Clemson Libraries and developed a passion for connecting students with vital library resources and services. Sydney shares that she is thrilled to join the staff at the E.H. Little Library and bring her experience in outreach and community engagement to Davidson College. Welcome, Sydney: We’re thrilled to have you on-board!

Sydney is an avid home chef and enjoys trying out new and exciting recipes. Otherwise, you may find her sipping an iced coffee and solving the daily Wordle, the daily mini crossword, or a challenging jigsaw puzzle. Sydney enjoys reading Southern Gothic literature and the occasional horror story. Her other interests include caring for her plants, discovering new music, and taking long walks. In the library, you’ll find Sydney (most work days) on the first floor, near the Research & Design Studio. Stop by and say hello!

Library Outreach

A “Spooktacular” Outreach Event

Poster of Ghost Story Tour featuring Dracula
2021 Ghost Story Tour Poster, courtesy of the library’s outreach & engagement committee.
Students on Ghost Story Tour with glow sticks around their necks
A group of “spooked” ghost story tour participants.

Our library team recently re-envisioned the ways we work together to implement outreach initiatives and events. One outcome of this work has been the creation of a new cross-team “Outreach & Engagement Committee.” I’m a firm believer that everyone in the library is an outreach ambassador and has a role to play in outreach planning and implementation (no matter the job title …we all share in the responsibility for library outreach everyday through the relationships that we nurture and build). Led by our awesome Outreach & Engagement Librarian, Meggie Lasher, the committee framework is providing us a terrific structure to collaborate, imagine, and implement a variety of creative outreach and programming.

Most recently, the outreach committee created and led a “Ghost Story Tour” event that brought folks from across the community together for a night of spooky story telling! Members of the library team were assigned ghost stories gleaned from local lore and stationed at corresponding sites around campus (for example, I was stationed in front of the college’s guest house and assigned a spooky story about a haunted boarding house). Community members met at the library and were arranged into small groups for a spooky guided tour across campus.

Library outreach events such as this help connect community members to one another and to the library’s staff, resources, services, and spaces. It’s all part of engaging with our community to build relationships and create a welcoming, warm, and inclusive learning environment.

Glow-sticks and candy treats made the night extra special and sweet!

Kids dressed like Yoda and the Mandalorian with a dog dressed like an Ewok- standing in front of the library
Family members join in the spooky story fun.

Library Exhibits and Displays

History of Jewish Representation at Davidson

Stop by the library’s first floor lobby to explore archival resources that chronicle the ways Jewish students, faculty, and staff have advocated for themselves at Davidson over time. Jessica Cottle, the library’s Justice, Equality, and Community Archivist, shares that the display is intended to “showcase the work of and reinvigorate the conversation prompted by the Jewish Studies Working Group we collaborated with in 2019 through the HIS 396 independent study with Scott Denham. Most of those students graduated in the spring of 2021, so we wanted to show the research they had compiled in collaboration with us over the last two years related to this topic. I was able to piece together the timelines largely through research we’d found with them.”

Brought to you by the library’s Outreach & Engagement Committee, the display spans 1931- present and includes archival documents, photographs, and access to digitized oral histories.

Display board featuring historical newspaper clippings about Jewish Life at Davidson.
Stop by the library lobby to explore the history of Jewish Representation at Davidson College.
Display board featuring historical images about Jewish Life at Davidson.
QR Code for Oral History Project.
QR Code leading linking to oral testimonies from Jewish alumni, faculty, and staff members (note, the QR code works from this post!).
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