Library Two: Academic University Library
I interviewed Marlyn Pethe the director of the Macdonald-Kelce Library at the University of Tampa. While there was not a mission statement for the library the universities mission is “The University is committed to the development of each student to become a productive and responsible citizen. To this end, the University ensures that students balance “learning by thinking” with “learning by doing.” Students are taught by highly qualified, experienced faculty members who are committed to teaching, academic advising and continued intellectual growth. Classes are conducted in personalized settings in which learning is enhanced through application. Students participate in learning partnerships with faculty and the community through independent studies, internships, re-search, and other practical experiences that complement classroom learning. The University’s academic services and co-curricular activities support individual discovery and development and provide leadership opportunities. Involvement and participation inside and outside the classroom are valued. Through complete engagement with the educational environment, UT students are prepared for careers, graduate and professional education, and lifelong learning.” In regards to the library, Mrs. Pethe stated that the main mission of the library and the responsibility of the faculty and staff is to best provide the necessary information to users. Mrs. Pethe has been with the University for over 30 years and holds a MLS. Students mostly utilize the facility, but there are also services available to members of the community. In addition to being the campus library, the facility also serves as a government depository, which the public can access most items, which are for in-house use only. The library also has a close relationship with a language academy, providing materials to students from other countries. While most of the technology provided is for student use, the library has one public access use computer for members of the community. Students can access the libraries catalog, databases, and eBooks from off campus using a username and password. This library seems to have more then enough staff to best provide services to students, there are eight full-time librarians who hold MLS degrees, around 4 part-time library technicians, and around twenty-five student workers. The library utilizes social media to best serve the needs of their patrons; the library publishes two Blogs- one called Finding Utopia (the online public catalog) and Business Utopia (discussing resources for business majors.) There are also several staff members who are active on Twitter; Mrs. Pethe stated that they were mostly directed towards library promotion, but also at catalog and research help. While the library does not use Facebook for the common promotional aspects, they use the site for staff and student workers to trade shifts, post days they need off, and schedule hours. When discussing the increased use of social media, Mrs. Pethe said that the student workers have been the greatest influence on the libraries use of these tools. Student workers are encouraged to share emerging social media and remain active in changing trends in communication. The library is very devoted to providing the best services possible and it is shown by the cooperation between students and staff. The university has a program where the graduating class chooses what area of the university receives extra funding, this year the library was chosen. Due to student requests to access the student newspapers past and present online, Mrs. Pethe wrote a proposal to the senior class asking for funds to digitize student newspapers and possibly the yearbooks as well.
