A New Challenge

My library career has just presented me with an exciting new challenge. This semester I began my new position as Assistant Library Director at the Stark State College, Digital Library. Yes, assistant director! Don't get too excited, there are only 2 of us on staff, the director and myself. We have been charged with the task of setting up library services for the campus community. Stark State College is a very motivated, growth oriented and popular 2 year college in Stark County. The growth the college is experiencing is unheard of during these tough economic times and I am excited to be a part of it.

The Digital Library itself, has a wonderful physical space. It's very stylish and modern with 6 plasma TVs on the walls for teaching purposes and 32 computer workstations. We have no print resources in the library. The majority of the resources we provide are via OhioLINK. We also have a partnership with Kent State, Stark Campus Library to use their traditional library space to house our print collection and allow our students to request and pickup materials through OhioLINK.

The faculty and students are very excited about their new library. For many years they have had access to most of these resources but the missing link was the lack of librarians to guide them to the resources and show how to use them appropriately. So far I have taught 30+ classes introducing library services and resources. At least 1 or 2 students from every class have made a point to share with me how thankful they are to know about these resources and many even told me the resources are "cool!"

There are many challenges ahead as with starting anything new. We are working to "brand" our new library while at the same time figure out what it really means to call ourselves a "digital library". Please feel free to post any comments or questions regarding this topic, I'd be interested in your feedback.