ETBU Library Blog

“It is worse still to be ignorant of your own ignorance.” – Saint Jerome Last year I was given a daily desk calendar (you know, those calendars you forget to tear off daily and so you end up ripping out a chunk every few weeks) that featured humorous answers given by students on tests. Mixed in with the often hilarious exam answers were quotes related to education. The entry from Wednesday, June 26 has been taped to my computer monitor in my office ever since. “It is worse still to be ignorant of your own ignorance.” This is a quote is taken from Saint Jerome’s (who is also the Patron Saint of Libraries ) Letter 53 is a daily reminder and warning that yes, even as a librarian, I am constantly in danger of being ignorant of my own ignorance. I see this play out in real time often when I visit classes to instruct students in the ways of becoming more information literate individuals. Recently, I listened as a student told her classmates that this class (meaning the one...

As you may have heard, the library embarked on several new adventures this summer including launching our first ever ETBU Library Pinterest account. In the past, the library has participated in social media by attempting to connect with our users through this blog, Twitter, and Facebook. As an obsessive Pinterest user myself, I have wondered in the past what purpose the ETBU library could accomplish by having a Pinterest account, and up until this summer I had been unable to nail down exactly how we could best utilize it to reach or users in a meaningful way. That was until inspiration struck while listening to a LASIR (Liberal Arts Section Information Rounds) Lightening Talk this past June at the 2014 Association of Christian Librarians Conference held at Huntington University . During this particular Lightning Talk (a series of very short presentations given in a single period by different speakers), a colleague, Robbie Bolton -- Library Director, Spring Arbor University,...

Welcome back to all our returning students, and big first time welcome to our new students, both freshmen and transfers. Several new things are now found at Jarrett Library, so let's jump right in and tell you about it. ID Card Reader for Front Door A card reader for your ETBU ID card is now found at the Jarrett Library front door - at least the one to the right as you are entering the building.  This is for added security, and you will your ID to enter the library from 6:00 PM - Midnight (well, 11:50 PM) Monday - Thursday, and all day on Saturday (Noon - 4:50 PM) and Sunday 4:00 PM - 11:50 PM). Because of this we no longer require that you show us your ID card as you enter the building, even during the day.  However, don't forget that if we do request to see your ID card you must present it to any member of the library staff who asks to see it. If for some reason you forget your card it will be up to the staff member on duty to determine whether you can have...

As a reference and instruction librarian here at ETBU, I often find myself lost in the stacks or the archives just marveling at the resources that are available to our students. The sad thing is, many of these resources one might never know about unless they were looking for that specific item and proceeded with wisdom to ask one of your ETBU librarians where you might find it. We have incredible information that many people aren’t aware of – this is the librarian’s lament. Apparently, I’m not alone in this lament as a fellow librarian over at UGL in Illinois touched on the same idea in the post “Listful Thinking” which includes a lovely bucket list for their soon to graduate students. It is a beautiful attempt to help those future alums soak in the value of their college library just one more time before they head off to new adventures (and new libraries). To our soon to graduate 2014 seniors:  We, the librarians and staff of Mamye Jarrett Library eagerly awaited you...

It would be difficult not to be inspired by the great author and lover of libraries Neil Gaiman’s 2013 lecture for the UK Reading Agency titled, “Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading, and Daydreaming.” Anyone that has read anything in support of libraries could have stumbled upon Mr. Gaiman sharing about the value of libraries and the difference they have made in his life – and this librarian would say, “Rightly so.” It should come as no surprise that Gaiman has been quoted as saying about National Library Week, “You should be especially nice to a librarian today, or tomorrow. Sometime this week, anyway. Probably the librarians would like tea. Or chocolates. Or a reliable source of funding.” Of course, I would add being nice to library staff members, student workers, government officials that support library funding, and friends of the library to that list.  I don’t tell you this to suggest that the reference desk (or the circulation desk or the technica...