 On
behalf of the University Libraries, I welcome all our students
and faculty back to campus for the fall term. I hope everyone
had a safe, restful, and enjoyable summer. While our campus
was fairly quiet, much was going on in the Libraries, both
here at Cudahy and downtown at the Lewis Library.
Of particular interest at the Lakeshore
campus has been the continued construction on the Information
Commons. What was a just patch of grass in front of the Jesuit
Residence a year ago, is now a four-story building on track
to be completed later this fall. It has been fun to watch
the IC rise up, floor-by-floor, to become a beautiful structure
whose “bookends” architecturally match the original Cudahy
Library and the Madonna Della Strada chapel. Much of the glass,
which is the centerpiece of the exterior, is in place now
and architects’ overall vision is clearly visible. The building
will open in January at the start of the spring 2008 semester.
We have been busy hiring new staff
over the summer and have added some outstanding talent to
the library team. Fred Barnhart (Loyola Law Library) became
our Associate Dean for Library Services and Collections mid-June;
Niamh McGuigan (Meredith College), a new reference librarian
at Cudahy, began work early June; and Leslie Haas (University
of Utah) started in late August as the Director of the Information
Commons. We are delighted to have all three persons with us
at Loyola.
At the Lewis Library, much time was
spent planning the transition to a smaller space in 25 East
Pearson to accommodate the expansion of Loyola’s Law School.
Plans are for the Lewis Library to move to the planned new
academic building on State Street in the future, but for the
next few years it will be necessary to downsize as part of
the project. Little-used collections will be moved to storage
and the library space will be rearranged to make it more efficient.
In preparation for the opening of the
Information Commons, we are relocating the Reference Department
offices to the former D’Arcy Gallery on the south side of
the main reading room in Cudahy. This is necessary since the
connection between the IC and Cudahy will run through what
are now the Lakefront Lounge and the current reference offices.
The new Reference Department will be more spacious with room
for our graduate assistants, all staff, and a work area.
Visitors to the Libraries this summer
included a large group from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
who wanted to learn about our Information Commons; the Director
of the Illinois State Library; and the Executive Director
of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois.
We expect a large number of guests in the months following
the opening of the Information Commons.
Best wishes for a productive and satisfying
semester. If I can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate
to call on me.
Bob Seal
Dean of Libraries
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