Allen Library Bids Adieu to 2009

Now that the rest of the staff have had an opportunity to be heard on the blog (don't worry, you'll be hearing from them again), it's back to me for the last word of the year. Years from now, when I look back at 2009, I'll remember it as a year of excitement and hope...

[Cue hilarious/sentimental slide show, sappy music, and Wonder Years style voice over]

But seriously, a lot happened this year. In case you missed anything along the way, I just wanted to go through some of the things that 2009 brought with it for the Allen Library. These aren't really in any particular order, I just enjoy counting down (I also enjoy exclamation points, as you'll soon find out).

10. All of our public computers were updated to include Office 2007/2008. No more worrying about what to do with .docx files!

9. The University Libraries introduced a new format for our online subject guides, which are easier to read and offer more functionality. There are a lot of great Allen-related guides, so I hope everyone is taking advantage of them!

8. We held two very successful book/music sales, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. We're already starting to collect materials for next year!

7. The large seminar room was made more functional with the addition of a computer podium and a document camera. We're hoping to see some improvements to the small seminar room over winter break, so make sure to take a look when you're back in the Spring.

6. We received a very generous donation of books and score from Martha Hinrichsen that included (among many other things) a lot of 20th century works we didn't already have and a bunch of facsimiles of original manuscripts (Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mozart's Don Giovanni, etc.). It will take awhile for all of this to be added to our collection, but we're very excited to have these new materials.

5. After years of only allowing books and scores out for three weeks at a time, we extended our general loan policy to four weeks. With the one renewal that is allowed, you can now keep books and scores out for eight weeks!

4. We started experimenting with more ways to keep in touch with you, our patrons, this year. The new Facebook page started in March and this blog started in February. We also introduced live reference chat (via Meebo) this year.

3. Koha. Our new library catalog. Love it or hate it, it has changed how we do a lot of things in the library. There are a lot of improvements on the horizon for this catalog, so stay tuned for more!

2. We brought on three new full-time staff members this year. Jenny started as Public Services Coordinator in January, Tracey started as Head in August, and Andrew received a promotion to full-time Cataloging Coordinator in November.

1. We got a new stapler!!! Okay, maybe this shouldn't be in the number one position, but have you tried it out yet? After years of rotating between staplers that each worked about 10% of the time, we finally have one that works every time, and with very little effort! Everyone who has used it has been very excited.

So that's a little bit of what happened in 2009 at the Allen Library. We have a lot of plans for 2010, so make sure you keep following the blog to stay up-to-date on everything that's going on. Enjoy the rest of the year, and we'll see you in 2010!