Welcome!

Back row from left to right: Shereen Marx, Dean Joanie Chavis, Peter Klubek.

Middle row from left to right: Associate Dean Jacqueline Jones, Lauren McAdams, Jenny Wong.

Front row from left to right: Laddawan Kongchum, Kathy Seidel.

                             

Welcome! Welcome to a new semester, a new BRCC, and to this, the inaugural newsletter/blog of your Magnolia Library.  Here you will be able to find out about all the news, events and activities happening in your library. It is a collaborative effort of all the librarians and will be a great resource to not only follow what is happening in the library, but will also afford you another outlet to get involved and participate in developing the collections, resources, and programming you require in support of your courses.

This raises an interesting question: What is required of an academic library in the 21st Century? The Association of College and Research Libraries is an organization that has examined this issue, and Larry Hardesty wrote about it in 2000. Although over 10 years old, this article is still very relevant today. Hardesty outlined the worth of a college education and explained that if one of the outcomes is to be able to identify, locate, and use information as lifelong learners, access to a library and the services of librarians is critical. He explained that students need to not only know and understand how to use electronic resources, but that they must also develop a knowledge of the physical items and resources available to them. The author stressed that these resources are selected by both librarians and their instructors, and therefore offer a more in-depth perspective of the very issues discussed in classrooms. The physical library in combination with electronic material helps to paint a fuller picture and can aid in getting your students to think beyond completing an assignment and develop a more global perspective.

To this end, we need your help! Please continue to support your library and communicate with your subject area liaisons regularly (liaison list is here). If there is something we can add to your library or our services that we do not have, let us know. Remember that in addition to assistance with resources in the library we have library tours and bibliographic instruction sessions, which can be customized to your class/assignment.        

Librarians have already been busy adding new resources to serve you better. Recently we have added to the support for students with disabilities. A wheelchair-accessible study table has been made available on the second floor. The height of the table is adjustable with the push of a button and ranges from 25 to 33 inches. The table is located on the second floor of the Library, adjacent to the windows that face Government Street. Priority for use of the table is given to students in wheelchairs and other students with disabilities. In addition, the screen reading software JAWS installed at computer station 206 on the second floor is designed to make electronic resources accessible for students with visual impairments.  Please contact the library at (225) 216-8555 if you have questions about the library or its resources.

Wheelchair-accessible study table on 2nd Fl. 

                            

Librarians have also been busy preparing to meet the needs of students at our new satellite facilities by creating libraries in these spaces. Over the last two weeks visits were conducted at New Roads, Jackson, Plaquemine, Port Allen, Acadian, and Hooper Road.

 Librarians touring Airport Facility.

                                       

Librarians touring Airport Facility.

                                                                     

Librarians touring Plaquemine.

                                                    
The libraries in these spaces will not be complete before the start of the semester, but library services will be available the first week of classes.

In addition to these exciting developments, your BRCC librarians have also been representing our campus out in the community. Bernard Terrace completed a renovation prior to the start of the new school year, and Magnolia Librarians were present to assist with moving teachers back into the classroom.

 Librarian Group photo in front of Bernard Terrace elementary.

                                       

We are looking forward to another great semster and academic year!