In addition to bubble-popping and “make your own squeeze ball” stressbuster activities, the George F. Smith Library of the Health Sciences hosted its first “Anatomy Rare Book Show and Tell” on Friday, May 13. Over the afternoon, 18 attendees (15 students, 2 librarians, and a regular library visitor) dropped by to see, touch (supervised!), and learn about:
- Andreas Vesalius, De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2nd edition, 1555 – a gorgeous book with renowned illustrations, with our copy featuring a magnificent 1572 binding)
- G. Bidloo, Anatomia Humani Corporis (1st edition, 1685 – folio size with awesome and gruesome giant plates)
- Henry Gray, Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical (1st British edition, 1858, and 1st American edition, 1859 – fantastic pedagogical illustrations, and thanks to television, probably the best-known textbook title)
Librarian lessons learned:
Patron serendipity: A first-year medical student recently visited Special Collections and expressed interest in the rare books. She was concluding gross anatomy studies, and really liked the idea of a show and tell of classic anatomical works. She was happy to post news of the event on the private Facebook page of the first year students. So if one patron is interested, it’s reasonable to conclude that maybe more than one will be interested!
Location location location: Instead of using the Special Collections reading room, the books were displayed in E-Classroom 2, a recently renovated room closer to where students congregate on Smith Library’s upper floor. A sign taped to a chair and an open door worked to draw some second-year students temporarily away from their USMLE Step 1 studies. Prompted by a Vesalian illustration, some even recalled which bone in the human body is the only bone not connected to another.
If it works, do it again: Attendees showed interest and stayed longer than originally anticipated. (By the end, my voice was shot.) So I intend to make similar rare book, manuscript, or even historical object show and tell events a regular end of semester activity.
The Libraries partnered with Student Affairs once again to bring Club Alex back to Alexander Library during Senior Days. This much-anticipated annual event, which sold out within minutes, saw hundreds of graduating seniors and their guests descend upon the library-turned-nightclub on the day following the conclusion of finals. Alexander was transformed with all the trappings one would expect of an actual club: mood lighting and pipe and drape walls helped set the tone in the reference room—which featured a DJ, dance floor, and bar—and an R&B lounge was installed on the ground floor for those who preferred a more intimate atmosphere. A photo booth allowed partygoers to capture the excitement of the evening, and a massive Pac-Man-themed light show was projected onto the atrium walls to the delight of all in attendance. The buzz on social media was considerable, with many students expressing their gratitude and enthusiasm—and perhaps even more alumni wishing that they had had the chance to party at the library when they were still at Rutgers! Club Alex is a great opportunity for us to create an impression of the Libraries that will last in students’ minds well beyond graduation, and we are grateful to be a partner in this event each year.
On May 13th, 2016, Dana Library hosted its second annual staff development day which was centered on exploring the question, “What does it mean to be a user centered academic library in the 21st century?” A “user centered” library was defined as one that optimizes the library experience around how users can, want, or need to use it, rather than forcing the users to change their behavior to accommodate it. Impending renovations to our third floor and the concurrent Rutgers University Library master facilities planning process for an overall building renovation prompted the need for us to take a critical look at where we are now in terms of services, collections and space and where we envision ourselves to be in the future. The full day agenda included invited speakers from the Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N) Division of Student Affairs representing the Office of ADA Services and Veteran Affairs, Counseling Services, and Judicial Affairs, and Student Development/Educational Programming, along with the Rutgers University Center for Organizational Leadership and Development.
