A new face will be seen around the stacks of Irwin Library come June 1.
Julie Miller, newly appointed dean of libraries, will replace current dean Lewis Miller. Julie Miller said she was attracted to Butler University because of the academic excellence here.
While this is good, the main focus I want to see from the library is the continual improvement of the resources they provide students.
The library is the most under appreciated building on campus.
Yes, the library is packed around midterms and finals but not that many people actually use the library for more than a place to do homework.
The library’s effort to provide the campus with information is commonly overlooked.
From the online databases they set up to the digitizing of older documents, there are so many things that the library does to give away information.
Yet, when students look for information the first place they go to is Wikipedia.
Students should use the libraries, and in return the library should be more interactive with students and faculty so that when people need to do searches they feel more confident in the library’s resources.
I want to see the library continue to digitize older documents. The historical documents that are housed in the library are some of the richest spots for information on campus; yet, not many students know about it.
Digitizing and posting these things online so students can easily access them is a big help to everyone.
Miller can successfully involve more and more students in the library’s resources and all it has to offer.
Going directly to the students and faculty to see what they want and need is a good way to begin involving more people and learning how to give them better access to information.
Miller has published several articles on and has been studying ways to re-spawn libraries, so I have full faith that she can do it.
Butler hit a home run with Miller. Her abilities and expectations are exactly what Butler needs to take our academics to the next level by directly involving the library.
Her emphasis to get more participation from the student body will improve the overall academics of the school, and I believe that Butler students will be more versed and educated by the time they graduate if they take advantage of the library.
