While the rest of the school enjoys their Thursday morning sleep-ins, a dedicated group of twelve students and two faculty advisors gathers at eight o’clock to discuss library policies. These students and faculty members are part of the Library Advisory Board, also known as the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) Committee. The library created the program last year to encourage communication between the students and library staff and to get student input about the current rules and suggestions for improvements to the library. The Committee’s faculty advisors are Elizabeth Tully, OWHL Director, and Michael Blake, OWHL Associate Director of Instructional Services. Members of the Committee discuss library policies in order to make the library more student-friendly. As students, the members of the Library Advisory Board can relay student reactions to and experiences with rule enforcement in the library. Committee members are lobbying for student cell phone use in the library. “The way we see it, it’s no different to talk softly on your cell phone than to your friend sitting next to you,” said board member Travis Wright ’08. Once the student board members come up with ideas, Mrs. Tully relates the suggestions to the new proctors, whom the library hired to regulate and enforce the rules. The students are also responsible for letting Mrs. Tully know when the proctors overstep their boundaries and are too strict in enforcing library rules. The Committee would like to let students know that proctors, although stern at times, are important in ensuring library safety, especially in the event of an emergency. The OWHL Committee recently created an account on Facebook.com. Many students have the misconception that the purpose of the account is actually to monitor students’ accounts to make sure that they are appropriate. However, Instructional Librarian Sara Ciaburri created the account to encourage communication between students and the library. The Facebook account also allows the library to alert students of special events, new resources available to students, news, and all things related to the library. The library’s account can also serve as a way for students to contact librarians about specific questions related to research papers or books. On the account, Ms. Ciaburri wrote, “Do not hesitate to add us as a friend! We are not here to read your profiles and look for inappropriate content. We are here to bring the information YOU NEED to a space you already belong to!” The library also has a blog site, which can be accessed through its Facebook account. The blog contains several articles about library news. Students can subscribe to receive the blog’s feeds. Anyone who wishes to give suggestions to the library can refer to the list of Committee members listed on the left hand site of the page. The OWHL committee is also working to bring luxuries to students to help them with their academics and to enjoy their stay in the library. Some of these luxuries include comfortable chairs in the stacks, computers that can be checked out for use anywhere in the library, and iPods for students who wish to listen to recorded books on bus rides to sports games or other off-campus events. The Committee encourages students to voice their opinions and ideas. As Committee member Blaine Johnson ’08 said, “We try, but we’re not a randomized selection of the student body. The more people to complain about stuff, the better.”
