The collective work of our student staff during this past school year - keeping the Music Library open 87.5 hours a week, the main library Information Desk open 104 hours a week, and checking out and shelving more than 20,000 books and other library materials – is truly remarkable. While much of what they do is visible to library patrons, a considerable amount of student work also goes on behind the scenes. Their daily labor plays a critical role in providing information resources and services … [Read more...]
Identity, Data, and Davidson 101
July 17, 2014 By
How does college shape identity? This question is central to this year’s Library Davidson 101, an online survey and exercise for Davidson’s incoming first-year students. Back in January, librarian Matthew Vest wrote a post about our analysis of the 2013 data gathered from this assignment. The data is extremely useful to us, and we strive to make Library Davidson 101 useful for the students too. Our theme for Library Davidson 101 is tied to this year’s common reading book, The Other Wes Moore. … [Read more...]
Peer Research Advisor Projects
May 6, 2014 By
If you’ve ever asked at the library for help with formatting a citation, finding the full text of an article, or operating the microfilm machine, you’ve likely interacted with a student Peer Research Advisor (PRA). These students work a combined total of 74 hours a week at the Information Desk answering questions such as these. A PRA may be the first person you see as you walk in the library doors, but you may not know they do other work for the library in addition to answering your questions. … [Read more...]
Closing Music
November 20, 2013 By
It’s 4:45 pm on the day before Fall Break. The frantic pace of the preceding week has slowed and most students have already left campus. In the library, the former flurry of activity is now only evident in the crinkled papers and empty coffee cups strewn on tables. Computer screens are dark and the hum of the printers has grown silent. A new, unanticipated sound begins to drift through the air and past the ears of the few students who still remain, signaling the library is closing in 15 minutes. … [Read more...]
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
July 31, 2013 By
Some of the smallest elements will be bringing big ideas to Davidson this coming school year. Cells are the focus of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Davidson 2013 Common Reading book, which all incoming Davidson students will read over the summer and discuss during orientation. Author Rebecca Skloot traverses the disciplines of science, history, and sociology in her quest to understand the full story of immortal cells – and the woman they came from. As African-Americans living in … [Read more...]
