The 17th annual Symposium, held March 28 in the Learning Commons bridge, was a lively buzz of students, judges, visitors and even classes who came to view the record number of posters and student presenters. Over 100 students were involved in the 71 posters presented. Many thanks to our faculty judging teams and the faculty who led the workshops in the months leading up to the symposium. Congratulations to student winners and their faculty sponsors:

The 2013 Ithaka S+R survey of academic library deans and directors "examines how the leaders of academic libraries are approaching systemic changes in their environment and the opportunities and constraints they face in leading their organizations."  Interesting findings include:

• Teaching undergraduate research skills and information literacy is principally the library's responsibility and one of its most important functions
• With limited financial resources, most library leaders would invest money in staffing and more online or digital content
• Emerging and growing areas in academic libraries are digital preservation, instruction, instructional design, and information literacy services
• The shift to electronic journals is nearly complete, but the transition to ebooks is "more measured"
• The vast majority, including doctoral institutions, see resource sharing as an important library function and believes that building local print collections has declined in importance

The last meeting of the Helmke Library Muslim Journeys book group is Friday, April 25. The project familiarizes public audiences with the people, places, history, faith and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world. Read more about the books and the American Stories theme at: programminglibrarian.org/muslimjourneys/mj-themes/mj-american-stories.html

On April 25, 2014, 6-8pm in the Library, expert speaker Farah Combs will lead the discussion of The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson.

Recently the Northeast Indiana Diversity Library (NIDL) and its unique contribution to IPFW and the broader community was featured on Eric Olsen's 21 Country TV news.  NIDL's association with IPFW dates back to March 2009 when economic issues forced the closure of Indiana's oldest LGBT collection, the Up the Stairs Archive and Resource Library, and items were moved to a local storage facility.  Working with IPFW administration, the Helmke Library found space to house the library and resource center and welcomed the renamed Northeast Indiana Diversity Library to campus.  The library and archives have become an important resource for IPFW's Gender Studies program and others.  The archive has grown with the addition of the personal papers of IPFW's Larry Life and the initiation of a digitization project with Helmke Library of the local LGBT newsletter dating back to the mid-1980s.  NIDL's library collection consists of a large fiction and non-fiction book collection with an emphasis on counseling those who are struggling with their own sexual identity.  The archives is particularly significant for thousands of letters, articles, newspaper clippings and personal papers that chronicle the struggle for gay rights over the decades, as well as information about the contributions of local gay men and women to Fort Wayne's history.  More information about the collections and hours can be found on NIDL's website.  

The mDON repository has migrated from our library servers to a hosted platform offered by our software provider.  You will notice a change in the look and feel of the repository but the access to great digital collections ranging from the American Democracy Project to IPFW concert selections and the Omnibus Lecture Series is unchanged.  The homepage for mDON lists all of the collections with access by using the scroll bar adjacent to the collection thumbnail/descriptions.  All of the collections remain intact, but the individual collection pages and the customized search categories developed for some collections are now embedded in the advanced search option.  Please update bookmarks to: mdon.library.ipfw.edu and note that older version stable URLs assigned to specific collections are no longer valid.  For questions about mDON, contact Jennifer Leone, Digital Initiatives Coordinator, Library.

Helmke Library will be undergoing renovations from now through 2016, but the library and learning commons will be open and services provided during the entire renovation.  To keep everyone informed of the changes and schedules for renovations in the library building and library/learning commons services, we have developed a communication plan themed "Helmke Library Refresh."  While the Honors Program Center is under construction on the second floor, the blank wall space will begin filling up with updates, renderings, Q and As, and other surprises.  We will be launching a Helmke Library Refresh website, posting photos and updates to our Facebook page, and providing signage to alert users to current renovation projects and schedules. 

Helmke Library Refresh Updates: 

• March 2014 - August 2014:  Honors Program Center construction, Learning Commons, Library, 2nd floor
• April 2014:  Sprinkler system installation in ceiling, Learning Commons, Library, 2nd floor
• May 2014 - August 2014:  Foundation work, library entrance

Have you ever wanted to be a barista?  Now is your chance!  You can offer coffee, snacks, and words of encouragement to our students.  The Coffee/Study Break Table will be offered by Helmke Library and Student Affairs during finals week Monday, May 5, through Wednesday, May 7, from 5:00-8:00 pm each day. Faculty or staff who are interested in serving a shift at the coffee table should contact Tiff Adkins in the Library at 481-6708. Come in and join the fun in supporting our students!