It's CONVENTION Time!

Do parties matter? No, not keggers (although they matter, too), but political parties. Party convention season is upon us. Celebrate by reading a good book.

Political Parties Matter: Realignment and the Return of Partisan Voting. JK2261 .S863 2006

U.S. election system. JK1976 .U217 2004

National party conventions, 1831-1988. JK2255 .N375 1991

Party crashing : how the hip-hop generation declared political independence. E185 .G55 2008

Millennial makeover : MySpace, YouTube, and the future of American politics. JK1764 .W635 2008

What Students Are Saying

We've been gathering feedback from students about the Library's new look. Here's what some of them had to say:

Overall, comments have been very positive:

"Good space to chill out."

"Wonderful! The Library is more spacious now, more comfortable and it displays the real image of both academic and a business place. It looks very professional. "

"I think you could [use] more chairs, however, extremely comfortable overall, it’s an excellent place to “chill”"

"I love it. Very accommodating."

"I adore your taste in décor!"

"I like it, good furniture, probably need [a] few more."

"Amazing chairs/sofas."

"I really like now we have a place to study, while waiting for class or if you have an exam. It is good place to study. Thanks to those who [had] this idea."

"Finally, we can rest while reading books, newspapers or magazines. This is what was missing to be a complete library. I love the silence and the chairs. Maybe some more sofas, comfortable ones. Thank you NOVA!"

Students also had some suggestions. In addition to the oft-made observation that the Reading Room could use more chairs (we know!), some students wanted to see some more color. One Library User even suggested a pink sofa!

Many students have been surprised to discover the Library's interesting and diverse collection of magazines, which were formerly shelved on the upper-level and unfortunately not much visited. And large numbers of Library users now make use of the daily newspapers, which previously were kept behind the Circulation Desk but now receive exponentially more use on open display in the Reading Room.

Said one student: "whoever put these newspapers here was a genius."

Library Lemonade

Alexandria Campus Library served lemonade to new and returning students at the beginning of Fall Term 2008.

Over 160 glasses of lemonade were served in the first two days of classes. Welcome (or welcome back!) to NOVA!

Custom Search Engines

Search a specified portion of the World Wide Web with two of the Library's new customized search engines.

Librarian Anne Anderson used Google Technology to create two custom search engines, for the Religion and Science sections of the Best of the Web page.

The search engine you’ll see on each of those pages will search the content of only the websites listed on the Religion page and only the websites on the Science page.

Also, don't miss important information on hours, FAQs, and reserve information, staff contact info & more on the Alexandria Campus Library Home Page.

Librarians in the Living Room

Library Staff hang out in the new Library Reading Room.

Come by and see what you might like to read.

Group Study Rooms

When Librarians asked students what they most wanted in the Library, the most frequent request was for Group Study Rooms.

The opening of the new wing of the Bisdorf Building allowed for some creative repurposing of space in the Library, including our first Group Study Rooms.

The five Group Study Rooms are located across from the Circulation Desk, on the right as one enters the Library.

Group Study Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Library patrons are encouraged not to leave unattended personal possessions in the Study Rooms and to be considerate of others when using them.

Welcome Home, Librarians

The Librarians in their new (to them) office space:





(l-r: Matt, Bruce, Jean, Anne. Sylvia's office is visible in the back, center).

Moving Moving Moving

How it all went down:

(the old financial aid office)

(Matt shelving popular reading books in their new location)

(The NEW Library Reading Room, showing the Popular Magazine collection where the old Financial Aid office used to be, and showing the Popular Reading collection in place).

(messy and crowded! No wonder the Library staff needed more space! This was someone's desk!!!)

(Jane and Twynell move into their expanded office space -- still got some cleaning to do!)


(Kim's new space -- she's smiling because she's not so crowded!)

(The Librarians' old office on moving day -- it's ALL got to go! This area will become a student study room)

(the Librarians' new office, formerly the Counseling offices).

(Anne, Jean, Matt, and Bruce and Darth Tater wave goodbye to the old office and get ready to move into the new (to us)).

Moving Day!

The Alexandria Campus Library was closed all day on Tuesday 12 August to do some work to our physical space and computer infrastructure.

For the Library Faculty, it was moving day as they moved into their new (new to them!) offices on the other side of the Library. Library Faculty can now be found in room 232A -- come visit, we've already decorated!

Other changes are even more dramatic:

• Popular magazines were relocated to the main library level (academic and professional titles remain upstairs).
• Computers in student areas were upgraded to newer, faster models.
• Popular Reading books were moved to the main library level.
• New leather chairs were put in place in the new Library Reading Room.
• Group Study Rooms were prepared for student use in Fall '08.
• A brand new study room was created behind the book stacks, with wired carrels for laptop use.
• Study carrels were re-arranged to provide more spacious & convenient individual study areas throughout the main floor of the Library.

Come and see the transformations happening in Your campus Library.

We still have lots of work to do (group study areas need more thorough renovation, carpet in public areas and office areas needs replacing, the Library is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, and we're hoping for more new furniture in the Reading Room and Study Room) but this is a very promising first step!

Why is it so quiet in here?!?!

Shhhhh.

Why is it suddenly so quiet in the Library?

Reading-room quiet suddenly reigns in the Alexandria Campus Library following the move of the Counseling and Financial Aid offices (and their shared waiting room!) to the new wing of the Bisdorf Building. Counseling is now located in room 194 and Financial Aid can be found in room 185.

Look for some big changes in the Library as new lounge furniture moves in, current magazines and popular reading move downstairs, and the Library faculty move to a new home on the other side of the Library.

Other new features coming soon include group study rooms, current newspapers on display, and increased study space throughout the Library.

The Library will be closed all day on Tuesday 12 August to move furniture and shelving and also for a computer migration.