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The e-newsletter of Chestnut Hill College

Logue Library Looks to the Future

Logue Library Looks to the Future

Logue Library
Logue Library is a bright and inviting space in which to do research, write, read and work on group projects.
Brenda Lange

Believe it or not, Logue Library has been around since the 1960-61 academic year, making it more than a half-century old. 

Logue then: stacks of books and periodicals and rows of wooden card catalogs, providing generations of CHC students and the campus community with information.

Logue today: Online access across campus and other SEPCHE libraries, eBooks and sleek computers with internet access and charging stations. A blog with a variety of interesting information about the communications industry and the library. An online chat with library representatives. Vibrancy and relevance to 21st century students, faculty, staff and community members.

The library, its staff (seven full time and three part time) and those they serve certainly are part of the 21st century, while, unfortunately, much of the building and its infrastructure remain solidly in the past.

To bring Logue Library into the present and sustain it into the future, renovations are planned to create dedicated learning centers, areas for more electronic equipment and a wide variety of infrastructure upgrades, including new windows, heating and air conditioning systems and renovations to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In preparation for the changes, the staff has weeded through outdated print materials and gotten rid of unused and unnecessary microfilm and microfiche. Diane Arnold, electronic resources librarian, blogs occasionally on the library’s site, http://www.chc.edu/logue-library, where she recently wrote about the process of eliminating those old materials.

Staff also are going through materials in the periodical stacks, where bound academic journals line the metal shelves. Most of the information is available online, and if these shelves were emptied — or nearly emptied — the resulting space could be used to create group study rooms.

The new Logue Library website is functional and user-friendly.

Not all print materials will be relegated to the recycle bin, however, as many students have a comfort level with print and some items aren’t duplicated electronically, said Mary Jo Larkin, SSJ, dean for library and information resources.

“Information is information, and each means is just a delivery method. We always foresee a balance [between the two],” she added.

Information sharing and retrieval is a constantly changing field. The Logue Library website is one tool students and other library users can access to keep up. Logue Library is open seven days a week, but its hours change, and users should confirm them via the website. The library is open to serve the students whenever classes are in session.

“No matter what amazing and helpful resources a library can provide, it is an approachable and experienced staff that makes the connection between the library patrons and the materials they need. This is Logue Library’s strongest advantage,” says Larkin. 

In addition to being a space for research, group project work, reading and writing, Logue Library also is a treasure chest containing a children’s library filled with children’s books and educational materials for student teachers and education majors.

The Gruber Theater, which seats 272, provides ample space for shows, programs, meetings and presentations of all types. Offices for the Montessori Early Childhood Teacher Education Program, the certification program run by CHC that teaches teachers in the Montessori approach to education is located on the third floor, and the second floor houses a rare book room holding nearly 700 volumes of first editions and otherwise old and valuable volumes while the Irish Room next to it preserves a broad collection of Irish history and literature titles.

— Brenda Lange 

This story originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Connections.

Logue Library has recently redesigned and relaunched its website to make it easier for students to search through its extensive collection of academic catalogs and research material. This is just one of the many ways Logue Library continues to evolve to better meet the needs of its students.