A Maag Summer

By Paul Kobulnicky

It is our summer tradition to make enough changes to the library to confuse all of our patrons. This summer has been no exception. We have used our quiet time to remove all library services from the Lower Level and to rearrange Microforms and Government Documents on Level 3. This move was undertaken to make room for academic support services such as the Writing Center and the Reading and Study Skills Center…programs that fit well with Maag’s Information Literacy programs.

Other changes in programs, services and spaces have also taken place; the details appear in this issue of the Maag Newsletter.

If we have confused you with our moves, just ask us about them. That’s why we are here.

                                  

    Study and Sustenance

By Ana Bobby
Get jazzed-up with the exciting additions to Jazzman’s menu. Check out the new breakfast and lunch gourmet specialties.

The 3rd and 4th levels are designated group study areas. The 5th and 6th floors are quiet study areas.



By Rosanna M. O’Neil

Collections Services, the department that orders, processes, and binds materials for Maag and the CRC, has had an exciting summer. The magnitude of the moves described elsewhere in this newsletter have as their backdrop the need to update the holdings in MaagNet. That is our job.
Our Systems Librarian, Jeff Trimble, works his magic to facilitate electronic location changes within the system. Then, the Collections Services staff physically reprocesses the items and prepares them for their new locations.
For example, moving several thousand volumes from the Reference Annex to other locations required en masse changes to the holdings in MaagNet, as well as pulling, remarking, and reshelving the volumes. This project also afforded us the opportunity to evaluate areas of the collection for currency and relevancy. In some cases items were transferred to the Northeast Ohio Regional Depository (always quickly retrievable when needed), and in other cases were replaced with more current works.
The summer is also a good time to do the “spring cleaning” that sometimes eludes us in the spring given the demands of the end-of-year budget closure. One of our most important projects was to address the periodical and serial collections, both for the accuracy of MaagNet holdings and the currency of print and electronic subscriptions. A bit like herding cats at times, subscriptions require vigilance given the ebb and flow of scholarly journal publishing, the new mediums we must consider, and the access issues we all face. We are carefully reviewing subscription renewals, requesting YSU departmental input, and keeping you abreast of what is new and exciting.
The Elves in Your Shelves have been busy this summer and we look forward to more projects this fall!

    Moving on Up

By Jan Schnall

Moving up two floors may not sound like a major undertaking, but when it involves moving 47 cabinets filled with densely packed microforms, it is a big deal. Those cabinets are heavy!

The Microforms and Government Documents collections are now located on the third floor adjacent to the Multimedia Center. Centralizing these units helps us serve you more efficiently. The service desk for Microforms and Documents is prominently located near the entrance to the third floor. The new area offers better lighting, increased space, and an improved research environment.

Oh, and the best part—Jazzman’s Cafe is located on the same floor making the trip to the third floor even more enjoyable.

New computer workstations are on the third, fifth and sixth floors to facilitate research needs; those on the third and sixth floors are handicapped accessible. Although the stations do not possess printing capabilities, they will enable patrons to verify call numbers, check email, or visit websites quickly without backtracking to the first floor.

Another move involved the Information Services Unit itself. Staff displacement over the summer allowed renovation of the old office space. Housing the largest part of the unit’s staff, the expanded area fosters better organization and communication. It also offers a more conducive space for meetings with faculty members.
Maag Library is continually on the move. If you haven’t seen the library recently, you haven’t seen the library!


    Rare "Gems" in Maag's Stacks

by Vic Fleischer and Mary Ann Johnson

Funded by the Maag and Brown families, the Special Collections Room has housed the rare book collection of Maag Library for thirty years. Surprisingly, only a few items were added to the small yet eclectic collection since its construction. Like many things in Maag Library, that has recently changed and in grand fashion!

Throughout the years Maag staff and patrons have been alerting University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Vic Fleischer to the fact that many more "gems" still reside in Maag's stacks that should be moved to Special Collections. With the transfer of four staff members to the Archives & Special Collections Unit two years ago, the possibility of pursuing this long-overdue project finally became a reality.

Mary Ann Johnson began the laborious and time-consuming process of searching the shelves for such items. She then researched and evaluated each volume with the assistance of Cortney Parsons, a history major and the archives student assistant. Approximately 4,000 volumes published between 1700 and 1875 were evaluated and nearly half of those moved into Special Collections.

Certain collections and subject areas were targeted for scrutiny. One such area involved slavery and abolition materials; Maag’s collection still had rare items in the open stacks. Nearly 300 books, pamphlets, and broadsides covering all aspects and viewpoints of the slavery issue in early and mid nineteenth century America and Britain were moved to Special Collections. Another area involved items donated by Benjamin Franklin Wirt, a Youngstown attorney and avid book collector.

While these "gems" discovered in Maag’s stacks are now stored securely in the Archives & Special Collections for safekeeping, they are still available to the public Monday through Friday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and other times by appointment.

Newsletter Editor: Amy Kyte
Need more information? Have questions? Visit the library home page at www.maag.ysu.edu or call us at (330)941-3678