91福利社鈥檚 Thrift Library wants people to enjoy viewing items in its special collections and to be able to tap into its rich storehouse of information for academic or personal research. While preserving the past is important, it鈥檚 even more important to know where to find specific items. In 2023 they hired Kenzie Barnett as research and instruction archivist and have been busy ever since getting thousands of pieces of 91福利社 history sorted out in practical, meaningful ways while ensuring that fragile items are properly stored and preserved.听听

Barnett also works with the various academic departments around 91福利社, helping students understand what they do and how to use the university鈥檚 archives in research. There have also been students assisting in the cataloging of thousands of items, which will be of benefit now and in the future. In addition to research, Thrift Library offers internships to students.听

An example of recent research was an array of historical items that students taking Literary Theory and Research assembled in the lobby of Watkins Hall during the College of Arts and Science Showcase in fall 2023, which included a display about student life over the years.听听

鈥淭he best way to engage people is to make history tangible for them,鈥� Barnett said. 鈥淎 lot of people think history is a really boring subject, so having that physical evidence of 鈥榟ere鈥檚 what students just like you wrote about鈥� that would be amazing.鈥�听

Thrift Library Director Dr. Melanie Croft saw firsthand the importance of preserving the past when visitors came to the library during Homecoming last year and were greeted by historical displays. Especially popular were the yearbooks.听

鈥淲e have the largest collection of AU history, which serves to honor our founders and those who have continued to support the university throughout the years,鈥� Dr. Croft said.听

For years, yearbooks and other printed documents have been available online and a goal is for more to be accessed while easing the process. Much has been digitized, but that鈥檚 only part of the challenge facing efforts to preserve university history.听听

The archives now have found a safe, climate-controlled place in Thrift Library and the library staff is committed to following best practices used by other institutions and organizations in archiving. Thrift Library also wants to locate significant archival items located elsewhere on campus. Future efforts include digitizing old audio and video recordings, which will take time and money because of the now outdated media used, such as home movie film, VHS and Beta videotapes and open-reel audio tapes.听

鈥淲e’ve got all the good stuff from before everybody puts their lives online now,鈥� she said.听听

Barnett recalls assisting James and Barbara Mullinax.听听

鈥淛ames had a close relative who attended AU back in 1914-1915. While doing some cleaning they found old yearbooks from the then-new institution. Unfortunately, at least one of them was in poor condition due to general age and the spine had fallen apart, leaving the pages a mess. They were mostly able to keep the other together, but it wasn鈥檛 doing well,鈥� Barnett said. 鈥淭hey were hoping to piece what they had back together to make sense of the yearbook and keep the memories alive; however, none of those had page numbers. So they called our library seeing if we knew anything or could direct them in the best way to help with the yearbooks. While we have a few items鈥攍ike the Yearbooks鈥攄igitized and findable on Internet Archive, we do not have many and it isn鈥檛 always easy to access. So I tracked down copies of the originals, then set to work scanning the two books in their entirety into PDF documents that were stored both digitally and then physically printed off. I emailed the links for the PDFs and then sent the physical copies by mail so that regardless, they would have a tangible, ordered copy. They got it around Christmas, in time to show to the rest of the family.鈥�听

Donating and supporting听

Thrift Library is interested in any items related to 91福利社鈥檚 history, such as old yearbooks, playbills for college productions or related items. If you have an item you would like to share with or donate to 91福利社, contact Barnett at kbarnett@andersonuniversity.edu.听听

The post Archiving More Than a Century of Memories appeared first on 91福利社.

According to Associate Professor of English Dr. Katherine Wyma, who teaches the course, the research is helping students learn more about research processes that will help them become more competitive in graduate school or a future career; also to aid in the cataloging of thousands of items found in the university鈥檚 archives.

Dr. Wyma has been coordinating plans for a display in the lobby of Watkins Hall, along with Research and Instruction Archivist Kenzie Barnett of Thrift Library at 91福利社.

Items on exhibit highlighted various aspects of 91福利社 history, including an old wooden shepherd鈥檚 crook, part of a more than century old Anderson tradition; and a display about student life over the years. Also on display was 鈥淧lay Around the World: A Study on Regional and Temporal Differences in Children鈥檚 Toys,鈥� featuring items gifted to the university by international students.

鈥淭he best way to engage people is to make history tangible for them,鈥� Barnett said. 鈥淎 lot of people think history is a really boring subject, so having that physical evidence of 鈥榟ere鈥檚 what students just like you wrote about鈥� that would be amazing.”

Showcase: An Event for Student Scholars, featured 64 students presenting on a variety of topics in three poster sessions, interactive exhibits and research talks. Organized by Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Robert Franklin, Showcase took place at Watkins Hall on the 91福利社 campus.

The post Anderson Memorabilia Presentation Part of Arts and Sciences Showcase appeared first on 91福利社.

For Dr. Melanie Croft, a love of reading and learning from an early age started her on a natural progression that led her to her current role as Director of Library Services at 91福利社.听

鈥淚 think the love of reading began when I was a kid. I lived in the library,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I was really young, we lived in a tiny town in Northern California鈥�500 people鈥攁nd we had a one-room public library that was open maybe two days a week. I love learning and so it was a natural evolution. I was an elementary teacher, then I went into library science, was a high school librarian, a district librarian and a professor and now I鈥檓 here.鈥�

Dr. Croft earned a BS in Liberal Studies from San Diego Christian College; an MA in Education in Teaching, Learning and Technology from Point Loma Nazarene University; an MA in Education, School Librarianship from Azusa Pacific University; and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Liberty University.

Prior to coming to Anderson, Dr. Croft served on faculty at the University of West Georgia and Fresno Pacific University. She was also Coordinator of Learning Resources as well as Library Media Specialist for a school district in California. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Library Association, Association of Christian Librarians and the South Carolina Association of School Librarians. She has received numerous academic and professional honors and has published various articles in her field.

Library Enhancements

Thrift Library continues to support the needs of 91福利社 students, faculty and staff for comprehensive services to aid in research. Added to those services are a mobile app and a 24/7 online librarian.

A new self checkout mobile app, AU Thrift Library, offered through Meescan, is streamlining the checkout process while offering a one-stop hub for Thrift Library鈥檚 online resources. And while Thrift Library鈥檚 website has always been available 24/7, patrons can now access professional librarians around the clock through Chatstaff.

According to Dr. Croft, Thrift Library continues to provide guidance to students all along their academic journey. But of course there鈥檚 more to students researching online than just going to a search engine.

鈥淓ven though they鈥檙e considered digital natives because they grew up on devices, that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean they know how to find the right kind of information, so that鈥檚 our job鈥攖o teach them how to do that,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat we teach is information and media literacy, which is a great need now, especially with generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) on the scene. Students more than ever now need to be taught how to discern what is real and what is not real online, not just what is going to meet your information needs. Where did that information come from? Can it be trusted? Should you use it? Then, how do you use it and give credit for it? There鈥檚 so many dimensions to it now, there鈥檚 so much online鈥攊t鈥檚 just made life more complicated. It鈥檚 easier to get to it but learning how to use it all is complicated and requires quite a bit of instruction.鈥�

Dr. Croft noted that Thrift Library plans to launch an instructional resource called Library DIY that includes video tutorials to help students and faculty navigate research projects and papers. The tutorials will deal with scholarly research, citing sources and using APA (American Psychological Association) style and other styles in writing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really just a lot of self-directed learning, so that if they are able to take care of the basics themselves. It鈥檚 just foundational stuff they need to know about library research. Then when they work with our librarians on consultations, which we are offering digitally or in-person. We can work on the more advanced things with them,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y goal has been to simplify everything, because there is information overload in the world now. I want to put what you would actually need. Just a list of links, the hours and the search tools.鈥�

Thrift Library has also signed new agreements that improve resource sharing with other libraries. Dr. Croft says 91福利社 has signed reciprocal borrowing agreements with the Association of Christian Librarians and ATLA鈥攂oth Christian library organizations.

鈥淣ow all of our students, faculty and staff have the ability to visit institutions that belong to these programs all over the United States. We鈥檙e working on expanding access to what鈥檚 available out there,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e of course have access through all of the academic libraries in South Carolina.鈥�

While books remain an important part of Thrift Library, digital assets are a high priority.

鈥淪ince I got here I started working on looking at all of our database subscriptions, which is the biggest part of our budget鈥攁ll those online resources鈥攔eprioritizing those, because we have so many new doctoral programs. We needed more scholarly research types of sources. We spent some time going through what we already had and if it wasn鈥檛 being used, we let it go,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e invested in quite a lot of good resources and some that the professors had been requesting. That鈥檚 been a great change, because we were doing a lot of interlibrary loan requests where people would find the abstract to something and then have to request it, which showed that we needed more robust databases.鈥�

Thrift Library is also part of a local group of public and academic libraries called OPAL (Oconee, Pickens, Anderson Libraries). The directors of each of these libraries meet periodically to collaborate on shared professional development opportunities, promotional events, and how to increase access and usage of our libraries.

OPAL organizes events throughout the year, including an upcoming co-sponsored by Thrift Library, with author Ron Rash for his new book, The Caretaker, October 6, 2023, hosted by the Pickens County Library System at Hampton Memorial Library in Easley, South Carolina.

While looking to the future, Thrift Library is also honoring the past, preserving more than a hundred years of Anderson鈥檚 history in an archive. Efforts are underway to organize donated items and other things that document the university鈥檚 history.

鈥淜enzie Barnett, who was an AU graduate, graduated with a degree in History two years ago, got her library degree and she鈥檚 now our official archivist,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 working on getting all of that organized, and eventually it will be put online where some things can be accessed digitally. There are photos, university newspapers, newspaper clippings about AU, yearbooks, programs from concerts and theatre productions鈥攂asically anything tied to the history of AU.鈥� Dr. Croft noted that the collection even includes an electronic piano once used by Grammy Award-winning artist Johnny Mann, the namesake of the Commercial Music center in the South Carolina School of the Arts at 91福利社.

All of the Thrift Library resources are available at their website.

The post Thrift Library Enters Academic Year with New Director, Enhancements for AU Community appeared first on 91福利社.

As Kent Millwood looks back on 34 years of directing Thrift Library at 91福利社, he says his top accomplishment has been staying in front of change. That in itself is no small feat, considering everything that鈥檚 happened in the years since.

During Millwood鈥檚 time at Anderson, the university has grown into the largest private institution in South Carolina and the library itself has moved across campus and transformed into the state-of-the-art Thrift Library. During those years, the library has transitioned from card catalogs to computers, and from thousands of volumes of books to virtually limitless digital resources. More importantly, the library has moved from simply being a storehouse of information to a dynamic hub of research activity and group projects.

After earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in broadcasting, Millwood began his career working at a television station in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. From there he moved to Dyersburg Community College where he was a media specialist. Then he interviewed for and accepted a position as library director/media specialist at his alma mater, Hiwassee College. Millwood had been a student worker there before graduating, so he had some familiarity with libraries. But he said he had his master鈥檚 in the wrong field鈥攅ducation, with an emphasis in learning resources. Millwood went on to earn his masters in library science while on the job.

鈥淚t was a bit of a gamble to become a library director with no experience and not bomb at it. I was a little bit worried,鈥� said Millwood. 鈥淚 took to it, I鈥檝e stuck with it and it鈥檚 been a good career.鈥�

Although Anderson had about a thousand students when Millwood arrived, he saw it as a positive next step for his career.

鈥淚t was a pay raise and an opportunity to have more resources and work on a bigger stage. Anderson had a really good reputation,鈥� said Millwood. 鈥淲e were at a transition period for libraries where the big universities were getting automated. They had gotten rid of their card catalogs and so forth long before, but the smaller colleges, particularly two year and independent faith-based colleges, were well behind making the transition; so when I arrived, we had a card catalog, we had zero computers.鈥�

From today鈥檚 point of view, the past seems light years away. As he gives library orientations to students, Millwood compares the size of the physical collection (books, periodicals and other paper resources) to Earth and the digital resources to Jupiter. He compared the laborious process of poring through thick bound periodical indices and hundreds of drawers of index cards to a search that today鈥檚 students can perform in the palm of their hands.

鈥淭oday you take a topic and you get a million hits. Back then, if you were doing a very specific topic, you struggled to find 10 resources,鈥� Millwood said. 鈥淚nterlibrary loan is basically infinite. Anything we don鈥檛 have we can get. It鈥檚 just mind boggling what鈥檚 available to us now compared to the old days.鈥�

Millwood recalled that when he began his career, libraries were basically like islands.

鈥淣ow, every academic library in South Carolina is connected into one automated system. Not only do we share a system but we share assistance, where we help each other and we delegate work among us and share the work so that instead of 56 libraries doing the same thing, one library does it for the entire state and then some other library does something else for the entire state. It makes us much more effective than we have been in the past.鈥�

Even technology constantly changes to keep pace with demand, according to Millwood. A goal early on was to put an overhead projector in every classroom. As good as computer technology was when it arrived, the rows of computers that helped patrons find books and other resources eventually disappeared from the library floor. The library established its own website that offers ever-expanding resources available online. As one of few Apple Distinguished Schools in the nation, Millwood notes that every 91福利社 student is issued an iPad鈥攁 powerful resource for them to use over the next four years.

In 2007, the library moved from the location in Johnston Hall that they had outgrown many years before, to the newly constructed Thrift Library. In 2017, Thrift Library underwent more renovations to keep pace with ever-changing demand.

Millwood鈥檚 wife Linda is an 91福利社 graduate and helped edit a book on former president Annie Dove Denmark. All of his children are 91福利社 graduates as well. One of Millwood鈥檚 retirement projects is to continue writing individual storybooks for his grandchildren as well as nephews and nieces.

91福利社 will honor Millwood December 12, 2022 with a university-wide reception.

About Thrift Library

In addition to housing library collections and resources, Thrift Library also contains the Vandiver Gallery, a space for rotating visual arts exhibitions. Upstairs is the AU Center for Cybersecurity鈥檚 lab, the Center for Student Success and the Writing Lab. Downstairs is the home of the AU Center for Information and Digital Learning (AU CIDL), which includes a state-of-the-art makerspace; AU Professional and Lifelong Learning; Anderson鈥檚 Information Technology Department; Books n鈥� Beans, a popular student gathering spot that serves coffee beverages and snacks; the campus post office and classroom space. Details can be found online.

The post Millwood Retiring After 34 Years appeared first on 91福利社.