Sarah Varnadoe, Campus Carrier opinions editor
An update to Memorial Library that fell roughly a year behind schedule is finally almost complete. The new children’s and young adult (YA) section can be found in front of the Academic Success Center right next to the main stairway of the library. The section contains various children’s and YA books and poetry as well as picture books.
Library Director Sherre Harrington shared the reasons behind the delay. Due to supply chain issues, furniture that was due to arrive at Berry in the fall of 2021 did not arrive until spring of 2022. The installation was then done incorrectly twice before the vendor sent a third installation team that did it correctly over the summer.
Since 2010, the section has been separated from the library and kept in Cook so that it would be closer to the education department. The books were supposed to assist in the education of new teachers, but the collection received little use during its time in Cook. Though there was a desire to have the books be used more, this was not the only reason it was moved to the library. Collections and Interlibrary Loan Specialist Cetoria Tomberlin said that the area of Cook the collection was located is now a space for the Bonner program.
“The space in Cook was repurposed I believe for Bonners,” Tomberlin said. “I don’t want to speak for all my colleagues, but [the relocation] was something we were kind of discussing and we kind of wanted to do as well so it all worked out.”
After the switch, the books were reclassified to match a children’s library, instead of using the Library of Congress Organization that the rest of the library has. YA fiction, children’s fiction, children’s nonfiction, YA poetry and children’s poetry are all separate sections that are then further broken down by author.
Though the section is mostly complete, some finishing touches are going up this week, including decorations and shelf labeling. Associate Library Director Jeremy Worsham said that there may be further changes to the section in the future.
“I think we’re gonna evaluate things during the fall semester and we may make some changes during Christmas, but it’s not gonna be extensive changes,” Worsham said. “When the [American Library Association] award list comes out, those award winners will be delivered and then we’ll add them to the collection. We’ll have some ongoing YA fiction that will be added throughout the year.”
This new section is not the only update to the library according to Harrington. The old service desk has been replaced by a new one that now follows the Americans with Disabilities Act and is wheelchair accessible unlike the previous desk. The library has also gained some new staff members and plans to reinvigorate their focus on student engagement.
Additionally, the collection of books for the Governor’s Honors Program will be removed, though some that may be helpful to Berry students may be bought and kept at the library. The last change is an increase in seating space for students due to over half of the government documents section being removed. Harrington said that the reason behind the removal was the greater need for more seating.
“We are trying to be aware of what we hear from students about what they need and then what we see, which is every seat taken every night,” she said. “It was pretty clear to us that the government documents section was not a thing students needed. We are moving toward a primarily electronic collection [to make more space].”
The library staff wanted to make it clear that the library is here to provide students with all of the resources they need to grow.
“We as librarians are here as a service,” Worsham said. “We’re here to help.”
The library website contains numerous resources for students including research databases and a form to request the library add an item to their collection.