January 2025

The latest news from UNC Greensboro's University Libraries.

A Message from Michael Crumpton, Dean

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Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to our first Library Columns of 2025! This issue has several items that demonstrate what a productive and successful 2024 we had, with many of our folks receiving recognition for their efforts.

Much of the past year was spent on preparation for the renovation that has now started. We kicked off our project with an event called "Meet Me at the Library," where we shared memories and experiences from Jackson Library over the years. A selection of those memories is shown below.

The tower is now inaccessible for the duration of the first phase of the renovation. On January 2, we started the process of boxing and shipping 560,000 print volumes in order to empty the tower for construction. This will last into mid-February and these materials will be stored for a year and a half before coming home to new spaces and shelving in the Jackson Library tower. A renovation blog, Renovation Review, has been established to allow everyone to keep up with our progress weekly.

We are open on the 1950s main side and have modified that space to accommodate all of our services and staff. We made a special effort to provide as much student study space as possible and also have options for getting any materials needed for research. Renovation Review will keep you up to date on these activities.

Thanks for supporting this endeavor; the renovation has been a long time coming, and we can't wait to see the "Library of the Future." Stick around and join us on the journey; we hope to Meet You at the Library again soon.

Michael "Mike" A. Crumpton, MLIS, SHRM-SCP

Professor and Dean, University Libraries

Blue background. Yellow text title reads Renovation Review. White box below with a cartoon image of Charles McIver on the left and black text on the right which reads Keep up with the latest news about the Jackson Library renovation project! White text at the bottom reads go.uncg.edu/renoblog.

Library Staff Senate Stars

Two library employees were recently named Staff Senate Stars! The program seeks to recognize those who demonstrate devotion to duty, innovation, service, human relations, and/or other outstanding achievements. Learn more about our most recent awardees below.

Anne Symonds, Stacks Services Operations and Billing Manager, was named a December 2024 Staff Senate Star. Anne has been a valued member of the library staff for almost twenty years. Her nominator specifically pointed out Anne's ability to adapt quickly to new responsibilities and her dedication to making sure that the voices of her supervisees are heard. Congratulations, Anne!

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Darinlee Needham, Serials Technician, was named a January 2025 Staff Senate Star. Darinlee has been a valued member of the library staff for more than twenty years. Her supervisor describes her as "committed to ensuring that members of the UNCG community can access e-journals, databases, and other electronic resources in the collection. She is a problem solver and a great colleague." Congratulations, Darinlee!

David Gwynn Helps Greensboro Neighborhood Join National Register of Historical Places

The Greensboro News and Record recently published a story about the South Benbow Road Historic District and its upcoming inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. This effort was made possible, in part, by our Digitization Coordinator David Gwynn and his efforts to scan materials belonging to residents of the neighborhood, including several community scanning events and "house calls" to the homes of some residents. You can learn more about the project and view digitized materials here. Great job, David!

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TIND Institutional Repository & Digital Archive

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UNCG has selected a new platform for sharing digital collection materials and student and faculty scholarship. TIND, based in Norway, is also used by many other knowledge institutions, including the Ford Foundation, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and UNC Chapel Hill. UNCG's collections remain available online and will be moving to the new platform this year!

Recent Library Events

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On November 8, the Women Veterans Historical Project hosted the Annual Women Veterans Luncheon at the UNCG Alumni House. Women veterans and their supporters were in attendance. The keynote speaker was Dr. Tanya L. Roth, author of the book "Her Cold War: Women in the U.S. Military, 1945-1980." You can access photos of the event here.

Several library events were held during finals week to provide stress relief and encouragement to UNCG students. Coffee was provided on four different occasions at both Jackson Library and Schiffman Music Library. Therapy pets also visited each library on December 5. Later that day, "Bad Art Night" was held on the second floor of the Jackson Library tower.

Memories of Jackson Library

In December, library users were invited to share their favorite memories of Jackson Library as part of a new mural display by artist and UNCG alum Natalie Robinson (Instagram: @natalierobinson_art). Some of our favorite shared memories are below!

University Libraries Staff Association:

Holiday Giving Project Update

Each year the employees of the University Libraries choose an organization to donate funds to around the holidays. This year, the chosen organization was the Interactive Resource Center (IRC), located in downtown Greensboro. University Libraries employees raised and donated $200 to the IRC, which works to support local people experiencing and/or affected by homelessness. Canned goods were also collected for the Spartan Open Pantry.

2024 Holiday Luncheon

The annual University Libraries Holiday Luncheon was held in the Alumni House on campus on December 19. Many thanks to all who were involved, including the Staff Association and Social Committee members. Special thanks to Carolyn Shankle for her tireless work in making this annual event a success yet again!

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Make a Gift

If you have donated to the University Libraries and received a "Proud Supporter" sticker, please consider taking a selfie with your sticker and email your photo to Rachel Olsen for a chance to be featured in Library Columns. If you would like to donate, click here.

Again, thank you for your support and for your commitment to the UNCG University Libraries!

Find your information here.

library.uncg.edu