Information Commons Exhibit: 2016 Presidential Lecturer, Chris Lowney

On Monday, October 24th, Rosemont's Institute for Ethical Leadership and Social Responsibility will sponsor a talk by the highly recognized author, Chris Lowney. Lowney will give the Presidential Lecture entitled "Doing the Laundry, Dirty Shoes, and the Monastery Bell Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis." With such an intruguing title, we are eager to hear his presentation.

Educated in the Jesuit tradition and for a time a Jesuit seminarian, he later entered the business world ultimately becoming a manager at J.P. Morgan, where he remained for seventeen successful years. Then after much thought, he decided to leave without a clue as to what he would be doing with the rest of his life. That issue was resolved when he started writing books and lecturing on leadership. His talks combine both his spiritual and worldly experiences in a captivating way.

To learn more about Chris Lowney, and Pope Francis, please stop by to see the Information Commons exhibit case on the first floor of Kistler Library.

Information Commons Exhibit: George Bernard Shaw

This year, Kistler Library Notes will be highlighting the exhibits located throughout the Library. Today, we will be highlighting the Information Commons Exhibit. 

Check out Kistler Library's newest Rare Book & Art exhibit celebrating the 160th birthday of George Bernard Shaw. Born in Dublin in 1856, he was a “playwright, critic and polemicist.” Shaw was awarded a number of honors including the Nobel Prize. He died in 1950. Rosemont’s copy of his St Joan play was printed in a limited edition of 750. Its cover design is elegant and its pages are untrimmed. The illustrations in this edition were done by Charles de Sousy Ricketts (1866-1931), who is known for his work in the design of books as well as his work for the theater. This book resides in the Rosemont College Rare Book Collection.

Shaw is known for his “brilliant” quotations a few of which are shown here:


“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”


“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious.”


“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”

Please enjoy this exhibit through the end of September!

Welcome Back from Kistler Library!

Welcome Back, Rosemont Upperclassmen! And an official Welcome to our First Year and Transfer students! We are super excited to have you back on campus (it's been a very quiet summer and we've missed you).

As some of you may have realized, a few things have changed at Kistler Library since the Spring semester. Among other things, you may have noticed there is a new printing system in place for all library computers. Instead of printing directly from the library desktops and laptops, you are now being asked to enter your student ID number, which you can find on your ID card, both to print at the computer and to release the print job at the printer. While printing is still completely free, this will hopefully help streamline the printing process and limit printing jams, while also allow us to act on the campus' green initiatives. We appreciate your flexibility in learning this new system and, as always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask a Librarian.

Watch for more posts next week about other exciting changes and upcoming plans for Kistler Library!

Congratulations to the Winners of the Favorite Book Contest

The Friends of the Library are proud to announce the winners of the Fall 2014 Name Your Favorite Book Contest:

• 1st Place: Quentin Murphy
• 2nd Place: Eric Schaefer
• 3rd Place: Tiffany Curtis

We also congratulate our Honorable Mentions: Emily Kammerer, Carlos Aguilo, and Jeel Rao!

Thank you to all who participated and we encourage all undergraduates to enter the next  competition.

Holiday Book Sale at the Library

 

Stop by the Information Commons this week.
The Holiday Book Sale is the perfect place to purchase new or gently used books for family and friends this holiday season.

Hardbacks: $1.00 or 6 for $5.00
Paperbacks: $.50 or 5 for $2.00

Special discounts for students.

Questions? Contact Kathleen Deeming at kdeeming@rosemont.edu

Game Night Recap

Thanks to all who attended the Library's Game Night on April 26. We had a great time playing Pictionary, Uno, Checkers, Pentago, Khet, Go Fish, Speed Scrabble, and Minute to Win It. A special thank you goes out to our volunteers!

We hope to host another Game Night in the Fall. Check back soon for details.

Game Night at the Library!

Need to unwind before Reading Day? Come to the library for our Game Night on Friday, April 26^th from 6:00-8:00pm. Play board games, cards, and Minute it to Win It (Library edition) for the most coveted prize on campus. Laundry Money! Use it before you leave or save it for next year. We are giving away a bucket full of quarters. First come first served. Games include Checkers, Uno, Cards, Pictionary, and a very special edition of Minute it to Win It created by the staff of GKML. Snacks included.

The more you win, the cleaner your clothes :)

All Library Computers Now Printing to our Savin Printer

All of the public access computers in the Library have been set to print to the Savin printer next to the DVDs in the Information Commons. This includes the laptops in the Information Commons, the Main Reading Room, and the Upper Reading Room, which were previously not connected to a printer. We also have new desktop computers in the Information Commons loaded with the latest software, including Office 2010. Our thanks go out to the Rosemont Information Technology Department for getting everything set up for us.

Special Silver Sale at the Library

Friday, November 19, 2010

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Rosemont is offering for sale some of the silver, both sterling and silver plate, that was stored for at least a decade in the basement of Main Building and is no longer of use to the College. The sale will benefit the Rosemont community because it will defray the cost of needed databases and tables and chairs for the newly renovated "Remembering Sister Helen Mary Weisbrod, SHCJ Information Commons."

Every single piece that was unpacked was tarnished, but members of the Library Staff came to the rescue. They donned rubber gloves and with lots of silver polish and determination, they brought the teapots, flatware, vases, and bowls back to their brilliant former lives. A silver specialist did the pricing and has offered to buy some things, but we wanted to offer the Rosemont Community the chance to buy first.

The silver will be in two cases in the Kistler Library on November 19, 2010 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Please stop by to have a look. Cathy Fennell or Mary Leahy will be pleased to show you any of the pieces you want to see.

Thank you in advance for helping us turn these items into something useful for Rosemont.

Pardon Our Appearance: Construction Update

Construction continues on the Remembering Sr. Helen Mary Weisbrod, SHCJ Information Commons, and today we have some pictures to share of the work in progress.


In this first picture you can see a new wall being erected in the area that was behind the circulation desk. This will be part of the new self-service coffee bar.

The second picture shows the reference room with the carpeting pulled up, the ceiling tiles pulled down, and, in the back, new walls being built. These walls will become group study rooms that will provide students a semi-private space to work together.

Pardon Our Appearance: The Prep Work Continues

The changes in the library continue with the end of the semester and the start of our renovation fast approaching. We have moved some of the books in the reference collection to other parts of the library to free up shelf space. This work has allowed us to remove some of the shelving that will not be included in the new Information Commons, starting with the shelving on the front wall of the reference room.


The three free-standing shelving units have also been removed. The space looks empty now, but when the renovation is complete it will hold a bank of computers and a seating area with tables and chairs.

Pardon Our Appearance

In my previous post I said that you would start to see changes in the library as we get ready for our big renovation project. Well, those changes have begun. The picture above shows the Main Reading Room with empty shelves, as the current periodicals have been moved downstairs to Rm. 112 with all of the back issues. The shelves were cleared to make room for the books in the Reference Room and other essential materials from the sections of the library that will be inaccessible during the renovation. We have already moved the popular books and DVDs from the lobby onto shelves in the Reading Room.


We also started making some changes in the Reference Room. The reference desk was disassembled and has been given a new home in the General Office. We are now using one of the tables from the Reference Room as a makeshift desk.


Finally (for now), the old built-in card catalog has been removed from the wall outside the Reference Room. That whole wall will be taken down to make the Remembering Sr. Helen Mary Weisbrod, SHCJ Information Commons a more open space.

Library Renovation Set to Begin

A little over a year ago we proudly announced an exciting renovation project that would transform the Gertrude Kistler Memorial Library. Now that transformation is about to begin. Construction of the Remembering Sr. Helen Mary Weisbrod, SHCJ Information Commons is scheduled to begin after Commencement, on May 17, 2010. Students returning in the Fall will find a beautiful, flexible, technology-rich environment designed by Kimmel Bogrette Architecture + Site, who previously oversaw the renovation of Connelly Hall. The Library's lobby and Reference Room will be completely changed into a single space with workstations, group study rooms, and a new information desk, all designed to enhance and encourage collaboration. There will also be a self-service coffee bar, Eleanor's Cafe, named for the late Eleanor M. Weisbrod, whose generosity has made the renovation possible. We will be working feverishly to get the Library ready for the renovation, and you will begin to see changes in the weeks ahead. We will be using this space to keep you posted, so check back for updates.