Students who study in the Beaman Library can stay connected at all times, thanks to the new charging station.
And if students are in need of the device itself — iPads in particular — they can be checked out just like a book.
These are a few of the services provided by the Beaman Library, which not only has a new director, but has also expanded its services to keep up with students’ needs.
Library Director Sandra Parham came to Lipscomb after 15 years as dean of the library at California State University, Dominguez Hills, just outside Los Angeles.
Parham is very eager to collaborate more often with faculty to better suit students’ needs through the instruction program.
The library instruction program brings together faculty members and librarians to create a session that will guide students to obtain the resources they need.
The instruction sessions are designed to fit each student’s needs – whether it be an introduction to the
resources or a one-on-one session demonstrating how to search the databases.
The instruction sessions will be especially helpful this year as the library has added new databases. The Alexander Street Press Academic Online database, for example, includes 39 collections of about 40,000 videos that cover all disciplines.
In addition to the new databases, a brand new selection of audio books — Playpacks — are preloaded on a small device and ready for students to check out.
With the Playpacks, students are able to speed up or slow down the reading, and students also have the
opportunity to check out hard copies of the books so they can read and listen at the same time.
Cataloging and Acquisitions Librarian Elizabeth Heffington says that having both the audio book and
hardcopy can benefit students more.
“Like me, I don’t always know — when I’m listening to a book — how to spell someone’s name, or I miss something, so you can go back to review that,” Heffington said.
The audio books are also beneficial for language learning and come in a plethora of genres – from the more
popular books to the classics.
“We’ve got The Fault in Our Stars and Pride and Prejudice, so you can go from one romance to another.”
Along with the new audio books is the new IT help desk upstairs. This location will be more convenient than the one on the first floor.
Construction on the new IT help desk will begin on Monday, and once finished, it will have the same service hours as the library.
Director Parham isn’t the only new face at the library this year.
Elizabeth Rivera is the new Interlibrary Loan and Special Collections Librarian and graduated from University of Southern Mississippi with a master’s degree in Library and Information Science.
Rivera has had experience working in the corporate world, being an educator in Guatemala and working aside special needs children, but she’s very eager to begin work as a librarian.
Because Rivera is a graduate of Lipscomb High School and Lipscomb University, she has a greater depth of
understanding of not just history but Lipscomb’s history in particular.
There is one thing that is not so new to Beaman library, though. The upcoming halloween celebration, Spooks and the Stacks, will continue to be a part of Lipscomb as it promotes the library’s services, provides students with a reason to dress up in their best halloween costumes and allows students participate in games.
For more information on the library’s services, see its website below.