Category Archives: User Services

Milligan Grad Joins Library Staff

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After a seven month search the Library has a new Public Services Librarian. His name is Jeff Harbin, and he is a graduate of Milligan College.

Jeff Harbin enrolled at Milligan College in 1999 and graduated in 2003 with a degree in English. He began working in the P. H. Welshimer Memorial Library as a work-study student his sophomore year, and his experiences in the library inspired him to pursue a career as an academic librarian. Jeff completed his master’s degree in library science from the Catholic University of America in 2006, and has worked in a number of libraries in the Washington, D.C. area. Jeff is excited by the opportunity to return to Milligan, and he is confident his knowledge of the college and the library will enable him to promote the library’s services to the Milligan community. Jeff also hopes not to bore current students with aimless yarns that begin, “Well, when I was a student here…” He is married to Debbie Harbin, whom he met during the Spring 2002 semester at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England.

Jeff fills the position vacated by Tami Pettit, who resigned in July 2007. Being short-staffed has been a bit of a challenge for the Library, though essential public services tasks (e.g., supervision of student workers, and circulation issues) have been handled admirably by Jan Ricker, our Interlibrary Loans Manager.

“Although we have been short-handed for almost an entire academic year, the opening of the Public Services Librarian position has really proven to be a blessing in disguise,” or so says Gary Daught, Director of Library Services. “This opening has given us the opportunity to rethink the nature and delivery of public services at the Milligan College Library. ‘Traditional’ administrative, technical, and relational tasks relating to circulation of library resources, maintenance of library patron records, and the supervision of our student workers will continue to be important tasks of the Public Services Librarian. However, as the ways in which students and faculty access and use information resources continues to change, the academic library needs to change accordingly. We need to apply new energy, imagination, and creative thinking to reach out and promote library resources, library services, and library spaces to the Milligan College learning community. We are envisioning the Library as a destination for our students and faculty–a learning destination, a cultural activities destination, and a social destination. Jeff is energized by our vision, and I am very excited that he is coming to help us bring this vision into reality.”

Jeff will start on April 1. Be on the lookout for an invitation to a reception planned for before the end of the semester, where you will have an opportunity to meet Jeff and welcome him back to the Milligan College community.

New Self-Checkout Station in the Library

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The Library is pleased to announce that you now have the option of checking-out your own books by using the new Self-Check Station located at the Circulation Counter.

Self-Check Station Click here to see larger image

All you need is your current Milligan ID card with you when you are ready to checkout your books. The procedure is fairly simple to follow:

  1. Use Self-Check for checking-out books only (no periodicals, DVDs, or other media).
  2. Wake Self-Check by moving the mouse.
  3. Scan the barcode on your Milligan ID card.
  4. Scan the barcode on each of your books.
  5. When you are finished scanning all your books click the “Finished” button.
  6. Take your receipt from the receipt printer. The receipt serves as your record of check-outs, and tells you when your books are due.*
  7. “Desensitize” each book using the metal device to the right of the receipt printer. Push book spine-side-down away from you (in the direction of the arrow) across the desensitizer. Alarm will sound if books are not desensitized!

Self-Check Station Demo Click here to see larger image

The Self-Check Station will not replace the presence of real humans to greet and assist you at the Circulation Counter. At this point, Self-Check is limited for checking-out books only. You will need to go through the regular check-out procedure if, for example, you have DVDs or Reserve materials to check-out. Also, you may not be able to use Self-Check if you have an issue with your patron account (e.g., overdue books, or billed items). Like the self-check aisle in the grocery store, the purpose of Self-Check is to add an element of choice, convenience, and user empowerment in accessing Library services. We hope you will give Self-Check a try, and then let us know what you think!

* We have been using receipt printers at the Circulation Counter since the beginning of the 2007 Fall Semester. This in itself is something of a technological advancement for the Library. Not only do receipt printers enable the use of Self-Check, they also eliminate the need for manual date-stamping of all checked-out items.