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.