Summer and travel
I can tell it’s summer by the thermometer and all the students on campus for #IowaStateORI! I hope you are able to enjoy some vacation and time with friends and family. Our schedule at home is relaxing a bit, as our boys finished soccer last week and will be finished with baseball by this Friday. Both are looking forward to swimming and fun with their friends in our neighborhood.
Here on campus, though, summer is turning out to be a busier time than I had expected. I plan to attend ALA later this month, in July I’ll travel to Charlottesville, VA for the SHARE Community meeting, and then in August I’m heading to UCLA for the National Diversity in Libraries conference. I am hoping to fit in some visits with our library supporters during these trips. I’m especially looking forward to some family touring time with Wes and the boys when we visit Rocky Mountain National Park in July. Thank you to everyone who has recommended places for us to visit during that adventure.
P+W and library space
The University Library has partnered with Perkins + Will, an architecture firm located in Chicago, Ill. A large firm with 23 offices around the US and the world, they have a lot of experience and have helped numerous clients execute successful projects like what we are asking them to do for us. Libraries they have worked with include those at Stanford, Clemson, Duke, and Wake Forest. Also of note, a number of P+W interns, designers, architects and principals are alumni of the Iowa State architecture program.
In the coming weeks, there will be opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with members of the P+W team when they visit campus. An open meeting with all interested library staff is being planned for their mid-July campus visit. And, in between their visits I will host discussions for interested staff on a variety of space-related topics. Please watch for announcements about the upcoming meetings and open sessions. After our people and collections, library buildings and spaces are our most valuable asset. The University Library and our spaces around campus are vitally important to student success, and the goal of this project is to assess how we utilize our space and then seek ways to make improvements for everyone. As I’ve said from the day I arrived, I appreciate and welcome your input. Our success depends on you!
Looking out my window 