Welcome to fall 2018! An update from the University Librarian and the staff of Princeton University Library (PUL)

Firestone Library, students studying

African-American Studies Reading Room, Firestone Library

 

Dear faculty, students, and colleagues,

 

As we begin the new academic year, we would like to update you on a number of initiatives and projects that are underway at PUL. These include:

 

     Key milestones from this past year include:

     > The opening of inspirational new first floor spaces, including the Thomas Graham Reading Room,
         the Scribner Reading Room, and the Dulles Reading Room [Read more; view photos of new spaces]
     > The reopening of Cotsen Children’s Library after the completion of system upgrades

 

     Upcoming openings include:
     > The Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery—scheduled to open in early 2019 with the premiere exhibition,
        Welcome Additions, Selected Special Collections Acquisitions 2012-18
     > The Tiger Tea Room—scheduled to open in Spring of 2019

 

     Updates will continue to be posted on our renovation website.

 

  • Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP): The ReCAP shared collections service has proved to be a significant benefit to Princeton patrons. The service provides access to the collections owned by three of the ReCAP partners: Princeton University Library, Columbia University, and New York Public Library. Since its launch last fall, our patrons' use of the holdings--including five million unique items owned by other ReCAP partners--has risen 70 percent over the previous year.
     
  • ARCH (Archives Research and Collaborative History) Program: In July, PUL’s Mudd Library staff joined forces with five historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to initiate a student archives summer program. During the week of their visit, 14 students engaged on the topic of how archives form historical narratives, particularly the connections between the archives and social justice. [Read more.]
     
  • Conservation and Preservation Project with the University of Puerto Rico: This past spring, two of our librarians (Fernando Acosta-Rodríguez and Brenna Campbell) visited the Águedo Mojica Marrero Library at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao to assess the condition of and to advise on the preservation of materials damaged during Hurricane Maria. In collaboration with UPR-Humacao Library staff, they worked to develop a plan of action for stabilizing and preserving portions of the rare archival collections that had been severely damaged by mold. [Read more.]
     
  • Student programs: As we begin the fall semester, we look forward to engaging with new and returning students. Highlights from our student initiatives include an expanded personal librarian program, a student life archival program, workshops, and a number of social media campaigns.
     
  • Staff appointments: PUL has welcomed more than 10 new employees during the past several months, including Seth Porter, head of Stokes Library, Holly Hatheway, head of Marquand Art Library, three science librarians (covering the subjects of mathematics, physics, astrophysics, neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and geosciences), IT specialists, catalogers, archivists, and administrative positions. (Librarian profiles are now available on our staff directory.)
     
  • Acquisitions: PUL’s world-renowned collections grow by thousands of items per year. Several unique and particularly noteworthy materials acquired during this past year include:

     > A growing, unique contemporary collection of more than 150 titles of local African American newspapers

 

     > Distinctive Latin American ephemera materials, adding to the thousands of early 20th century pamphlets, brochures,

     flyers, posters, and other printed items in our Latin American ephemera collection—one of the most extensive LAE

     collections in the world

 

     > A digital edition of “The Letters of Francis Bacon” (InteLex Past Masters)

 

     For more information about PUL acquisitions, please visit our news page.

 

We wish you all a happy and productive year ahead and look forward to working with you.

 

With kind regards,
Anne E. Jarvis, Robert H. Taylor 1930 University Librarian, and the staff of PUL