New Year’s Resolutions

Resolution: a firm decision to do or not to do something

-The New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd edition

As we close the door on a rather wild and woolly Fall semester (and yes, I realize some of us want to lock that door as well), I realized that the library is coming up on a particular milestone that I thought worthy of mentioning: As of February 11th, our not-so-new director, Dan Murphy, will have been with us one full year, taking over for John Pritchett, who retired in December of 2007. And, as anyone in LITS (Library and Information Technology Services) can attest, during Dan’s time here there’s been more change in this building than a swear jar on a sailing vessel. But considering where we were a year ago, that’s a good thing. While Mr. Pritchett did a fantastic job of bringing this building into the 21st century before he retired, we knew the same needed to be done for our equipment and technology. Easier said than done.

Enter Dan.

Armed with the dry humor of a seasoned musician (which he is, by the way), several years of leadership in IT and libraries, and a cup of java, Dan has orchestrated multiple projects - none of which could be described as ‘easy’ - including the successful merging of the IT and Library Departments, the acquisition of badly needed - and highly used - equipment and technology, and the fantastically jaw-dropping transformation of the Overton Media Center, to name a few.

Not surprisingly, Dan has even more planned (trust me, the list of his projects covers a lot of real estate on the bulletin board in my office), and I’ve come to learn that when the smell of a freshly-brewed pot of coffee comes wafting from Dan’s office, that usually means that yet another project is taking shape. So there is certainly a sense of vitality in the library that is, if nothing else, contagious.

Another thing, though, that Dan has brought is related more to that word at the top of your screen, but a slightly different meaning of it. Follow me here. Lately, it seems as though everywhere we turn there’s a pair of snapping scissors headed our way, whether it’s state budget cuts that make Swiss cheese out of PASCAL (the funding source of many of our electronic databases) or federal budget cuts that make that student financial aid oh so much harder to get ahold of. Despite this, Dan has brought with him a philosophy that while yes, money does occasionally need to be spent on much needed technology, we can, in fact, be creative in our approach to acquiring and disseminating information, which is generally what libraries are in the business of doing. And we can do this without breaking the budget. With web conferencing software like Dimdim (coming soon) and databases like the Directory of Open Access Journals (here now), the library and IT departments – now known as LITS - can continue to offer the services today’s students and faculty have come to expect and, in fact, need.

So while many of us are focused upon keeping our New Year’s resolutions, whether it’s losing weight or making better grades, my mind wanders to that other meaning that I mentioned of the word resolution: “The degree of detail visible in a photographic or television image.” I like this definition even better because it reminds me of what we’re doing here in the library. OK, so the library and all that goes on in here isn’t just an image. We’re real, trust me. But we, like everyone else, are having to deal with a tighter budget. Yet if we can focus on the details of what we do have at our disposal, as well as what we can easily acquire, then we could potentially be much the better for it.

And that, my friends, is what we here at LITS hope to accomplish. Our New Year’s resolution is to focus on what we do have, what we will have, and how to deliver that to you in the best, most efficient way possible. And with Dan continuing to lead a fantastic crew of IT and Library staff, I believe we will do just that.

Now, off to the gym!

Ms. Hood