Website, budget, best wishes

New website!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the new website. We went live on Tuesday and it looks great! We had a few opening day problems but Nicole, Biomed and others worked hard to fix broken links and to track down reported anomalies. Please continue to let Nicole know if you find any problems.

Budget
On Thursday I delivered a proposal to Sr. Vice President Bootman that suggested changes to the funding model for AHSL. Jeanette and I reworked earlier proposals that had been developed for Vice President Crist and incorporated changes suggested by Dr. Bootman. We’ve done this now because university budgeting decisions for July 1, 2012 will be discussed beginning in January.

Happy Holidays
After a very productive 2011 I hope that you have a joyful, peaceful and relaxing break. Thank you especially to those folks who will be keeping the library open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between the holidays. See you all in 2012!

Website, Doors, Phoenix, Food!

New website going live!
Our new website will be going live on Monday. Although not 100% complete and still with a few rough edges it looks good and should be easier for users to navigate than our old one.

New front doors
We have approved a final plan for the front doors. They are being designed with the hope that they can remain open most of the time, but be closed during particularly noisy times. They will be mostly glass with aluminum frames, similar to the door to the videoconference room off the lobby. The single door opening on the south side of the entrance will be closed in with glass. There is still a bidding process to go through so it may April before the project is completed.

Phoenix progress
Jacque will be working this coming week with planners to choose office furniture for the new library and the Health Sciences Education Building. The construction is moving quickly and still on schedule for a summer opening! You can see the building’s progress at this URL:http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/webcam/HSEB.aspx

Pot luck feast
Thanks to everyone who brought in food for the LSA Holiday Pot Luck Luncheon. What a wonderful buffet we enjoyed!

Jeanette lunches

On Wednesday, Jeanette attended a luncheon with Deans, Regents Professors and other distinguished leaders of the UA. Jeanette was invited by virtue of her Distinguished Outreach Librarian status. The luncheon featured ASU President Michael Crow who spoke about his idea of a “Sun Corridor” where Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties would jointly compete with other metropolitan regions in the global economy.

Nga, Study solution?

Thanks to Nga

The library owns the papers of Orville Harry Brown, an early 20th century Arizona physician. As part of a project to make these papers more accessible Nga has recently finished transcribing almost 3,000 index entries into an electronic format. Congratulations to Nga for completing this huge task!

Single-person study rooms?

We are exploring the idea of creating single-person study rooms on the third floor. Because the users won’t be talking to themselves (we hope) the walls don’t need to be absolutely soundproof. This means that we can use modular walls, which are less expensive than putting up actual walls, re-routing HVAC and rearranging lighting. We are just beginning to talk with vendors now about possible solutions.