[The Dean's Update is a column introducing each issue of the Libraries' monthly e-newsletter In Circulation.] Recently President Obama nominated Carla D. Haden for the position of Librarian of Congress. The action likely went unnoticed by many watchers of this year's political theater, but for a minute it shed light on libraries during diverse speculations about their future. Reflecting on the country's oldest federal cultural institution poses the mind-boggling question of what it takes to lead the largest library in the world. I do not presume to know what the 'right stuff' is, but thought some of our readers might be interested to put academic libraries with which they are more familiar, in context against our country's--and the world's--leading research enterprise.

Since 2012, Drexel University Libraries has maintained a membership in BioMed Central (BMC). BMC is a publisher of open-access journals heavily focused in life sciences, clinical medicine, science, and technology. Over 180 of BMC's journals are peer-reviewed and ranked by Thomson Reuters in the Journal Citation Report.

[The Dean's Update is a column introducing each issue of the Libraries' monthly e-newsletter In Circulation.] To start the New Year, students and faculty returned from the holiday break to find two newly defined library spaces that continue the Libraries' efforts to create learning environments for exploring information and data. One is in Hahnemann Library, while the other is in W.W. Hagerty Library's Bookmark Cafe, and both can be visited by members of Drexel's community.

As Drexel students prepare to work in an increasingly digital world, libraries play a key role in providing access to information and data and in coaching members of the University community on new ways to engage with it. W. W. Hagerty Library is continually evolving to ensure that Drexel students are confident users of information in varying formats. The Data Visualization Zone is the result of a generous gift from the Hagerty family. The space allows students to explore and experiment with data retrieval and visualization through a large-scale touch-screen monitor or a projector. New furnishings will support individual and group work as well as instruction and coaching.

The Libraries' offered blank pages and crayons to Drexel students during exam week, providing a creative outlet for students seeking a break from studying. In total, the Libraries distributed over 500 coloring pages and nearly 1,600 crayons.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 5 - 7 PM W. W. Hagerty Library

Join Drexel University Libraries at this special event, which kicks off the opening of Access Everywhere: Computing at Drexel, 1984 - present exhibit. This event will feature conversation about the changing role of computers at Drexel and topics will include email, internet, wireless access, and other computer advances that have brought Drexel to where it is today.

This event is free and open to the public. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided.

For more information, or to suggest a topic for conversation, please contact Jenny James Lee via email or at 215-571-4095.

We're just bursting with pride over Drexel's new partnership with the Academy of Natural Sciences. To show our school spirit, we're putting on a show--or rather an exhibit--of rare natural history books from Drexel Archive's special collections. The exhibit was put together by Archives volunteer and iSchool grad student Phoebe Kowalewski. Works on display include an astronomy text from 1566 by Alessandro Piccolomini, Jonathan Carver's 1781 Travels through the Interior Parts of North America, and several volumes of Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America and Birds Of America. Fly by soon and get an eyeful.

Want to see some old computers in action? Stop by Hagerty Library, Wednesday, May 11th, 4 - 6pm. While you're there, grab a snack, socialize with fellow enthusiasts, and learn about the history of computing. It's all happening at Drexel Archives' opening reception for its latest exhibit: 'Access for Everyone: Computing at Drexel, 1946 - 1984.'' Drexel University made history with its Microcomputer Project in 1984, which required all incoming freshman to purchase a personal computer. However, the history of computing at Drexel dates back to the very beginning of computer history. The reception includes refreshments and a live demo of vintage computers, co-sponsored by TechServ.

What secrets lurk in the heart of Hagerty's lower level? Only the Drexel Archives know! And maybe they'll tell you if you come to their open house, this afternoon from 5-7pm. Archives staff will be displaying some of their favorite materials from the collections, including rare books, early photos of Drexel and the library school, and 19th-century correspondence. Come meet the Archives staff and learn about their services and upcoming events.

Meet Sophia Stutte, the Drexel University Archives' spring/summer 2023 co-op student, in this new interview.

The Philadelphia Section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) recently donated a collection of organizational records to the Drexel University Archives, which are now available for students and researchers to explore in the Archives’ reading room.

The new online exhibit from the Drexel University Archives features interviews with members of the Drexel community, giving people from around the world a glimpse of life at Drexel during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During renovations to Kelly Hall in the winter of 2021/2022, staff from Drexel University’s Real Estate and Facilities unearthed an interesting object behind the building’s cornerstone: a time capsule.

Meet Hanna Pistorius (they/them), the Drexel University Archives' spring/summer 2022 co-op student, in this new interview.

The Drexel University Archives is working on a new project to document the University's responses to COVID-19, and we want to hear from you! Send us your unique accounts of the pandemic through writing, photographs, videos, audio recordings, or other creative means.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of former Drexel president president William Walsh Hagerty, the Libraries is taking a look back at the many ways that Dr. Hagerty helped to build the institution we know today.

In celebration of Open Access Week, Librarian Jay Bhatt shares his list of go-to Engineering Open Textbooks.