LIBRARY DEAN'S MESSAGE

         
At the beginning of every new year, we traditionally reflect on the events and achievements of the past year and make lofty resolutions about what we hope to see happen in the year to come. As I enter my third year of service at the Cal State Dominguez Hills Library, I too find myself looking back at our past efforts. However, it seems more important, particularly in these volatile times, to look forward with energy and enthusiasm and to make resolutions and decisions that will move our Library into the wonderful new world of the millennium.

Here is my vision, my philosophy, my theme song, if you will: The University  Library is one of our most undervalued assets and it’s time to strut our stuff -- it’s time to market our Library! I want institutional marketing campaigns to promote our resources. I want them to stress the infinite value in over eighteen thousand online journals and the millions of articles they contain, all within easy reach of all of our students and faculty, on and off campus. I want them to point to Library staff devoted to seeing that everyone gets the most mileage out of these resources. Once the campus begins to recognize the value and usefulness of these electronic and human resources, we will begin to realize our potential as partners in teaching and learning.

 
    The burgeoning growth of the world of electronic information has for some years raised valid doubts about the continued viability of academic libraries. However,  the physical library will not be replaced by technological innovations and virtual services in the foreseeable future. Rather, I see the library as a real space that will be with us for years to come. The evolving services and tasks it houses are a technological innovation in their own right.

     In short, the Internet is not going to put us out of business anytime soon. Librarians, by virtue of their extensive training and experience, rank among the best in navigating the often-treacherous world of information technology; they have adopted the Internet as simply another of many ways of delivering resources to those who need them. Without the Library and librarians, who would acquire and organize the information that every campus needs to carry out its mandate?

Who would teach students and faculty how to locate, access and evaluate the  information they require to complete their coursework and research? The bottom line is this -- the campus needs the Library, and the Library needs recognition from the campus as it adds to its many roles that of gateway to the world of online information.

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by Sandra Parham
sparham@csudh.edu