May 3, 2018

We often repeat the saying this time of year to welcome, or hope for, Spring. This year, at Drexel, we likely will recall that April’s snows brought May showers of appreciation!  

May Day was the University’s annual Day of Giving, and the Libraries was drenched with generous and thoughtful expressions of appreciation by students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. Turnout surpassed last year’s support both through nearly one third more participants and more than double the amount of donations.

This issue of In Circulation offers details about this event and other celebrations held this past month. Articles highlight how people fuel an organization through both contributions to make the Libraries what it is and expressions offered to appreciate the results. 

This year’s annual Staff Awards honored two staff and two student employees for making outstanding contributions beyond their job responsibilities that demonstrate the Libraries’ values and character.  An interview with a Drexel professor, residing in Alaska, records appreciation and impact of partnership with the Libraries to assist students to build their research skills, faculty to enrich their teaching, and librarians to simplify the challenges of finding and utilizing information resources.  Library Assistants shared their delight in utilizing staff development support to learn about the intricacies of book repairing techniques.  They appreciated their new-found skills as both essential for extending access to print materials and as a personally satisfying art that few colleagues have mastered.

A couple days into the “merry month of May,” we are confident that the nor’easters have passed and that spring is here to stay for this year. For the first time, daffodils planted on the slope in front of the W. W. Hagerty Library are beginning to bloom.  They mark a spring thanks for the hard work and expressions of kindness each of the people who fuel the Libraries make.  Any flower gardener knows that the bulbs of these beauties double with time.  As you see these flowers in person (or imagine them from afar), keep such natural growth in mind to surpass next year’s goals for things to appreciate about the Drexel Libraries. 

With warm springtime thanks,

Danuta A. Nitecki, PhD
Dean of Libraries