June 4, 2019

A sophomore recently interviewed me and before long asked me a predicted worry he holds for his future: “What will I do without access to the Libraries’ great online resources when I graduate?”  

Since June is the traditional month for graduations, we devote this issue of In Circulation to those readers who may be facing this dilemma. We hope as well to connect our readers who graduated from other institutions to useful resources and services, reaffirming libraries are “lifelines” to knowledge.

Librarians’ work is successful when new graduates—or even those who graduated a while ago—worry about how they will connect to library-assisted access to information resources, or seek guidance in finding answers to their curiosity, or ask for help in making sense of what they uncover from searching the Internet. We’ll take some credit for contributing to and inspiring your life-long quest for learning.   

Those who are linked to Drexel through completed degrees receive special library privileges upon graduation, and we highlight those services in this month’s FAQ.  

We also honor as “alumni” our readers who graduated from other colleges and universities, and we are open to helping our neighbors who come to our physical settings to continue to learn and be inspired to do so.

Of course, librarians from your local public library are also committed to connecting you to library resources, regardless of your educational credentials. We include the article about services the Free Library of Philadelphia offers the city’s residents to encourage you to explore what a public library offers and how anyone can continue their education by simply getting a library card. As one of the biggest and best, our city’s public library system models what many public libraries offer throughout the country.

June is a good time for us all to enjoy the tradition of commencement of becoming life-long learners. Congratulations to those who graduated with a diploma this season. Congratulations as well to those who enter or continue to be part of a greater alumni group—life-long learners seeking information and evidence beyond course assignments!  

Happy June! 

Danuta A. Nitecki, PhD
Dean of Libraries