On Thursday, Thomas Library held a grand re-opening ceremony for the newly reorganized Curriculum Resource Center (CRC); cake and lemonade for the celebration was just part of the uncharacteristic bustling in the library this week.
The library also offered the chance for a “Blind Date with a Book” in which students could pick a book — which was covered in brown paper — to check out and enjoy. Students were also able to exchange cans for any library fines they owed; up to five dollars was taken off Thomas Library fines for each can brought in. Of these events, the grand re-opening of the CRC was the most successful: Joan Pallant, Head of Circulation for Thomas Library, stated that education students have already told her that the CRC is much easier to navigate and use.
The CRC is a resource for education majors; it holds children’s books, educational games and even curriculum books. Education major Kara Snyder, ’15, first came to Pallant about reorganizing the CRC because she had a hard time navigating the materials, a sentiment that many education majors held. At this time, the CRC was organized in the same fashion as the rest of the library, by the Library of Congress classification. Pallant states that education majors were “wading through all of the various types of materials in the math area of the CRC,” due to all of the materials being interfiled.
The idea for reorganization was discussed between the education department, Thomas Library and education students. The proposal moved quickly, and work on the new organization began in May of 2014. Snyder; Maggie Huffman , ’15; and Carly Sparrow, ’14, “worked full time and tirelessly on the project,” according to Pallant. The three women inventoried materials, weeded out some materials and then reorganized them. Pallant also recognized the assistance given to the women by “the education department, the library staff, a library intern and even members of their own families.”
Now, the CRC is organized by the type of material a visitor would be looking for: children’s and young adult literature, educational theory and resources, textbooks, teaching materials, reference books, audio/visual materials and group-leveled texts. This organization has been said to be “much more user-friendly,” according to Pallant.
The “new” CRC also features “colored signage” and a “beautiful mural” that was inspired by children’s books, which became a “Tree of Learning.” Sparrow painted this mural, which is said to “draw attention to the area.”
Overall, patron reactions to the newly reorganized CRC have been positive. Education major Katelyne Ackley, ’15, stated that “the new CRC makes it easy for me to find what I need, and fun for me to visit.”
“I am usually in there at least once a week,” she added.
