The next library that I visited was the Tarpon Springs Campus of the St. Petersburg College M.M. Bennett Library. The libraries affiliated with St. Petersburg College, a 2 and 4 year college now, are unique in that they serve as both academic libraries for the institution and also as community libraries in their areas. I interviewed the Information Services Librarian, Matthew Bodie, about working in this library.
Matthew Bodie is also a graduate of USF, with his Masters in Library and Information Science. Mr. Bodie worked for a time as a writer for an advertising firm, which required research into business information, and decided to return to school for a Masters degree. Originally Mr. Bodie was working towards a degree in English, but after taking a class in Bibliography, he was drawn to the field of library science. After completing the MLIS program, Bodie worked part time at Eckerd College as well, before coming to St. Petersburg College. Bodie is active in the Association of College and Research Libraries and is an active member of ALA. He had recently returned from a conference of the ACRL.
The libraries within the St. Petersburg College network serve both the academic community of the college students and teachers, but also those citizens with cards belonging to the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative. The library has a social media presence through a blog, facebook and podcasts, which are all maintained by another campus' librarian. The catalog and many of the resources in the library are available on line as well for students, with more than 25,000 electronic full text journals and 57,000 electronic books. Each librarian also participates in the ask-a-librarian service which answers questions via phone, internet chat , and email. The Tarpon Springs Campus itself has 2 professional librarians on staff, and 2 support staff/paraprofessional employees, although each campus differs in the structure of staff, with larger campuses holding several librarian positions while smaller centers employ only support staff.
Mr. Bodie also teaches classes about information literacy and research methods on the Tarpon Springs Campus as part of his duties as librarian. Although teaching was not what Bodie originally thought he would do, he enjoys the classes and likes to engage the students in the process. He also loves the interdisciplinary feel of the library, and how librarians are the connection between different disciplines. The drawbacks of the library system are the lack of commitment to the library seen among some of the teachers and administration, and the lack of sequencing and scaffolding of the teaching of information literacy.
In fact, we had a long discussion on the value of weeding and deselection as part of the academic library, a concept that Head Librarian Jorge Perez has been focused on recently. The removal of outdated sources for certain disciplines facilitates the selection of sources for students conducting research. Bodie and I also discussed issues such as teaching students to evaluate sources and identify bias, and how to actively engage students in the research process, rather than just guiding them to resources. (Admittedly, our interview went well over the originally scheduled time frame as we chatted about such issues.)
The Tarpon Campus library is one of the most beautiful I have seen, with large walls of windows overlooking two separate relaxing study areas, providing an abundance of natural light and an open feel to the space. There are also private study rooms , computers for student use, and a separate room for writing workshop and tutoring services within the space. In fact, I often visit this campus library to do research or to read, simply for the feel of the space. The library also shares a building and a lobby with the Leepa Rattner Museum of Art. I would indeed love to work in this particular library, and I feel a strong affinity toward the blend of academic and community services offered in this type of setting.
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