Giving to the Libraries

As faculty assign more team-based projects, as mobile computing becomes more ubiquitous, and as the universe of information continues to expand, Alden Library is in need of more technologically-diverse spaces for student collaboration, and alternate choices of study and instruction, in today’s busy interactive classroom.

Ohio University librarians collaborate with faculty to enhance students’ research-gathering skills for self-discovery and intellectual growth. Librarians provide over 1,200 hours of instruction to students about navigating today’s overwhelming information environment. Through their teaching efforts, and with enhanced library study and learning spaces,  students develop critical skills to find quality information and successfully complete classroom assignments.

In this age of information, an increased emphasis is placed on the most up-to-date access tools and delivery systems, while at the same time, recognizing the importance of developing notable collections and preserving recorded knowledge for future use.

Also, most of our Libraries subscriptions to scholarly journals are now acquired online, but that doesn’t mean they are free of cost. In fact, 80 percent of today’s acquisitions budget is for online publications. Because University Libraries pays for these subscriptions, students and faculty are able to engage in their everyday classroom study and deeper research.

But regardless of the medium—paper, microfilm, the web, or digital collections—University Libraries is committed to acquiring and maintaining a comprehensive array of information that is accessible to students, faculty and scholars worldwide.

The proliferation of electronic information—full-text documents, electronic journals, datasets and multimedia files—has transformed the way that the libraries around the world acquire, organize, store, preserve and deliver information.

Digitization is a multifaceted process that involves many steps, from selecting materials to capturing images to ensuring copyright clearance. To date, University Libraries has digitized some of its collections with one great goal in mind: making them available online to students, faculty and the world beyond.

Providing high-quality digitization and care of more of these Libraries’ resources will extend our reach, showcasing OHIO’s resources to global audiences. As more students and scholars from around the world are able to search our collections remotely, our notoriety and reputation will increase.

More about Digital Initiatives giving opportunities

Our subject librarians are information experts on the Libraries’ resources and literature in a wide variety of fields. These professionals understand the subjects as they are taught at OHIO and also grasp the research interests of faculty in their assigned units. They continually engage with their academic departments and create mutually-beneficial relationships.

Our librarians spend 1,200 hours a year instructing students on how to best conduct research and find pertinent materials. Unlike Ohio University’s schools and colleges, however, the Libraries don’t have their own “graduates” who may one day be moved to give back. Instead, University Libraries relies on the generous people who believe in the power of the Libraries and choose to support it with a gift to the Dean’s Fund. Often, these individuals were deeply engaged with and relied on the Libraries for their research, which in turn, created in them a deep appreciation of our work.

Together, we will build the Dean’s Fund into a robust resource.