Each Year Ball State University Libraries Welcome New Faculty

Each year the Ball State University Libraries welcome new faculty to campus. Called Alphas, they attend several sessions throughout their first academic year to acclimate them to their new community. During Spring 2007 Semester, the University Libraries participated in the Alpha Seminars program.

During the Fall 2006 Semester, many Alphas visited the University Libraries for a general introduction to the Libraries’ collections, programs, and services. The recent Alpha visit focused on resources and services that support research and classroom instruction in specific subject areas of the attendees, such as chemistry, computer science, elementary education, English, mathematics, sociology, and theatre and dance.

Librarians Brenda Yates Habich and Lisa Jarrell welcomed and re-acquainted the Alphas with a tour and overview of Bracken Library. They then were provided with an orientation to resources in their disciplines. The presentation highlighted resources for faculty research and student learning. Faculty members also heard about important services like interlibrary loan and electronic reserves.

Greg Siering, Faculty Development Coordinator for the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement, comments that the University Libraries are an important part of the Alpha program.

“We believe that it is vital that our newest colleagues learn about the variety of resources BSU offers to support their teaching and scholarship, and the University Libraries' participation in our Alpha/Beta programs this spring greatly contributed to that effort,” he said. “The Library tours and orientation that Lisa and Brenda provided will play an important role in helping our new faculty take their teaching and scholarship to the next level.”

For more information, contact by Lisa J. Jarrell, Instructional Services Librarian, at LJJarrell@bsu.edu or (765) 285-5356.

This article first appeared in The Library Insider 5(4):4; April 2007.