The Transformation of the Ag Library

Where Have All the Journals Gone?

By Randy Weckman

Toni Greider

First of all, it isn’t on the first floor of Scovell Hall, where it resided from the early part of the 20th century until 1964; that’s when it moved to the newly-built Agricultural Science Building (commonly called Ag North). Forget the library paste. There isn’t a pot of it anywhere. And perhaps even more perplexing—or even vexing—is the fact that it has no books—well, hardly any. Things are so mightily strange that the library is now called the Agricultural Information Center (although the sign painter hasn’t yet stopped by to change the name over the door).

“Our new Agricultural Information Center provides faculty, students, and staff with most of the same services they’ve always enjoyed. Now, however, we have the room wired with computer terminals for searches with databases and electronic journals that are more accessible than hard bound journals ever were,” said Toni (Powell) Greider, agricultural librarian for the past 29 years.

Where are the books? Journals? The other symbols of a library?
“On June 18, 1998, moving van after moving van backed up to Ag North and carted away our 125,000 volumes—give or take a few thousand. They are now housed in the new W.T. Young Library, where they can be used just as always,” Greider said.
In their place are the 40-some computers that allow for on-line searches that are light years faster and more thorough than the old card catalog. Because these computers take so much less space than 125,000 volumes of books and journals, the information center has meeting rooms and even a small video room where patrons can view educational films. “We’ve used every bit of space judiciously,” Greider said.

There really was a Miss Snodgrass.
Grace Snodgrass served as College of Agriculture librarian from 1917 through the 1950s. Miss Snodgrass was known as a tenacious guardian of the library’s materials, especially U.S. Department of Agriculture documents, Kentucky Experiment Station reports, and Cooperative Extension publications.

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Technology at Your Service

The technology of electronic publishing allows users sitting at a computer in the Agricultural Information Center to tap into a computer at some other location and find and use current journal articles.
“This new library is not like any I ever grew up with. I was really worried about whether I’d be able to use it and find the information I needed. But the GEN 100 class, required of all first-year students in the college, introduced me to this new way of doing library research. And now I wouldn’t go back for anything,” said Jason Headrick, a 2002 graduate in agricultural communications.

The work of the librarian has changed, too. In addition to collecting, sorting, and storing important material, the agricultural librarians help students learn to use the new technology to make their information searches more fruitful. Greider and five staff members constitute the library team in the new information center. Their titles reflect the skills demanded by the new technology, such as electronic support and those of a webmaster.

And it isn’t just the students who need help to take advantage of the new information environment; faculty also need help in using the new technology. Faculty members, too, learned to use a library before it was an electronic palace; so, along with the students, they needed training to make the transition to keyboards and monitors from card catalogues and floor-to-ceiling shelves of books.

Have Suitcase, Will Teach
And when faculty members have need—as many Extension faculty members do—they can check out a suitcase classroom. The suitcase is a small soft-sided carrying case that contains a laptop computer, projection system, VCR, sound system, and lots of accessories, including a wireless mouse. With suitcase in hand and a telephone line for Internet access, any classroom becomes “wired” to the rest of the world.
“These suitcases let faculty and staff members have a 21st century classroom wherever there is electricity,” Greider said.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes in the old ag library is that you don’t have to physically step foot in the building to use its services.
“We have built our Web site so that people off campus can use the services of the information center. Click on Information Center in the left-hand column of the College of Agriculture’s home page and go directly to our site,” Greider said.

Everyone is welcome to use the Ag Information Center - students, faculty members, staff, alumni, and
visitors. A click on the College’s home page on the Web will take you there.

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