09.05.06
Nice job, PFOAs!
All of the PFOAs did a great job giving the library tours during orientation. Their enthusiasm, creativity, and attentiveness made all of us at Swem proud.
08.28.06
They’re heeeeere!
Just when I was thinking that it was kind of a drag to be working at my desk on a lovely Saturday afternoon, I had an experience that reminded me just how fun working in a library can be. I had gone out to talk to Don, who was working at the ref desk all afternoon, and he was in the midst of several groups of smiling, laughing, energetic freshmen who were trying to complete a campus scavenger hunt as part of their orientation. Two of the tasks on the hunt were about the library:
- Get the signature of the person working at the reference desk.
- Where can you find The Throne?
The first of those two was pretty easy for them. After all, Don was sitting right there.
As for the second question, they had no clue. Don had a lot of fun explaining to them that The Throne is a Swem Library newsletter… that’s on the wall in all the restrooms! Hence, the name. Of course, like all good budding researchers, they then had to verify his claims. LOL!
Btw, I’m not sure who designed the hunt, but whoever you are, you get a hearty ‘thank you!’ from all of us here at Swem for including us. And thanks to Caroline K. for letting me take a picture of her and her friends after they got Don’s signature. (In the pic, Don’s the one that looks least like a freshman!) 
08.21.06
If it’s the end of August, it must be Orientation time!
With the start of the Fall semester right around the corner, Swem Library staff are involved in a number of student outreach and orientation activities. The tour for the new international grad students kicked off our outreach efforts last Friday, but things really get started in earnest on Tuesday, the 22nd.
Thanks to all the volunteers! Thanks to Rebecca for being such a good leader. No one would ever guess that she’s a rookie at this. And thanks to Hope for sharing her knowledge and experience. She’s led the library through a bunch of these orientations and we’d be lost without her!
For anyone playing along at home, here’s our upcoming schedule:
| Tuesday, August 22 |
| Residence Life Fair 10:00am – noon Trinkle Hall (in the Campus Center) Swem volunteers: Rebecca Beasley and Carol McAllister This is the orientation for the new RAs on campus. Rebecca and Carol will have a laptop on-hand to demo the Swem website. And they’ll be reminding (with a handout) the RAs about Swem’s myLibrarian program. And, of course, they’ll also have goodies like Swem bags and mints and magnetic rulers to give away. |
| Wednesday, August 23 |
| Orientation Aides (OA) Overview and Reception 3:30pm – 4:00pm University Center, Chesapeake B&C Swem volunteers: Deb Weiss, Troy Davis, and Rebecca Beasley The orientation aides are student volunteers with at least one year’s experience at W&M. The OAs help new studens during orientation. So, this is the orientation for the orientation aides. I’m sure the Swem group will be very popular as they’ll be providing cookies and lemonade for the OAs as well as talking up the library a little bit. |
| Thursday, August 24 |
| Program and Family Orientation Aides (PFOA) Training 2:15pm – 3:15pm Swem Library Swem volunteers: Deb Weiss and Paul Showalter The PFOAs are a subset of the OAs. The day before classes start, the PFOAs will be shepherding the freshies around to various meetings and events that are part of orientation. Included in those events is a tour of Swem Library. On the 24th, Deb and I will teach the PFOAs all the stuff we want them to pass along to the new students during the tours. |
| Saturday, August 26 |
| Family Resources Fair 9:00am – 11:00am University Center, Chesapeake Swem volunteers: Rebecca Beasley and Paul Showalter The Family Resources Fair is event for the parents (and families) of new W&M students. After they drop the kid(s) off for good, the families come to the Fair, where they’ll learn a bit more about the many services that will be available to their member(s) of the Tribe. Rebecca and I will be there with our trusty laptop to show off the library website, some handouts (about myLibrarian; it always makes the parents happy to know that their freshman has a personal librarian!), and some other goodies (most notably some very cool pens that Rebecca got and some beautiful bookmarks printed for us by Karen McCluney, Swem’s graphics goddess.) |
| Tuesday, August 29 |
| PFOA Tours of Swem for New Students 10:00am – 2:00pm Swem Library Swem volunteers: Lots of folks! Yay! While the PFOAs give the tours, Swem staff will be on-hand to give out our famous custom Swem fortune cookies and handouts about the myLibrarian program to all the new students. We’ll also be feeding lunch to the PFOAs. Lots of people will be passing through Swem on the 29th. It should be exciting! Orientation Concurrent Sessions During the concurrent sessions, new students can go to various parts of campus to hear folks talk about their various services. I’ll be conducting a couple sessions called, “Don’t Drown in the Sea of Information! Learn to Swem!” The sessions are just a quick overview of some of the things the good people at Swem can do to make life easier for new… well, actually, ALL… students. My goal is just to reduce the new students’ library and research anxiety some and to help them feel comfortable coming to us with questions. |
