Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Westminster College Library Reaches Out to Community
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Westminster College plans to increase library public services with the $100,000 grant presented by U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.)."This grant will help Westminster College serve the community by installing an automated library server system and 25 computers," says Westminster College President R. Thomas Williamson."Our area residents have enjoyed the community bookshelf, children's collection, artifacts, and research capabilities of McGill Library for decades.""New Wilmington never had a public library, so we welcome town users," adds Molly Spinney, head librarian and associate professor at Westminster College. "The community bookshelf has increased from two shelves when it was established by the town in 1976 to 30 now. It's full of best sellers of popular fiction that many of our town residents read.""Currently there are over 125 town cards in use, and they have access to everything we have," says Yvonne Ayers, circulation assistant at McGill Library. "The children's library is used frequently by grandmothers and grandfathers who bring their grandchildren to read them a story. We even have Amish teachers who stop by and use our material for their work.""We have some people who stop in every day just to read the newspapers," Spinney notes. "Others come in every week or two to use Value Line, a reference tool for investments in the stock market."The Westminster College libraries are also used by the significant retirement community in New Wilmington. "We've seen an increase in the number of seniors citizens using the library with the opening of Shenango on the Green," Spinney reports. "We also get people from Beechwood Commons.""It's a big selling point for us," says Betty Jones, director of marketing at Shenango on the Green. "Our residents are educated active seniors. When we tell them about the beautiful library right across the street where they can walk, well, they love having that at their fingertips. We have three or four librarians and a great many educators who live here, and over one third have college degrees, so it's an important resource for them." The Westminster College libraries also reach out to local schools in a number of ways.For instance, "Wilmington High School and Middle School can search our catalog from their schools because they are directly connected," says Spinney. "They know before they come where to get what they need."Shenango and Neshannock schools, as well as the Butler County Community College also use Westminster's research facilities. "We also offer a teacher workshop," Spinney notes. "We teach how to search, what resources on the Internet have been reviewed by librarians and are legitimate, and how to evaluate a site to get reliable information."The college libraries often get support from the local community; friends and alumni, for example, have donated what has become an extensive artifacts collection. "The town donated $500 to start the community bookshelf, and now it's one of the fastest growing areas of the library," Spinney notes. We've also had people remember us in their wills."Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked among national leaders in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges. Westminster has nearly 1,600 students.Visit Westminster College: www.westminster.edu"