My Favorite NJIT Student is Moving On

After 6 years as a doctoral student my favorite student is finally moving on from NJIT.  Since I would rather not reveal his name on a public web site I will refer to him as Mr. Patel.  He was a student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering although his research was in the physics of quantum/nano-scale phenomena.  Throughout his time at NJIT he actively sought me out for advice on how to use information resources to support his research.  Although Mr. Patel never attended an information literacy lecture, he is the most information competent individual I have encountered in all my years as a librarian.  He knew to use the databases and not to “Google” to find information.

After his doctoral thesis defense, he approached for advice on how to look for a professional position.  I wish he had started looking earlier, but in the long run things worked out for him.  When a brief search for an industrial position failed, I suggested he pursue a post-doctoral fellowship.  With great pleasure, I wrote letters of recommendation for him.  I am pleased to say that he accepted a post doc at the College of Nanoscience and Engineering at SUNY Albany.  I obviously wish him well as he assumes this position and certainly hope he does not fall into the “post doc” trap and just moves from one temporary position to another.

In my 21 years at NJIT I have seen thousands of students come and go.  Most of them never needed the services of a reference librarian.  I will sorely miss Mr. Patel as he moves forward in life.

The New York Public Library is Being Sued to Stop Renovations

An organization called Advocates for Justice is suing the New York Public Library to stop renovations at the famous building at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.   This organization accuses the library of violating its charter and the state’s Constitution by dismantling seven floors of stacks and removing books from the site.

In my opinion NYPL is doing the right thing by moving into the future and not staying in the past.  Libraries are no longer a depository for printed resources.  When I worked at the Science and Technology Division from 1983-1990 I observed layers of dust on miles and miles of stacks implying that much material had not been used in decades.

NYPL is certainly not discarding any volumes as they will be moved to a remote storage facility and may be accessed by interested researchers.  This renovation plan will be a benefit for all library users and in the long run will also help NYPL save money.