Sailing Through: Education Program and More

Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea, —
Past the houses, past the headlands,
Into deep eternity!

Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?

-- Emily Dickinson,  VII. The Complete Poems.

We sailed through the Summer, May through August, with a positive outlook, the halls of Teachers College naturally growing quieter. Summer classes were in session, fewer students on campus, and we maintained lighter hours of operation, along with lighter offerings. Summer themes, such as travel, nature, and the outdoors, figured in displays and exhibits, evocative of carefree and relaxing days during one of the hottest seasons on record across the country. Time was devoted to preparations for the new academic year, including staffing, programming, budgeting, and planning for new projects. This report highlights work accomplished in key areas, including the Education Program, Reference and Reader Services, and Library Leadership.

The Gottesman Libraries' Education Program continues to be an important offering for the Teachers College and wider campus community, with a breadth of events, sponsored and co-sponsored, to encourage thinking and engagement beyond the walls of the classroom. Established in 2012, it has sought to bring members and experts together in physical and virtual spaces, in different ways, and across a wide range of disciplines relevant to teaching, learning, and research.

Displays and Exhibits

Staff curated a number of art, book, and news exhibits and displays to build partnerships;  draw attention to current events and themes of educational interest; promote the collections; and encourage usage of the Library.

Art was featured on the 3rd and 1st floors. Give and Receive: From the Virtual to the Real represented the end of the year's Artivism program of virtual talks, a collaboration with Adelphi University and  Sing for Hope. The fourth annual multi-venue Artivism exposition in Offit Gallery comprised hand-made postcards and posters made by artivists who used the medium to express their thoughts, ideas, and sentiments about the status quo of the world as they know it today. Broad subject areas included: nature and the environment; religion; human relationships; and the artistic process. Ode to Summer: Select Works from the TC Art Collections in the Kasser Family Exhibition Space featured paintings, drawings, and prints made by children, teens, and adults. Both exhibits were designed by Soeun Bae, Library Associate / Art and Design and co-curated with Jennifer Govan, Library Director and Senior Librarian.

Books displays were also featured throughout the Library.  Staff Picks on the second floor was curated by Library Associate Kiara Hougton, The Art of Feeling: Stories That Paint Emotions; and by Research and Instruction Librarian Ava Kaplan,  Coincidence, Serendipity, Synchronicity: Exploring  Life's Unlikely Connections. In Everett Cafe and with continuing thanks to Kai Oh, Library Associate / Art and Design, we featured On Tariffs and Set in Summer, curated by Jennifer Govan.

In the second floor Rocket Cases, Associates curated Award-Winning Children's Books and Warmest Reads for Kids for informal pop up displays of juvenile books.

In the third floor Curiosity Cabinets, we settled on a travel writings, highlighting the educational trips taken by faculty since the early 1900s and complimenting Give and Receive in Offit Gallery.  Backpack, Camelback, Outback, Wayback: Curious Accounts of Travel drew upon the special collections, with invaluable assistance from Processing Archivist Victoria Santamorena and designer Soeun Bae. In addition to travelogues, it included postcards, photographs, travel brochures and itineraries, diaries, maps, and memorabilia from across all seven continents.

Library Associates curated the daily news in the Everett Cafe, selecting and displaying headlines for major stories drawn from Museum. We curated special news displays for "Today in History" via the blog on the following historical topics: Grace Dodge Is Born;  Mariner 9 Departs for Mars; Demonstrating the Montgolfier Balloon; World Oceans Day; Bloomsday; Gone with the Wind Is Published; Burr-Hamilton Duel; Kings College Opens in NY; First Moon Walk; Proclamation for the 14th Amendment; Curiosity Lands on Mars; Independence for India; Amelia Earhart Flies Solo Across the U.S.

Instructional

To welcome new students, select  library tours were conducted by staff on 5/21, 5/22, and 5/23, and we continued the program of workshops on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer. "Your Research Journey" comprised a five-part series delivered by Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian: Charting Your Path (5/28, 7/2, 8/13); Searching Strategies (6/4, 7/9, 8/20; Managing Your Citations with Zotero (6/11, 7/16, 8/27); The Literature Review (6/18, 7/23); Article Screening for Literature Reviews (6/25, 7/30).  "Elevate Your Research" built upon the foundational "Your Research Journey" with offerings on Citation Analysis and Research Impact (6/12, 7/10); Open Educational Resources (6/26); and Using PubMed for Research (7/24), also delivered by Ava Kaplan.

Encouraging self-guided learning and use of e-resources, we continued to highlight select databases each month, focusing on relevant areas of support for academic programs: Resources for Alumni (May);  Economics and Education (June); English Education (July); and Philosophy and Education (August).

Live Music

Live performances brought jazz and classical music to the Library atrium, where eager audiences listened to expert, repeat groups: Nicholas DiMaria Duet (5/29, 6/26, 7/23) and Claremont Strings Duet (6/11, 7/9).  The latter group is one of our original sets of musicians, dating back to the inception of the Education Program in 2012, while the Nicholas DiMaria Jazz Ensemble began playing in Everett Cafe in 2022.

Summary, Education Program

Displays and Exhibits,   90
Art,   2
Book,   5
Regular News,   70   
Special News,   13 

Instructional,   24  (Attendees,   211)
Self Guided,   4 
Tours,  3  (Attendees,  5) 
Workshops,   17  (Attendees,  196)

Live Music,   5
Classical,   2
Jazz,   3

Total Offerings,   119  (Attendees,   211)

Reference and Reader Services

Summer saw a reduction of opening hours and thus decreased staffing and time available for ongoing projects, including collection maintenance. A big thanks goes out to Abby McGuire, Library Specialist for Circulation and User Experience and the team of Associates Ashley Cho, Chyanika Bajaj, Kaili Ebert, Kunsang Palmo, and Rushali Aggarwal who provided service during regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, and Sunday,  12pm-8pm.  A large effort centered on testing and becoming familiar with the new virtual chat and virtual reference service, as we migrated to Springshare's LibChat and LibAswers from FreshChat and FreshDesk (Freshworks), a project led by Tim Conley, Web Services and Systems Librarian.

Access - Circulation

Associates spent approximately 53 hours on this shelf reading and cleaning over the Summer to complete the review of the Third Floor Loft. They also fixed the location statuses of 20+ books that needing updating to reflect their return to the circulating collection after being on exhibit in various thematic displays for the past year's Second Floor Staff Picks. Finally, they piloted a missing items search / record clean up project, coordinating with Deidre Thompson, Head of Technical Services and Metadata Librarian to use Alma Analytics; they found and restored 5+ items that were previously missing.

User Experience

The transition to LibAnswers and LibChat involved significant troubleshooting and creative problem solving, to ensure a seamless launch at the end of July and a bit more time to prepare for the beginning of the new academic year.  Since the launch, we have seen a marked increase in the volume of chat, perhaps due to the new "pop up" on pages of the library's website.  At the end of August, we participated in the Scavenger Hunt organized by the Office of Graduate Student Life and Development; verified visits by students new to Teachers College; and answered questions they had about the Library.

Reference

Our team readily responded to both informational and research queries in person, online, and via chat or telephone throughout the Summer.  Research and instructional services, a significant component of library reference, saw steady consultations, nearly all delivered by Ava Kaplan who also conducted valuable Wednesday and Thursday workshops for "Your Research Journey" and "Elevate Your Research", in addition to two library information sessions for courses in adult and higher education and urban education. Time was devoted to re-thinking and reshaping elements of the latter series, "Elevate Your Research" to better incorporate systematic and scoping reviews of literature and fine tune past offerings on the use of artificial intelligence in research practice, with some adjustments to the foundational series, "Your Research Journey" to better meet the needs of students. Additionally, we prepared for the new academic year -- including orientations and presentations for new students and faculty, updated workshop descriptions, and production of promotional materials, including library bookmarks, postcards, and instructional pieces for the inaugural Library Festival  -- all to share the joy of Gottesman's resources and services in a new way.

Summary,  Reference and Reader Services

Reader 

Hours Open Per Week,   48

Average Daily Visitors,   144

Space Reservations,    903

     Room Bookings,   881 

     Individual Seat Bookings,   22

Books Paged,   73 
Books Checked-Out, In-House,   1,034

Books Checked Out, Not-in-House,   377
Books Returned,   1,207
Books Renewed,    15

NYPL Applications,   2

Reference 

Consultations,   36

Course-Specific Instruction,   2  (Attendees,   45) 

Non-Ticketed Transactions:   451
In Person,   376 (est)

Telephone,   75 (est)

Ticketed Transactions:   592
Ask a Librarian,   523
Live Chat,   69 (est)

Instagram Followers,    625

Leadership

Bulleted here are areas of work that that help show how we  kept the Library running smoothly, while also looking ahead to strengthen resources and services to our patrons. Despite the quieter times at Teachers College, we kept busy!

Administrative

• Participated in recruiting several new Associates for Reference and Reader Services for the new academic year
• Completed performance reviews of full time professional and part-time professional staff using ACE (PageUp)
• Conducted periodic budget check-ins to ensure timely spending and closure of the fiscal year 
• Submitted capital requests to complete the carpet refurbishment and upgrade conference technology in large library classrooms

Communication and Outreach

• Created content for Bookends and Beginnings, July-August newsletter
• Created and published all promotional materials: news, posters, handouts
• Issued reminders and invitations for Course Resource Lists and Course-Specific Instruction
• Held alternating Tuesday meetings with library staff: Roundtable, Tech, Reference-Reader Services, Planning
• Held bi-weekly staff check-ins
• Attended monthly meetings of Columbia University Librarians Access Services Planning and Strategy Committee

Special Projects and Initiatives

In coordination with library units and offices of the College

• Attended meeting with TC IT to discuss planning and scope of major technology upgrades for Russell 305 and Russell 306, planned for Summer, 2026
• Compiled the Myers Report 2025 for art related library initiatives, covering acquisitions, conservation, exhibition support, and commissioned art, with assistance from Amber Protzmann, Manager of Operations on the financials
• Collaborated with commissioned artists, Yutong Chloe Wu and Michael Headrick for Fall 2025 exhibits 
• In the absence of a design associate, curated and designed September displays: Teacher Stories (Everett Cafe), Potluck! (Staff Picks), and Timeless Beauty (Curiosity Cabinets); also curated How Serendipitous?, a book display enhancing Yuton Chloe Wu's exhibit, A Glimpse: Serendipity Across Cultures
• Tested and provided feedback for the new Springshare reference and chat platform:  Libanswers - LibChat 
• Reviewed proposal for ArchivesSpace, including options for hosting and planning for implementation in FY26, with research and input by Conrad Lochner, Special and Digital Collections Librarian; Victoria Santamorena, Processing Archivist; Tim Conley, Web Services and Systems Librarian; Amber Protzmann, Manager of Operations; and Deidre Thompson, Head of Technical Services and Metadata Librarian
• Attended select vendor meetings with Exlibris and staff to get a better understanding of AI integrations for Alma Digital and the New Discovery Index for Primo VE
• Resolved review of interlibrary lending agreements to enable integration with the library services platform, with special thanks to Roshnara Kissoon, Reserves and Support Services Librarian, Deidre Thompson, Head of Technical Services and Metadata Librarian, and Susan Mulliken, Office of General Counsel, for their close attention and consideration 

Images:

• Lettering Class of Teachers College. (1920). Letters S.  From Students of Arthur Wesley Dow Collection. Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Sea Holly with Butterfly, Talacre, Wales. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Notes:

• Sailing feels exhilarating and adventurous, peaceful and reflective, depending on your weather, but whatever your level of experience.
• With its spiky, thistle-like appearance, striking globe-shaped flowers, and spiny leaves, sea holly is found throughout the year in coastal regions of the United Kingdom, Scottish western isles and Shetland Islands, throughout many parts of Europe, in coastal or rock gardens in the United States.  It's a perennial plant -- one that thrives, despite salty wind and soil (not surprisingly, sea holly represents strength and determination).
• Read more reports by Gottesman Libraries' staff, including Special and Digital Collections, Technical Services, and Web Services and Operations.