Adding Day to Day
Education Program+, in Motion: Summer 2026 Report
Untitled, 1. Date and Author Unknown. Teachers College
Student Art from the Dow Years. Courtesy of Teachers College,
Columbia University.
Still, life had a way of adding, day to day.
-- Virginia Woolf. Mrs Dalloway (Legend Classics). Legend Press, 2023. p.59.
While the Teachers College campus might have felt quieter for some, it was far less so for us in the Library; the Summer of 2026 was busy with fresh initiatives, special projects, and new members of the staff. We continued to offer an interesting program of events and worked hard to prepare for a new look. We completed the third and final phase of the carpet refurbishment; upgraded large library classrooms with new technology; and oriented new librarians to Gottesman, all the while delivering pertinent resources and services to our patrons in support of learning, teaching, and research. Summer classes were in session, along with summer institutes and other programs, and Russell Hall was vibrant with art, music, books, and people. This report highlights work accomplished in the Gottesman Libraries' 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 first and third floors. Following The Querent, (April 20 - June 29) by Catherine J.S, we launched Community Ceramics: Creating Connections (July 30-August 28) in partnership with the program in Art and Art Education and the Teachers College Ceramics Studio. Funded by the Myers Foundations, the latter exhibit allowed us to pilot the creation of ceramic pieces that tied in with themes in concurrent library displays and exhibitions, among them: The Querent, Artivism, and On Correspondence, In Conversation. After Joy Cometh in the Morning: A Celebration of Artistic Practice (May 1- June 30), by 2026 commissioned artist and doctoral student Ligel Lambert, we featured the fifth annual Artivism expo in Offit Gallery, Reimagining the Future: Nurturing Change for a More Dignified and Meaningful Co-Existence (July 7- August 13), showing 23 pieces in various mediums by 11 artivists who responded to a variety of concerns, including: identity, belonging, sustainability, immigration, law enforcement, and personal growth and development.
Books displays were also featured regularly throughout the Library. Everett Cafe featured: Feeling Pessimistic About AI? (May-June) and Summer Reads (July-August), curated by Senior Librarian Jennifer Govan, designed by Library Associate Kai Oh.
Staff Picks on the second floor was curated and designed by Library Associates along seasonal themes and topics of educational interest: Coming of Age: Perspectives from Our Own Backyards (Carolina Bolivar, Kate Scott); Summer of Transformation (Kate Scott); and First Times (Nina Hasanzade, Kai Oh).
In the second floor Rocket Cases, we continued the display of Award-Winning Children's Books to Read and Read Again, having received 191 books, both fiction and nonfiction, that were also highlighted in blog posts, as Part One and Part Two.
For the third floor Curiosity Cabinets, we presented On Correspondence, In Conversation, curated by Special and Digital Collections Librarian Conrad Lochner and designed by Kai Oh, Library Associate, complete with handwritten letters, photographs, select publications, and question prompts that invited submission of a personal letter touching upon our narrative as teachers and lifelong learners.
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 and intertwined additional library resources, including books and archival materials: Greystone Mansion Is Gifted to Teachers College; Twelve New MA's Granted by New College, Teachers College; World Environment Day; Anne Frank Receives a Diary; Juneteenth; Scopes Trial Begins; Mary Leakey Discovers Ancient Remains; First Lighthouse in America; Poems by Robert Burns Is Published; Philippe Petit Walks a Tightrope Between the Twin Towers; Berlin Wall Goes Up; Women Are Granted the Right to Vote; and March on Washington.
Instructional
To welcome new students, select library tours were conducted by staff during the latter part of May, 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 (5/27, 7/1, 8/12); Searching Strategies (6/3, 7/8, 8/19); Managing Your Citations with Zotero (6/10, 7/15, 8/26); The Literature Review (6/17, 7/22); Reading the Contemporary Information Landscape: Principles of Source Evaluation (6/24, 7/29). "Elevate Your Research" built upon the foundational "Your Research Journey" with offerings on Open Access and Open Educational Resources (6/11); Making Systematic Reviews Manageable with Covidence (6/25, 8/13; Piecing It Together: Deconstructing and Interpreting Systematic Reviews (7/9); and Down the Lit Review Rabbit Hole: Leveraging Databases, Citation Mining and Chatbot for Discovery (7/23), 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); Adult Learning & Leadership (June); Open Scholarship (July); and Music & Music Education (August).
Live Music
Music to our ears! Live performances brought jazz and classical music to the Library atrium, as we hosted expert duets: Caroline Pearsall & Amy Dahm Huh, tango violin (5/21); Claremont Strings and Ensemble, classical (6/8, 7/1, 8/10); Nicholas DiMaria Jazz (5/26, 6/22, 7/20); and Pele Greenberg & John Koozin, Jazz (7/15). Audiences lingered in the library atrium and Russell stairwell to catch the sounds of afternoon performances in highly acoustic, Gothic space.
Talks
We also hosted opening talks and receptions for two art shows, Artivism: Reimagining the Future (held online, 8/10), with discussion moderated by Jennifer Govan and Kate Scott; and Creating Connections: Community Ceramics (held in person, 8/12). Dr. Judith Burton, Macy Professor of Education, joined us for opening remarks at the latter event, where ceramics were warmly received, especially as they were exhibited for the first time on beautiful custom built pedestals to complement existing library furnishings.
Summary, Education Program
Displays and Exhibits, 93
Art, 3
Book, 7
Regular News, 70
Special News, 13
Instructional, 26 (Attendees, 131)
Self Guided, 4
Tours, 4 (Attendees, 14)
Workshops, 18 (Attendees, 117))
Live Music, 8
Classical, 5
Jazz, 3
Talks, 2 (Attendees, 28)
Total Offerings, 129 (Attendees, 159)
Balloon, by the Lettering Class of Teachers College, 1925.
From Locomotion: Ten Prints. Students of Arthur Wesley
Dow Collection. Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.
Reference and Reader Services
Summer saw a reduction of opening hours, consistent with the Summer of 2025, and thus lighter staffing. The position of Library Specialist for Circulation and User Experience was vacant since March, and we extend thanks to the small team of Associates -- Stephany Andrade, Cassie Frangoulis, Elizabeth Kugeman, Kunsang Palmo, and Lauren Young -- who provided substantial service during regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, and Sunday, 12pm-8pm.
Access - Circulation
Associates participated in the temporary relocation of contemporary children's books (192 shelves, 4 double ranges) and K-12 curriculum (236 shelves, 5 double ranges) from the second floor collaboration space to the second floor tower, and other available ranges in the first floor and basement levels. This effort allowed for the installation of the new carpet on the second floor -- requiring that books be kept in order, rather than boxed up for ease of access if needed or requested by patrons. All in all, we estimate moving 17,120 books and returned them to their proper location by the end of July.
User Experience
Kunsang Palmo took on the new full time role of Circulation and Reference Librarian and, thanks to their efforts, helped us accomplish the shift, on schedule and with improved access to the collections. We saved space by spreading books more evenly in the ranges, freeing up the bottom shelves in Juvenile, and placing large oversized curriculum at the end of the range. To aid access and the ability of users to more easily find books, we updated all the signage in the second floor open stacks, and assessed ways to improve storage of the oversized materials in the Tower Stacks. The project to shift oversize materials began in August and is in full swing, with hopeful completion in the Fall Semester.
In addition, Library Associates curated Staff Picks, focusing on lighter, summer themes, and daily news in Everett Cafe.
A major goal was recruiting and hiring two additional Associates for the Summer, plus several new ones for the Fall, as previous staff graduated after two dedicated years of service in the unit. We welcomed TC students Sabrina Kuo and Maddie Roberts in August, followed by: Yuki Kimura, Lillian Lo, Sam Manlove, Jamie Oliver, Casey Pollard, and Disha Shetty. Chyanika Bajaj, former Library Associate and TC alumna, returned to take on the new position of Library Specialist for Circulation and Reserves (refashioned from the previous position, Library Specialist for Circulation and User Experience).
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 again to 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 updated orientations and presentations for new students and faculty, produced more promotional materials, including library bookmarks, postcards, and instructional pieces for the second annual Library Festival to be held in late September.
One library information session / course-specific offerings was provided to HUDK 5121 on July 28th.
Summary
Reader
Hours Open Per Week, 74
Average Daily Visitors, 130
Room / Seat Reservations, 1,489
Books Requested for Hold, 33
Books Checked-Out, 1,197
Books Returned, 924
Books AutoRenewed, 0
Books Recalled, 4
NYPL Applications, 8
Reference
Consultations, 49
Course-Specific Instruction, 1 (Attendees, 10)
Total Transactions, 1,213
Non-Ticketed Transactions: 397
In Person, 367
Telephone, 30
Ticketed Transactions: 816
Ask a Librarian, 769
Live Chat, 47
Instagram Followers, 679
The Bicycle, by Michèle Dohet. 1955. Ziegfeld Collection
of International Children's Art. Courtesy of Teachers
College, Columbia University.
Leadership
Bulleted here are highlights of work accomplished in key areas that provided direction and coaching of staff. The summer was a significant in moving ahead with budget, technology, personnel, and reporting to accomplish goals and objectives that supported strategic foci: strengthening services that meet institutional needs; building resources that advance study and research; and communicating and collaborating with shared intent.
Administrative
- Recruited and filled four new positions to prepare for the new academic year: Resource Management and Access Librarian (Meghan Broussard); Collections Acquisition and Metadata Librarian (Noah Grover); Circulation and Reference Librarian (Kunsang Palmo); Library Specialist for Circulation and Reserves (Chyanika Bajaj)
- Completed performance reviews of 4 full time professional staff (those employed here for longer than 6 months)
- Conducted periodic budget check-ins with staff to ensure timely spending and closure of the fiscal year
- In coordination with Facilities, completed the refurbishment of the second floor carpeting
- In coordination with TC IT, Media Services, and Facilities completed the upgrade of conference technology in the two large library classrooms (Russell 305 and 306)
- Reviewed options for touching up furniture and furnishings on three public floors (next capital project)
Communication and Outreach
- Created content, including text and visuals, for Bookends and Beginnings, May and June newsletters; prepared the September newsletter
- Created and published all promotional materials for offerings in the Education Program, including news, posters, handouts
- Participated in Silver Roundtable Alumni tour and presentation
- Issued reminders and invitations via e-mail 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 periodic meetings of Columbia University Librarians Access Services Planning and Strategy Committee and Collections Forum
Special Projects and Initiatives
In coordination with library units and offices of the College
- Compiled the 2025-2026 Myers Report for art related library initiatives, covering acquisitions, conservation, exhibition support, and commissioned art and planned the coming year
- Collaborated with commissioned artists, Junhan Shen and Krystal Grow, for Fall 2026 exhibits; continued planning Spring 2027 commissions by Jádé Colpa anad Erika Vogt (all TC Art and Art Education students)
- Responded to College's art survey for insurance purposes
- Replaced signage of seats and rooms, eliminating confirmation check-ins (new practice)
- Coordinated with Technical Services librarians on major new acquisitions: Teachers College Press, e-book purchases, bringing us up to date with electronic holdings; and the Classic Education Archive, from Taylor and Francis, offering back files of seminal education journals from volume 1 through 1996.
Notes
- A pun on still life (anything but)
- Library offerings and activities with positivity and high energy (balloon)
- Balance, mindfulness, progress, sustainability (the bicycle)
Read additional reports by library staff.
