Bender Library's new coffee kiosk will be finished by the beginning of July, according to Diana Vogelsong, associate university librarian at AU.
The Mud Box, given its quirky moniker by a student who won a naming contest last spring, is one of many projects the library has been working on for the next academic year.
The coffee shop will be located on the lower level of the library near the reserves reading room.
Library staff has also been working to create a new look for the ALADIN search engine. According to Mary Mintz, senior reference librarian, the ALADIN Catalog and Database page, which catalogues all the books, journals and reference materials available to students at AU, will be easier to navigate.
"For instance, many students couldn't tell which words were links," Mintz said. "We're making it easier to help students find what they need quickly."
Students can now research electronic journals at AU as well, according to Melissa Becker, reference and instructional librarian. In addition, a group in the Washington Research Library Consortium has been working on updating ALADIN. The consortium includes a number of area libraries, including those at George Washington University, Georgetown University and others. Students at universities in the consortium have access to materials at all the other schools that belong to the group.
"The library has also purchased new iPods and have been working on moving all of our old records to digital music files," Vogelsong said. "This summer, we have also been transporting many of our music records to the new Katzen Arts Center."
The library has also added a new search engine, Academic Search Premier, which is part of Ebsco, a worldwide information service.
"Many incoming freshmen ... may remember Ebsco from their high school computer labs," Beck said. "The page is going to be so much more streamlined and will have more access to resources people need."
All computers are now equipped with the Microsoft Office Suite. The facilities also have 20 new databases, a 20 percent increase from last year, according to Mintz.
The library will also be open 24 hours during finals week permanently. The decision to keep extended finals hours was reached after the schedule was tested the past two semesters.
Library staff has planned numerous Welcome Week activities for the Class of 2009, including database presentations.
"I am very happy with how things are going at the library," Becker said. "This year should be exceptional"
