The following is a guest post from Andrew Ashton, Director of the Libraries.

For those of you new at Vassar, welcome! And for those of you returning, welcome back.  Many changes have happened over the summer and in the past year. We look forward to sharing another great year of information discovery with you!

DVD collection

Believe it or not, there is a whole world of film and video out there that does not stream. Come browse!

We are pleased to announce that DVDs are now available as part of the circulating collection.  Housed outside the Class of ’51 Reading Room on the second floor of the Thompson (Main) Library, these materials are now available for browsing and checkout without needing to be paged.  The collection contains more than 12,000 items and showcases popular movies, documentaries, and hard-to-find items, encompassing many languages and cinematic styles. External disk drives can be borrowed at the Circulation Desk.

Please note that the Archives & Special Collections Library and the Music Library collections are not affected by this change.

New chairs

Old chair to new chair: “Why so quiet?”

You asked and we answered!  Over the summer, we began the process of replacing the (beautiful but squeaky) caned chairs throughout the Thompson (Main) Library.  We’ll continue the process throughout the 2016-2017 academic year.  Look for the new chairs at the tables in the reading rooms on the first floor.

Digital Library Collections

Letter from Susan B. Anthony to President Grover Cleveland, 27 March 1888.

The digital library team was busy this summer loading in new collections that we hope will be very useful for research and teaching.  New collections include noted suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s papers, a nice complement to the Susan B. Anthony collection we uploaded earlier this year.  We also made available such collections as the Jasper Parrish papers (1757-1836), focusing on the relationship between the Six Nations and the early United States; put the finishing touches on our Matthew Vassar Papers, featuring materials related to the history of the founding of the College; and our Glass Plate Negatives collection, depicting students, events, and buildings from 1904-1935.  More Glass Plate Negatives photos, as well as scrapbooks, letters, and photo albums, will be uploaded this year, thanks to the generosity of private donors and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). View more collections at https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu.

Group Study Rooms

Did you know that we have group study rooms available on the ground floor?  You can check out a key to one of the rooms at the Circulation Desk (just bring your Vassar ID), and head downstairs with your group.  Action Einstein will show you how to get there.

Exhibitions and Events

We’ll be sending out more information about our upcoming Shakespeare exhibition and events, as well as events and exhibitions in the Art Library.  Look for information on our blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed!

Hours for the semester

Fall semester hours began on Monday, August 29.  Check the Hours page on the library’s website for any changes to this schedule.

• Monday – Thursday: Circulation & Reserves Desk: 8:30am – 12:00 midnight
• Friday: Circulation & Reserves Desk: 8:30am – 10:00pm
• Saturday: Circulation & Reserves Desk: 9:00am – 10:00pm
• Sunday: Circulation & Reserves Desk: 10:00am – 12:00 midnight

The after-hours study space (north side of the building, closest to Chicago Hall) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Stay in touch!

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