Today's Hours
Dear CCNY Libraries community,
I'm so pleased to be able to address you as you begin your 2020/2021 academic year. I want you to know that the CCNY Libraries team continues to work remotely to support your studies and teaching. Reference librarians are available to help via chat, text, or e-mail; information literacy classes; and consultation about e-book requests. They, along with the OER team, are also available to support your OER (Open Educational Resources) needs.
I'd also like to give you a sneak peek virtual tour of our outfit. You'd be surprised by how much work is carried out behind the scenes by librarians, support staff, and part timers; somewhat hidden from 
you but vital to the running of CCNY Libraries. ILL (InterLibrary Loan) staff process requests for non-local resources, extending our collections to other institutions across the country. Circulation staff conduct data reviews and edits and they also troubleshoot for patrons. Catalogers as well as Acquisition and Materials and Processing staffers process records to make sure all our resources are accurately reflected and accessible via OneSearch, our catalog. Collectively, all of these staffers have spent months preparing to transition to our new library software program, which continues to require vigilant maintenance. Tech Support staff ensure that the electronic resources that you enjoy and depend upon are accessible around the clock. (Remember to sign up for these free resources with your CCNY e-mail address: New York Times and Wall Street Journal). Administrative office staff also provide essential support and highly efficient service to all our branches as well.
To round out this tour of CCNY Libraries, I want to also mention the Archives staff who inventory, provide metadata, process, and promote our digital collections. The Digital Scholarship Services team works with a number of faculty across our campus to support and create stellar digitized projects. If you’re curious about all this interesting interdepartmental collaborative scholarship and other happenings, please read our blog and follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).
This message is an invitation to take advantage of the expertise of CCNY Libraries; support staff, librarians, and part timers working hand in hand. It's this knowledgeable and dedicated team that understands, manages, negotiates, provides, teaches, and promotes all the terrific Libraries resources at your disposal.
In preparation for my new role, I met with many of the people on our team individually and heard them discuss their respective experiences learning our new software system. It occurred to me that despite my 14 years at CCNY, we were all in the same boat: getting used to something new. In fact, this year has required major adjustments in just about everyone's professional and personal lives. We continue to mourn loved ones lost to the pandemic as well as the senseless murders of Black Americans and more violence in response to protests demanding justice. And then there are the other more individual challenges and changes that come in the course of all our lives. Oftentimes, change is unwelcome because change is difficult. It may visit us forcefully, bringing with it feelings of discomfort, stubbornness, anxiety, and usually, behind it all: fear. But, in the end, with a healthy dose of mindfulness, our skin is shed and we emerge stronger than before.
This extraordinary year has forced us into both a collective trauma and collective contemplation. When things get to be too much, please remember to take time for self care and after that, continue with collective care. Our outgoing Chief Librarian and Associate Dean Chip Stewart was fond of helping us to pause by saying, “Three deep breaths!” In gratitude for his 31 years of service and more recent stewardship of CCNY Libraries, I’ll say it one last time in his honor: three deep breaths! Here’s to an inspiring academic year and stronger beginnings for us all.
Daisy Domínguez
Interim Chief Librarian
Image 1. John Carrero, (Library Systems Chief), Daisy Domínguez, and Rex Agyemang (former Administrative Office Assistant) strike a pose at our 2011 Cherry Blossom Film Festival in CCNY Libraries Archives
Image 2. Gladys Bacote (MPC staffer), Min Li (Cataloging Assistant), John Carrero (Library Systems Chief), William Gibbons (Chief of User Services), Rita Gregory (retired Cataloging Assistant), Rex Agyemang (former Administrative Office Assistant) and CCNY's 2016 Salutatorian Orubba Almansouri (former Cataloging Assistant) at the Fall 2014 CCNY Libraries Book Sale
Image 3. Chip Stewart (former Associate Dean and Chief Librarian), Lon Mendelsohn (Chief of Technical Services), Ty Hoffman (former Reference Librarian), Tresha Antoine (MPC staffer), William Gibbons (Chief of User Services), Amrita Dhawan (former Chief of User Services), Ching-Jung Chen (Digital Scholarship Librarian), Stefanie Joshua (facilitator), Anita Myers-Mabra (former Acquisitions staffer), and Evelyn Bodden (former ILL staffer) at the 2015 CCNY Libraries Professional Development Day
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