One person’s BEFORE is another person’s AFTER.
New and Current Students
Last year’s entering students will have very different memories than what this year’s entering students will encounter. Take, for example, the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library.
Students coming to college for the first time last year came BEFORE library renovation and experienced the full spring semester DURING that process. When they arrived in the fall, the library was new to them, but operating as “normal.” In the spring, the building was closed and they had to search out the Nellie Wilson Lounge to find the “library in exile.”
Students who are now Juniors and Seniors are about to have their moment of feeling like old-timers as they regale Freshmen and Sophomores with their stories of the library as it was BEFORE.
Students from the 1970s
Students from the early 1970s remember before, during, and after the wraparound addition which provided more space for more collections and office space for library staff and classrooms.
Emeritus Club
Emeritus Club members (those who have graduated from WVWC at least 50 years ago) remember before and during the building of the original Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library. Some remember the excitement of the dedication of that building in 1953.
This week the Emeritus Club gathered for the last of their summer luncheons and were treated to a tour of the renovated library. They were amazed. They were excited. They were proud. They were also a bit nostalgic as they told stories of times when talking and eating were not permitted in the library!
They ended their tour by standing at the foot of the stairs and singing the Alma Mater, some with misty eyes. They were remembering their time and experiences with love and gratitude while also sharing their excitement for current students. Almost a kind of blessing. It was a beautiful and emotional moment.
Perspective of Time
We see the world in terms of our own perspective of time.
This can give us appreciation for growth and excitement for the future.
Our shared experiences connect us even (and maybe especially) when things look different than they did before.
New opportunities. A new normal.
Fall 2019
Within the week, I will be meeting My First Year Seminar students for the first time. They will experience only the new.
They will hear stories about the old from those who knew it (including those who just arrived last fall.)
They will probably consider the new door as being the main door. To many of us, it is a marvel to be able to enter from both sides of the building!
They will regularly get lunch, or make themselves a milkshake or Keurig coffee at the new self-service micro store while others will look back with nostalgia on the Cafe Libros. Some Emeritus tour members this week were horrified at food (or even chewing gum) in the library at all.
The library has always been at the heart of academic life – the laboratory where students explore and apply what they learn in the classrooms. Research is done and papers are written there. It has also been the place where people gather as a community of learners. Many have found it a convenient place to meet and talk and get acquainted. It is a center for building Community as well as individuals.
Yes, there are still books (print and electronic) and access to many information sources and reserve items. Yes, there are librarians to guide and teach and help students find what they need. Yes, the building is different and redesigned.
The library is ready to build more people.