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11/5/2009

Happy birthday to you
Fondren Library celebrates its 60th with friends, cake and stories

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Fondren Library's 60th had all the elements of a great birthday party: friends, cake and countless stories about the guest of honor's glory days. On Nov. 4, the Rice community gathered to celebrate the campus institution's first six decades and look toward the many decades to follow. But instead of recounting facts and figures, people talked about their personal experiences in Fondren and how the library impacted the course of their lives and careers.

"Fondren was the first place I ever came on the Rice campus," said Melissa Kean, centennial historian for Rice. "I came to beg John Boles to let me take one class. That was nearly 20 years ago. As you can see, I haven't left."

	JEFF FITLOW
	On Nov. 4, the Rice community gathered to celebrate the campus institution's first six decades and look toward the many decades to follow.

Kean said that during her graduate- and doctoral-program days, the library was her home away from home. With two small children at home, she found Fondren as a place where she could focus on her work and recharge her batteries.

"I was here so much I knew which way to turn the door handles," Kean said. "Sometimes even now I'll start on the fifth floor and run to the bottom, and it's like 25 years ago. It's like nothing has changed. And then I step out into the first floor, and it's completely different. That change has been fun to see. And the things that haven't changed are also fun to see."

The friendly and welcoming environment of Fondren has stood the test of time, said Ira Gruber, the Harris Masterson Jr. Professor Emeritus of History. He came to Rice in 1966 and spent time poring over the card catalog and reading through rare texts.

Fondren Library
Discover what Fondren Library has been providing Rice for the past six decades "One thing that hasn't changed is the incredibly hospitable atmosphere of the library," he said. "I don't know how Rice has managed to do it over the years -- because we've had all different kind of people shuffle in and out -- but though the place has changed really remarkably, it's also preserved its really hospitable nature."

David Bynog, assistant head of acquisitions, attributes that to the size of the library and its location on campus. Fondren primarily has one central library with no branches, except for its nearby Business Information Center in McNair Hall and the Digital Media Center in Herring Hall. Because of that and the size of the university itself, Fondren's staff is much smaller than comparable academic libraries, Bynog said.

"We function as a very close-knit family, able to interact personally with members of the Rice community and offering them many tailored and individualized services," Bynog said. "The willingness to listen to our patrons, the ability to quickly obtain materials needed for research and the attention that we pay to the needs and wants of our community make us a special -- and we hope beloved -- institution."

Guests who attended the celebration spoke of their affinity for Fondren's staff and its responsiveness to their needs. Many of the attendees said a book, paper or research project wouldn't have been possible without Fondren Library and the people there who helped them.

It was a hard thing for many library users to swallow when the card catalog went digital. Gruber noted, "Some of us didn't go quietly. We went kicking and screaming." But Fondren's visionary improvement in that area ended up being just what the campus and its researchers needed.

"I became dependent on it," Gruber said. "I couldn't have done my book if I had to use old catalogs. I would never have done it in any one lifetime anyway. I was trying to find needles in haystacks -- all the time."

Baker College junior Cindy Dinh initially appreciated the digital access found in and about Fondren. She utilized the full-text online journals to which Fondren subscribes to search for topics in multiple databases and journals for her sociology research project on dietary supplements. She also requested electronic copies of journal articles and hard copies of books from other libraries across the country using Fondren's Interlibrary Loan service.

The work led her to receive a grant from the Friends of Fondren Library for innovative research.

While Dinh has made ample use of Fondren's holdings and technologies, she is most appreciative of its social aspects.

"When I first came to Rice, I was afraid of spending too much time in the library and being labeled a bookworm," Dinh said. "But Fondren is a way to meet acquaintances, friends from other colleges, friends from all over and study with them as well. There are great venues for collaboration, and you can meet in groups. It's great."

Sara Lowman, vice provost and university librarian, noted that Fondren has served a vital role on campus for the past 60 years for a variety of reasons. "It was fun to hear a wide variety of perspectives from the panelists on how the library met their needs -- as an intellectual place to meet their teaching and research needs, a place to spur their imaginations and create knowledge, a social place to meet friends and even a place for romance and resting!" she said.

Lowman said she particularly enjoyed hearing the panel's reflections about the staff and the fond memories of when the history department was located on the fifth floor.

"I hope the library and all the resources and services that it provides can continue to inspire people in the future and serve as an important resource to the Rice Community."