• Fall 2024 Message from the Dean school Dean's Communication

  September 16, 2024

  Please allow me to extend a hearty welcome to you all as we enter the new academic year! I hope that the summer months provided a chance to recharge and relax. The MSU Libraries is happy to see our students back on campus, and I wanted to take a moment to share some important updates as we look ahead to an energetic semester.Fall semester hours: The MSU Libraries Main Library is typically open 24 hours per day on Monday through Thursday, with later opening and earlier closing times on the weekends. The Business Library located in the MSU College of Law Building is regularly open from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday, with modified weekend hours. Please note that for safety and security purposes, all students, staff and faculty are required to scan their MSU ID to access the MSU Main Library building between 10:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. on Sunday – Thursday. A complete schedule for the MSU Libraries hours is available here.Special Collections closing/move to 3-East: This past August, the MSU Libraries Stephen O. Murray & Keelung Hong Special Collections began the process of relocating to the third floor of the Main Library’s East Wing. To accommodate this exciting and necessary move, which includes hundreds of thousands of delicate and valuable materials, access to the MSU Libraries’ Special Collections will be closed for about 16 weeks beginning Monday, Aug. 12. For more information including timely updates, please visit our Move to 3-East page.We are looking forward to supporting your learning and research needs this fall (and in all seasons)! As a reminder, if you are unable to find an answer on our website or would like to speak to someone in person, we are available at our information desks as well as by phone at (517) 353-8700.With warm wishes for a productive semester,Neil Romanosky, Ph.D. Dean of LibrariesView All News Articles

  
• “Universal Access” exhibit at MSU Libraries highlights commitment to accessibility

  January 14, 2025

  Elise Jajuga

  EAST LANSING, Mich., Jan. 2025 – Those returning to Michigan State University at the start of the spring semester can enjoy an exhibit demonstrating the MSU Libraries’ commitment to accessibility, on display through Feb. 5 at the MSU Libraries Main Gallery.The exhibit “Universal Access: Accessibility in the Library World” showcases how the MSU Libraries have implemented accessibility practices to ensure our collections and archives, assistive technologies and equipment, and spaces are and remain widely available to all. For those looking to visit virtually, an online exhibit is also available as a companion piece to the physical exhibit. Audio files of text for both the physical and virtual exhibits are also available via QR codes.This exhibit was curated by Libraries staff members from multiple units including the Accessibility and User Experience teams, as well as University Archives. Head of Accessibility Heidi Schroeder emphasized the collaborative effort behind the exhibit and how it demonstrates the commitment of faculty and staff across the Libraries to ensuring access to our world-class collections. “It was great to work with units across the Libraries to install this exhibit and showcase how accessibility has been and continues to be a priority for us,” Schroeder said. “It features a wide array of items — accessibility and disability studies materials from our collections and archives, assistive technologies and gaming equipment in the Libraries — and offers interactive sensory experiences like a hearing loss simulation in our sound dome and tactile maps and objects.”The sound dome and tactile resources noted by Schroeder are key features of the “Universal Access” exhibit that also provide interactive sensory experiences. The simulation in the sound dome aims to lend insight into living with hearing loss, including an interview with MSU accessibility trailblazers Eric Gentile and Judy Taylor that aired on the WKAR program “Viewpoints for Action” in 1979, which has been modified with filters to demonstrate how various levels of hearing loss affect the ability to understand the text. The tactile table includes an array of 3D-printed objects created in the MSU Libraries’ Hollander Makerspace, which is an alternative learning environment and gathering space that encourages cross-discipline collaboration, experimentation and learning, as well as a globe from the Map Library’s collection of braille and tactile resources. The technologies incorporated in the tactile table and throughout the various exhibit cases are known as assistive technologies, which are resources used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities. The MSU Libraries has an Assistive Technology Center (ATC) on the first floor of the Main Library that offers resources including adjustable desks and chairs, a SARA Scanning & Reader Appliance, a Perkins Brailler and more. According to former Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities Student Assistive Technology Manager and 2024 MSU graduate Annika Arney, the ATC is a convenient and necessary resource.“The Assistive Technology Center is an important resource for MSU students who may have specific needs while they are completing their coursework at the Main Library,” Arney said. “The space is convenient to use, as it does not need to be signed up for ahead of time, but rather the student can ask for the room to be unlocked when they have a need for it. The Assistive Technology Center is also useful for collaborating and meeting with other students. I have no doubt that if a student had any concerns regarding one of the machines or computers available within the space, library staff would be readily available to assist.”For more information about the exhibit, including additional accommodations, please contact the exhibit curation team. To learn more about the MSU Libraries accessibility services including the ATC, please visit the Libraries’ Accessibility webpage.View All News Articles

  
• Fall 2024 Insight: Michigan State University Libraries Magazine now available

  January 08, 2025

  Elise Jajuga

  The MSU Libraries Fall 2024 edition of our Insight magazine is now available! This edition features stories on the collaboration between MSU Extension and MSU Libraries in bridging science communication statewide through service, internship opportunities available at MSU Libraries for young adults with disabilities through Spartan Project SEARCH, a behind-the-scenes look at the conservation efforts in reviving a rare 16th-century cartography text, and more!View All News Articles

  

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