Library News

A Look Back at our Co-op Experience

As the last days of our Co-ops come this week in the Library’s Advancement Office, my Co-op partner, Sophie Greenspan, the Graphic Designer, and I, the Marketing and Event Planning Co-op, took a second to think back on our experiences and all that we have learned this past semester. Below are our experiences and advice that we wish to share about our six months working at the Snell Library. Tomorrow we will post reflections from other library co-ops. Sophie: As the spring semester co-op comes to an end, I’m grateful for the experience I’ve gained as the Graphic Design Co-op here in Snell Library. As the sole designer for all library marketing, events, and publications, the responsibilities in my job description fell all over the map. A key part of my time here was spent creating the posters for each Meet the Author event; each time we booked an author to speak in the library, I would research their work and use what I learned to develop a poster to draw an audience to the event. Designing the posters was one of my favorite projects since they allowed for complete creative freedom; the more ridiculous my ideas were, the more eye-catching the posters would be.  Other projects included everything from creating newsletters, brochures, and signage to designing custom bookplates and taking event photography. I’d say that more than anything else, this job has taught me to always push my work in new ways. If you’re not engaged in your own designs, nobody else will be either. Since there is so much room for creativity in the projects here, I used the opportunity to try out ideas I had been playing around with, like hand-lettering, collage, and illustration. My advice for future co-ops would be to use this time to develop your personal style and eye for design. Really challenge yourself to make work that you are proud of, and you’ll wind up with a great portfolio in the process. As I move on to future co-ops and, eventually, ‘real world’ jobs, I’ll keep the skills and lessons learned at Snell in mind. I’m going to miss my awesome team of co-workers who have made this such a great semester, but I will always be close by to visit!   Karly: Every day for the past six months, I have had the pleasure of becoming a resident here at Club Snell, but rather than coming in every day to study, I have been coming in every day to work. As the Marketing and Event Planning Co-op, I was given the opportunity to help with the planning of all the different events that the library had this past spring semester, such as the Meet the Author talks and the Places & Spaces: A Mapping Science exhibit. I was worked with the publishers and authors of the talks, contacting potential co-sponsors, publicizing the event, and doing whatever was needed to make sure that the event ran smoothly. If you ever saw a frantic person running up and down the stairs from Room 90, that person was most likely me, making sure everything was set up.  A part of my job was to also help with communications from within the library to the Northeastern community such as through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. (Yes, our twitter handle really is @ClubSnell!) From this co-op experience, I have learned to take responsibility and ownership for a project, whether it be a Facebook post or an author talk, and learning to not second guess myself with my decisions as I put my own thoughts and ideas into the post or event. I’ve learned that I should ask for help when I need it and to delegate responsibilities, so that I am not overwhelmed and scrambling at the last minute to make sure something is ready. From this co-op I have also now become a “professional e-mailer” since a huge part of this job is being able to communicate by email and through that I have learned patience, since sometimes not everyone will respond back in a timely matter and instead of taking it personally, I’ve learned to ease my frustration and try to come up with other ways to communicate my message, such as personal phone call. For future co-ops, my advice is to be organized, since there is always tons of email and documents to keep track of, take a chance to use your ideas for an event and don’t be afraid to take ownership of something. Be patient, but also know when you should be a bit pushy when waiting for a response, and make sure to ask for help. It has been a wonderful and rich learning experience working on the other side of Club Snell.    

NU Athletics: If you can play, you can play.

In partnership with the organization You Can Play, Northeastern University Athletics has recently recorded a PSA supporting equality in sports. Northeastern student- athletes, coaches, administrators,and fans came together to express their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes, promoting their message that sexual orientation has no bearing in sport: if you can play, you can play. In their partnership with You Can Play, NU Athletics is been committed to creating an open, inclusive and supporting culture at Northeastern for LGBT athletes and students.

The cast of Triangle Theater Company’s “A Night Out with the Boys,” 1983. Archives Photo.

Supporting the LGBT community at Northeastern more broadly,the Library’s Archives and Special Collections Department highlights LGBT groups as part of the social justice collection strategy. Community members can view collections from organizations such as: Archives collections include materials such as documents, newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, and articles allow the Northeastern community to learn and gain an understanding of the history of the LGBT community and support for it in Massachusetts. These collections and others and be viewed in the library’s Archives and Special Collections Department located at 92 Snell Library.  

We asked, and you spoke up. Thanks!

Over the past few weeks we have been administering a survey in order to collect information on what Library users need and want more of in terms of study space. The survey asked users questions about where they like to study and what type of spaces should the Library have more of, allowing the Library to learn what users really want for their library that will enable them to have their ideal study space. Users were able to take the survey online or on paper, which was handed out during different times of the day at the Library and other areas on campus, such as the Curry Student Center. We’ve had a great response, reaching about 1,000 completed surveys, with respondents from all colleges and divisions of the University. A big Thank You to everyone who took the survey, in print or online! With all of your helpful responses, we have generated important information that will help shape the Library’s planning now, as well as its long term development.    

Policy Making Begins at Home

Update: Stephen Flynn, founding co-director of Northeastern’s George J. Costas Research Institute for Homeland Security, testified before Congress on Tuesday this week about cyber security concerns. Policy making isn’t always an “inside the beltway phenomenon” or the exclusive preserve of Washington insiders. Northeastern faculty and staff are frequent visitors to Congressional hearing rooms, providing expert testimony on topics as diverse as hate crimes, tobacco regulation, airline mergers, autism, the economic downturn, and human trafficking. In 2008, President Joseph Aoun welcomed Senator Ted Kennedy, invited witnesses, and members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to NU for a hearing on access to higher education. Ensuring Access to College in a Turbulent Economy provides a verbatim record of these proceedings. Other recent hearings with a local connection include: Mitchell Report: Illegal Use of Steroids in Major League Baseball – Includes testimony of former Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens and his colleague, New York Yankees player Andy Pettitte. Digging Up the Facts: Inspecting the Big Dig – More on the project Bostonians love to hate: water leaks, shoddy building materials, and cost overruns. Learning from the States: Individual State Experiences with Healthcare Reform Coverage Initiatives – The Commonwealth’s flagship program for universal healthcare coverage, now much in the spotlight in the 2012 Presidential election. Ten Years after 9/11: Assessing Airport Security and Preventing a Future Terrorist Attack – This hearing was held in Boston since two of the affected flights originated at Logan International Airport. The NU Library provides access to historic and contemporary U.S. Government documents in online and print formats. Key collections include:
  • Proquest Digital Hearings: Congressional hearings from 1824 to present
  • FDsys: The government site for authenticated, permanent access to important document series, including the Congressional Record (1994 to present), Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Compilation of Presidential Documents, federal budget, Statutes at Large, United States Code, etc.
  • HeinOnline: Historical and contemporary government documents, including Foreign Relations of the United States, treaties, Presidential Papers, and the Congressional Record and its predecessors.
  • U.S. Congressional Serial Set and American State Papers: Rich collection of primary source materials from Congress and other government agencies.  The set includes an historical map collection.
Consult the Federal Government Subject Guide for information about additional government publications.

History Through Biography

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn  The award winning American National Biography Online and Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (for British history) are now available through NU Libraries. Within these resources, you are able to search by person, subject, date, or location. For example, you can find major artists who lived in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Results include lengthy biographical entries and links to related people and themes. The American National Biography Online includes the Oxford Companion to United States History so that you can quickly link from a noted figure to article on topics related to that figure. For more on the Library’s resources in History, please see the Subject Guide.