Fall 2009

The Miriam B. and James J. Mulva Library
By Felice E. Maciejewski,
Director of the Library and Interim Associate Vice President for Information Services

The Miriam B. and James J. Mulva Library has been open for four months and is a hub of activity. From Ed’s Café to the quiet study/reflection lounge, to the group study rooms and classrooms, the library is busy. Computers are in use and the printers with their special “blue light” poles (to indicate when printers are in use) are churning away. Students are taking advantage of the wireless throughout the building with laptops and netbooks. Education students have their projects spread out on the floor; art students are sketching away in the natural light coming through the windows, and ESL students are practicing their English in the presentation practice room. The lobby is the crossroads from the parking lots to the east side of Third Street where faculty, staff and students bid each other a “good morning” or “see you later.”

While the Mulva Library is a hub of activity, I do ask that you take a few moments to stop and savor the beauty of the Mulva’s architectural lines: The way the sun comes in the lobby early in the morning playing with the shiny leaves of the mobile in the atrium; or how the fleur-de-lis’ shadows move on the floor as the sun sets; or how colorful prisms form on the sidewalk from the glass walls in the lobby; feel the warmth of the sun in the third floor atrium as the sun shines through the skylight on a cold and windy October afternoon. These are all moments to savor in the Mulva Library.