Nielsen staff is eager and ready to help
Mary Walsh, Murleen Goodrich, Diane Machado, Brooke Phillips, Glenda Geu, Evelyn Rizzi, Paul Mascarenas, Debra West
Some students are regular visitors to Adams State's library; however, many students have entered the library only a few times. What compels students to shy away from the library? Maybe it appears to be an unexplored, forbidden place. Or perhaps it is laziness that discourages students from using the library's resources. Well for the second reason, there may be no cure. But for those students who are simply not acquainted Nielsen, here is a guide.
Nielsen Library is the three-story brick building next to the Rex Activity Center. The first floor houses a computer lab, the circulation desk, and several chairs and tables for study or tutoring sessions. Traveling upward, the second floor is the place for research. The reference desk, all periodicals, government documents, reference volumes, a computer lab, and several small study rooms are on this floor. Finally, the very top floor is home to the main collection, videos, children's literature, and the special collections.
Then there is a large staff excited to acquaint themselves with the students. Diane Machado is the director. David Goetzman is responsible for cataloguing and circulation. Glenda Geu is the person who maintains the library's network and its computer systems. Mary Walsh is the reference coordinator and special collections manager. Brooke Phillips instructs students on using the library's resources. Karen Melgares and Debra West handle all the inter-library loan requests. Murleen Goodrich maintains all of the periodicals and government documents. Finally, Evelyn Rizzi is the go to person for circulation and acquisitions.
In addition to their willingness to help students, these librarians are usually in a good mood because they all enjoy their jobs and coworkers.
"There's not a dull day," Machado said. "We are a good bunch around here. I love the people I work with and the students."
"Members of the staff are my best friends," Rizzi said. "It's funny because when I go home and have a problem, I call people from work."
"What keeps me here is the people I work with," Geu said.
Nielsen Library also focuses on including the community as well as Adams State students. Phillips said the community is welcome to check out materials and use the computers for internet access and word processing, the only requirement is a photo ID proving they are at least 16 years old.
Walsh said customer service is a large part of the librarians' responsibilities.
"Customer service means that everybody's question is valid and sometimes making people feel comfortable about asking for help," Walsh said.
One way Nielsen tries to accommodate people and make them feel comfortable is answering reference questions about any topic through Ask Colorado. Ask Colorado is a 24-hour reference line at www.askcolorado.org.
"It's fun because I get to answer really challenging questions," Phillips said. "It's nice to do something different and I love chatting with the middle schoolers and high schoolers."
This summer, when the staff is not focusing on serving students and community members, they have other goals and projects. For example, the library's materials are currently being updated. This means each librarian is going through and pulling outdated material from the shelves.
"We are withdrawing outdated books," Phillips said. "Removing these books will make our collection more current. We really do need a large sum of money to correct the problems."
However, the library does have year-round goals which include continuing to provide accurate, timely information, providing more electronic databases, providing distance education library services, and pursuing additional funds for the library's budget for projects like the current material upgrade.
So for those students who are unsure of using the library's resources, the staff encourages you to stop by for a visit.
"I enjoy the genuine sense of curiosity and there's a sincerity in wanting to understand how to use the library and I find that refreshing," Walsh said.
