Today@Sam Article
Newton Gresham Library Celebrates 50 Years
Aug. 21, 2019
SHSU Media Contact: Hannah Haney
With a legacy that reaches back to 1969, the Newton Gresham Library has celebrated many milestones. This month marks the NGL’s golden anniversary and 50 years since opening its doors to the Bearkat community.
In honor of the celebration, starting Aug. 27, from 2-4 p.m., students are invited to attend an open house for popcorn and cupcakes, and participate in activities including coloring, DIY button-making, and trivia quizzes with prizes. The first 100 students to meet the librarians, including those related to their majors, will receive a limited-edition 50th anniversary t-shirt.
In addition, historical photos and objects will be on display for viewing one week before and after the open house. Sammy the Bearkat will also be in attendance to visit the exhibits and join Eric Owen, executive director of Library Services, for a cake cutting at 2:30 p.m.
Then on Sept. 4 & 5, from 2-4 p.m. both days, the library will host two informal networking events for faculty and staff to meet with the library team over drinks and snacks as a part of the celebration. There will be a second cake cutting with Owen at 2:30 p.m.
The overall theme for the anniversary is “Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future,” and though the library is paying tribute to its storied history, it continues to serve as a source of infinite wisdom and will soon start a physical transformation.
Beginning in early 2020, as a joint effort with the Academic Success Center (ASC), the library will embark on a substantial renovation project to improve the existing study areas, reorganize the physical library collection and create new collaborative spaces for the ASC to move into the library building.
“This renovation, focused on the first and second floors, will ultimately transform the Newton Gresham Library into a more inviting, technologically accessible, and collaborative academic learning space for all students and the broader campus community,” Owen said.
Newton Gresham Library faculty and staff envision a library that supports and enhances the development of critically thinking, educated, and informed lifelong learners. The library is integral to the University's learning and research mission and endeavors to create physical and virtual environments that promote discovery of new knowledge and the transfer of existing knowledge.
“SHSU was founded as a Normal School which shows that the teaching and learning aspect is a central tenet to the history of the institution,” Owen said. “Libraries are the main resource for all information needs and a major component for supporting those endeavors.”
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