A New Season for Library Development at Olivet University

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It's May, and Olivet University is buzzing about library development. Key administrators believe Olivet's working plan for augmenting and distributing the library's current resources across academic programs and language groups heralds a season of change.

"The library is the heart of any academic institution," commented Director of Academic Affairs, Ms. Tracy McNeal. "We are taking positive measures – all of which will ensure the lasting health of Olivet's library resources," she added. "Everyone's pretty excited about it."

Among the most drastic developments is the division of Olivet's library collections into main library holdings and separate college collections for Olivet Theological College & Seminary, Jubilee College of Music, Olivet College of Journalism, Olivet College of Art & Design, and Olivet College of Information Technology. The University will also be home to an Asian Library, offering resources in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

The plan allocates a significant portion of the University's budget to carry out a strategy for purchasing quality materials to meet the curricular requirements for the general studies program, and each specific subject discipline at the University. The hoped-for outcome is a library that offers an up-to-date and convenient collection of materials supporting the broad range of academic activities at Olivet University. The plan also includes measures to ensure timely response to various deadlines imposed by institutional growth and accreditation requirements; facilitate effective management of learning resources; accelerate the growth of library titles to 100,000; and supplement Olivet's collections through cooperative arrangements with other institutions.

Olivet library activities are being directed by librarian Mrs. Biehwa Chen Ma, who is qualified with Masters Degree in Library Science. Mrs. Chen Ma has also earned more than a decade of professional library experience, including positions at the University of California Berkeley's Asian Library, and two private Chinese seminaries in California.

Updates about Olivet University libraries will be posted on www.ouonline.us.