Greetings and happy New Year!
For the purists among us, the new millennium has just begun. 2001, only a month old, has already brought many changes. Of the good ones, after fourteen months and two national searches, I am exceedingly pleased to announce that as of 8 January, John Solon joined the Music Library staff in the position of Access and Digital Services Librarian, replacing (finally!) Peg Brown.
Many of you know John from his days as an undergraduate in the ethnomusicology program. Or, you might have met him playing in the gamelan or teaching students (and faculty) how to open their email accounts while he worked as a student assistant in the Memorial Library Info Lab. You might have heard him playing the Kigande xylophone at the Isthmus Jazz Festival or at other area venues. John might have helped you to learn about the latest equipment at the College Library New Media Center, or found for you a misshelved book on acoustics at the Engineering Library, where he most recently reigned as the head of circulation. John received his M.L.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and despite a very healthy pool of applications from across the country, was far and away the best qualified candidate for the position. We are very fortunate to have him.
John will assume responsibility for circulation and reserves and will be assisted by Amy Harrell, whose work alone has kept the electronic reserves program flourishing. Amy will graduate this spring with a double major in music theory and librarianship and is already being courted by several music libraries. The inimitable Charles Schneider, who has worked tirelessly during the past five months putting materials on reserve for your classes even before you knew you needed them, will continue to work in the Music Library assisting with gifts and orders. Please stop by to say hello to John and to thank Amy and Charles for holding the operation together - we couldn't have done it without them!
As for the rest of us, our time will be spent in the usual flurry of activity. Although we have sworn off hosting conferences for the next decade or so, we hope to sponsor a few special events to commemorate recent gifts to the collection. In addition, we'll be kept busy adding shelving, expanding the remastering studio, organizing our special collections, and continuing to provide excellent service. Please let us know if we can help you in any way.
On behalf of Steve, Alinda, John, Amy, Charles, and a cadre of talented student assistants, I extend to you our wishes for a good year.