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Spring 2003 | Volume 26, Number 2 | Campus | ||||
| Volumes of Volumes SPU Library Resources Will Top 22 Million Items in 2003 A GENERATION AGO, librarians at Seattle Pacific University could direct readers to volumes that numbered in the thousands. Now, in the 21st century, SPU faculty, staff and students will soon be able to borrow from a wealth of more than 22 million books, films and other resources.
Two academic library consortia — Orbis and Cascade — will merge, creating the Orbis Cascade Alliance (Orca), a type of clearinghouse for higher-education resources. At this point, Orbis is made up of Washington’s SPU, Whitman College and the University of Puget Sound, as well as 17 Oregon institutions. Cascade is composed of six major public Washington universities, including the University of Washington. When the alliance is made, Seattle Pacific’s resources will skyrocket, since the six universities in Cascade offer many materials that were unavailable to the University before. If a biology professor plans to deliver a class lecture on killer whales, for example, he or she can visit the SPU Library’s Web site at www.spu.edu/library to find free resources such as books, films and audiotapes. The Library has four books about killer whales available on site and, by checking the Orbis catalog, the faculty member can borrow from among 52 other items. When the merger is complete, the Orbis Cascade Alliance will offer the professor 131 resources, minus duplicates, on killer whales. Delivery from any of the participating schools to the SPU Library should take just two to three days, versus one to two weeks through older versions of interlibrary loans. The Library will e-mail students, faculty and staff when items are ready for pickup. One particular advantage of the alliance is that it allows Seattle Pacific students to check out library materials from schools the size of the University of Washington. Says Ray Doerksen, director of learning resources at SPU, “Our relationship with the UW libraries will be very close. SPU students will be able to order UW items either by requesting them online or by checking them out on site.” Since Seattle Pacific is one of only three private Washington colleges or universities that is now a member of Orbis, the merger will give SPU access to services and resources that many schools do not have. In fact, Remote Services Librarian Jenifer Phelan says, “In terms of library resources that are accessible within three days, this move puts SPU in a league with the top universities of the country.”
— BY MARGARET D. SMITH |
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 From the President Cultivating hope in the face of chaos is vital today. "This is the time for a Christian university to dig down deep into its formative foundations … and decide quite clearly what bread we have to offer,” says President Philip Eaton. Homecoming 2003: The Weekend
in Photos The World of Teng Chiu Playing With Joy |
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