by Karson Brandenburg
Ole Miss’ J.D. Williams Library offers countless resources to current students and faculty of the university. Among these resources are the biannual library tours. The tours are offered to acquaint students and faculty with the special services the library offers and to give them a general overview of what the library holds.
“The challenge is that there is no perfect time to offer tours…” said Julia Rholes, Dean of Libraries.
The number of students interested in taking tours has dwindled in recent years, and the library has seen more participants in the tours during the fall tour weeks than the spring.
The tours generally take place during the second or third week of a new semester, so that new students have an opportunity to learn about the library prior to the semester getting under way.
“Five years ago, we had larger numbers of tour takers than we do now. Last spring 25 people came over during tour week, whereas this spring only 6 people took advantage of tour week,” said Melissa Dennis, outreach and instruction librarian.
Many students are encouraged to take a tour of the library by professors who offer extra credit for doing so. Students are not the only recipients of the tours, though.
“Tours are marketed to everyone, but especially anyone new to the university: faculty, staff or students,” said Dennis.
“Staff who had worked at the university for 10 years and never set foot in the library suddenly came over because they felt it was the first time they were formally asked,” said Dennis. “We were glad to reach these types of people, because the library is still their library as well as for faculty and students.”
The tours, though personalized depending on the members of the touring group, do not include an in-depth look at the online services offered by the library, and are generally limited to a 20-25 minute time frame.
Students are encouraged to take a tour multiple times during their years of study, because the library changes exhibits and rearranges areas every six months.
“The bottom line is that we want the university community to feel comfortable in our space and to know how to use it,” said Dennis.
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