Messages from the Dean

September 1st, 2009

Welcome (bienvenidos, bienvenus, bem vindos), students and faculty, to a new academic year! My name is Carol Hixson and I am the new Dean of Library at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.

The goal of the Poynter Library is to serve you and make your time at USFSP successful and, we hope, enjoyable. The University is undergoing a lot of changes in response to the world around us and libraries are part of responding to and providing guidance through those changes. I and the other librarians and library staff are committed to a library that is:

• User-centered and responsive
• Using our space creatively and effectively
• Integral to the University’s teaching and research mission and supportive of faculty in their work
• Engaged and partnering with the faculty and students, as well as the broader community
• Expert on information in all forms (including digital)
• Well-versed in copyright and intellectual property and able to help you understand your rights and responsibilities
• Providing a suite of services, not just a building with books and journals in it
• Innovative and flexible leaders on campus
• Accountable for what we do and how we do it

I am fortunate to have been selected to lead a library which has already laid solid foundations of dedicated and creative service under the leadership of Dean Kathy Arsenault. The librarians and other staff of the Poynter Library are positive, forward-looking professionals who will meet you more than halfway and who will always strive to give you the best service possible. We all look forward to working with you this year and throughout your career at USFSP.

I am delighted to be a member of the USF St. Petersburg community and I look forward to getting to know you and working closely with you in the coming months. I invite you to contact me at 873-4400 or hixson@mail.usf.edu or just drop by the Dean’s Suite in Poynter 318 to introduce yourselves. Stay tuned to this space for messages throughout the year.

Best wishes for an exciting and productive year!