Library welcomes new executive director

Nipissing University and Canadore College are pleased to welcome Nancy E. Black as the new executive director, Library Services, for the award-winning Harris Learning Library.

Black will begin her five-year term on September 1, 2012.

Currently the manager of access and information services at the University of Northern British Columbia, Black brings management experience in both academic and public libraries.  She earned a master of library service from Dalhousie University and is currently completing her doctoral degree through the School of Library and Archival, Information Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her dissertation is titled: Information Seeking Experiences of Post-Secondary Distance/Online Student.

“I am delighted to be joining the team at the beautiful Harris Learning Library and to assist students, faculty and community members as they engage in learning and research,” said Black.  My own research interests include information seeking behaviour, intellectual freedom and censorship.”

The Harris Learning Library opened to students and the public in June 2011.  It recently won an award in the 2012 Library Interior Design Competition, in the Academic Libraries over 30,000 square feet category, which was announced recently by the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the Buildings and Equipment Section of the Library Leadership and Management Association, a division of the American Library Association. 

The 56,000 square-foot Harris Learning Library employs 25 staff members.  Its collection includes some 450,000 monograph titles, of which approximately 250,000 are e-books, and approximately 40,000 full text journals.

Some of the key features that distinguish the Harris Learning Library include the beautiful Thomson Reading Room, collaborative workspaces for group projects, quiet study areas for individual work, a large computer lab, wireless connectivity throughout the building, an abundance of natural light, and comfortable, open spaces for students to study and relax.

Through the PALS (Public and Academic Libraries Sharing) initiative, surrounding community libraries are able to access resources and services in the Harris Learning Library, and Canadore and Nipissing students will in turn have access to the holdings of nine regional public libraries.