Library Updates & News

New state-of-the-art library system coming in summer 2025 

As a member of the OhioLINK library consortium, the Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library is pleased to announce that we will be upgrading our library system software to Ex Libris Alma and Primo VE, going live in June 2025. Alma/Primo VE is state of the art systems software, and the most-used library system in U.S. academic libraries. 

This cloud-based, enterprise system software is the backbone of day-to-day library operations (acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, etc.), and generates the underlying data that drives library business decisions and reporting. The new system will provide user benefits to help students, faculty, and other library users find (and access) information critical to their learning, teaching, and research. Its user-friendly interactions will be more intuitive and similar to today’s consumer products.  Primo VE, the new user interface replacing EBSCO Discovery Service (aka EDS or Quick Search), will streamline search functions and your access to local resources and scholarly research. It will offer new and improved features and benefits for our library users: 

• Faster searching – search electronic and print resources in one search if preferred 
• Enhanced discovery -- explore automatic recommendations, citation trails, availability in multiple formats, and track requests  
• Personalized features –saves preferences, searches, citations, and export to citation management systems
• More intuitive user experience 
• Mobile friendly – a responsive user interface designed specifically for mobile devices 

The library staff has been working on this migration for the past two years and will continue to work very hard to minimize any disruption to services. However, there will be disruptions, and we will attempt to communicate those with you in a variety of places. I highly recommend that you subscribe to the library's blog for updates about this project. You can easily read only the relevant blog posts by clicking the "Library Migration" link in the subjects list.

The cutover to the new system will impact acquisitions and requests for purchases, borrowing of print materials from OhioLINK, SearchOhio, and our local collection beginning May 23, 2025.

• OhioLINK and SearchOhio borrowing will be turned off on May 23rd and will resume at the end June. 
• There will be a brief pause in the circulation of CIA Library items while we move from the old system to the new system beginning May 26th.

While we are unable to provide an exact date, we hope to resume circulation by mid-June. If you are enrolled in or teaching a summer class, we will work with you to ensure you have access to all library materials necessary for your course. If you are not enrolled in the summer semester, you will be able to check things out once we go-live in the new system and have ensured that everything is working properly. 

Please see our FAQs page for more information on those impacts. 

Training will be available to help you through the transition.  Subscribe to the blog and watch both the library's website and CIA Weekly for more information. If you have questions, please contact the library.

The library staff is very excited about this migration, and we think you’ll be pleased with this upgrade. 

CIA Gund Library BFA Week (May 5-11) Hours:

• Monday - Friday: 10am - 4pm
• The library will be closed Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11.

It's finals week! Relax with puzzles, playdough, sticker art, and other calm activities, and spaces at the library! Take a break and recharge your mind, your studies will thank you! 

Come by the Library on Monday, April 28th from 4pm to 7pm for some shared study time — bring any projects, assignments, or course material you want to focus on! There will be group study spaces, quiet study spaces, and snacks. The Writing + Learning Center and Library staff will be around to give feedback, help with research, and more. No registration required. 

It's the last day of National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18) and we hope that you have enjoyed getting to know our student workers! Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student worker, Julie! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

Location:  CIA Library

Policy decisions being made Columbus affect our everyday lives as well as life at CIA. Consider the impact of Ohio’s “Bathroom Bill” or the perpetually doomed “Ohio Fairness Act.”

These matters are important, but how do you know whether you're receiving accurate, trustworthy information about your elected officials’ actions?

Learn more by attending Media Literacy is So Gay!, an IDEA Council TRI Conversation led by Ken Schneck, editor of Ohio’s LGBTQ+ newsroom The Buckeye Flame. Media Literacy is So Gay! will take place from 11am to noon Thursday, April 17 in the Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library. Light snacks will be provided.

Schneck will discuss media literacy and legislative impacts through the lens of the LGBTQ community’s past, present and future in Ohio. Through learning about LGBTQ community’s experiences, attendees will gain a better understanding of consuming news, identifying reliable sources and distinguishing between different types of media.

Following Schneck’s presentation, there will be time for questions and conversations. In addition, attendees can learn what news-related tools and resources are available at the Gund Library.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Ken Schneck is editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio’s LGBTQ+ newsroom. For this work, he was honored as the national LGBTQ+ journalist of the year. He is the author of Seriously, What Am I Doing Here? The Adventures of a Wondering and Wandering Gay Jew and several LGBTQ+ Ohio history books. In his spare time, he is a tenured professor of education at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio.

National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18) continues! Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student workers, Taylor and Benjamin. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

We're halfway through National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18)! ❤️ Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student worker, Syd. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

It's National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18)! 🎉 Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student workers, Eli and Nya. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library!