Library News

The Samuel C. Williams Library at Stevens Institute of Technology has recently earned a 2025 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award from Insight into Academia magazine.  

According to the recent Campus & Community article on the Stevens website, "The LEAD Award honors academic libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support inclusive excellence and belonging across their campus. This prestigious award highlights Stevens’ dedication to innovation and accessibility as well as the Williams Library’s role as a hub of knowledge and connection."

The LEAD Award helps tell the story of the multifaceted ways the Library helps students find their place among the campus community — by offering resources, classes, workshops, programming, and events that support student learning and development.  The Library staff is proud of our commitment to innovation, accessibility, and helping students develop 21st-century skills, including information literacy, digital literacy, communication, critical thinking, and problem solving.  

To read more about this recent honor and the Library's dedication to student well-being and success, please visit Campus & Community news on the Stevens website.

Did you know that the Library provides access to streaming films and documentaries, language-learning, online newspapers, and popular new books?  The Library supports your passion for lifelong learning and helps you stay informed about national and international news!  

As a member of the Stevens community, you have access to all of the Library’s resources,  online and on our shelves.

Here is a selection of new resources to help you stay informed, connected, and curious!

• Kanopy is a streaming video library that includes documentaries, independent and foreign films, classics, and feature films.  Find it on the Library’s A-Z Databases list.
• The Wall Street Journal features breaking news in finance, technology, business, and world news via the web version or app.  Find it on the Library’s A-Z Databases list.  Select the round blue “i” icon to learn about setting up your account.
• The New York Times: As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, The New York Times covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews via the web version or app.  Find it on the Library’s A-Z Databases list.  Select the round blue “i” icon to learn about setting up your account.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education serves educators, administrators, researchers, and policymakers in higher education.  Find it on the Library’s A-Z Databases list.  Select the round blue “i” icon to learn about setting up your account.
• A selection of new books: When you’re looking for a break from working and studying hard, find the new books spinner shelf in the Great Hall on the first floor of the Library!  And if you're looking for a specific title that we don't have, request it from Interlibrary Loan.

Have questions? Contact us or reach out directly to a Research Services Librarian. We want to hear from you!

October 2023 at the Samuel C. Williams Library was filled with exciting events. Here's a recap of some of the highlights from this past month:

Let Freedom Read! A Banned Books Week Event

We had a full house on October 5 for our Banned Books Week (October 1-7) event entitled  "Let Freedom Read!"  We gathered to discuss the power of the freedom to read and the growing book challenges and bans across the country in public, academic, and school libraries. This event featured discussions led by Librarians Vicky Orlofsky, Courtney Walsh, and Romel Espinel; Professors Lindsey Swindall and Smaran Dayal of the Stevens School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and the great folks from the Hoboken Public Library, Director Jenny Pu and Ally Blumenfeld. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated! 

Beyond the Books

During Family Day on October 14, we had so much fun meeting all the families and students! The Library’s Archives & Special Collections staff, Leah Loscutoff and Ted Houghtaling, worked alongside a wonderful group of student volunteers to host “Beyond the Books,” a curated display of historical highlights from the Archives with student-led discussions covering some of the many fascinating people, places, and events throughout Stevens' history. A huge thanks to our students, Jared Donnelly, Meg Slate, and Kevin Castner Jr., as well as Linda Beninghove, Director of the Samuel C. Williams Library and Leo Padraza, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Undergraduate Student Life. Their hard work and support made “Beyond the Books” an engaging and fun event for all involved and we hope to do it again next year. See you then!

Concert by Candlelight 

During the early evening of Family Day, Professor Aysegul Durakoglu, Professor of Music and Technology of the Stevens School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, performed beautifully the music of Chopin, Debussy, Piazzolla, Stravinsky, and Gershwin on the concert grand piano in the Library Great Hall. The program included various stylized dance forms, including waltzes, tangos, and folk dances.

Librarians Present at Conference about Artificial Intelligence

Our dedicated team of librarians, Vicky Orlofsky, Courtney Walsh, and Romel Espinel gave an insightful presentation at the "Thoughts on Bots: Composition and Creative Pedagogy in the Age of AI" conference, October 26 - 27, 2023 hosted by the Stevens School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Their talk “Academic Librarianship and Information Literacy in an AI World” discussed the impact and ethical ramifications of the current generation of AI chatbots to areas of information access and research: the development of AI literacy; questions of authority, authorship, and copyright; and the fundamental issue of academic citation. 

As we look back on a vibrant October, we want to express our gratitude to all of you who participated in these events. Your engagement and support are what make the Library a thriving hub of knowledge and culture in our community.

Stay tuned for more exciting events and initiatives for the rest of the fall semester.

Photo Credits above: Lara Loureiro, University Relations, and Linda Beninghove.

The Library held its annual open house on September 20 in the portico (entrance). Atilla made a guest performance while students spun a wheel to collect prizes like tote bags and rubber ducks. There were other freebies like pens, stickers, and candy. Librarian Courtney Walsh was also pressing fresh buttons. The Archives and Special Collections department showcased old Stevens yearbooks and gave away postcards with historic Stevens images. 

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The Library held its annual open house on September 20 in the portico (entrance). Atilla made a guest performance while students spun a wheel to collect prizes like tote bags and rubber ducks. There were other freebies like pens, stickers, and candy. Librarian Courtney Walsh was also pressing fresh buttons. The Archives and Special Collections department showcased old Stevens yearbooks and gave away postcards with historic Stevens images. 

Photos above by Rome Espinel, Linda Beninghove, and Teja Venkat Satyanarayana Thakare. 

The Library is happy to announce that it has acquired access for the Stevens community to the New York Times Digital Access subscription. Current Stevens students, faculty, and staff can activate a digital subscription to the New York Times at no cost to you. Subscribers will have a free, personal account at nytimes.com that provides you access to digital content on the site, including videos, podcasts, and interactive media. Most importantly, the subscription keeps you up to date with all the latest news domestically and from around the world. Print & digital articles from 1851 to the present are also included. 

To access your free account, follow the directions at this link: https://library.stevens.edu/nytdigital

Welcome, new and returning students to Stevens! We hope you have a successful year on campus or wherever you are as a Stevens student!

This summer the Library embarked on redeveloping a new website that will enable and empower students to be successful and critical researchers. The new website, located at library.stevens.edu, provides a portal to hundreds of thousands of print and digital resources from popular and scholarly sources.

Not only will the Library website help you search for resources and information but it will provide you with:

• live chat service from expert librarians from 9 am - 5 pm, Mondays through Fridays,
• a reservation system to book a study space for you or your group,
• a seamless connection to research guides for courses and subjects,
• a journal finder to locate journals in every subject from biology to systems engineering, as well as newspapers and magazines,
• and much more!

Visit the site today at library.stevens.edu 

The Library historically has been a central place for Stevens students to study, collaborate, and discover information in its various forms. With the new University Center now providing additional, enhanced places for students to gather to study, eat, and socialize, the Library is taking this opportunity to hone its focus on supporting students’ study and research practices. 

Quiet/Study spaces and hours were one of the main themes across students' responses to the Samuel C. Williams Library's Student Satisfaction Survey last fall. The survey was open from October to November 2021 with 204 students (164 Undergraduates, 39 Graduates, and 1 Doctoral) participating. Through that survey many students requested more quiet study spaces as one student said, “It's really hard to find any space to study during the day because it gets so crowded” and another student added, “I would put more quiet spaces in. The booths on the second floor are great for group study sessions but it just gets so loud on the second floor.”

So in an effort to minimize the noise levels, the Library is updating several of its policies to reflect an evolved atmosphere that prioritizes study. 

• Refrain from loud conversations and refrain from talking on cell phones. Use headphones when listening to devices. 
• Food is not permitted in the Library with the exception of America’s Cup Café. 
• Only covered beverages are permitted in the Library. Beverages are not permitted near Library computer hardware, books, and other materials.
• The Library has placed more study carrels throughout the building to promote more individual studying. 

The staff hopes by making these changes it will enhance the educational experience for all Stevens students during the 2022-2023 academic year by making the Library the ultimate destination for study and research on campus.

We will also be placing these signs throughout the Library to signify the different levels of low-noise to no-noise zones:

As part of a National Day of Action against banning books in libraries and the censorship of university curricula, Librarians Romel Espinel, Courtney Walsh, and Vicky Orlofsky led a discussion about alarming rates of book banning across the country, especially books for and by people of color and LGBTQ, in public and school libraries and the ripple effects it can have on higher ed. The discussion was part of an all-day event organized by School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science professors Lindsey Swindall and Smaran Dayal. More to come in the fall!