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As I write this, we are nearing the completion of phase one of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library’s (NPML) first floor renovation. This first phase will include 12 brand new study rooms with state-of-the-art technology to enhance opportunities for collaboration and learning, an updated Student Technology Center that will include a makerspace and a virtual reality studio, and a new Gallery through which we will feature rotating exhibitions from campus and community partners, as well as highlights from the NPML Special Collections and University Archives.
Speaking of the NPML Gallery, our first exhibition in the renovated space, entitled “Perhaps All Magic Is,” featuring recent work by artist, master printer, and USF Professor Erika Greenberg-Schneider is scheduled to open on November 9th. When I asked about her exhibition title, Professor Greenberg-Schneider stated that she feels that “magic plays a role in the collaboration between artists and the printer,” and further, “printmaking processes can be very surprising and unpredictable.” Hearing this, I was immediately struck by how this idea also may align with the often serendipitous and even spellbinding nature of research, as we embark down one path and then wind up in a completely unexpected location that, nevertheless, turns out to be exactly right. I look forward to seeing the unanticipated places and ideas that Professor Greenberg-Schneider’s work can take us as her exhibition emerges within the gallery.
Finally, as the new Campus Library Dean for NPML, I am excited to partner with all of you who may be reading this as our spaces, services, and collections continue to develop and take us on a collective journey through the known and unknown in the months to come. What unexpected ideas and experiences might we locate together? I can’t wait to find out.
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