Merrill-Cazier Library

Merrill-Cazier Library
Country	United States
Type	Academic
Established	2005
Location	Utah State University Logan, Utah
Coordinates	41°44′32″N 111°48′34″W / 41.74222°N 111.80944°W / 41.74222; -111.80944Coordinates: 41°44′32″N 111°48′34″W / 41.74222°N 111.80944°W / 41.74222; -111.80944
Collection
Size	1,505,000
Access and use
Population served	campus and surrounding area
Other information
Director	Richard W. Clement
Website	http://library.usu.edu

The Merrill-Cazier Library is an academic library serving the students of Utah State University and the community of Logan, Utah.

Motto and Mission

The Merrill-Cazier Library's motto, With all thy getting, get understanding., can be seen at the entrance of the library. ^[1]

The Merrill-Cazier Library connects people with information. Serving the University community, the Library is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. We support inquiry, discovery, and engagement by providing access to quality resources, and by facilitating the use of information in teaching, learning, and research.^[2]

History

The Merrill-Cazier Library opened its doors in September 2005. The building integrated the Cazier Science and Technology Library with a 189,000-square-foot (17,600 m²) expansion, replacing the 74-year-old Merrill Library.^[3] The library is named for Milton R. Merrill, former Utah State University vice president, and Stanford Cazier, former Utah State University president.^[4]

The original Merrill Library was built in 1930 by the Whitmeyer Company of Ogden, Utah^[5] and expanded in 1967.^[6] A second library, the Cazier Science and Technology Library, was added to campus in 1995.^[1]

The Merrill-Cazier Library recently marked its 100th anniversary as a regional United States Government document depository.^[7]

The Building

A central atrium connects the former Cazier Science and Technology library with the new construction allowing the two to work as one.^[8] The library is 305,000-square-foot (28,300 m²), about the same as the previous two libraries combined, using technological innovations, the new library is a more functional building.^[9]

Recently ranked number one "Smart Library" in the nation by Campus Technology magazine,^[10] the Merrill-Cazier Library offers a technology-rich environment with radio frequency identification tags (RFID), a self check-out system, an on site automated retrieval system, the Information Commons consisting of 150 computer workstations, group study rooms of which 14 are equipped with computers and large screen LCD displays, two multimedia suites, and two library instruction rooms with over 60 workstations.^[7]

BARN

BARN as viewed from basement.

An automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) is an integral part of the building and allows for many years of collection development.^[11] Designed and built by Daifuku of America at its North American Headquarters in Salt Lake City, the system is enclosed in a 56-foot-wide (17 m) by 140-foot-long (43 m) and 80-foot-high (24 m) climate-controlled corner of the library building. Three isles of shelves are served by three Storage and Retrieval Machines (SRMs) that can retrieve an average of 875 volumes a day. There is space to add a fourth row of shelves when it is needed.^[12] The BARN (Borrower’s Automated Retrieval Network) was so named in reference to Utah State University’s status as an agricultural school.

All of the Merrill-Cazier Library’s bound journals, approximately 170,000 less frequently used books, and most of the microform are stored in the BARN. There are currently nearly 480,000 items with room to expand to approximately 1.5 million items.^[13]

Items can be requested from the BARN using the library’s online catalog and are made available for checkout at services desks. Books are available on the first floor at the circulation desk and journals and microform are available on the second floor at the serial/periodical desk.^[13]

Unique Collections

Art Book Room

• includes books in music, visual arts, photography, and arts and crafts.^[14]
• houses unique collections in Western American modernism and materials on Beat poets and poetry.^[14]

Digital Library Collections

• online collection featuring historical photographs, journals, newspapers, letters and other interesting items from the Utah State University Library's Special Collections.^[14]

Mountain West Digital Library

• an aggregation of digital collections from universities, colleges, public libraries, museums, and historical societies in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho.^[15]

DigitalCommons@USU

• provides open access to scholarly works, research, reports, and publications produced by Utah State University faculty, staff, students, and others. Coordinated by the Merrill-Cazier Library, USU's digital repository joins other universities worldwide in the ongoing development of new knowledge.^[16]

Fife Folklore Archives

• one of the largest repositories of American folklore in the United States. The FFA is part of the USU’s Special Collections and Archives, where the historical American Folklore Society Manuscript is housed.^[17]

Northern Utah Speaks

• an aggregate of USU’s Special Collections & Archives rich oral history collections. Northern Utah Speaks works to identify areas of interest, collect, teach oral history workshops & best practices, archive, preserve, and make available the oral history documentation in areas critical to the people, environment and history of Northern Utah and Utah State University.^[18]

FolkBisto

• In conjunction with the Digital Library the Fife Folklore Archives host a series of podcasts exploring folklore topics. Featuring interviews with visiting scholars as well as fresh student fieldwork and selections from the Fife Folklore Archives.^[19]

Government Documents

• The library is a regional depository for US Government publications, which are located in the lower level of Merrill-Cazier Library and which include an extensive collection of USGS maps.^[14]

Special Collections & Archives

• Emphasizing history of the local area, Mountain West, and Great Basin, Special Collections houses manuscripts, photographs, rare books, and serials and the permanent historical record of Utah State University.

University Archives

• Merrill Library has held the permanent records of the University since the Archive's beginnings in 1955. The archival collection includes published materials concerning the University, as well as papers of faculty members, and the historical materials generated by the eight colleges and forty-five academic departments which make up the campus. University Archives endeavors to collect, preserve, and make accessible published materials and research data from the University's various research facilities which operate both within the scope of one of the eight colleges on campus, or independently as part of University Research.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Utah State Magazine, 12, Summer 2006, http://www.utahstate.usu.edu/issues/summer06/library2.htm 
2. ^ Merrill-Cazier Library Mission, http://library.usu.edu/main/portrait/strategic_plan/index.php 
3. ^ "Library Portrait". http://library.usu.edu/main/portrait/. 
4. ^ "Presidents". University Archives. California State University, Chico. http://www.csuchico.edu/lspr/pres1b.htm#sta1. Retrieved 2008-07-15. 
5. ^ Utah State University, USU Historical Buildings, Utah State University, pp. 33, http://fac.usu.edu/departments/planning/Historical%20significance%20document.pdf 
6. ^ Utah State University, USU Historical Buildings, Utah State University, pp. 34, http://fac.usu.edu/departments/planning/Historical%20significance%20document.pdf 
7. ^ ^{a b} BCALA Employment Announcement, http://bcalaemployment.iuplog.com/utility/tb/?id=261570 
8. ^ Marginalia, spring/summer 2006, http://library.usu.edu/main/friends_of_the_library/pdfs/spring06.pdf 
9. ^ Library Portrait, http://library.usu.edu/main/portrait/ 
10. ^ 101 Best Practices>>Smart Classroom, http://campustechnology.com/articles/41298/ 
11. ^ GSBS Architects, http://www.gsbsarchitects.com/portfolio/academic/Merrill/merrill.html 
12. ^ Popeck, Charlie, "Technology Makes the New Merrill-Cazier Library Shine at Utah State", McGraw Hill Construction, http://construction.com/NewsCenter/Headlines/RP/20050803im.asp ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ ^{a b} BARN FAQ, http://library.usu.edu/main/library_information/barn.php 
14. ^ ^{a b c d} "Unique Collections". http://library.usu.edu/menu.php?menu=2. 
15. ^ "MWDL". http://mwdl.org/. 
16. ^ "Digital Commons". http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/. 
17. ^ "Fife Folklore Archives". http://library.usu.edu/folklo/. 
18. ^ "North Utah Speaks". http://library.usu.edu/folklo/northernutahspeaks.html. 
19. ^ "FolkBistro". http://folkbistro.usu.edu. 

External links

• BARN webcam
• Merrill-Cazier Library
• Utah State University
• Daifuku (ASRS Manufacturer)