Margaret Chase Smith Library Site Visit

On March 5 at 2:00 p.m. I met with Angela (Angie) Stockwell, librarian/collection specialist at the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, ME. This is a research library that falls under the category of special library. As we'll see, throughout future blogs, the library adjoins the museum which in turn adjoins the actual residence where Margaret Chase Smith lived. We'll discover exactly who she is as we progress from blog entry to blog entry. Suffice to say that Senator Smith's impressive political career left her with a legacy encompassing 300,000 documents and related ephemera housed within the library. 

Angie spent a generous amount of time with me answering my questions and conducting a tour. Future entries will reveal answers to these questions. 

1. What type of database and software do you use?
2. Who is your internet provider?
3. Are you wireless?
4. How many workstations do you have?
5. Who are the personnel involved with the technology planning and budget?
6. Who addresses your IT needs/maintenance?
7. What type of web page presence do you maintain?
8. Which types of social networking is the library involved with?
9. What policies do you incorporate regarding conducting research?
10. Do you have other AV equipment that you use?
11. How do community members use your space?
12. What challenges do you face regarding future digitization efforts?

One of the future entries will focus on the social networking connections that the library is making. Below is an excerpt from their Facebook (see link below). I don't think you could ask for a better confirmation of a site visit!

Information and Library Services (ILS) program student and instructor at the University of Maine in Augusta, Rita Pare, recently visited the Library to learn about our technology, online status, social media, software programs, and digitization efforts for a class project. We were pleased that she selected the Margaret Chase Smith Library, which functions quite differently from public lending libraries in its role as a research library and museum about the life and career of Senator Smith.

https://www.facebook.com/MargaretChaseSmithLibrary