This past August, the Booher Library closed for renovation and library services relocated to the home known as “The Deanery” at 509 Rathervue Place. The Deanery Library opened for business on the first day of classes, but the first moment the students, faculty, and staff shared together in the new space was at the Open House on Saturday afternoon, August 28th. Attendees enjoyed tours of the new space and refreshments on the newly installed back patio.
The Booher Library staff has always enjoyed a close relationship with the student body because of their proximity to student housing. But moving across the street has even strengthened those bonds.
“I’m really touched by how the students neighboring the Deanery have embraced the library moving to their side of the street,” says library director, Alison Poage. The library had a brand new area rug delivered to the Deanery porch on a Saturday evening after hours and Alison received a message that the students living next door had secured it in the garage. The next morning, Eric Bomgardner, MDIV’23 brought it in.
The Deanery has several places for students to sit and study independently, plus 4 computers and two printers. The back patio and front porch has additional tables and chairs. A couch and two comfortable chairs for reading or quiet conversation is situated on the main level.
A meeting room on the upper level seats six people comfortably. Windows face the east, allowing in natural light and tree top views. A white board and markers are available as well as ET, the library’s video sharing/presentation station.
A collection of reference books, course reserves, new print serials, new books, and seasonal display items line the Deanery’s built in bookshelves. More books are available and patrons can request them by filling out this form. Students and Booher Library patrons can search for books using Seeker, the library’s discovery tool, and staff retrieve the books from storage and contact the patron when the items ready for pick up.
The Booher Library will operate from the Deanery while the library and academic building are being renovated. Construction will later in the fall of 2021.
“Library Director Alison Poage and her team have created a warm and welcoming space for the temporary library at the former Deanery,” said dean and president the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge. “It feels like a literary and theological ‘clubhouse’ where everyone wants to be!”
For more information about the Deanery, visit the Booher Library 2021 Operations guide.
