Photo: Rick Luce chats with students outside the Robert W. Woodruff Library.

The first weekend of February was a shining example of what the Emory Libraries can bring to our campus, the Atlanta community and beyond. On Feb. 2, I joined many of you in the Jones Room, along with Emory faculty and students and visitors from around the United States, at the “New Covenants in Special Collections” symposium. The first symposium, held last spring, addressed The Library and the Production of Knowledge in the Digital Age, exploring questions such as the developing role of electronic

publishing in the academy. In 2009 we plan to explore informatics and information systems for the physical and health sciences, continuing the dialogue we’ve initiated on campus about the role of the research library in the 21st century.

At the “New Covenants” gathering, we heard presentations on the value and history of special collections at Emory; the role of special collections in the classroom; and the exciting new world of digital archives. Then we adjourned to the Carlos Museum’s ballroom for an insightful and thought-provoking wide ranging conversation with Salman Rushdie, led by University Secretary Rosemary Magee, an accomplished writer as well.

The day ended with a wonderful dinner with Salman Rushdie for 43 special friends of the library. Thanks to the flexibility of the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books staff and many others, we were able to dine in MARBL, surrounded by the collections with which we’ve been entrusted. It was quite a high note on which to wrap up an evening, with excitement about the conversations going on at Emory, and about our celebration of literature.

As I reflected on “New Covenants” over the weekend, I was pleased to note that there’s a growing awareness that the Emory Libraries are the conveners of these very important, community-building discussions. Emory is the place engaging people around the question of what it means to be a research library in the 21st century. We are having these conversations in dialogue with key customers and stakeholders about why our work is important, what we’re doing now, and what we need to do in the future to build support for ourselves and other research libraries.

Sharing the vibrant work and passion of the libraries with those outside our walls and bringing them into conversations, both formal and informal, is critical to the libraries’ role as intellectual commons for the campus, the community and the world. It’s our responsibility. To reach our strategic goals of enhancing special collections, digital innovations and user services, we need to develop the understanding and corresponding support of colleagues, friends and donors. We need to bring people to our team who are passionate about the work we do; know the issues and challenges we face; and want to help us leap deftly over them.

Whether we engage friends and supporters to build a beautiful new MARBL with ample space for collection care, teaching, research, exhibitions and gatherings of all sizes; or to fund endowments for the care and maintenance of collections, we can’t do it alone. Whether we join with colleagues at other universities to preserve and explore the possibilities of digital collections or the best ways to use special collections in the classroom -- we can’t do it alone. The beauty of serving as the intellectual commons for the campus and extended communities is that we most certainly will be joined by many friends on our successful and productive journey.

One last note: In the High Fives section of this KeyWords, you’ll see a list of all of your colleagues who made the “New Covenants” symposium such a success. Please take a moment to shake a hand, send an e-mail or offer a pat on the back to these folks – your partners in the intellectual commons.