Welcome to the Fall Semester

Welcome or Welcome Back to the Business/SPEA Library! 

 

If you are a returning employee, we hope you had a great summer and are excited to start a new semester. If you are a new employee, welcome to the staff, we’re glad to have you here. We hope you will enjoy being part of our staff.

The Business/SPEA Library is the library that supports the Kelley School of Business & the O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA). Organizationally speaking, our library is part of the IU Libraries. Physically speaking, our library is located in the SPEA building. We are a non-traditional library, meaning the library is designed for collaborative work and tends to get rather loud. At times, it will sound a lot more like your middle school cafeteria at lunch time than a library. We are the second busiest library in the IU Libraries system. We have a small, but mighty staff that keep this library going. We prioritize teamwork & great customer service.

The purpose of this blog is to share information to the staff without having to clutter your inbox with extra emails. One of your job expectations is to check the blog during each of your shifts.

If you have any questions about the blog or any of the information posted on it, please feel free to ask a supervisor.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic fall semester ahead!!

 

Graduating Student & Library Award Winner Spotlight - Olivia Shepherd

 

We are pleased to give a shout out to Olivia Shepherd who is graduating with a Masters degree this year. Olivia started her Business/SPEA Library journey as a freshman in the fall of 2020 as we reopened from the pandemic, back in the days when the library was quiet & we had to wear masks. She has worked for us ever since. 

Fun facts about Olivia 

1. She's from Jeffersonville, Indiana 

2. Her family owns Schimpff's Confectionery in Jeffersonville. It's one of the oldest, continually operated, family owned candy businesses in the US. 

3. She's a triplet. 

4. Her younger sisters, Elizabeth & Caroline, also work here. (Rumor has it, Jeri is an adopted "older" Shepherd sister). 

5. She's worked for us as both a Public Services Assistant (PSA) & a Senior Public Services Assistant (Senior PSA).

6. She's a member of the Taekwondo Club at IU. She has a red/black belt & serves as club treasurer.

7. She visited India this year for spring break. 

8. She graduated last year with a BS degree in Business with a major in Accounting & Information Systems.

9. She's graduating this year with an MS degree from Kelley in Information Systems (MSIS).

10. She will be taking a job with PWC in Indianapolis after graduation.

11. In the Spring 2021, she won one of the Business/SPEA Library's "Above & Beyond" awards (known at the time as the "Caught in the Act" award) for her willingness to take upon herself the additional tasks of shelving books & shelf-reading. 

12. In May 2025, Olivia was awarded one of the IU Libraries Student Awards. Congratulations Olivia...this award was well-deserved. 

13. Rumor has it, she's wanting to adopt a puppy. We think she should bring it in to visit the library and send us pictures to enjoy.

What did you enjoy about working at our library?  My favorite part about working at the Bus/SPEA Library has been making friend and interacting with coworkers.

Any farewell thoughts to share (paragraph or so)? Make sure you put effort into getting to know your coworkers! They’re all pretty great people.

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Thank you, Olivia for being a part of the Business/SPEA Library team. We've enjoyed having you here in the library. Congratulations on the library award and congratulations on your graduation. Best wishes to you in the future!! 

Graduating Student Spotlight -- Jemel Kerlegrand

 

 

As the end of the semester approaches, we'd like to take the opportunity to highlight our graduating students. This is a bittersweet moment for us as we will miss them terribly, but we wish them much success in the future. Their contributions to our library during their time here have been invaluable to the success of our library and are appreciated more than they know.

So, we thought it would be awesome for them to share a few words about their time here at the Business/SPEA Library. 

Where are you from? Fort Wayne, Indiana 

How long have you worked at the Business/SPEA Library?  All 4 years attending IU 

What is your position here at the library? PSA 

What did you enjoy about working at the library?  The variety of people that I meet at the front desk. Also I appreciate how kind everyone is on the staff and how I can always count on anyone who works here for advice or just a simple friendly conversation about anything!

Do you have a favorite memory of the library, Indiana University or Bloomington you’d like to share?  My favorite memory of the library will be the story time Matt gave me about the man urgently needing to get to DC, despite being in a condition in where he could barely walk himself. 

What is your degree & major?  Bachelors Degree in Informatics 

What are you plans after leaving IU?  I plan to have a job in the tech field or along the lines of IT Audit, IT Consulting, or Information System Security.

Any farewell thoughts that you’d like to share?  As much as I will miss IU, I will miss the SPEA Library more.  The library was a safe spot of campus many times for me through my years here at IU and nothing, but joy came from it. I will 1000% come back and visit and hopefully the innovation will be finished by then because I'm jealous. :)

Thank you Jemel for being a part of the Business/SPEA Library team. Congratulations & Best Wishes in the future! 

Graduating Student Spotlight - Lily Dunn

 

As the end of the semester approaches, we'd like to take the opportunity to highlight our graduating students. This is a bittersweet moment for us as we will miss them terribly, but we wish them much success in the future. Their contributions to our library during their time here have been invaluable to the success of our library and are appreciated more than they know.

So, we thought it would be awesome for them to share a few words about their time here at the Business/SPEA Library. 

Where are you from?  Crown Point, Indiana 

How long have you worked at the Business/SPEA Library?  Since Spring of my freshman year, so 2 years ago.

What is your position here at the library?  Regular PSA and not Senior PSA

What did you enjoy about working at the library?  I like sitting really high on the chairs to the point of having to do a small leap to get off.

Do you have a favorite memory of the library, Indiana University or Bloomington you’d like to share?  This past summer, all the times I got to sit and talk with Jeri and/or Matt! It was nice to see the library be so quiet while also getting to have good conversations.

What is your degree & major?  A Bachelor of Arts in International Studies with a certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Second Language Acquisition and a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures with a focus on China.

What are you plans after leaving IU?  I'm unfortunately coming back to the building and getting a Masters in Management through Kelley.

Any farewell thoughts that you’d like to share?  The dog statue in this photo is a representation of South Korea in the effort to combine the Koreas, I wish I was kidding. 

Thank you Lily for being a part of the Business/SPEA Library team. Congratulations & Best Wishes in the future! 

IU Day - Wednesday April 23rd

 

This coming Wednesday April 23rd is IU Day. I guess it's a day to celebrate all that's IU and raise money. While we may not have a special collection, like the Lilly Library, we have a most awesomely special staff. 🥰 To celebrate us and IU, let's wear something with IU on it on Wednesday. 

Thanks! 

Treat Bags - Spring 2025

 

With appreciation for all your hard work so far this semester as well as through the rest of the semester & finals week, we’ve put together a treat bag, filled with snacks, for each of you. They are located on the table in the break area. Please feel free to take your bag and enjoy it. We appreciate each of you for being a part of the Business/SPEA Library Team and for all you do to make our library awesome. We couldn't do what we do without you! We wish you all the best for the end of the semester & final exams.  THANK YOU!

PS Please feel free to help yourself to the extras in the bowl.

We hope that each of you has a fantastic summer.

Myanmar Earthquake

 

As many of you are aware, Myanmar was hit with a magnitude 7.7 earthquake a little over two weeks ago, causing almost 4,000 fatalities to date and triggering multiple humanitarian crises across the region. What you may also know is that our very own Joyce Thant is from Myanmar. The Myanmar Student Association at IU, of which Joyce is co-president, is collaborating with a local nonprofit, the Narra Foundation, to raise funds for humanitarian relief efforts through a GoFundMe account:

https://gofund.me/e5443268

All of this is happening in the midst of an ongoing civil war, making conditions especially difficult and the need for aid all the more vital. Joyce wanted to make it clear that even the smallest donations are helpful since U.S. dollars go very far in her home country. Thank you so much for any help you are able to give.