The end of another school year is once again approaching, and I think we’re all ready for it. Madison College Libraries usually takes this time to thank our excellent student workers. During regular times there are many students to give a shout out to, but this year we have only had the pleasure of working with one awesome and professional student worker, Opeyemi Adedeji, aka Solomon.

Solomon has been with us for several years in the library and has consistently been a dependable source of knowledge, kindness, and great customer service. He is graduating from Madison College this Spring. We wish him and all our 2021 graduates all the best as they move on to their next chapter.

Farewell Solomon and the rest of the class of 2021! Congratulations on graduating during this memorable, challenging remote year. We wish you luck as you enter new colleges and new jobs.

Although we have seen students in the Truax Library this past year for the occasional book or in-person appointment, we have been working with them primarily remotely this past year without the benefit of our student helpers. This past year, here are some impressive figures of what we have been up to:

129 – second language support

195 –one-on-one appointments

352 –classroom visits, workshops, and other events

358 –physical books checked out

515 –electronic interlibrary loan articles filled

968 – library phone calls answered

6,518 –online chats answered

7,061 –technology phone calls answered

Clearly, we have stayed busy working on college-owned laptops in our makeshift home offices. Although it is nice to show up to work in our comfy clothes and not need to commute, we are looking forward to going back to Madison College.

We miss the face-to-face interactions with our students and the sometimes calm, sometimes chaotic energy of the libraries. We miss the long walks around the building just getting from one place to another. We miss the coffee shop and the bakery counter. We miss walking through the rows and rows of books. We miss watching our students walk across the stage as they graduate and move on.

As everyone goes away for the summer or sticks around to earn extra credits before next August, know that we will be around still answering questions but also exploring new ways to start coming back in person safely in order to help you in the hopefully not too distant future.

Farewell to the 2020-2021 school year and all the challenges and opportunities it has provided. Whether or not the memories are fond, this year will stay with us as we carve out our new future and look to better days.