The Erie County Public Library and the Erie County Community College of PA today entered a partnership designed to positively impact the academic spaces and resources available to the Erie County Community College of PA. They signed an official Memorandum of Understanding during a ceremony Monday, May 24.
Speakers at the event included County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, Erie County Council Chairman Carl Anderson III, Dr. Judith Gay, interim president of the Erie County Community College of PA, and Matthew Ciszek, head librarian of Penn State Behrend.
The signing will secure library services for the future students and staff of Erie County Community College of PA. Students will enjoy a designated landing page on the Erie County Public Library website (erielibrary.org); targeted assistance to identify those library services that benefit students; custom, no-fee enrollment for library cards; use of study spaces and technology; and all the services provided to Erie County Public Library patrons.
A proposal developed by Sheryl Thomas, acting director of the Erie County Public Library, outlined the services that could benefit the community college’s students.
“We have many resources at the library that, while available to all card-holders, have specific benefits to community college students,” Thomas said. “We’re tailoring how students locate and use these services to highlight how our library can help them succeed, completely free with just their library card. The proposal helped frame Erie County Public Library’s relevance to the college and resulted in this Memorandum of Understanding to share our services.”
Additionally, a student success librarian is being hired by the Erie County Community College of PA to facilitate library services between the Erie County Public Library and participating public university libraries at Edinboro University and Penn State Behrend. This librarian will provide direct reference support to students and faculty of the college and collaborate often with Erie County Public Library.
