Not your mother’s Open House…or even your sister’s for that matter!

By Emily Rimland

In the 12 years that the Libraries have been having an Open House, there have been many changes. From a twice-a-year event (can you imagine?!) to pirate themes (Arrr!) to attendance as large as 5,000 students one year (Wow!), one constant is that the Open House is always changing. Likewise, we have some important changes for this year we’d like you to know about, so please read on.

The Libraries’ Annual Open House is scheduled for September 11 and 12, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (both days). The big change this year has to do with the number of Open House stops—there are only seven required stops this year. In other words, students who attend the Open House will be required to visit seven stops in order to get their certificate signed and enter the grand prize drawing. Since there are 7 total stops inside Pattee/Paterno and most students start the Open House at this location, most attendees will visit all locations inside Pattee and Paterno. There are no changes to the branch library stops, which means there are 11 total stops this year. The first 350 students who visit all 11 will receive a free t-shirt.

Why the change? It’s the result of a variety of things including administrative changes, staffing concerns, and an effort to increase skill-based activities (requested by Open House participants via surveys). As a result some stops will see increased traffic since most students will choose to complete all 7 stops in Pattee and Paterno. Also, since there are fewer stops in total, you may have more opportunities to volunteer outside your department at the “general stations” like the Welcome Stations or the Prize Room. We certainly would love your help–we depend on volunteers from all over to staff these areas.

For reference, the stops for this year’s Open House are:

  • Architecture
  • EMS
  • Engineering
  • PAMS
  • Knowledge Commons, Media Commons, ITS (combined into one stamp stop)
  • Arts and Humanities and News and Microforms (combined into one stamp stop, located in the NML space)
  • Research Jumpstart (back by popular demand, targeted for first-year students)
  • Commons Services
  • Life Sciences
  • Research Hub – combined stamp stop comprising EBSL, Social Sciences, Business, and Maps Libraries
  • Special Collections

Thank you for willingness to adopt and be flexible with our changes over the years as we fine-tune the Open House to be the best it can be! Please stay tuned for more information in the upcoming weeks about decorations, volunteers, and more.

If you have any questions, please email the Open House Team Leaders at: UL-OPEN-HOUSE-STEER@LISTS.PSU.EDU

2013 Open House Team Leaders: Ryan Ake, Anne Belden, Ellysa Cahoy, Amanda Clossen, Rachelle Eisenhower, Megan Gilpin, Amber Hatch, Sandy Hoffmaster, Leah Oakes, Heather Ross, Roberta Stern, Lauren Reiter, Emily Rimland, and Kim Warren