Ripples, Waterfalls, Canals
Spring 2026 Education Program and More
Teachers College Community Rug.
Photo by Jennifer Ruth Hoyden, Spring 2026 Commissioned Artist.
Brightly colored wool, geometric shapes, black borders, low and high fabrics are looped graciously together in a Teachers College community rug, the first of its kind to be hooked in Offit Gallery as part of the Spring 2026 commissioned installation and artist-in-residence How Long Does It Take to Hook a Rug? with Jennifer Ruth Hoyden, doctoral candidate in Art and Art Education. The final watery ripples of blueish-green, crafted by the artist at the end of the residence, allow the community's contributions to stand out -- like the memorable, though quieter conversations held in the gallery that connected our stories and selves; we shared valuable learning moments through the friendly and forgiving process of crafting with textiles. And not unlike the spirit of rug hooking, we carried openness, flexibility, and creativity in service to our community.
This report offers highlights of the Education Program, Reference and Reader Services, and Library Leadership, with accompany statistics for Spring 2026.
The Gottesman Libraries' Education Program remains an integral part of service, offering opportunities for members to engage with each other and experts in the academic pillars of the College. It is always a pleasure to host displays and exhibits; workshops, tours, and orientations; live musical performances; and talks -- events that celebrate the talents and achievements of our community.
Displays & Exhibits
Art exhibits and installations comprised: Peace in Art: Selections from the Teachers College Historical Art Collections (curated by Jennifer Govan, designed by Kate Scott) ; Opposites Attract (Jennifer Govan, Kai Oh); The Querent (Catherine J.S, Kai Oh); and Wishing Wind Chimes (Brandy Coleman) [First Floor, Kasser]; and Filaments of Learning (Jennifer Govan, Kai Oh); How Long Does It Take to Hook a Rug? (Jennifer Ruth Hoyden, Kate Scott); and Joy Cometh in the Morning (Ligel Lambert, Kate Scott) [ Offit Gallery, Third Floor].
Book curations comprised: Ecology, Psychology, Sustainability: Cultivating Human-Nature Relationships (curated by Jennifer Govan, designed by Kai) Oh; Lessons from Abroad (and Home) (Jennifer Govan, Kate Scott); Feeling Pessimistic About AI? (Jennifer Govan, Kai Oh) [Everett Cafe); Turning Pages, Turning Years (Rushali Aggarwal, Kai Oh); Catalytic Love (Cassie Frangoulis, Kai Oh); We the People: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly (Stephany Andrade, Kai Oh); Boundaries of Consciousness: Science, Spirit, and the Return of Psychedelic Knowledge (Sutapa Gaswami, Kai Oh); Coming of Age: Perspectives Beyond Our Own Backyards (Carolina Bolivar, Kate Scott) [Staff Picks, Second Floor); A Waking Dream: Hope; Stories to Strengthen Awareness & Inclusion; and Award Winning Children's Books to Read and Read Again [Jennifer Govan, Rocket Cases, Second Floor]; and Textiles in Learning and Teaching (Jennifer Govan, Victoria Santamorena, Kate Scott) [Curiosity Cabinets, Third Floor].
News displays featured online through the the Library Blog, complimenting curations of daily news from around the world in Everett Cafe. "Today in History" drew from historical newspapers and additional library resources to encourage learning, teaching, and research in formal and non formal settings: Mona Lisa Is Exhibited in America; Horatio Alger Is Born; The Deepest Dive In Human History: Jacques Piccard & Don Walsh Journey 36,000 Feet; Seeing Eye School Is Incorporated; Elizabeth Blackwell Is Born; Valentine's Day Is Celebrated; Fort Sumter Returned to the Union; 22nd Amendment; Yellowstone Becomes the First National Park; Ghandi Begins the "Salt March"; First Academy Awards Telecast; Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire; Daylight Savings Time Begins; WPA Is Established; Canada Act; Launch of the Hubble Spacescope; CERN Releases the World Wide Web Into the Public Domain; Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Lincoln School; Remembering Harold Rugg.
Instructional
Tours, workshops, and an information walkway for newly admitted students formed the important instructional component, led by Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian. Tours were held during the first week of the Spring Semester (January 20 - 23), and workshops in the two series, "Your Research Journey" and "Elevate Your Research" followed on consecutive Wednesdays and Thursdays: Charting Your Path (1/21, 2/25, 4/8); Searching Strategies (1/28, 3/4, 4/15); Managing Your Citations with Zotero (2/4, 3/11, 4/22); The Literature Review (2/11, 3/25, 4/29); Reading the Contemporary Information Landscape: Principles of Source Evaluation (2/18, 3/1, 5/6); Finding Funding (2/12); Managing Systematic Reviews with Covidence (2/26, 4/9); Piecing it Together: Deconstructing & Interpreting Systematic Reviews (3/12); Down the Lit Review Rabbit Hole (3/26); Citation Analysis and Research Impact: Measuring the Impact of Knowledge (4/23). Added to the workshop series was Tuesday community rug hooking, led by Jennifer Ruth Hoyden (3/24, 3/31, 4/14, 4/28, with additional workshops upon demand).
Each month we promoted research resources to encourage usage of key databases along timely themes: EcoPsychology (January); Movement Sciences (February); Higher & Postsecondary Education (March); Earth Month (April); and Resources for Alumni (May) -- tying in with Library and College offerings.
Live Music
Returning musicians Vivian Penham of Claremont Strings and Ensemble (1/21, 2/16, 3/30, 4/22, 5/5); Nicholas DiMaria (2/2, 3/9, 4/6); and John Koozin and Pele Greenberg (3/4) performed classical and jazz pieces in both trios and duets, all with consistent audiences who lingered in the atrium and on the stairwell. Voci Vibranti, a choral ensemble of TC student musicians, graced the stage in Everett Cafe with their year-end performance directed by Professor Jeanne Goffi-Fynne, featuring eclectic songs and keyboard accompaniment (4/29). New to the program was a violin tango with Caroline Pearsall and Jesse Hunt, scheduled for 1/26, but postponed due to heavy snowfall.
Talks
We sponsored eleven talks pertaining to ecopsychology, art, artivism, memoirs, with an opening panel discussion of the book, Unmoored Yet Unbroken: Ecopsychology for a Changing World, by Susan Bodnar, Adjunct Associate Professor of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College (1/27). Art talks built upon the Offit Gallery openings with Makers at Teachers College (3/12; Jennifer Ruth Hoyden, Conrad Lochner, Victoria Santamorena); The Querent, complete with tarot readings (Catherine J.S (4/30) ; and A Celebration of Artistic Practice, with commissioned artist Ligel Lambert (5/7).
A collaboration with Adelphi University, Artivism: The Power of Art for Social Transformation included hybrid conversations on: Unveiling the Power of Native Plants, with Kimberly Simmen (2/23); Paths of Gold: Stories of Those Who Built Their Homes, with Fiorella Benavides Sánchez (3/30); Who Has the Right to Tell the Story? with Florian Tomasini (4/20) and Border Crossing Reconstruction Case, with Joe Mullins (4/27).
A collaboration with the TC Student Success, Memoir Book Club was held monthly and the following works were chosen by popular vote and discussed this Spring: The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin (2/25); Memory Speaks: On Losing and Reclaiming Language and Self, by Julie Sedivy (3/25); and Finding My Way, by Malala Yousafzai (4/22).
Summary, Education Program
Displays and Exhibits, 138
Art, 7
Book, 12
Regular News, 100
Special News, 19
Instructional, 46 (Attendees, 446)
Orientations, 1 (Attendees, 250)
Self Guided, 5
Tours, 4 (Attendees, 6)
Workshops, 36 (Attendees, 190)
Live Music, 11
Choral, 1
Classical, 5
Jazz, 4
Talks, 11 (Attendees, 357 )
Art, Book, Guest, 4 (Attendees, 79 )
Artivism, 4 (Attendees, 245)
Book Club, 3 (Attendees, 33)
Total Offerings, 208 (Attendees, 803)
Reference and Reader Services
Waterfall, by Ruth Lande. 1955. The Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art.
Connecting users to the information or resources they need is foundational to the work of the unit, the most front-facing at the Gottesman Libraries. We provide service in person, online, via chat and telephone during all opening hours, with staff committed to meeting the needs of our members, affiliates, and visitors. Often the first point of contact with users, Library Associates are part-time student workers with diverse backgrounds and experiences; they staff the first floor services desk; respond to directional, informational, and instructional queries; maintain the stacks; trouble shoot technology; and curate daily news and monthly Staff Picks, among other duties. Librarians expert in research, instruction, circulation, user experience, collections, and / or administration, also deliver at consistently high levels to ensure satisfaction among students, faculty, and staff.
Access - Circulation
With four floors of Tower Stacks, each split level; a second floor reading room (for contemporary children’s fiction, non-fiction, and curricular materials); and third floor quiet reading room with publications by Teachers College Press, new faculty, and printed dissertations, we circulate both print and non print. Checking books in and out; paging books upon demand; placing holds; tracing missing items; identifying damaged books; regular and systematic shelf reading, cleaning, and shifting are necessary tasks within the unit that sees consistent usage of print, despite the emphasis on digital collecting.
User Experience
We also have consistently high levels of space usage, with individual seats and group rooms in high demand for study, research, project work, meetings, and other purposes. We are unique among 21 libraries and affiliated libraries in Columbia University, offering a dedicated graduate-level focus on education, psychology, and health professions (not to mention extensive, rare historical collections for scholarly research); a robust Education Program of collaboratively sponsored events, complete with live musical performances and curated displays and exhibitions (including a Cabinet of Curiosities); and four, ever-popular treadmills to strengthen mind-body health and well-being. Digital signage throughout the library is dynamic, revealing not only hours and upcoming events, but space occupancy, floor by floor, allowing users to make informed decisions about where to go and what to attend. Popular magazines in the nearby Everett Library Cafe, as well as the oversized teddy bear in the Zen Rock Garden (second floor) continue to attract students.
In coordination with the George Bruce Library, we facilitated a dozen applications for New York Public Library cards, opening opportunities for students to access recreational reading and other materials not held on the Columbia campus.
We also provided feedback in planning the new discovery experience for EDUCAT+, with anticipation of an August 2026 launch.
Reference
Workshops, classroom instruction, one-on-one consultations, and reference requests came steadily through our Ask a Librarian service, Zoom sessions, and in person meetings. Teaching users to how to become independent researchers is core to information literacy and inspiration for lifelong learning. The Spring Semester was no exception in the delivery of reference service, demonstrating the need for librarians over AI to meet demand and offer an expert human touch.
Summary
Reader
Hours Open Per Week, 74
Average Daily Visitors, 446
Room / Seat Reservations, 3,609
Books Requested for Hold, 207
Books Checked-Out, 2,809
Books Returned, 2,940
Books AutoRenewed, 356
Books Recalled, 8
NYPL Applications, 12
Reference
Consultations, 113
Course-Specific Instruction, 8 (Attendees, 140 )
Total Transactions (recorded via LibAnswers), 1,411
Non-Ticketed Transactions: 908
In Person, 865
Telephone, 43
Ticketed Transactions: 553
Ask a Librarian, 391
Live Chat, 162
Instagram Followers, 652
Leadership
The Canal, by Hanafi Soliman. 1955. The Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art.
Altering the natural landscape, a canal is an artificial waterway intent on linking bodies of water, cultures, and / or trade routes to address human needs and allow a steady course. Representing human ingenuity, a canal may aid farming, help cool a city, generate hydropower, or provide blue space to improve well being, among other things.
Similarly, leadership in libraries calls for resilience and innovation in the changing landscape of higher education; we carefully considered a number of options and attended to processes -- building a canal (or two) to address and bridge foundational needs. Bulleted below are highlights of work accomplished, with thanks to all of our colleagues that enabled the flow!
Administrative
- Handled all budgetary tasks, including ordering and reconciliation of expenditures until March when we hired a new Manager of Operations (Meryl Jefferson)
- Participated in accreditation visits for Middle States (3/3) and with New York State for a new TC PhD online program in Technology, Learning, Society (3/9)
- Coordinated with library staff on compiling ARL annual statistical report
- Coordinated with Facilities and Safety to replace the Fire Shutter door in mid-March (out of service for one year)
- Addressed a mold outbreak in Russell 4, due to a leaky pipe; sent 20 boxes of books for remediation by TERS
- Handled transitions and management of work in Reference & Reader Services and Technical Services
- Reorganized the library to meet FY27 budget: replaced 3 frozen / vacant professional positions and created a new one (Head of Reference and Reader Services, Head of Technical Services & Metadata Librarian; and Library Specialist for Circulation & User Experience became: Circulation & Reference Librarian; Collections Acquisition & Metadata Librarian; Resource Management & Access Librarian; and Library Specialist for Circulation and Reserves); conducted interviews in May for three of these positions
- Promoted the Web Services & Systems Librarian to Web & Systems Administration Librarian
- Replaced one Library Associate (Reference & Reader Services) in January and scheduled the summer Associates
- Reviewed student library accounts exceeding the allowed limit of fines / replacement fees to block and unblock in Banner and Alma accordingly prior to commencement
Communication and Outreach
- Sent regular library communications to faculty for Course Reserves and Library Information Sessions
- Compiled the monthly newsletter, Bookends and Beginnings, in collaboration with staff
- Maintained the news and events pages of the library website
- Published blogs on Learning at the Library, including reports on specially funded acquisitions
- Created and published all corresponding event posters on the e-boards and in stands
- Held weekly Tuesday staff meetings (Roundtable, 2 Working Groups, Planning), in addition to bi-weekly one-on-ones with library staff
- Held bi-monthly meetings with the Library Associates and supervised the team in the absence of the Library Specialist (from mid-March)
- Participated in monthly CU Library meetings for the Access Services, Planning and Strategy Committee and Collections' Forum
Projects and Initiatives
- Coordinated the grant-funded NYS-Metro collection development project for new acquisitions in curriculum & teaching; kinesiology; and organization and leadership ($10,975)
- Selected new art and art education resources funded through The Myers Foundations
- Expanded art commissions, funded through the Myers Foundations, doubling the number of commissioned artworks in FY26: oversaw their contracts, payments, supplies, installations, and programming
- Acquired 12 new custom built pedestals and 20 white toppers to support the new collaboration with TC Community Ceramics (ceramic exhibitions)
- Repaired one marble coffee table in the Tudor Room
- Acquired new technology to support art exhibitions and art conservation: 2 large monitors, 3 iPads and stands, specialized scanner for photographs and slides
- Planned and temporarily located approximately 15,000 books on 438 shelves from the juvenile and curriculum collections in preparation for the carpet refurbishment / last phase of the three-year capital carpet project (scheduled for 5/30-6/7)
- Coordinated with colleagues in TC IT, Facilities, and the Library on the project to upgrade web conferencing technology in Russell 305 and 306 (large library classrooms) - capital project planned for Summer 2026
- Coordinated with staff on the review of our patron database to eliminate old and inactive accounts
- Reviewed approximately 50 damaged books and made recommendations on withdrawals / replacement
- Began exploring options to refinish existing library furniture (future capital project request)
Images, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University:
- Teachers College Community Rug. Photo by Jennifer Ruth Hoyden, Spring 2026 Commissioned Artist.
- Waterfall, by Ruth Lande. 1955. The Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art.
- The Canal, by Hanafi Soliman. 1955. The Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art.
Read additional semester reports by library staff.
