Alumnae Library no longer supports The Book Memorial Program. As an alternative, the library encourages would-be memorial donors to contribute funds to the Office of Institutional Advancement by visiting https://www.elms.edu/alumni/support-elms/make-a-gift/ to learn more.

American Academic Libraries have for some time now been transforming their spaces to better support the needs of the contemporary student. Changes in technology have created a generation of students who barely ever pick up a print book or magazine/journal, as they have been raised on electronic (e-book) technology that allows them to read any material, any time. In addition, changes in the classroom environment have affected how students learn. While we still see the sole student who wishes to study on his/her own, we now just as often see students who study in collaborative groups. Group assignments have become the new norm.

To better support these new ways of research and learning, Alumnae Library has had to transform itself through several phases of renovation. Our goal is also to become a better partner in supporting student success. To that end, we have given up space for both group study and collaborative work areas, as well as an entire floor to offices directly involved in academic student support, which has created a Center for Student Success. The final result will be a library environment that emphasizes students’ needs through both individual and group learning experiences.

Given this, we have had to re-evaluate our Book Memorial Program, as it is now at odds with the need to devote less library space to print collections. Simply stated, we cannot continue to accept long-term print books into our collection and simultaneously support student success initiatives. In other words, there is only so much space left for a print collection, and we will outgrow that space quickly if we continue to add Memorial Books, which are kept as long-term materials.