Collaboration and Community

Over the past eight and a half years, Smith College Dean of Libraries Susan Fliss has seen the Libraries through a number of different challenges — a multimillion dollar building renovation; a worldwide pandemic; and a period of staggering technological change. Each of those tasks alone would intimidate most in the profession. For Susan, though, the challenges also presented immense opportunity.

A Revolutionary Renovation

Susan has described her role as the Dean of Libraries as a dream job, one that offered her the chance to pursue something deeply personal. “What drew me to Smith is that it's a women's college. As someone who graduated from Mount Holyoke College, this was so important to me,” she says. “The dedication and care that the staff and libraries put toward women's education was a big draw.”

Susan had also led library renovations in prior roles, an experience that would be vital for her future library leadership at Smith. Prior to Susan’s arrival in 2016, much of the work had been completed by the Library Design Committee to prepare for the construction of the new Neilson Library, a revolutionary, $120 million project led by Maya Lin Studio and architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch. By the time Susan came on board, the committee sought leadership to weigh in on opportunities available to patrons once they entered the renovated building.

“When I came in September 2016, the building design was starting to form in Maya's mind. She came to campus and noted there would be an historic center and two new ‘jewel box’ wings on the north and south sides,” she recalls. “I worked closely with her design team, the college's teams, and the library staff to imagine the possibilities for the library’s interior, including the services and spaces and how students would be using them.”

A challenge presented to Susan was maintaining the balance between showcasing the new library’s modern aesthetics while meeting the needs of patrons. “We gave a lot of input to the design team,” she says. “Each time we received new designs, we would offer our perspective as to how we work as library staff and how we knew students and faculty would interact with the space.”

Part of this process included staging theoretical scenarios staff would likely encounter in the new space and noting what did and did not meet their needs, especially at the new Central Service Point. “We'd always had library circulation desks before, but never one that combined library circulation and ITS help,” she explains. We staged a service point with a library-ITS service point desk in the Young Library to show how it would be used by students and faculty.  Our staff took on roles and acted out different issues, like ‘I'm having trouble finding this book,’ or, ‘I want to check out a digital video camera,’ to make sure the designers understood why we wanted things a certain way.” In the middle of the enactment, the Five College Library carrier arrived, making the daily delivery, adding to the bustle of the area and helped to show the amount of traffic this service point would experience.

These moments of experimentation set the tone for what life would be like after the reopening, Susan says. “It was really fun to be creative and have that kind of collective planning with Maya Lin’s group, Shepley Bulfinch, and staff in the libraries, ITS, and facilities. It really was a time of building collaborations that helped us coalesce before we opened.”

Pandemic Challenges and Beyond

This unified front could not come soon enough for Susan and staff, as library workers were scattered to seven different locations on campus during construction. But the universe had other plans to further test the fortitude of these relationships, as COVID-19 made landfall in the spring of 2020. Just as new Neilson began to really take shape, the focus now shifted to keeping the Libraries afloat and accessible to the community through new digital and virtual formats.

“We had to refigure everything in real time: who would work from home and who would work on campus. I was amazed by the library directors, managers, and staff who figured it all out,” Susan says. “Special Collections staff pulled materials and digitized them so that they could email them out to students, faculty, and researchers. Public services staff had to be here when we started moving thousands of books back into Neilson that were stored in the Hatfield Annex during construction. Research librarians and instructional technologists provided considerable support to faculty as they made the shift to teach remotely. Staff continued to build the collection and systems staff kept the online systems running. These were really monumental efforts.”

But the payoff, Susan says, was worth it on opening day — March 29, 2021.  While a few lingering construction crew workers pushed carts, polished surfaces, and finalized projects, students explored and interacted with the new Neilson Library for the first time.

“Students just immediately took to it,” she recalls. “Maya Lin really heard our request to have three distinct types of spaces—ones where students could study as groups, study alone but in the presence of others, or have solitude. We wanted everyone to have a sense of belonging here, to feel like they could relax, do their work, and have a place to build community, and witnessing it in real time felt healing.”

The homecoming of both staff and collections in Neilson, Hillyer, and Josten Libraries was a highlight too, she notes. Neilson’s new state-of-the-art facilities, especially in Special Collections, has allowed for the Libraries to continue its mission of serving as the academic and intellectual heart of campus. 

“Before the renovation, the Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History, and College Archives were all separate from one another without proper climate control,” Susan says. “Now, all three collections are in one beautiful space with the right humidity and temperature control to ensure they last. Researchers can come into our absolutely gorgeous reading room, sit at our wide tables, spread things out — they can just lose themselves in the documents, and also speak to the different curators of the collections in one location.”

Evolving the Library Landscape

Neilson’s renovation and, in many ways, the Libraries' response to the pandemic (digitizing tens of thousands of files was inevitable, wasn’t it?) have made the space poised to meet the needs of today's library users, Susan notes. Digital documents, multimedia, and e-subscriptions are an ever-growing percentage of what constitutes the Libraries’ collections; it’s hard to imagine limiting Neilson’s space and contents to libraries of yesteryear.

“When I started as a new librarian, we used microfiche and microfilm. Technology has just developed in leaps and bounds. The nature of information and of collections has dramatically changed,” she says. “We’ve gone from only paper books to full-text digital collections, to including images and video. Our discovery systems now combine so many different kinds of research resources that you can search at once. Capturing that part of our history and adapting our collection development is a core service to the college.”

And the library isn’t just a space for reading, which was recognized during the brainstorming sessions for new Neilson. “The library has become a place of creation—that was one of the goals,” she notes. “The Digital Media Hub on the ground floor has recording studios, 16 computers with production software, self-service equipment and high-end devices for students to explore. In old Neilson, there was one computer classroom to teach students how to use databases.”

Access to collection items has enhanced classroom learning, too. With classes spread out across the Libraries, staff have connected with students in exciting new ways. “The new Special Collections in Neilson has created much more interest and need in using collections in the classroom,” Susan says. “That's been wonderful. We’re an integral part of students using resources, thinking, discovering, creating, and writing. Students are using materials to create scholarship.”

Outside the classroom, Libraries staff have gone above and beyond to foster a welcoming third place for the Smith community. “I so admire what our staff has done with their creativity,” Susan says. “Events like ‘Knit and Listen,’ exhibits in Hillyer and Josten Libraries, and ‘JostenLive!’ have all been great. Special Connections in Special Collections and events put on by staff in the Learning Commons are some of the strongest offerings we have.”

What's Next?

Though Susan is stepping away from higher education, she still plans to keep a keen eye on trends in the library-sphere. “I'm going to be watching with interest how AI is used in research and teaching, as well as the support that librarians are going to be offering,” she says. “I’m interested to see how librarians will work with students on helping them decipher accuracy and validity of information and data. It seems like AI is bringing forward a renewed interest in information literacy, so that's going to be really interesting to watch.”

Retirement will also include a welcomed shift toward Susan’s own creative and literary interests. “I want to read books and improve my photography skills, and explore more bike trails across New England and New York” she notes. “And I’d like to learn a new maker craft — I’m thinking about weaving or quilting landscapes. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this time to figure it out.”

Departing With Gratitude

Saying goodbye to the Smith community is bittersweet for Susan, who leaves her role full of appreciation for her staff and colleagues. “I'd like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to the Smith community, especially the staff who support the libraries with helping students discover their own interests, talents, and scholarship.”

Susan also has felt an immense joy connecting with Smithies old and new. “I have so enjoyed working with alums, especially with the Friends of the Libraries and the Executive Committee,” Susan says. “Their deep love and fierce support for Smithies is something that I've witnessed and really appreciate, and I just want to thank them for their support of the Libraries’ role in the student experience.”

As a departing gift, the Friends of the Libraries made a contribution to the Dean of Libraries Innovation Fund, an endowed fund that allows the dean to encourage new ideas, spark new efforts, or support staff with new ventures in the Libraries. “I'm just so appreciative of this gift,” she says. “It made me happy that there will be funds there for the next Dean of Libraries to use to help foster innovation.”