Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/84623
community learning Enhancing Library resources available to users beyond CMU Emily Lindsay didn't fl inch when she learned that comparing and contrasting 10 creation myths was the topic for her senior honors humanities class research paper. Neither did her brother Ian when he had to write a paper about diff erent civilizations for his freshman world history class. That's because they knew that even as Mount Pleasant High School students they, like the rest of the community, have access to CMU's Park Library and its extensive academic collections. "The university library is very familiar to us," says Emily Lindsay, explaining their favorite location is the fourth fl oor to use the dual- monitor computers. "It's really easy to fi nd information on the topics you're looking for, and the atmosphere there really helps you to focus. " The library is located at the heart of CMU's Mount Pleasant campus to best serve university students, but Dean of Libraries Tom Moore is quick to extend an open invitation to people beyond the university to utilize Park Library. This includes everything from the library's in-house and online resources to its periodicals, Clarke Historical Library, government documents and beyond. "We welcome community users," Moore says. " "We are committed to being a resource for the larger community. Utilizing CMU Libraries' collection Dr. Ara Sheperdigian is one Mount Pleasant resident who visits Park Library several times each week. The retired physician enjoys walking to campus to read the newspapers and look into online medical journals for current research. "I like to go for walks but have to go somewhere with a purpose. The library is a great purpose, lives less than one mile from campus. "I go to the Reference Desk to check Value Line for my investments every Monday, then I hit the magazine and browsing library. Other times it's great to be in the stacks where there are multiple shelves of books on the same topic. " says Dr. Sheperdigian, who " Clarke Historical Library is included within Park Library and focuses on the history of Michigan and the Old Northwest Territory, published works that shape the minds of young children, and the history of CMU. Among the primary users of Clarke Library are scholars and genealogists external to CMU. Lise Mitchell and Ruth Helwig meet in Veterans Memorial Library in downtown Mount Pleasant to discuss a collaborative library project. Mitchell is director of the Chippewa River District Library System, and Helwig is a systems librarian at Park Library as well as vice president of the CRDL board of trustees. 4 Recently Heather Fisher of Midland utilized Clarke resources for a project in her Wayne State University graduate program.