Countway Spaces
Countway spaces are more than our physical building at 10 Shattuck Street. Our strategic direction over the past 5 years and along with our renovation has been to expand the physicality of Countway to outside spaces. As a result of the renovation, we now have the Huntington Avenue plaza and have enhanced access to the Countway Community Garden. We plan to host events and social activities in both of these spaces. For example, the May 18th all-staff meeting will be a social event with ice cream in the Community Garden from 1-2pm. And we are now accepting garden plot requests for the 2022 growing season! As with past years, the number of available plots is limited, and we are anticipating an influx of requests this season, so groups are highly encouraged to request shared plots. If you would like to request a garden plot for yourself or a group, please fill out the 2022 Garden Plot Request Form before next Friday, March 25th. In the plaza, we plan to hold music performances in the summer months. For example, the Countway band has expressed interest in performing at a date TBD. For more information, contact Len or Keith. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome library visitors inside and outside the library. Our outside spaces give us a way to work on our strategic goal to enhance and build community and comradery for employees working on campus who want to socialize and connect in person.
As follow-up to our renovation, the art hanging system is being installed next week. We are thrilled to be hosting artwork by some of our Longwood Medical Area colleagues as part of the Harvard Staff Art Show! Come explore more than 20 unique pieces on display on the first floor from March 28th through April 29th. Learn more on the Countway Library Staff Art Show webpage. And join us on March 29th for a special opening reception to honor our talented artists! No registration needed; HUIDs required, light refreshments will be served. More info about the Longwood Medical Area Staff Art Show: Opening Reception.
We are also seeing an uptick in reservations for our new classrooms and 5th floor event rooms. Events sponsored by other Harvard University departments are open to non-HUID holders and can have food at their event (only RA catering). The library study spaces, however, remain accessible to HUID holders only, and food is still restricted to the Café area.
Please note, more departments are returning to campus on a hybrid on-site work schedule. NEJM and DBMI have returned to the Countway building.
Staff News
In other news, Ayelle our front facing, day shift Security officer will be traveling to visit his family and home country for the next 7 weeks. Ayelle’s last day before vacation is Friday, March 18th. Feel free to wish him well, and we look forward to his return. We will be seeing some new Security details covering his shift at the Huntington Avenue entrance. If you have any questions, please contact Luciana.
BML Update
Finally, we anticipate Meyer, the company responsible for the BML move, to start bringing in their staff to register for POI status, receive training, and meet with the moving coordinators (Tom Blake, Len, Elaine, and Emily) for a pre-packing meeting early next week. You will see more activity in the lower levels of the library related to the move. If any questions arise, please feel free to contact me.
Looking forward to using the variety of Countway spaces as an opportunity to connect with our colleagues in the Longwood Area and beyond in the months ahead.
Elaine