Walla Walla University (previously Walla Walla College for those unaware of the recent identity shift), founded in 1892, is a faith-based institution operated and supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Complimenting its strong liberal arts core, the university supports professional programs in nursing, social work, business, and engineering.

Walla Walla University also has the unique distinction of supporting libraries in three states: Washington, Montana, and Oregon. The main library, Peterson Memorial Library, is located on the home campus in College Place, Washington, and serves approximately 1800 students in over 40 undergraduate areas of study and six graduate degrees. The university also operates four additional campuses each with a library focusing on a specific area of instruction. The SON (School of Nursing) Library is located on the branch campus in Portland, Oregon.

The school of nursing, in operation from 1897, is home to 102 students and eighteen full and part-time faculty. The mission of the library is to serve the information and research needs of these nursing students and faculty while providing a positive, user-friendly environment. It is a small library with one professional librarian and six student library assistants who run the library when the librarian is not present. The Peterson Memorial library team provides superb support for each branch campus library. This support frees the SON Library team to focus on student and faculty needs.

To provide the information and research needs of students and faculty, the SON Library, in cooperation with Peterson Memorial Library, offers access to a wide range of resources: 6241 books, 700 media items, 100 print periodicals, and nearly 100 full text and citation/abstracting databases. Students and faculty have access to 9,950 periodicals. Included in this number are 2,079 titles classified as medical/nursing/health. Recently added databases include Sage Premier, Cambridge, Springer, Wiley, and the JSTOR Language and Literature Collection. The focus of the monograph collection is obviously nursing, but the library also houses a small but adequate religion collection and a smattering of books in other areas. Along with the main campus, the SON Library recently joined Orbis Cascade Alliance providing access to the resources of 35 libraries in Washington and Oregon. Interestingly, the SON Library with its specialized collection has become a lender more than a borrower through the Orbis system. The main campus library provides interlibrary loan (ILL) support. With Orbis and ILL almost every student and faculty research resource need can be supplied quickly and efficiently.

The focus in the SON Library is clearly on customer service. One of the advantages of a small library is the personal service provided by the librarian. In some libraries, the professionals, the ones best trained to use the resources and respond to needs, are handling library business while the paraprofessional or student assistants are on the front lines. Students or faculty needing help in the SON Library have a librarian who will sit down with them, listen to their needs, and guide them in their search. The librarian seeks to know and greet each student by name.

Several years ago changes were made to make the library more appealing. Several traditional library rules such as "No Food," "No Drink," and "No Talking" were dropped. Students were invited to eat while they studied, and on occasion food was actually provided (a "Make Your Own Sundae Day" in the library). At this writing, not a single item has been lost due to spilled food or drink. Some study carrels were removed to make room for a leather couch, recliner, and easy chair. New art was added. A program for actively marketing the library services and resources was put in place. As a result student and faculty use of the library increased dramatically.

Nursing faculty today support the library by requiring that students use library resources for their research. Nursing research is periodical driven. Teachers ask students to locate articles in library print journals, in electronic databases provided by the library, and in valid Web sites. It would be difficult and perhaps impossible for any student to get through the nursing program without utilizing the library, its resources, and its services.

You have probably heard the three rules of real estate: location, location, location. The same can also apply to a library. The SON Library is ideally located at the entrance to the School of Nursing building so students entering or exiting the building pass right by the library daily. This location, along with the friendly, personal service focus, has contributed to the library becoming the de-facto student center on campus.

In 2003, representatives from the Oregon State Board of Nursing and representatives from the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission came to the campus for their respective accreditation visits. In their reports both accrediting bodies commended the library for exceptional service to students and faculty.

One report stated, "Everyone at the Portland Campus has high praises for their library and staff. Students perceive the library as dynamic and personable. Students and faculty laud the service and access to resources." The Oregon State Board report also commended the College Place colleagues for their support to the Portland Library. Both groups recommended accreditation for the school for the maximum eight years.

The SON Library is proud of its record of service and is committed to continue to make that the focus of its mission, vision, plans, and daily operation. A sign hangs in the library office: "Prioritize Based On Direct Benefit To Students." In this crazy library world awash in multiple demands, the SON Library team seeks to always follow this advice.

Bruce McClay, M.A., M.L.S.
Librarian
Walla Walla University School of Nursing Library
503-251-6115 ext. 7306
bruce.mcclay@wallawalla.edu