Writing Center, Collections, Services

Valuable Resources at Grossman Library

The Grossman Library, located on the third floor of Sever Hall, provides reserve material for approximately 300 Extension School courses and offers a variety of resources and services to students and faculty. Founded in 1967 with a gift from Shirley and Edgar Grossman, ABE '66, the Library was housed in Lehman Hall in Harvard Yard until it moved to Sever Hall in 1983.

Despite its modest size, Grossman Library maintains a highly active reserve collection of books, articles, CD-ROMs, and lecture videotapes. These reserves are assembled not only from its own collection but also through interlibrary loan resources at the Widener, Fine Arts, Tozzer, and Andover Libraries. Grossman Library acquired its collection mainly in response to faculty requests for essential background reading for Extension courses; therefore the collection reflects the broad range of liberal arts disciplines in the Extension School curriculum. Large donations of books from the personal libraries of Extension faculty, notably George Goethals in psychology and Mason Lowance Jr. in literature, have added significantly to the quality and size of the collection in recent years. At the same time, the Library upgraded its reference section through the purchase of more than 400 volumes that fill the shelves along the south wall of the reading room.

With its 25-foot ceiling, large oak tables, and study carrels, the reading room offers students a quiet and comfortable place to study, especially on weekday afternoons, late evenings, and weekends. Special resources available to students visiting Grossman Library include Extension School master's degree theses and reference materials, files of past exams and course evaluations, health careers catalogues, and financial aid references. The Library also has on permanent display two major works of drawings by the celebrated Boston artist and Extension alumnus, Allan R. Crite, ABE '68.

Students may use one of six computers for research or to write papers either by making an appointment or on a walk-in basis. Both Mac-intosh and IBM computers are available. Extension instructors also are invited to schedule office hours in a room provided by the Library and to reserve its 22-seat seminar room for review sessions as needed.

The Grossman Library also houses the Writing Center. Eight skilled and experienced writing tutors, who have been with the Center for many years, help Extension School students look critically at their writing. Some students use the Writing Center once or twice, while others develop a significant working relationship with their tutor. "Working intensively with students on challenges in their writing has increased my admiration for their determination and talents," said Susan Griffith, veteran writing tutor. "I especially enjoy it when I have the opportunity to work with someone more than once--that way I can see their progress as they incorporate feedback and try new strategies to improve their ability to communicate through writing."

Miloslava Kozmova (right), ALB '00, and Susan Griffith, writing tutor

Students sign up for 30-minute individual sessions to discuss thesis, organization, focus, style, format, and other writing topics with a tutor. The service can have a significant effect on a student's writing. "I went from being a C student to an A student in two years using the skills I developed with the help of tutors in the Writing Center," explained Tony Lorizio, AA '99. "At first, I didn't know how to write; in fact, I didn't even know there was a way to write. I've learned from the tutors how to self-edit. I know when I haven't spent enough time on a piece or if I've overwritten a part that isn't essential. These are skills I take with me into every course and apply to every writing assignment, whether it's a 20-page term paper or an essay exam."

"The writing tutors are the first sensitive barometers of problematic areas in my writing skills," added Miloslava Kozmova, ALB '00. "I see working one-on-one with the tutors as an essential component to my education. Their input contributes further to my growth as a writer and student."

The Writing Center hours for the spring term are Monday and Tuesday, 5-9 pm, and Wednesday and Thursday, 3-7 pm. Registered Extension School students should call Grossman Library, 495-4163, to make an appointment; walk-in appointments may also be available.