Bern Dibner Library Celebrates 3 Millionth User!
As Nirav Thakkar walked through the Bern Dibner Library turnstile on the afternoon of March 14, 2007, he had no idea he was about to become a milestone in the library’s history. Nirav, a computer science student who will be graduating with a master’s degree this semester, was visiting the library as he normally does only to be surprised by an excited group of librarians congratulating him on being the library’s 3 millionth user. To commemorate the moment, Jana Richman, Library Director, presented Nirav with a gift bag packed with school supplies, a Poly t-shirt, and a copy of "Changing the World: Polytechnic University, The First 150 Years." Originally from Mumbai, Nirav is a heavy library user who will pursue his interest in software engineering after graduation by working in the IT sector.
The Bern Dibner Library opened soon after the Dibner/CATT building wasdedicated on May 28, 1992 as the first new Polytechnic building at the MetroTech complex. In addition to an in-house collection of more than 150,000 books and journals, the library provides the Poly community access to a host of electronic resources available from anywhere at any hour of the day. While resources have been steadily shifting from print to online, use of the library space itself has been steady at 200,000 visits annually.
