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ACM Launches New Student Library
T
he Northeastern Chapter of
the Association of Computing
Machinery (ACM) unveiled
a new technical lending library this
semester to satisfy students' intellectual
curiosity beyond the classroom.
"We decided a year ago that we
wanted to start a library for students,"
says Chris Lambert, '07, former president
and current special project manager
of the University ACM. "We wanted
a small collection of technical books
that we could lend out."
The group started small, contacting
individual publishers and requesting
review copies of new titles. As a user
group within a non-profit institution,
they were eligible to receive these books
at no charge.
But the group's first windfall came
with a call from O'Reilly Media, a lead-
ing technical book publisher that was
exhibiting at the Linux World Expo in
Boston. When the show ended, O'Reilly
wanted to donate about 300 leftover
books to the Northeastern ACM chapter.
"That was the first real start of the
library," Lambert remembers.
One of the reasons for O'Reilly's
generosity was that it was able to use the
donation for a tax break while saving on
the hefty return shipping costs--all
while supporting a local student group.
When Lambert attended OSCON,
an open source software conference
held in Oregon last July, he remembered
his discussions with O'Reilly. He
requested and received book dona-
tions from O'Reilly, Apress, Pearson
Education, and others. A quick call to
CCIS Dean Larry Finkelstein secured
the funds needed to ship the donated
books to Northeastern.
Although the ACM library currently
consists of physical books, ACM is work-
ing to acquire electronic copies of some
titles, particularly those that will be used
by participants in ACM workshops on
subjects such as Unix, Perl, and Ruby.
"ACM members continue to
impress me with their resourcefulness
and creativity," Finkelstein says. "The
group has won more than its share of
national awards over the years, and their
recent work with the library is one more
example of their ingenuity."
Chris Lambert, `07, headed the successful effort to establish a student lending library at CCIS.
The new resource is stocked with books donated by major academic publishers.
"The group has won more
than its share of national
awards over the years, and
their recent work with the
library is one more example
of their ingenuity."
Co-op Attracts International Grad Students
I
nternational graduate student enrollment in U.S. universities
dropped last year for the first time since 1972. While many
schools are struggling to attract the best and brightest
from around the world, CCIS is finding new opportunity in
a long-standing asset: the co-op program.
Graduate student enrollment in CCIS's co-op program
is at its highest level ever, driven primarily by international
master's level students who are opting into the program.
"Our graduate programs tend to be research focused,
but some students want U.S. work experience, and
the co-op program can fill that need," says Mel Simms,
associate professor in the cooperative education program.
Many domestic graduate students find their own
employment, Simms points out. International students can
use the extra support, as well as the assistance in obtaining
employment clearance.
Graduate students who participate in co-op must be in
their second year and must take eight to twelve mandatory
class sessions that integrate co-op and classroom learning.
"We try to make co-op as academically rigorous as
possible," Simms says. "Our goal is to provide a solid learning
experience for students." Judging by the increasing popularity
of graduate co-op, that strategy seems to be working.