Charlene Lovegrove of Media Services Retires After 25 Years Charlene Lovegrove looks forward to retirement after twenty-five years of service. Charlene Lovegrove of Media Services After working for 25 years at the University, Charlene Lovegrove retired at the end of December, 2014. Charlene began her career at William Paterson University in the Media Services Department of the Library. This department provided the audio-visual materials and the associated equipment for all academic disciplines. Charlene was responsible for the reservations of spaces, media and equipment, and she also delivered media (usually films) to classrooms and set up the projectors for the professors. Charlene was often seen running around campus with a student assistant doing multiple set-ups during the fifteen-minute break between classes. Each classroom had an overhead projector, and 16 mm films were part of the latest technology and provided visual support to the curriculum. Over the next two decades, Charlene witnessed many changes in media technology and delivery methods. Videocassettes replaced films, and multi-function podiums replaced the projectors. Soon after, DVDs and smart classrooms became the standards for Media Services equipment. Streaming video is now considered essential at academic libraries, and nearly 5,000 videos are part of the NJVid repository. The equipment of the department now includes wireless laptops, iPads, digital recorders and flip cameras. Charlene’s last two years brought about another change as the staff of Instruction and Research Technology (IRT) joined the Media Services Department in the Cheng Library. Although Media Services was already part of IRT organizationally, the staff had separate offices until 2013. Among her many activities at the University, Charlene helped to initiate a Genealogy Club at the Library, and she was also active in the University Knitting Club that met during lunch hours to share ideas for knitting projects. Charlene remembers many celebrations at the Library over the years: holiday parties, anniversary luncheons, birthday breaks, baby and wedding showers, farewells and many more events. A farewell luncheon was held for Charlene on November 21, 2014. Charlene looks forward to pursuing her many hobbies on a full-time basis: spinning wool, knitting, genealogy, traveling, visiting cemeteries and deciphering the inscriptions on old headstones, growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables, and spending time with family and friends. All of these fun things are now the focus of her life. March 09, 2015
