Vignette
You"re in the Milton
S. Eisenhower Library on the Homewood campus when
nature calls. You head for the restroom and once, um,
seated, you notice Lav Notes, a single-page
newsletter, conveniently posted on the inside door of the
toilet stall, that contains tips for getting the most out
of the JHU libraries. Like, how to find out if an article
is online. (Look for the "Find It" button.) Or where to
download test-prep books. (Go to the Testing and Education
Reference Center database.) Or why newspaper articles might
be useful as part of your academic research. (Because you
can track development of a story as it unfolds and they
offer a specific geographical focus, among other
reasons.)
Subtitled "Help for the stalled," Lav Notes is
bright, breezy, and user-friendly, but never crude. It"s
been a big hit with library users, says Andrea Bartelstein,
former instructional services coordinator at the library.
She edited Lav Notes until her recent move to New
Hampshire. Usage statistics usually jump after a particular
library resource is mentioned in the newsletter. And
despite its small circulation — about 60 copies are
posted above urinals and in bathroom stalls throughout the
MSEL — Lav Notes was recently voted "Best
On-Campus Publication" by the Johns Hopkins
News-Letter. "I was so delighted," Bartelstein says.
"That's the audience I was trying to reach."
The American Library Association doesn't keep figures on
how many bathroom library newsletters there are nationwide,
but our crack team of researchers has turned up such
examples as the University of Miami's The HurriCAN,
Georgia Tech's T-Paper, and William and Mary"s
The Throne. Librarians report that several
institutions favor as a title Stall Seat Journal.
Why are bathroom newsletters so popular? Simple, says
Bartelstein."It's a captive audience." —
MB