“No question is too small or unimportant; be approachable; assume nothing and never tell a patron that the library doesn’t have an item or the information needed without consulting me or a member of the student service staff,” said Jane T. Presseau, former head of the student service department at the James H. Thomason Library.

Presseau came to Clinton in 1970 after receiving a B.A. in education and social studies from Erskine, an M.A. in elementary education from George Peabody, and an M.S. in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at Chapel Hill, she was able to exempt several required courses because of the experience and knowledge gained by taking an additional 27 hours of undergraduate coursework in education and library science before entering library school.

She served in various organizations including the South Carolina Library Association, the Southeastern Library Association, Piedmont Library Association, American Library Association, American Association of University Professors, Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society in education, and Alpha Delta Kappa Professional Sorority in education. She also served on NASDTEC evaluation teams and the teacher education and library committees at Presbyterian College.

Presseau worked as head of the department from 1970- 1998 and during that time she helped coordinate technological advances of the library as the times changed.  During her time at PC, the library became automated and received internet access. In addition, she oversaw student assistants and provided training for those who showed interest in pursuing a library career.

Among Presseau’s duties included meeting with new faculty during orientation and informing them of the library services available. In this endeavor, Presseau often visited classes to teach students in the library’s bibliographic instruction facility.

“Things are most likely to happen when you work to make them happen,” she said.