This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Seniors Ryan Tobin (Pennsburg, Pa.) and Rashada Norman (Bethlehem, Pa.) have computerized the holdings of Lafayette’s music library.
The students worked this summer as EXCEL Scholars with Larry Stockton, professor and head of music. In EXCEL, students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend.
“Ryan and Rashada developed a computer program to catalog our holdings,” says Stockton. “This was a project that we all came up with. Ryan, in particular, is in the library all the time. When I mentioned the possibility of creating a search-compatible program to access our holdings, he offered to help design it.”
“I approached Professor Stockton to inquire about doing a project that involved computer science and music,” says Tobin. “Computerizing the music library holdings seemed like an obvious choice.”
The students created a web-based database that details all of the library’s holdings; users can search the system through key words.
“I’ve always been interested in how technology influences people’s daily lives,” says Tobin, who hopes to become a music teacher, “It’s great to work on a project that will make daily life at Lafayette a little bit easier.”
He adds, “Professor Stockton is a great adviser. The music department is small, so we all know each other and work well together.”
Tobin is president of Association of Computing Machinery and a member of pep band. He is a peer tutor for Music 101 and lab manager for the music department. He takes euphonium lessons and founded and conducted the brass ensemble last semester.
A computer science major, Norman tutors with America Reads and America Counts. She is active in College Theater and was part of the cast of Working and A Tempest, as well as a production of The Sneeze. She directed A Need for Brussels Sprouts, a one-act play, and says she enjoys writing skits and short pieces. She also works at Kirby Sports Center.
Rashada Norman ’03 helped computerize the holdings of Lafayette’s music library in an EXCEL Scholars project with Larry Stockton, professor and head of music.