School is back in session, and we library workers could not be more excited to see people come in the building. Most libraries exist in a silent plain, yet the Blough-Weis thrives on the students’ slight chaos. With so many new students, as well as a reminder to returning students and staff, we decided to pull together a list of resources that are provided by the library to help you get through the year. Without further ado, let me prove to you that the library isn’t just a bookworm’s personal haven.
1. COURSE RESERVES & Other Borrowable Items
Course Reserves are amongst our most used resources at the library, allowing students to temporarily check out class textbooks to study for upcoming exams. These reserved books can be found as soon as you enter the library, behind the Service Desk. Simply ask the employee at the desk if we have a copy of a textbook for your course; in the case that we do, you will then be able to check out the book for up to 3 hours, but you cannot leave the building with a reserve. We also have many other items that you can borrow under the same guidelines as the reserves, such as chargers, HDMI cords, headphones, cd players, and laptops. If you’re like me, and sometimes technology defies you in every way, then you’ll be glad to hear that IT students also work at the desk on 6-9pm Sunday through Thursday.
2. Research Help from Librarians
Behind the desk, you can always find friendly faces, such as our specialized Librarians. At the Blough-Weis, we currently have 5 librarians who specialize in different fields to help you with research questions you may have. Our librarians also work in their own sections of the library, such as our Archivist, Meg Garnett, and Technical Services Librarian, Brianne Dort. Amanda Boyer, our Student Success Librarian is especially helpful for our incoming First-Year Students, organizing many fun events and helping you reach the resources you need! A hardworking library staff member that you might not see often, but helps you get access to resources that we may not have here; Nici Allen works with other schools in a service called Inter-Library Loan or ILL.
3. Inter-Library Loan and Online Resources
ILLs are books that we do not have at our university library but can get brought in through a network of other universities that we can borrow books and other resources from if you request them on our website, found here! On top of ILL, we a full list of other online resources for you to use! As of last year, we began a partnership with both The New York Times and Wall Street Journal that allows all students to read from with their SU email and Password! I also began exploring ProQuest’s Catalog of Black Studies this summer in my Juneteenth blog post, but this database does much more than just explore one holiday, providing important information to the students interested in researching other Black studies. And finally, my favorite resource that I haven’t talked about enough, Libby, a platform where you can access e-books and audiobooks anywhere with your SU ID and password!
4. Room Reservations and Chill Out Spaces
Did you know that you can reserve almost every study space in the building? That includes the conference rooms, innovation center, and large lecture room, simply go to this link on our homepage! We also have several Chill Out Spaces where you can find stress relieving or stimulating fidgets, sound machines, and comfortable furniture to just, chill in. While we are talking about cozy spaces, I highly recommend checking our moved and revamped leisure and graphic novels section behind the service desk.
5. VIP Center and Personal Hygiene Pantry
Besides the hustle and bustle of the main floor and designated quiet upstairs study areas, many forget about the wonders of our basement! The Archives, while not being open to the public, can be used as a great source for certain research topics. Downstairs is also home to many of our specialty books, like our juvenile section, scores, oversized books, CDs, and movies. Just beyond the juvenile books is a door that most people think isn’t for public access, yet we highly encourage you take a visit to our Personal Hygiene Pantry with general cleanliness products, feminine products, intimacy products, and more! Also, downstairs is the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center where you can sit and relax with all the kind faces or go to if you are struggling with domestic violence or sexual assault.
6. Fun Events with the Student Library Advisory Committee (SLAC)
And saving the fun for the finale, we have all the exciting events hosted by our Student Library Advisory Committee or SLAC. Last year, SLAC put on many exciting events such as Banned Books Week, Chill Out, and the ever-successful BINGO for a Book events! We plan to bring back many of these events this year, I highly encourage you take part in SLAC events if you are looking for fun and chill weekend and weeknight events. SLAC also meets every Monday at 4:15 p.m. in room 123 of the library if you want to get involved in library activities and events! I hope I have been able to show you that the library is a fantastic resource to use in an academic and recreational sense!
You must be logged in to post a comment.