What the Library Offers to Students and Faculty
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library,” as stated by writer Jorge Luis Borges. The Guggenheim Library is frequently utilized by students, whether it pertains to their research or just for their leisure. Students can be found pouring over books and typing with such dexterity it hurts to watch. The sounds of clicks and pages turning set the background for the library’s other more beneficial aspects.
The Guggenheim Library, with its four levels and countless available services, contains much more than meets the eye. Besides the numerous collections and study rooms, librarians are always there for the students who inquire help or assistance in whatever endeavor it is that they are working on.
The library is jumping on the technology band wagon and now includes a more diverse selection of informational media. Aurora Ioanid, Associate Librarian and Technical Services Coordinator, said, “The library is purchasing 40004500 new print/paper books each year in addition to other various resources, eBooks, print journals, and media. Books are just a fraction of what the library offers as resources.”
The plethora of resources available at the library is quite staggering if one can get their head wrapped around it. “The University community acquires and provides access to over 150 databases with various types of content. Most of them contain electronic journals (ca. 45,000 of academic, trade journals and magazines), streaming videos, tools, and a mixture of journals, eBooks, and nonpublished sources, like news,” Ioanid said.
“We’re trying to do whatever we can to make the research easier for students. That’s what we do, because if we are not up to date then we are not doing our job,” Dr. Ravindra Sharma, Dean of the Library, said. By incorporating all this mixed media, students have a more in-depth attainability when it comes to their research.
To those who are regulars at the library, they will be pleased to know of a new service being offered here at the University to aide students even more when it comes to their research.
The Reference Service is now offered in the Student Center. Opening at the beginning of this semester, it is located on the second floor of the Student Center where a reference desk is now housed to assist students with any questions that they may have regarding gathering information. The desk is located near the Veteran Affairs Office and is available Mondays from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, and Wednesdays from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Matthew Doyle, Reference and Instruction Librarian, said, “The services goal is to extend one on one research support and library service into the student environment.”
Though many still correlate libraries with mountains and mountains of books, the University Library is becoming home to many online sources as well. And with the immensity of all the available sources, one can feel like a needle in a haystack when it comes time to find the ideal source for an assignment. “With over 150 online databases, choosing the right place to look can become a task in itself. That’s what the focus of the Student Center Reference Desk is to assist in the research process. Too often the research process becomes frustrating, discouraging and difficult for students, who with so many choices, often do not know where to start. The librarians are experts in locating information and instructing students on the multiple ways they can access it. Now students working in the student center on research do not have to leave to get help, we have brought the help to them,” Doyle said.
So why locate this service in the Student Center? Many students, especially commuters, may not venture over to the residential side of campus where the library is located because they may just go to class and then leave after it concludes. But because of the Student Center’s ideal location in the middle of campus, it seemed like a good idea to include the Reference Service there. “The Student Center has been observed as a location in which students work both independently and collaboratively on work that involves research,” Doyle said.
So what of all the questions asked by students pertaining to the help that they may need in navigating the myriad databases at their disposal? “Last semester, 1,520 reference questions and 921 technology questions were asked. And we had 121 emails or phone calls from students,” Dr. Sharma said.
So whether the best spot to study or write is at the computer, in the corner behind rows and stacks of books, or in an empty cubicle upstairs, the library is a place where students should feel comfortable to ask questions and develop their thoughts. The librarians are there for a reason, which is to help students. As Dr. Sharma said, “We help students so they can become better students.”
PHOTO COURTESY of waymarking.com
