Though Chick Fil-A and Pizza Hut are fantastic ways to take a break from studying when you’re at the library; there is also another place in the basement to take a break without having to spend any money.
The Wells Library Media and reserve service or ALF as it is called located in the basement of the Wells Library provides a plethora of media collections for students. You can check out audio books, DVDs, videogames and CDs for up to 7 days. The variety of what you have to choose from is amazing. You can rent out anything from an educational World War II video to the first season of Friends if that’s your style, and if you do not feel like renting an item out you can watch it right there in the basement once you find what you like. The David S Bradley collection of 16 mm films is pretty amazing as well but you have to go to the Lilly Library to see these. So, if you ever took my advice to go and check out the Lilly Library than you might know what I am talking about. There is so much to choose from within these collections I can only type about so much, you need to just go downstairs or to the Lilly Library and check it out for yourself sometime.
If you do make a visit and fall in love, do not forget what you actually came to the library for. With that first round of tests right around the corner be prepared for the Wells library to be packed full once again.
The new Semester truly begins
Now that Syllabus week has finally come to an end its time for me to come back to reality. Your teachers are finally done just using 75 minutes of your time to explain your syllabus, and have begun giving actual lectures. This means it’s time to take your mind off break, and begin buckling done for the new semester. I would say my semester is not as demanding as it has been in the past, this does not mean I am going to slack off, it just means I will have more time to blog and provide you with new information from inside the library.
But since, we have just ended break feel free to leave me a comment regarding anything interesting you killed your time with during the three week leave.
I plan to meet with my librarian David this week and will be back with another blog hopefully by Thursday.
Where to go?
With finals week here, the library becomes a complete jungle. Every computer is occupied, every floor in the West Tower is packed full and even the cafe downstairs has massive lines. I myself have tried to stay away from the Wells Library, not because I have not been studying just because I cannot handle the insanity.
If you can bear the packed floors more power to you, but if not, you could try giving the HPER library a chance. If you did not know there was actually HPER library you know now. It is located in the basement of the HPER Building on the side facing Woodlawn field. The size of this library is nowhere near the size of Wells and the amount of computers is not as immense. If you’re just looking for somewhere quiet, with your own study desk though, this is the place.
I’ve also found dorm lounges still to be useful. Even though I know longer live in a dorm, I usually resort to a dorm computer lab or basement lounge if the library is too packed. The dorms are located conveniently all over campus, and if you’re able to gain access to a computer lab such as Mcnutt’s it is far easier than waiting for one at the library.
Good Luck On Finals everyone hopefully you will be hearing from me next semester.
as the due dates of my projects approach, I am rushing to finish them up. The library has been my escape from the house to actually get some work done. The problem with the library though around this time is it’s consistently packed. I do not truly have an answer for this problem the only thing I would say is if you have your own computer bring it with you, and remember your charger.
As far as finding the less crowded floor in the west tower I would go with the 4th floor. The problem with that is there are no library computers on the 4th floor but it is usally the least crowded.
If your looking for a more quiet setting anywhere in the East tower is your best bet. The stacks like I have said before are the best for getting loads of reading and studying done without being distracted.
Wherever you decide to spend the grueling weeks before finals try to find somewhere that fits your needs best. Whether it is the library or not.
The World of Research
I was recently assigned two research projects to cap off my semester…..This lead me to ask David for advice on how the library could assist me with these projects. David introduced me to the research database Factiva. Factiva is a research database that provides you with the same abilities as Ebscohost but provides the user with a more in-depth database. You are able to key in on certain media outlets when searching for something, such as multimedia, newspaper publications, press release transcripts and many others. Basically, if your a journalism or communications major its like heaven for any research projects.
My two projects both deal with current events in the media and a database like Factiva is perfect for that. I say this because Factiva allows you to access information ranging from the mid 1900’s to yesterday. This asset will allow me to collect more in-depth data for my projects and could also help you with any research you have ahead.
I know again…..its been awhile
Hey readers, sorry I have been missing for so long once again. The midterm studying truly got the best of me and permitted from blogging to you.
With that being said I assure my midterms went well… With the exception of one but I won’t get into that. A big contributor to the success of my midterms is the good ole Herman B Wells Library. I was able to escape my house to the Wells Library consistently the past 3 weeks; which seems impossible when you live on your own and not in the dorms.
The library’s somewhat serene atmosphere helped me in finishing readings I was behind on as well as giving me time to re-read old material. If you need more than a book such as a computer, do not forget to check out the East Tower. Everyone gets caught up in the West, and sometimes completely forgets the East Tower has a floor of computers. I had 3 incidents in the past 3 weeks of finding a computer in the East Tower after I was unsuccessful in the West Tower.
I do not have much to say besides that, but I will return sometime this week with a post, following my next meeting with David.
Sorry its been so long
Hello everyone, sorry I have been missing for so long I have had a very busy week, but lets start this post off with a little something different. My librarian David Oldenkamp suggested I make a visit to the Lilly Library so I did on Monday, and now I am strongly suggesting to all you readers, to check the Lilly Library out for yourself.
I had only about 35 minutes to spare, but in that 35 minutes I was able to see and read Ernest Hemingway’s original war letters sent to his mother. I also was able to get my hands on Stan Lee’s original Star Wars comic. There is a registraition process that is requried to access this information but it only takes about 15 minutes and it is defintely worth your time. No items are allowed to actually be checked out to take home, but labtops are now allowed, and you can always bring in a pencil and a notebook.
Beyond those two historical documents are thousands of other amazing volumes, from one of the original Gutenberg Bible’s to John Ford’s actual academy award for his film, “Grapes of Wrath”. The amount of interesting documents at the Lilly Library feels endless, so just take my word and check it out yourself.
I want to conclude by saying, be careful this Halloween and after all the fun, make sure to get back to the library to keep preparing for midterms.
MIDTERMS Approach
As you prepare to pack the library for midterms….Remember this….make sure you are actually using the library computers for studying. There will be hundreds of people who will be despertley in need of computers these next 2 weeks so make sure to take advantage of your computer usage.
It is always nagging when someone is on a computer facebook chatting for 3 hours when the person waiting has a huge test on the horizon.
Also take advantage of the Well’s library East tower’s stacks. The stacks provide the perfect setting for studying, and if you need a break there is always a book around to pick up. You can usually find me on the 7th floor, in a quiet area studying for my upcoming 3 midterms.
Good luck to everyone on their midterms.
First meeting
Met with my librarian David Oldenkamp for the first time yesterday. I was introduced to a plethra of information about the Wells Library. From the millions of volumes of text to the Google book project. If you are unaware of the Google Book project I will devote a little bit of time explaining it to you, the readers.
The Wells library is shipping thousands of volumes of books to Google to be scanned and put on the internet. Once the project is complete you will be able to access almost any book in the library using google books. This allows the reader to download the text in pdf format and research the book at will. You will also have the ability to type in a keyword to search for in the text. Google books will take you exactly to the spot in the book where the keyword(s) are that you typed in.
My blog is just at its beginning stages yet I am confident to say I believe I can help any of you readers with any type of international studies research as well as research on exercise science. Just comment below if you have any questions regarding my blog.
IU student Blog Squad
Hello IU students, today’s post is the beginning to a new project were starting here on Campus with librarians and students…..Stay tuned for further blogs and details on the project.
