Taking Advantage of the Library
The John T. Richardson Library on the Lincoln Park campus and the Loop Library are both amazing resources for students, and I have utilized them many times in my college experience so far. I personally have much more experience with the Library on the Lincoln Park campus so that will be my focus for this article. The library contains multitudes of resources for learning and academic purposes, but on top of that there are a ton of other things you can take advantage of.
Obviously we have to mention the vastness of the true purpose of the library. Within your entry level English course you will be tasked with a set of library assignments. These assignments will show you how you can make great and effective use of the different parts in the library. Obviously the shelves and shelves of books are at your disposal, and it’s quite easy to use the online portal or ask a librarian for assistance when looking for the exact location of a certain text. In my opinion, however, the more impressive set of information are the online databases we get access to through the library. The library assignments you will complete will teach you how to search for specific books, articles, studies, and virtually any other type of text you can think of. DePaul is also part of the I-Share program, which combines the library databases from many different colleges and universities all throughout the state of Illinois. Overall, the academic resources that the library provides make finding texts easy and efficient.
The library also possesses some advantages that the average person might not think of. There are shelves full of movies and tv shows on dvd, so I would highly recommend bringing a gaming console that can play dvds or even a standalone dvd player. On top of the movies and tv shows, the library also possesses a large amount of video games for all different types of consoles. One of my favorite memories was when my friends and I rented Just Dance and played for hours in one of our dorm rooms, all thanks to the library. The library, unsurprisingly, is also one of the best study spots on campus. There are four floors, and they are organized by sound level. The bottom two floors are labeled as collaborative spaces and allow talking and group work. The top two floors are quiet study spaces and only allow whispering. This makes for a great balance when you need to meet up with groupmates to work on a project or just want to put your head down and get work done; the library can accommodate both. Each floor also has a great variety of study spots with secluded spaces and comfy chairs to make you as productive as possible. The library is an awesome resource for students and is something that you have to take advantage of when you’re on campus!
~ Jeff