Библиотека провела праздничный фестиваль для знакомства студентов с учебными ресурсами

The Office of First Year Programs, Library Services, and the Writing Center hosted a welcome Beach Fair event outside of the Leonard Axe library on Aug. 27. Providing free food, games, and prizes, the event is meant to inform students about all the resources the library provides for them. Heather Eckstein, assistant vice resident of the Student Success Center, further clarifies the purpose of the event. “Obviously, people make assumptions about what a library has available, but there’s so many things that are really helpful to students,” she says, recalling the student success center, where students can contact their advisor and get assistance with tutoring. Also, career development where they can prepare for their careers, and the writing center, where they can receive help on papers and assignments. “The library also has physical resources,” explains Eckstein. “Check out a laptop for a semester if you don’t have one, or maybe you’re just here to study with a group; we have whiteboards, and you can check out whiteboard markers. If you need a really quiet place to study, there are study rooms available that are first come first serve, but there are also ones you can reserve,” she says.  “This is really an opportunity for the folks who are in the library to share some of this information with students, especially new students, but really any student, and do it in a fun way,” Eckstein says. Jorge Leon, a learning and outreach librarian, highlights why this event is specifically important for freshmen. “Honestly for first years it’s very critical,” he says. “We know that students are coming from all different kinds of institutions in high school, whether it’s private or public education, and we want to have the same experience for everybody. What more fun way than coming out, grabbing some food, maybe painting and decorating, and being able to break down any potential anxiety about using our spaces and services.” Cristina Morales, a senior majoring in psychology, explains why the library services are important to her. “I basically live at the library, all my four years being here I’m always in the library,” she says, explaining that because of that, she’s gotten the chance to get to know the library staff.  “They’re really nice and very welcoming,” says Morales. “I think my freshman year, the writing center helped me a lot. I was in there three times a week.” Eckstein also shares a high opinion of the library staff.  “The librarians are amazing and can really help students find the references that they need,” Eckstein says. She adds that they wanted to do this event to give students the opportunity to interact with people who work in the library, so they’re not intimidated and feel like they can come in and ask questions when they’re available. “That’s all we do all day is help people if they ask us questions, and we want to make that very easy, and very accessible to every student.”