With summer nearly over, it’s almost time to hit the books. Fortunately, there are a number of places around campus for students to study and tackle research, including many libraries and computer labs.
Located on the west side of campus, the Knight Library is the largest library on campus and houses more than 2 million volumes and nearly 17,000 journals.
In addition to books and journals, the library has collections of microfilms, slides, maps, manuscripts, compact discs, phonograph records, films, videotapes and state, federal and international documents.
Library Instruction Coordinator Colleen Bell said the library is the center of student research on campus.
“This is the place where you can get books, journals, periodicals, public documents, videos and most of what you would need for your research,” she said.
Bell added that students should take more advantage of librarians.
“You can always ask for help,” she said. “Don’t struggle unnecessary when you have trouble researching or using the libraries. We also answer e-mail questions and take phone questions, too.”
For science majors, the Science Library is another good place for research. The library, located in Onyx Bridge, has 160,000 books and current issues of many scientific journals.
Junior chemistry major Marques Johnson said he goes to the Knight Library and the Science Library to gather information for research.
“(The) library is definitely an important place for research,” Johnson said. “They have amazing sources. It’s way better than just a simple Internet search at home.”
Other campus research spots include the Architecture & Allied Arts Library and the Law Library.
The Architecture & Allied Arts Library in Lawrence Hall contains 80,000 books and other materials on architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, arts and administration, art history, fine and applied arts, historic preservation and urban planning.
The Law Library in the Law Center contains material for researching federal and state laws.
Naoko Atsusaka, a second-year graduate in the planning, public policy and management program, said she goes to the libraries but starts her research in the computer labs.
“I always start doing research from the Internet at a computer lab, trying to get some general ideas of my topic,” she said. “This is an important process for me; through this process I’ll be getting some important keywords for my research topic. I would then go to several online databases at the library’s Web site. Without knowing those keywords, I won’t get good hits at the databases.”
The University also has several computer labs available to students.
The CC-EMU Microcomputing Lab located in room 22 of the EMU has the most computers, all equipped with word-processing, spreadsheets, desktop publishing and electronic communications, as well as Internet access. During the school year, the lab is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The CC-McKenzie Lab, located in 101 McKenzie, has an instructional classroom and an open lab. Its hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Some of the campus libraries have computer labs, too.
Both the Knight and Science libraries offer Information Technology Centers (ITCs), which are on their buildings’ second floor and basement, respectively. The ITC provides access to on- and off-line electronic information including Internet resources and multimedia products. The ITC’s equipment includes 32 Macintosh and 52 Windows workstations. It is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Research, however, does not have to be a “location.” For Johnson, finding a person to ask or talk to is always another alternative.
“I was doing a research paper on life in Lyon, France, during the Enlightenment, which was a fairly obscure topic,” he said. “But it turns out that a history professor here at the University does his thesis on Lyon.”
Johnson said he was able to interview the professor, which yielded valuable information and related books on the topic.
“There are many passionate scholars out there who most likely have a sincere interest in your topic,” Johnson said. “They will be an invaluable resource, much better than any book or journal article.”