Many students stopped to view the newest addition to the Science Library, an LCD television that features 3D technology, as they filtered through the entrance.
The television is just one of the many electronic items the library offers to continue to provide cutting-edge technology to students.
Dean Walton, a science librarian, began his quest to get the 3D television last year when he filed for a grant to fund it. The TV was installed in the library just two weeks ago. The new technology will help students who study biology, chemistry, topography and geology, among other subjects, he said. @@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Dean*Walton@@
“We are looking at various types of media that will foster academic success,” Walton said. “For example, students can realistically picture an enzyme site now. They’re able to see the whole shape of the molecule, especially for the more complex ones.”
The science library also continues to offer checkout services of laptops and video games for students, which they have provided for about five years.
The library is able to provide these services to students partially because it is smaller and more specialized than the Knight Library, said Lara Nesselroad, manager of the Science and Math Libraries. @@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Lara*Nesselroad@@
“Knight had laptop checkouts, but their arrangement of their desks is very different from what we have here. Their level of busyness was such that they didn’t feel like they could incorporate laptops into one of those service points,” she said. “Here we can do it at a desk that we have without having to add more staff so we can absorb the amount of activity into what we already do so it made sense for us.”
The library offers a wide array of video games,  from “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” to the Madden series and “NBA 2K11.” Annie Zeidman-Karpinski, the science and technology services librarian, stressed the importance of video games as a source of both entertainment and learning for students. @@http://libweb.uoregon.edu/dc/directory/profile.php?profile=annie@@
“I think it’s a really important part of what we should be studying. I think we’re more cutting edge than other libraries,” she said. “More people own video game consoles than TVs at this point and no one thinks it’s weird to have a movie collection in libraries anymore.”
Walton is excited for the possibilities the new 3D TV will provide.
“Students are taking a lot of 3D imagery and yet they don’t have a place to show it. We want to be ahead of the needs of the students. We are one of the few places that actually offer the 3D glasses,” he said. “All these students who design 3D imagery over in digital arts, they had no place to show it until here.”