Library Tour!

Me and my friends found the library part of our sense of place right off the bat. We found it was the easiest way to get our homework done while being able to be together. It also provided a quiet space with enough seating for us all to work! At first we fell in love with the round booth tables, but as the weeks went by  we realized those were very popular and in a crowded area so we had to find a new spot. From then on we found our spot being the long tables in the back where we could all fit and work on our homework as a big group. We have also rented out study room which make the library that much more fun due to us not having to worry about being super quiet. In there we can play music, help our friends study using the whiteboard walls and, yet still get our homework done. 

First study space for me and my friends!

New and improved longer tables for studying!

The location of the Library is in the center of north campus, which allows for it to be easily accessible to all students. In my mind the location of the library makes a huge impact, it allows for students to always be walking in, near and around the library to get to their classes. That alone may entice students to come after class to get some homework done in a quiet environment and find their sense of place in the library.

The so called "floating stairs"

Through our private tour of the library from Jason I got to fully walk around the entirety of the second floor! I also learned the favorite spots to sit and study with beautiful views of almost all of north campus. I also learned that is acceptable to take naps on the booths/ in the chairs. He also mentioned the reasoning behind the architecture behind the building. For example he mentioned that they built the staircase in the middle of the library with the glass to make it seem like it was a floating staircase. Another one of the features was the big glass windows to allow for a lot of natural light and to make it feel more comfortable. They also incorporated  wood to give it more of a home like atmosphere. Lastly there is plenty of seating and over 200 computers available for students to use; as well as multiple study rooms which are first come first serve and very popular. 

We had one of the faculty of the library support team talk to us on researching. This was an extremely informative session where we found out how to look for CRRAP on websites, use the libraries database to find books and, lookup articles through the Academic Search Premier, through Ebsco. Throughout the process of researching through Ebsco you are able to refine your search. He told us that theirs a magical button that will even find us Scholarly Articles which may become very handy throughout are academic career at SSU!

Mapworks is here to help the university as a whole by connecting students and faculty. They host survey to help determine whether or not you as a student are having difficulties in your academics or just being at Salem State as a whole. Based on the survey they are better equipped for being able to provide you with the correct support to help propel your life here on and or off campus. The survey also asked for suggestions for what the school could approve on.          

Link to a sense of place article in Salem

This website is our schools version of Ebsco which is a data base that I became familiar with in my high school for our research papers. I always found this sight to be extremely useful while researching.