If you are currently a student or have been one at some point in your life, I can say with nearly 100% certainty that you have, at least once, told someone the following: I’m going to the library. This simple utterance, while useful for communication, connotes that a library is an end, a destination, something you arrive at and then...
...stop.
The best libraries, however, are not where one goes to end a journey. Instead, libraries, like our own W.I. Dykes Library, are sites of beginnings. An English major might start their day at the library—by the end, they’re wading through the Caribbean shallows with Defoe or Equiano. A Computer Science major can take a seat at a computer on the fourth floor of the One Main Building, and a few seconds later, they’re hurtling through cyberspace, in search of a journal or article that will help them on their way. Conversely, a student who has no idea where or how to start a project can get help as well.
And speaking of helping: All UHD students have access to not just one, but a host
of librarians ready to guide them as they work on research proposals, essays, or datasets.
Lisa Braysen, MALS, Executive Director of Library Services at the W.I. Dykes
Library, said supporting students' academic success is the core function of the library
and its staff. “We want students to leave the university having received an excellent education from
their instructors and professors, yes, but also from the supplemental information
and skills we’ve provided,” said Braysen. “Knowing how to find accurate, correct,
and credible information online or in a database is a skill that transfers to any
profession, and it transfers to civic life as well.”
In addition to the personalized (and in-person) assistance, students can request online research consultations, an especially helpful service for those enrolled in hybrid or online courses. Of course, said Braysen, they can always access the library’s digital resources like virtual references services, electronic books, and more.
Moreover, the library frequently hosts cultural and experiential events that reflect the demographics of the university (this month’s Hispanic Heritage Month display being just one example). The UHD Library Book Club is another example, as are events like the Study Jam, Movie Day, and Zine Making 101. These events, coupled with the library’s core academic offerings, combine to form a crucial piece of a Gator’s education and university experience, as education doesn’t just occur in the classroom.
“Education and information are great equalizers, no matter where you’re from or what your background is,” says Braysen. “Our jobs are to help students use our resources to help themselves, their families, and their communities...along the way, we help them experience different perspectives and connect their studies to the wider world.”
Want to know what else is going on at the W.I. Dykes Library? Click here!
Also, look out for the library's new pop-up initiative in October, when the library comes to your college with a selection of books in your major or field of study. Students will be able to check out books from these liason libraries.