For freshmen and returning students alike, it can be difficult to go from the laid-back rhythms of summer to suddenly having to go back to waking up early for class and meeting deadlines, even while the summer weather continues. Something that students don’t often realize would help them with these struggles is the NDSU Library. “Students who never come into the library are missing out on a lot,” said Jolie Graybill, the dean of libraries.
At the library, students can access services like the Writing Center for academic help, but they can also speak to subject librarians about their research in anything from agribusiness to women’s studies. Subject librarians’ contact information can be found under the Services tab on the library website. “If you get stuck on research, or writing or just picking a topic, use the subject librarians because that’s what they’re here for,” said Matt Tallant, the processing archivist at the NDSU Archives.
Even students who are complete masters of their material can benefit from the library; with dozens of quiet study spaces and reservable study rooms, it’s a great place to go to avoid distractions from roommates and shift into a study mindset. They can also check out things like whiteboards, calculators, chargers and even GoPro cameras from the front desk to help them with their homework.
The library also has a reservable podcasting studio for students who need to make recordings or practice presentations. “You learn better when you can watch yourself and critique, and you can only do that if you’re recording,” said Graybill.
In addition to study rooms, students can reserve the Relaxation Room, which features a massage chair, coloring sheets, and a multitude of other methods to decompress from a long study session. Students don’t need to reserve the Reflection, Prayer, and Meditation Room, which is open as long as the library is and is a space for anyone who needs to pray or take quiet reflective time during the school day.
The library also houses the Digital Fabrication Lab, a workspace where students can use a laser engraver, 3-D printers and other tools to make their own projects for free or a small fee. According to the DFL webpage, the purpose of the lab is to raise digital literacy and empower students, staff and faculty to make their ideas come to life. Anyone at NDSU can use the lab, but they need to complete a training first. Info on what technologies the lab has and contacts for training can be found on the DFL webpage.
On the second floor of the library is the Data Visualization Lab, which has twelve workstations equipped with GIS, R, Adobe Creative Cloud and many other types of software so that users can synthesize and present data for schoolwork and personal projects.
Most students don’t know that NDSU has archives, let alone where to find them, but they can be a useful resource for both historical assignments and those looking to learn more about North Dakota’s history for their own benefit. The archives contain material from all over North Dakota, including genealogies and records from small towns that may not be online. They also contain tons of historical photographs, old newspapers and a giant metal cow head. Anyone who is interested in volunteering at the archives can reach out to Tallant or ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu.
Students don’t even need to leave their dorm to make use of the library—access to the library comes with thousands of online resources that can be useful for doing research. NDSU gives students access to subject-specific databases that can help them find sources for essays, and it has subscriptions to many online journals for wider access to scholarly articles that may be helpful for research or for when a professor puts a broken link in the syllabus. NDSU also provides free access to the New York Times for students, faculty and staff.
For more recreational reading, students can also use their NDSU account to access Libby, an app that allows them to check out non-academic books and audiobooks. If there is anything that they want to be added to the online catalog, they can email maddison.melquist@ndsu.edu to request it. Anyone who needs material sent to the library can put in an interlibrary loan request on the library website and get books, articles and even microfilm sent directly to the NDSU library of their choosing. “Interlibrary loan can get us just about anything, and pretty quickly,” said Graybill.