It's Academic

It’s about 8 pm, and the usual complement of patrons is in our library. Two students are having a study session at the big table in the middle of the stacks area. Several other students are using computers—some doing homework, some watching YouTube videos. Another student is making photocopies of a homework assignment from one of the textbooks we have on our Reserve shelf. There is a student worker manning the Circulation desk, waiting for someone to return something (or check something out)—while doing his homework. As the librarian on duty, I am at my desk, logged into our Chat Reference program and monitoring my email account—that’s where the Text Reference questions appear—while I work on various projects and tasks such as finding an article in full-text at another library for one of our students.

Around 9 pm, the students start to trickle out, returning to their rooms to watch Netflix or play the Xbox game they just checked out from us. By 10, there are usually 1 or 2 people left, contentedly working away with their headphones on, enjoying the quiet that settles over the library at night. Some nights—especially in the colder months—it is only me and the student worker after 10 pm. Our various Reference-question channels are quiet most nights, and generally no one comes up to the desk with questions any more complicated than, “Can you show me how to use the copier?”

Although it is nice to have mainly peace and quiet for my work environment, that atmosphere does raise certain questions. We know our students need help with things such as searching databases for useful articles and creating correct APA citations. Are they not aware of our various options for contacting the library at night? Do they even know we’re open at night, until 11 pm Monday through Thursday? Do they not realize all the questions we can answer for them, all the help we’re waiting and hoping to provide?

Perhaps our students do much of their work during the day—or on the weekends. However, I fear some of the silence stems not from our students already knowing what they’re doing, but from them: a) believing they know what they’re doing (although they don’t) and/or b) not caring whether their answers are correct or whether their papers have useful arguments from evidence found in the wonderful articles, books, and e-books to which the library gives them access. I wonder if some of the students’ attitudes come from a generation so accustomed to asking Google for everything that they haven’t yet realized that quality college work requires answers that not even Google can provide.

What are evenings like in your library? Are they bustling with students working hard, asking questions, looking for resources? Or are they mostly quiet, with a few scattered patrons submitting “something” (anything[?]) to Blackboard so they can go hang out with their friends?  I’m hoping that with the weather improving, our library will find itself used by more of our students.  We’re going to continue thinking of creative ways to spread the word about librarians being available–and interested–in helping students improve their grades–and their minds.

The 2015 PaLA Conference Program Committee is now accepting conference session proposals for the 2015 PaLA Conference, PA Libraries: Engage, Educate, Enrich. The conference will take place October 4 – 7, 2015 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, Pennsylvania. If you are, or know someone that is, an expert on a topic that you feel will be of interest to librarians, we invite you to submit a session proposal.

The Program Committee is particularly interested in receiving proposals on topics suggested by previous PaLA conference attendees: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/pala.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/2015_Conference/2014FutureProgramSuggestions.pdf

All proposals should be submitted via the online program proposal link. For a working copy of the form, or to view the questions in advance of submission, a PDF of the form is available for download. The link to both the online form and PDF are available on the 2015 Conference Information Page of the PaLA website. (Accessed by clicking on the “Annual Conference” button in the right-hand menu of the PaLA homepage)

The deadline for submission of proposals is Friday, April 17, 2015. The program committee will notify all submitters regarding the acceptance of their proposal(s) in early May. Poster session proposals will be solicited in mid-April through mid-May.

Thank you in advance to all that submit proposals, we appreciate your dedication to PaLA and to Pennsylvania’s libraries!