The Mack Library is full of underutilized resources that could help students increase the productivity of their study time.
The library has changed from what it once was. Headphones and food are now allowed, and the recent addition of the Rubi coffee machine invites students to curl up with a book and hot drink.
With all these changes, the library is a more inviting place to acquire information needed for papers and projects.
Librarians
“Our staff is probably one of our greatest underutilized resources,” said Mr. Patrick Robbins, who works with Information Services at Mack Library.
All full-time staff as well as student workers are competent in finding the information students are looking for.
Mrs. Nancy McGuire, the instructional services librarian, loves helping students and encourages them to not be afraid to ask for help.
Some of the full-time staff have specialty subjects that they are more knowledgeable about than others.
Robbins specializes in religion and social sciences while McGuire has a special focus on English and education.
If a student brings an outline or a specific topic with them, the library staff will help locate exactly what the student needs thus making the library trip more beneficial.
Online Resources
Students can access over 200 databases from any computer with Internet access. But what’s the difference between searching these databases versus doing a Google search?
“We pay over $200,000 a year for the students to have these databases,” McGuire said.
The collection is constantly growing as the library looks for new databases to add. In fact, they recently purchased a specific database for the exercise science program called Sports Discus, which many students have found helpful.
If a student cannot find the title he is looking for, he can search PASCAL or the interlibrary loan system.
Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) is made up of college libraries in South Carolina who have partnered together to offer free lending to students.
The interlibrary loan system is the same idea but on a global scale.
With over 16,000 libraries in over 100 countries containing more than two billion holdings, a student is sure to find any book no matter how obscure.
But because of the worldwide aspect of this system, it does take a little longer to obtain the books. The library will cover up to $15 of the shipping cost.
Music Library
The Music Library is a branch of the Mack Library located in the Gustafson Fine Arts Center.
The Music Library offers many resources for students, including e-journals that can be accessed from the library’s website. These e-journals are full of articles covering an array of subjects.
Timothy Word, the Music Library supervisor, said the music related e-journals from the Music Library webpage are underutilized by both music majors and the general student body.
“Because music is such an integral part of society, student researchers [of all majors] can find valuable information there,” Word said.
The Classical Music Library contains over one million music tracks.
There is also a Classical Scores Library where students can find over 20,000 scores of music and can print them free of charge.
Both the Classical Music Library and the Classical Scores Library can be accessed from the web on any computer using the student’s campus login.
Specialty Rooms
The Mack Library also contains many specialty rooms. Some rooms are open all the time, while others are locked and require staff to let students in.
The Jerusalem Chamber is an exact replica of the room where the King James Bible was translated.
Also on display is an original 1611 King James Version Bible and other rare Bibles.
The library’s special collections includes a handwritten sermon outline by Charles Spurgeon, an 11-foot Hebrew manuscript and copies of the Greenville Mountaineer, Greenville’s earliest local newspaper.
The special collections also includes the American Hymnody Collection and the Rare Bibles collection.
The American Hymnody Collection seeks to preserve a unique part of America’s Christian history. The collection holds more than 900 hymnals dating from 1739 to the late 1800s.
The Bob Jones Archive Research Center contains information about the history of the school, and the Archives Memorabilia Room is a presentation in pictures and memorabilia of the history of Bob Jones University.
And last, the Fundamentalism File holds religious information that can be accessed through the home page of the database. It can also be visited in person if necessary.
“The library is an underutilized resource simply because people don’t like to plan ahead,” McGuire said.
But if students plan ahead and visit the library they will see how they can take advantage of all it has to offer.