Map of Available Group Study Rooms

As I touched upon before, libraries used to be spaces filled to the brim with shelves upon shelves of books. The main goal of the institution in charge of the library was to obtain as many books as possible so as to assist scholars as best they could. The scholars expectations are simple, “give me a good selection of books, give me a quiet space where I can concentrate and make those books available for checkout.” Students using the SCU Library have very different expectations and take advantage of the library. Rarely do Santa Clara students go to the library by themselves. Studying is seen as more of a social activity than it has in the past. Students tend to study through their computers and there is a lot of room for distractions. The way the library is  supposed to work is that as a person moves to the second and then the third floor, the atmosphere should become progressively quieter. Though the SCU Library remains a silent environment just like the libraries of the past, group study rooms are offered for students to use for up to an hour at a time. In order to sign up for a group study room, one first must visit the Santa Clara Library website. Once on the website, the student clicks on group study rooms and then clicks reserve a room. At this point the student must confirm that they attend SCU by signing in with their SCU ID and password. All that’s left to do is chose the time slot and as long as the patron shows up to the room on time, the room will be reserved under their name. Students who need to conference for group projects or enjoy to study in utter silence enjoy this privilege.

Printer Station

Santa Clara students have various other privileges. Not only can we reserve rooms and check out books, but they also have access to printers in the library. All a student needs to do in order to print a document is click print on one of the computers on the first floor of the library. Then, the student must walk over to the printing station where they can use their student ID’s to pay the cost of printing. There are large clusters of computers on the first floor and in the lower level which have these printing capabilities and which can only be used by Santa Clara students and faculty.

Santa Clara University Library Basement

In the lower level, we find the main stacks. This is where a good portion of the library’s books are kept. Students can locate the books of their choice by using the call numbers that our library website lists. There are more group study rooms on the lower level and a choice of desks and and assortment of comfortable chairs and couches to lounge on. This is another aspect of the library atmosphere that has changed. Works stations in older libraries tended to be more uncomfortable. Hard wooden chairs and desks kept people awake and studying. In the SCU Library, comfortable work stations are offered so that students will be more inclined to come to the library and spend a good amount of time studying. On the 3rd floor there is an out door terrace with extremely soft couches. Students are often sighted napping on these couches as a breeze flows through the spaces between windows. On the side of the 3rd floor closest to the entrance of the library, there is a giant lecture hall named the St. Claire room. This is another one of many examples of how the SCU Library has changed from the typical library mold.

Podcast I Library Map I Introduction I Library Assistance Desks I Other Resources I Library Accommodations I Conclusion/Sources