The Sunstream Cafe
Passing through the library’s entrance, we first notice the Sunstream Cafe to the left which gives students studying for multiple hours in the library the chance to grab a snack if the fuel tank is low. According to Professor Bjork, libraries used to not allow food within their walls. The SCU Library almost encourages eating (or at least snacking) if its purpose is to keep the scholar studying. The cafe is open until 11:30pm on most nights so that students can grab all of their caffeinated beverages to pump them up for a last go at homework before the library closes at 2am.
The “Start Here” Desk
We continue into the library and on our left is the library’s greeter desk. The library worker who sits behind this desk can tell you the location of whatever you are looking for in the library. Many times your question won’t be answered at this desk but you will be referred to one of the other two desks on the first floor. Just after the greeter desk, on the left side and down the hall, we find media services where one can check out digital materials such as flash drives, camera equipment, and video tools. Classes these days sometimes require students to make films or skits for projects and if a student doesn’t own the equipment, they can rent out media service tools. Further towards the center of the first floor, we reach the library student help desk which is labeled the “start here” desk. The purpose of this desk is to help students with research questions and serve as librarian help. Students can approach the Start Here desk with questions which range from locating books in the main stacks downstairs to accessing databases on the internet. As the technologies change, the questions asked become more complicated and the librarians must have a greater understanding of the library in which they work. Usually there is one certified librarian and a student assistant which trains alongside them.
IT Desk Uniform
On the other side of the student help desk, is IT student services. These student workers wear red shirts and can assist with a multitude of technical problems ranging from laptop issues to online capabilities of an Xbox. These library workers solely work on issues with technology, an idea that would have been nonexistent in the libraries of the past. The library help desk workers leave the library at 10pm and the IT workers leave their desks at 12 leaving the workers behind the circulation desk with the task of answering all research questions. In the SCU Library, books come after technology in terms of importance. Before one even begins the search for a book (if they even get that far) they first head to the Start Here desk where librarians assist them in using library’s technology to find books rather than leading the student to where the book sits. Libraries used to be places where people would go by themselves to bury their heads in books and seek out utter silence (http://www.lib.k-state.edu/depts/spec/flyers/library-history.html.) Modern libraries like SCU’s are built much differently than those of the past. Computers are now the main tools used in research at Santa Clara so when computers break, there needs to be a place people can take them to be fixed and the library offers that service. There is also a superior IT desk on the third floor which deals with questions which can’t be answered by the student desk. The library closes at 2am on all days except Friday when the closing time is scaled back to 10pm.
The Circulation Desk
The circulation desk, true to its name, is in charge of regulating the flow of books in and out of the library. The workers at this desk have many roles including checking out books, un-shelving and shelving books, filling printers with paper, closing the library, and many more. These students need to know how to navigate the Santa Clara University Library website. The website contains many capabilities that are used to locate books in the stacks and books that are online in PDF form. The workers at the circulation desk also are capable of requesting books from other libraries. This capability is called interlibrary loan and can be used by any Santa Clara student or faculty member. Circulation desk workers also retrieve books from the ARS.
Podcast I Library Map I Introduction I Library Assistance Desks I Other Resources I Library Accommodations I Conclusion/Sources