Coping with Busy Computer Labs at Crunch Time

As the semester draws to a close and final papers become due, many students express concern about the number of computers available in the library.  Here are a few tips to help you get the computer time you need to finish your academic projects, followed by a few words about our policy on the matter.

Bring Your Laptop

Wireless service (including printing) is provided throughout most of the library.  Bring your laptop to StudyQuad, the Copier Lounge, the main lobby, the Reference Room, or the Creative Studies Balcony.  On campus, wireless access points have been installed in the Student Union, where service is available in the Fireside Lounge, Commuter Lounge, Assembly Hall and surrounding hallway, and the upper and lower areas of the main floor. The Bulger Communication Center lobby also has wireless access.

Avoid Peak Usage Times

While many computers are tied up in the middle of the day, this is not the case in the early morning, or in the late afternoon.  Try scheduling your computer use after or before your classes, instead of inbetween them.

Why Doesn’t the Library Block Facebook and Myspace?

We are often asked why we don’t block access to social networking sites in our computer labs.  For one thing, many students use them for their schoolwork.  Students often communicate with their teachers and classmates about assignments.  Social networking is being used and studied in business, education, and the natural and social sciences. Denying access is not an option.

But there is a larger, more important reason we don’t block these (or any) Web sites: we refuse to limit your rights.  As an academic library, we believe it is our role to vigorously protect your access to information, whether that information comes through our periodical databases, our books, or our computer labs.  It is a cherished principle of which we are justly proud.  Will this freedom occasionally be abused by individuals with too much time on their hands?  Perhaps, but we still refuse to censor and we will adhere to the Library Bill of Rights.

We the People Bookshelf

 

We the People, a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) initiative, explores significant
events and themes in our nation’s history. The We the People Bookshelf is a set of classic books for
young readers from Kindergarten through High School, selected by the NEH and the American Library Association. Titles selected for the We the People Bookshelf often highlight important chapters in American history; or express universal themes that are integral parts of American culture. Past themes include “Courage,” “Freedom,” “Becoming American,” and the “Pursuit of Happiness.”

This year’s Bookshelf, entitled “Created Equal,” allows young people to discover what the
Revolutionary generation meant when it declared that “all men are created equal.” What challenges
has America faced in its efforts to live up to the ideal of universal human equality? Celebrating the
2009 bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln, the “Created Equal” Bookshelf highlights Lincoln and his
contributions towards human equality in America.

Visit the official Web site >

Download a bibliography with Butler Library call numbers >