Preparing for Breaks

It’s that time of the semester, SPRING BREAK and soon to be Easter weekend!!

Many of us have planned to go on trips, sleep, spend time with family and friends, or maybe even get a project done. As exciting as our plans may be, we must remember the most important thing over break, to actually give ourselves a break. Often times we go home and actually exhaust ourselves from too much fun, and extra late nights. We must remember that this break is only a little over a week and then the games begin again. Let’s do ourselves a favor and take advantage of the sleep we deserve, but remember that this is also the chance to revive spiritually. As students we tend to put our assignments before our devotions, but praise God for giving us these days of oasis. 

For those who have planned to get ahead on some assignments, and may need a book over break, but it can’t be checked out, do not be dismayed. The library has a very helpful tool that may make things a bit easier, the copier. Yes, the copier not only prints out pages for you, but you can also scan pages from a book and email them to yourself. This helps save money and prints on your card. Feel free to come to the library and ask a librarian or student worker to show you how the wonders are done. Enjoy your break, and let it be glorifying to the Lord, full of rest, sleep, and joy.

~Dominique Delva

Knick-Knacks of the Library

Students come to the library all the time, to work on projects, do some leisure reading, or use the computers. But there are various availabilities that the students don’t realize this library has! Our wonderful library has headphones you can rent out! You get them at the front desk, scanning your card for them just like a reserve book. And like a reserve book, you can have them out for two hours! So if you don’t have your own headphones, no problem! The library is here to meet your needs.
Something else the library offers is DVDs! If you’re looking for an interesting movie to watch over the weekend because your hard work has left you with little homework to do, just check out the library! Star Wars, Pride & Prejudice, The Matrix, and more! Leisurely DVDs as well as scholarly DVDs are available for your viewing. You check them out with your card and can keep them for three days. Now if you don’t have anything to do on the wintery weekends, you can check out a movie from the library and settle on your couch with a hot drink to enjoy some well-earned relaxation!
 

One more amenity the library provides is study rooms! You can check out the key to a private study room in the ‘quiet zone’ (an actual room with a door you can close), by going to the front desk and scanning out a key. You can use these study rooms for two hours at a time. Just remember to lock the door when you leave and bring the key back to the front desk.
Another luxury, aside from the countless books, several computers and tables available, would be the cushioned loveseat and chairs upstairs in the middle walkway connecting the two aisles of books. If you get tired of having to sit in the normal hard-backed chairs, you can go lounge on the cushioned couches and enjoy your reading in a more relaxed manner.

I hope this little overview has helped you to understand more of what your library can have to offer! Just please remember, whenever you are in the library, it is always a good idea to keep your bag/purse/laptop with you at all times! And as much as a snack might sound good while you’re studying for hours, please don’t bring food into the library. Food brings bugs, and we don’t want you to have to worry about bugs when you’re trying to study!

~Rachel Krodel

Library Book Drop

Where can you find the Library book drop? 

Student workers Allison Beyer, Zak Fixler, and Hannah Blackmer will help us find the way.

 

Completing the Course

The end of the semester is finally here! The final challenge awaiting all of the students is finals week. There is something about finals week that is just so, well, final. To put it simply, finals week is the culmination of all of the hard work that has been done all semester long. For each class, it comes down to one final paper. What better place to write your final papers then the library? To help the student body, the library is staying open until 12 AM from Sunday to Tuesday.

This week will be a little hectic for the library since everyone is finishing up with books that they checked out. For final papers, the library has an immense selection of books for students to use as resources. I am working on a final paper for my New Testament class, and I have selected a number of helpful books to guide my argument. I have chosen eight commentaries that I thought would be helpful. The BIB REF section on the lower floor of the library includes many commentaries and books on Hebrew and Greek translations. I may use some of these books as well, however books from the BIB REF section may not be checked out.

The paper concerns I Corinthians 8-11 and the idea of food that is sacrificed to idols. I cannot say anymore in regards to this paper because I have not started it. However, the idea of food sacrificed to idols has appeared in other places in the New Testament (Romans 14-15 and Revelation 2 for example). For other classes, the final may come down to one more class presentation. The computer labs on the lower and upper level of the library supply the sufficient technology for students to use on their presentations. If any of the students need any help with operating one of the systems or finding resources, there will normally be a student worker in the computer lab on the lower floor. Perhaps some of the finals next week are exams (possibly cumulative). The librarians and sometimes student workers work hard trying to keep the library a quiet and productive environment for people to do their work. The student can even isolate himself from everyone by going to one of the small cubicles in the library to try to concentrate on studying for his exam.

The library will also provide students with coffee and hot chocolate so that they may take a short break. Truly the library is prepared to help students get through finals week. The remaining question is this: are the students prepared to finish this semester strong? The final grades on Self-Service represent a semester’s worth of hard work, or maybe not so hard work…

-Daniel Wright aka Superfly

Finding the Library Book Drop

Many people have wondered where the Library book drop is located.  Thanks to the efforts of several of our Student Workers you now have the ability to go on a Book Drop Hunt.

~Allison Beyer, Hannah Blackmer, Zak Fixler, and Ben Overbey

BooBoo in the Library

http://pf.kizoa.com/sflite.swf?did=2507097&k=S56718897&hk=1&ns=1&ob=1&origin=share
Kizoa slideshow: BooBoo in the library – Slideshow

~ Allison Beyer

Asking the right questions

What better to do on a beautiful Thursday in February than venture to the University of Penn. Museum of Anthropology and Archeology on a class field trip? Filled with excitement that brought on flashbacks from elementary school field trips, several Pentateuch Classes got themselves together for a day in Philly looking at artifacts from Canaan and Israel, Egypt, Rome, Ancient Iraq and many others. Although this trip was interesting and fun there is always a project in the end that brings on a level of stress. My class was required to do a group presentation that involved further research using outside resources, namely books.

 Amidst the many other assignments due from other classes, research can be tedious, especially when it feels like there are no books on your subject; but trust me there are! When I initially did research for my section of the project I saw only 5 books that contained to my subject. I was nervous that I may not have enough information, but eventually found just the book I needed. The next day when I arrived at work there were over 60 books containing the subjects we needed for this project that needed to be re-shelved! Imagine my surprise when I had previously assumed there were only 5. Many times people, including  myself, just don’t put in the right terms in the search bar to find what we are looking for; but don’t worry you are not alone! There are many student workers here who would love to help you and our lovely librarians Laura and Alice are amazing at finding just the source you need to make your project a breeze. So don’t hesitate to ask for help! We would love to give you a hand.

~Leia Brunette

Image: http://www.penn.museum/collections/object.php?irn=117842 

ILL. No, not ill, rather I L L. What is ILL?

ILL is a library service that we offer that allows you to borrow books from other libraries around the area. Hence, it’s called Inter Library Loan. And, it’s my favorite part about my afternoon shift.
            

What happens sometimes is that our library may not have a book that you’re looking for. In order to accommodate for when this does happen, we have a catalog searching system (maslandlibrary.worldcat.org) that will search for the book that you want at other cooperating libraries, and once it’s found it, we can ask for it to be sent to PBU so that you can utilize it for your research. This way when for some reason we can’t provide you with the book you’re looking for, you can still get it from somewhere else. It takes about 2 weeks for a book request to get processed and sent here, so you do need to think ahead on bigger assignments. But other than that, once you’ve placed your request and had it approved, you’ll be notified of the books arrival, I’ll unpackage it , and set it aside for you to pick up!
           

How do you make use of such a wonderful tool? Easy! Go to the library website (www.library.pbu.edu), and under the Services section, select the first option for Inter Library Loan. Read up on the instructions; create an account, and your ready to place a request. I hope you can make use of such a great tool!  

~Grace Sulaiman

(Picture: Shepherd University, WV)

Maybe I should have gone to the Library…

START: You are a PBU student and it is a tiresome Wednesday. You think wistfully about the upcoming weekend but are then crushed by the thought of your project due tomorrow. For the most part you like your classes, except for this one. It is all lecture and you don’t understand the subject matter. It is a beautifully sunny day outside. What will you do?

· You stare out the window at the swirling leaves. (Move on to Number 2)

· You watch the professor diligently and listen to him talk about the Patripassionistic implications of Kierkegaard. (Move on the Number 3)

2. You completely ignore your surroundings and look out the window. You will never completely understand what the professor was talking about but your nerves are significantly more intact. Sadly, you do not catch the announcement about the quiz on chapter eleven next Friday.

· You think about existence itself. I mean what really IS it anyway? (Drift to Number 4)

· You contemplate your day and the conversations you had this morning. (Move to Number 5)

3. You do not learn anything about Patripassionism and become frustrated. It seems like everyone else understands what Dr. Wontlborro is lecturing about. You glance over the other students and you see their riveted faces, you are missing something. The class has ended and you find out about the quiz next Friday. What will you do next?

· You are a little hungry so you decide to go to lunch with your friends. What the professor said probably wasn’t that important anyway. (Continue to Number 6)

· You are too frustrated by the subject matter to remember that you are hungry. You walk back to your dorm carrying a terribly attitude. (Move to Number 7)

4. END: You look out the window and wonder about the finer details of existence. The invisible swirling wind forces you to consider the social schemas that govern every living creature. Both are invisible yet they affect us so drastically. You decide to write this down in your notebook and study it more. After class you rush to the library and pour yourself into research about philosophy. You change your major to liberal arts and spend all your free time writing a comprehensive book on the similarities between society and wind. The book is called Blustery Society: Better Grab a Jacket! It sells millions and you become famous. It is a good thing you went to the PBU library.

5. END: You narcissistically consider your own life and do not do anything that does not fulfill your selfish needs. After class you return to your room at take hundreds of pictures of yourself to post on Facebook. Your mother notices this obsession and confronts you about your obsession. You are incapable of seeing her side so you shut her down by insulting her fashion. She, in turn, stops paying for college because of your rude behavior. You must now get a job in order to support yourself. Maybe you should have spent more time in the library rather than the mirror.

6. Your friends rally your spirits by discussing their favorite celebrity look alike. Eventually the conversation bends toward today’s lesson. It is all over you head. What do you want to do next?

· Admit that you don’t understand the topic and get help but confess that you are not as smart as they are. This may hurt your pride. (Continue to Number 10)

· You are bored by the subject and you overhear someone talking about driving to the beach. They are some of your best friends and the next thing you know you are riding with the windows down to the Jersey coast. You promise yourself that you will read a little at the beach. (Continue to Number 11)

7. As you enter your dorm you see your roommate. They smile and you scowl at the floor then resign yourself to sitting on your bed dejectedly. What should you do next?

· Read the Wikipedia page for Patripassionism then start your project.(Move to Number 8)

· Talk to your roommate about all of your school woes. (Move to Number 9)

8. End: Your relationship with your roommate is scarred forever. There was no way you could have known that they were having a terrible day and that a simple smile could have lifted them out of an everlasting spiral of depression. You barely understand the topic but you start anyway, handing in something is better than doing nothing. Right? You misspell the word “Godhead” every single time and barely pass the class. But you do pass after all. Thank you, Wikipedia. Maybe you should have gone to the library for a more reputable source.

9. End: Your roommate sympathizes with your pain and you become better friends because of it. They treat you to Chick-Fil-A which completely changes your mood and wipes the project from your mind. You stay up till three drinking hot-cocoa and talking about your lost childhood. It was pretty fantastic. At about four in the morning you bolt upright in bed and remember your project. The library is closed by now so you can’t get any books. Luckily your roommate has a few books that kind of relate to the subject. You write half of the paper but are unable to finish it on time. Your professor is not amused, at least you have friends. Try picking up your books from the library ahead of time.

10. End: Your friends joke about your ignorance then realize that you are serious. They backtrack furiously but you can tell that they are mentally reassessing your intelligence. One friend slowly explains the concepts to you and even shares what book really helped them. You walk to the library and check out the book. Your pride is hurt but you are a better person for it. Good job!

11. You go to the beach and spend the whole day doing nothing but building sandcastles. You sleep on the beach that night (which is significantly colder than you expected) and watch the sun rise. When you walk back to your car you realize that it was towed during the night, the New Jersey police would have preferred if you had fed the parking meter. You spend the day searching for your car and getting it from the impound. You do not hand in the project and you end up failing the class (better luck next year!). The beach is not a good place to study, might I suggest the library?

~Rosalyn Forbes

Seven Reasons to Appreciate the Library

1. People are nice here. Seriously, we are. We like books, so as long as you aren’t bringing open cups into the main library or sneaking cookies from the MAC, we’ll continue to be nice to you. (Yes, we DO see you eating your Cheez-Its back there. Don’t even think that you can hide in one of the workstations, because the Library Police WILL catch you.)

2. We possess the secrets to limitless knowledge, better grades, and unstable amounts of pure awesomeness. It’s a fact, and you would know about it if you bothered to come and research the Periodic Table in the library.

3. Come on, people. It’s FREE! Books cost money. If you do your research for that big paper here instead of buying lots of books you’ll only look at once, you’ll have more money to spend on food. Which you’ll have to leave at the desk. Don’t eat in the library.

4. The library transcends these four walls. Because of this library, you have access to hundreds of databases and e-texts filled with all that scholarly information that your professors love. Give them what they want, and do your brain a favor. You don’t even have to get out of your pajamas, though I suggest leaving that Diet Coke a good distance away from your Macbook.

5. Printing. You can use your student ID’s here for a fixed amount of free prints every semester so that you can save money on ink when you have to print out that thesis four times. Take advantage of the computers and the printing. Besides, you’ll make some lonely computer lab worker’s day just by showing up.

6. We have an entire room filled with childrens books! Spending half an hour with a stack of old favorites from your childhood can be a great way to take the edge off being an adult with responsibilities.

7. It’s quiet in here. Our study areas are wonderfully non-distracting, and it’s really easy to get work done when you don’t have to listen to your roommate’s Toby Mac CD blasting at full volume in the background.

That being said, I would really like to encourage you to take advantage of the resources made available to you through the library. You just might be surprised at what you can find.

See you soon!

-Gabrielle Cerberville