Thanks in part to their reputation for causing students to work, libraries have long had a haunted history. We're not sure how or why such dread came to light, and why it has both successfully followed libraries around the country and, at the same time, helped some of the world's brightest achieve their goals and dreams.
Libraries are inherently not cool.
Over time though, the officials behind such tall book-holding buildings as Ball State's Alexander M. Bracken Library have been working to take some of the fear out of "the stacks."
The latest in a series of improvements include the opportunity for students to submit and display their own artwork on Bracken Library's walls. Meanwhile, the library offers monthly dance and musical performances to broaden its appeal to students.
"It makes the area more homey," Bracken Library Marketing and Communications Manager Susan Akers said. "It gives it personality... We really want to be supportive of the students' broadening exposure to the arts. We're more than a library. We're more than a building with books and computers. We also do it through music and dance."
By creating a more student-friendly environment, the library's staff is hoping to earn some back some of the appeal the building and its contents have lost over the years. Thanks to the rise in popularity of the Internet, the library has faced increasingly tougher competition when it comes to usage.
Just this semester Bracken Library expanded its hours to 3 a.m. Sunday through Thursdays, an hour later than the fall semester's schedule. Even then, since most students can do their work from home these days, many believe there are few, if any, benefits to using the library.
Think again.
Many students tend to overlook or disregard the numerous advantages Ball State has hidden within the walls of Bracken Library. Over 352,000 items were circulated to students, faculty and staff during the fiscal year that ended in June 2004. Among the possible items checked out exist over 120,000 maps, 1 million microforms and close to 98,000 government documents.
Thousands of titles hide within Ball State's video and audio collection in Bracken's basement, as does the opportunity for students to check out a laptop for use within the building.
Bracken Library provides computers using both major operating systems and the most popular programs. Students are even able to print up to 50 pages a day on the university's laser printers -- a perk for highlighters who hate smudging ink.
Oh yeah -- they've got books, too.
Needless to say, as a library, all of these benefits are without additional charge to students. Since the services are technically included in tuition and student fees, a "resourceful" student doing everything from home is really wasting more resources than he is gaining.
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