University of Florida Judaica Suite Plan Drawing

During a typical year at UF, the hurry of campus life is hard to miss — with students racing to form, hurrying to catch a bus, or weaving their mode through Plaza of the Americas to grab Krishna lunch. Amongst the flurry of students, the six George A. Smathers libraries provide an escape for both students and faculty alike to seek refuge.

"There are times when there's simply too many distractions in your living environment," University Libraries dean Judith Russell said.  "We think the libraries are a place that give the students [another] option. And there'southward then many options, many unlike locations, unlike libraries with dissimilar characteristics."

Consisting of six different libraries — Architecture and Fine Arts Library, Education Library, Health Science Center Libraries, Library West, Marston Science Library and Smathers Library —  The George A. Smathers libraries class the largest information resource system in Florida. The Levin College of Law's Legal Data Heart as well holds a collaborative human relationship with Smathers libraries.

Library visitors have access to a growing drove of 6.17 million impress volumes, in addition to more 62,000 UF dissertations and theses. If guests don't have time to visit one of the six libraries, they tin can access 1.5 million e-books and over fourteen meg digitized pages by navigating the Smathers libraries' website.

Like all other areas on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Smathers' libraries were forced to drastically adjust their procedures. To ensure safety within the libraries — which collectively concenter four.5 one thousand thousand visitors annually — seating capacities were reduced, face coverings were required and Gator 1 ID cards were mandatory upon entry to cheque if students were cleared for campus.

"I was dreading the idea that people would show upwardly and want to come into the library, and we'd accept to say there'due south no room," Russell said.

Services such as Ask-A Librarian — a free library service that allows students to seek assistance from library staff through e-mail, text, or instant bulletin  — flourished during the pandemic when many students found themselves no longer on campus. Now, equally campus facilities will open at total chapters during Summertime B and masks are now optional, the vi branches of the Smathers libraries look to fully resume their unique services to their patrons.

Library Westward

After whirling through the revolving archway doors and grabbing coffee from Starbucks, patrons of Library West hurry up the escalator to notice a peaceful seat to study. Serving as the centerpiece of Plaza of the Americas, Library West remains one of the most popular libraries on campus.

With seating for approximately ane,400 visitors and an official "quiet written report" space on the 4th flooring, Library West is designed to withstand the blitz of students who may flood the building during final exams week. Students tin cull to sit down at the various tables, chairs, study rooms, or FitDesk study bikes located throughout the building.

Designated every bit the humanities and social sciences library, students have access to collections from various fields: books, microform materials, newspapers, periodicals, journals and DVDs.

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In addition to the 18 grouping report rooms at Library Westward, students tin can employ unique spaces like the One Button Video Recording Studio — a recording studio equipped with HD cameras, lighting, sound equipment and a green screen function. Another infinite in Library W, the Accessibility Studio, is available for registered Disability Resource Middle students to have a private infinite to interact with library resources.

The library staff aims to make Library W a more inclusive space for visitors of all backgrounds, according to Library Due west chair Stacey Ewing. Like other library branches, a lactation room and gender-neutral bathrooms were added in Library West. Every bit a way to further arrange students during the pandemic, Library West added 10 test proctoring booths for students who did not have a quiet area at home to have an exam.

Library East (Smathers)

At first glance, Library East appears to be a small-scale building, as information technology blends in with the surrounding lecture halls. However, 1 footstep inside reveals that the library is filled to the brim with historical treasures.

Dating back to 1925, Library East is the oldest library on campus with an original capacity of 800. In nearly 100 years, Library E's four floors accept become habitation to remarkable collections, including the Map and Imagery Library, Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica, and the Latin American and Caribbean Collections.

Located on the first flooring, the Map & Imagery Library is i of the largest academic map libraries in the land, containing around 500,000 maps, 300,000 aerial photographs and 8,000 reference books and atlases.

On the second floor, students tin can enter the Grand Reading room to be assigned a tabular array to access non-circulating materials. The Judaica Suite, fastened to the Thousand Reading Room, is filled with rare books from the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica. In addition to the priceless books found in the Judaica Suite, students can observe the handmade artwork of Kenneth Treister, the architect of the room.

One of Library Due east's most distinguished collections, the Latin American and Caribbean Drove, was founded in 1951 and is currently located on the third floor of Library Eastward. The collection contains around 500,000 volumes in English, Castilian, Portuguese, and various indigenous languages. The collection besides serves as a way for many Latinx students to connect with their culture, LACC public services associate Keith Manuel said.

Although the COVID-nineteen pandemic reduced Library East'southward capacity and hours, information technology provided a unique reward: increasing and improving its digital collections. Every bit fewer students were able to access concrete prints of literature, library staff were tasked with scanning and photographing the collections then students could find what they needed online.

Marston Science Library

Sitting right beside the Hub and Turlington Plaza, Marston Science Library sits in a convenient spot on campus and garners a substantial amount of foot traffic. With the yellow gangling Alachua sculpture — lovingly known as the French chips — located correct outside the edifice, Marston is hard to miss.

Named after the seventh UF president Robert Q. Marston, Marston Science Library caters to the university's scientific community. The library was built in 1987 to consolidate the six original UF scientific discipline branch libraries: Agriculture, Physics, Phytology, Engineering, Chemistry and Biological science-Geology.

Students tin can choose which of the five floors best fit their studying needs, with the bottom iii floors being designated for group report and the summit two floors for quiet study.

Marston Science Library remains a technological pioneer amid the other Smathers libraries. In add-on to maintaining five computer labs inside the building — with one of them specialized for augmented reality development — Marston offers a multi-purpose visualization and conference room for students to reserve for meetings, Marston Scientific discipline Library chair Valrie Minson said.

Not only does Marston offering an abundance of technology, merely their expanding tool library allows students to loan out take-abode equipment ranging from drill sets to sewing machines.

Architecture and Fine Arts Library

With a growing collection of 125,000 volumes, the academic needs of students from both the College of Pattern, Construction & Planning and the College of the Arts are satisfied by the Architecture and Fine Arts Library. Since its opening in 1965, the AFA library has emerged as one of the largest art library collections in the southeastern U.s..

Unlike its neighbor Marston Science Library, the AFA library discourages extended group study sessions due to the vast open space of the library. Instead, private study is enhanced through the use of the famous passenger vehicle carrel units equipped with electrical outlets, which are found throughout the reading room.

Through the AFA library, comprehensive inquiry guides were besides created for students pursuing different disciplines supported by the library. The guides include a variety of topics within the arts and architecture professions including ceramics, dance, construction management, interior design and sustainability.

Education Library

The UF Education Library's apportionment desk after the renovation

Opened in 1980, the Education Library is home to over 80,000 textbooks, children's and young adult books, and journals. Right outside its doors, a beloved oak tree — winner of the 2021 UF Library Landmark Lollapalooza — stands tall to be admired by the library staff and students alike.

Separated from the principal campus by Norman Field, the Teaching Library remains subconscious from a large role of the UF population. Yet, its proximity to Sorority Row and other off-campus housing makes it a prime spot for some students to resume their studies close to home, Rachael Elrod, head of the Education Library, said.

Although the library supplies impress materials meant to back up programs within the College of Education, the expansion of educational technology is on the rise inside the Education Library — specifically inside the EduGator Makery.

The EduGator Makery is a space within the Pedagogy Library that holds traditional educational technologies such as die cuts, a laminator and video editing software.

To Elrod, the Education Library offers an culling for students who want to get away from the fast stride of UF's campus.

"I think there'southward just this feeling of community," Elrod said. "It tends to be a very repose library as opposed to Library West or Marston where there'south lots of activeness...there'due south aught incorrect with that, but people seeking out a quiet surroundings in the library would actually find a home hither."

Health Science Center Libraries

Unlike the other library branches, the Wellness Science Center Libraries have two locations: Gainesville and Jacksonville.

The Borland Health Sciences Library seeks to support patrons at UF Health in Jacksonville past providing health resource and enquiry to doctors.

The main Health Science Middle library in Gainesville serves over 11,000 students, kinesthesia and staff from the six Health Science Center UF colleges. HSC libraries too serve Shands Health Intendance by supporting its clinical and research missions through its exceptional health collections.

The HSC library played a critical role in community mitigation of COVID-19 through the creation of a COVID-19 library guide with resources for healthcare practitioners and the public, co-ordinate to nursing and consumer health liaison Maggie Ansell. The library guide was helpful to many members of the local community who were unsure of how to navigate the emerging COVID-nineteen wellness data.

Improving mental health is another mission of the HSC library — whether information technology be through providing jigsaw puzzles and coloring kits for students to distract themselves, offering nap pods for students to relax in, or inviting local therapy dogs throughout the semester.

Two local therapy dogs, Beau and Lentil Bean, too as their owners Terry Biehl and Elizabeth Pearlman, are frequent visitors to the HSC library, stopping past a couple times a semester to greet students.

"[Swain] loves visiting students, I would have to say of all the therapy work, it's his favorite," Biehl said.

In order to abide by CDC guidelines, Beau and Lentil Bean's visits were moved outside of the HSC library. Guests were instructed to maintain social distancing, habiliment masks, and wash their hands before and afterwards petting the dogs.

The student debate: which library is the best?

Although each of the six branches collaborate with i some other to put on Smathers library-wide events like the annual fall festival, they also savor participating in healthy competition — mostly brought about by UF students who have pledged their fidelity to one of the libraries.

Choosing a favorite UF library can be determined by numerous factors: location, the collections offered, seating arrangements, or even the presence of a Starbucks within. For Gabby Whitler, 21-year-old psychology senior, the ornate aesthetics of Library Due east secured its location equally her regular written report spot.

"The ambience of [Library East] is just really nice and helps me focus," Whitler said. "It almost helps me fantasize [that] I enjoy studying and manifest that mindset."

Other students like xx-year-old accounting inferior Kate Ross found condolement in studying at Library Westward, even if information technology meant taking a detour from her normal path on campus.

"Overall, I notice the article of furniture and overall appearance in library westward to be very appealing both to sit in and look at,"  Ross said. "Library W is farther than a lot of the dorms on campus, but information technology is definitely worth the actress walk."

Melanie Halem, a twenty-year-old political science and mathematics senior, said Marston'south top floors are the perfect place to focus on schoolwork.

"I retrieve the fifth floor cubbies are just perfect," Halem said. "There'due south a cubby with plants around it that is and so beautiful. Information technology has such a great view of Beaty Towers besides."

Haley Geer, xx-yr-onetime animal science junior, also identified Marston as her favorite library at UF, as she felt that the library independent various collections and equipment that catered to her subject area.

"It works really well for Stalk students, which I know is the purpose of it, but I e'er establish it very accessible," Geer said.

For Craft Talbot, a 21-twelvemonth-sometime business management senior, Marston Science Library is more than than but a favorite study spot. In February, Talbot adopted a bunny from Gainesville Rabbit Rescue and named him afterward her favorite spot on campus — Marston.

"I can't wait [for] my senior year," Talbot said. "I'm definitely going to have graduation pictures in front of [Marston Science Library] with Marston."

Contact Makiya Seminera at mseminera@alligator.org . Follow her on Twitter @makseminera.

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Source: https://www.alligator.org/article/2021/06/uf-libraries

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