I recently started working part time at both a college bookstore and a college library, so I have witnessed the damage done to students during their finals. Just for fun, I searched Twitter to see what students had to say about the library during these trying times. The results were both funny and very, very disheartening.
Right away I noticed that most people were talking about the lack of space/overwhelming crowds of students.
Right away I noticed that most people were talking about the lack of space/overwhelming crowds of students.
Some people were possessive. This is MY library. Who are all these people invading MY space!?
Other people were just overwhelmed and THIS close to loosing it.
This girl had a valid point. Don't hit on someone who is studying for finals.
My favorite tweet goes to this person who compared finals week to the Hunger Games.
The awesome thing I discovered, however, was the response many libraries have come up with to combat this.
I don't know if the mystery girl from the last tweet was with the library, but it's not a bad idea!
One library took it a little too far and maybe missed the mark.
So, singing = bad. Got it. I love that so many libraries are doing things to combat finals week stress. The service dogs are a great idea. A lot of college students in dorms probably miss family pets back home and taking a break to cuddle with a dog... is pretty awesome.
At the end of the day, though, it seems like space is a serious issue. Students clearly seem to think that the library at their college is important. Academic librarians and library deans have the challenge of representing this need to their university board and president. Build more/bigger libraries for the students! Easy, right? *clear sarcasm, made more clear by text between asterisks* The battle for library funding when you have to compete against college football and all the academic departments is much like a year-round finals week. God speed.
Best,
Amanda
