Archives for April 2019

It’s Crunch Time

With the spring semester winding down, the frantic race to finish those papers, projects, and future plans is nearing an end.  To help you crawl to the finish line, the Ross Pendergraft Library is offering extended hours and resources during the next two weeks.

OPEN 61 HOURS STRAIGHT

We will begin our day as usual on Reading Day, May 1st, at 7:00 AM.  But we will not close until Friday, May 3rd, at 8:00 P.M.  While we advocate strongly sleeping at some point, if you need to come in early or stay late, we’ve got your back during the first week of finals.  Will there be coffee?  Yes.  When?  Follow our Twitter @ATULibrary to find out brew times or other special announcements.

List of library hours during finals

Procrastination – Endless

CURE CITATION ANXIETY

Nervous about your citations?  Easybib no longer making any sense?  Make sure your MLA is not DOA by taking a look at our links to instruction, videos, sample papers, and other tools to help you cite right.  We also have trained experts at the main Research Help Desk to give you guidance and pointers, or if you’d rather consult the ultimate source, they can also help you locate the official citation manuals for APA, MLA, Chicago, and more.

RESERVE YOUR SPACE

Having trouble finding the right place to study?  The library is full of open computer labs, tables for group work, and couches/comfortable chairs scattered throughout the building.  But if you need your own room, we have 8 study rooms to reserve for quiet escapes or a guaranteed meeting spaces.  Secure your space today by going to our Room Reservation System.  Click on any green block to reserve your room.  Click on the room number to find more details about room size and if there’s a whiteboard.  But hurry–space is filling up fast!

YOU GOT THIS

This may be your first year or your last, and when you are here at midnight, tired, exhausted, or in that weird space where you are so tired you are actually giggly, deliriously wide-awake–we see you. This is college, and you’re still here, doing the best you can to make it through. Remember, you’ve made it this far, and we’re all rooting for you. Keep going, and if you have a break or feel like you are nearing your breaking point, come see us at the desk and just check in. If you need help, we can help. And if you need to cry, we have tissues. Good luck!

Like Us? Love Us? Tell Us!

If you haven’t had a chance to take the Library survey, take three minutes and help us, help you: Take the Library Survey.  Available until Wednesday, April 24th, the annual library survey is your chance to suggest changes, recommend new services or collections, and/or lodge complaints about the temperature.

Cold Parks And Recreation GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Because of your input, we’ve made the following changes to the library:

  • Extended hours, including later hours during the week, on Fridays, and a 24 hour opening period during finals.
  • Increased number of study rooms
  • Increased number of computer stations
  • Increased number of journals and databases to support sciences, nursing, and other STEM fields
  • Extended check-out times for calculators and DVDs for students
  • Replaced the broken chairs and mid-90’s floral couches
  • Purchased more Young Adult and Popular Reading books
  • Changed policy to allow drinks
  • Subscribed to HeinOnline
  • Added an easy-to-use scanning station and fax machine
  • Added more movies and television shows
  • Invited the tutoring center for evening hours
  • Unlocked the balcony on the 3rd Floor
  • Purchased required General Education Textbooks for check-out
  • Made this annual survey shorter

As you can see, we’re eager to make the same changes, and your comments and input help us advocate for your needs. While we always try to improve what we can, there are always a few requests that are not feasible at this time or cannot be so easily accommodated. Below are some suggestions we simply cannot make happen at this time:

  • Allow Food – Nothing makes students hungrier than late-night studying. Unfortunately, where food happens, pests follow, and the last thing we need are well-educated mice trying to take over the world.
  • Maintain the Perfect Temperature for Everyone–While have made great strides in upgrading our central AC/Heat, it is not always going to be optimum for everyone at all times of the year. But let our staff know if you are too cold or too hot–we might be able to make adjustments or at least give you tips on low-price cardigans.
  • A Quieter Library--The library used to be a silent refuge from a noisy world, but learning can sometimes make sounds, especially group-learning. That’s why we have designated the 1st floor as low noise and the 2nd floor as a quiet zone. But since we cannot be everywhere all of the time, we have implemented a Text-A-Librarian service you can use to a summon shushing librarian to quiet things down. We do our best, but we need your help.
  • Open 24 Hours All The Time–This convenience and procrastination fuel is sorely needed on campus, we agree. However, until the funds, the security, the staffing, and the coffee are available for such a service, it will remain just out of reach.
  • More Monster Trucks–This is an actual comment.

Even if there is a limit to what we can do, there is no limit to how hard we will work to help you succeed academically. Tell us how best we can help: https://techlibraries2019.questionpro.com/

In the meantime, stay up to date on all library events and happenings, including our 24 hour schedule for finals on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Climate Change Discussion

Decoding the Weather Machine Panel Discussion: Ross Pendergraft Library, April 16th at 7 PM in RPL 300AOn Tuesday, April 16th, at 7:00 P.M., the Ross Pendergraft Library will hold a panel discussion on climate change—what is it, how does it affect our environment, and what we can do to help save our planet.  The discussion will feature four experts in business, chemistry, sustainability alternative energy and natural disasters:

  • Bob Allen, Professor of Chemistry (Emeritus)
  • Andy Barrett, Alternative Energy Professional
  • Pat Ford, Agri-Business Owner
  • Caroline Hackerott, Assistant Professor of Emergency Management

The discussion will center on the PBS NOVA series episode, Decoding the Weather Machine. This event is free and open to the public—all are welcome!

For more information about the event, you can visit our event guide or contact the library at (479) 964-0569.  You can stay up to date on the series and all library events by following us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

A Panel of Ice and Fire

poster of the event featuring fire and ice meeting in the middleThe series finale of Game of Thrones takes place in a few days but if you want to get your fix early, tune the Ross Pendergraft Library has GOT you covered.  On Thursday, April 11th, at 7:00 P.M. in RPL 300A, we will host our very own “small council” of scholars and writers discussing the stories, the politics, the history, the show, and the writer behind one of the biggest pop culture sensations of the past ten years.  The event will feature four experts from the ATU family who will discuss an aspect of the series and take questions from the audience.  Panelists include:

Dr. Arwen Taylor, Assistant Professor of English

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Dr. Chris Housenick, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Dr. Deborah Wilson, Professor of English
Slade Dupuy, Science Fiction and Fantasy Author

All are welcome!  A small reception will precede the event at 6:30 P.M.

Need to get to catch up on the show, re-watch your favorite parts, or see what all the fuss is about?  The Ross Pendergraft Library has all seasons available on DVD, as well as the entire book series in both hardback and audiobook format.

You can stay up to date on this and all library events by following us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.   For more questions or information about the Game of Thrones discussion, or to simply discuss Game of Thrones, contact Angela Black at (479) 964-0569.

Tonight’s Starting Lineup

Second Monday author series poster featuring outline of a ball player as a map.Tonight at the Ross Pendergraft Library, join us at 7:00 PM in RPL300B for a special guest speaker, Jim Yeager who will talk about his book: Backroads and Ballplayers: A Collection of Stories About Famous (and Not So Famous) Professional Baseball Players from Rural Arkansas. All are welcome!

Backroads and Ballplayers recalls the paths that more than 50 Arkansans took in pursuit of their dreams to play professional baseball, including individuals from the River Valley area, the mountains of North Arkansas, and the Delta farmland.

Assisted by various members of the Robinson-Kell Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, these stories of rural Arkansas baseball during the first half of the twentieth century recounts “Arkansas’ Fields of Dreams.”

Picture of Jim Yeager, holding his bookYeager is retired from an education career that spanned more than 40 years and included service as a coach, teacher, guidance counselor and educational technology specialist. He was the first coach during the intercollegiate era of women’s basketball at Arkansas Tech and established the Golden Suns’ winning tradition by guiding them to four consecutive conference championships from 1979-82.

This presentation is part of our Author’s Second Monday Series featuring the works of our local writers and researchers.  You can stay up to date on the series and all library events by following us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.   For more questions or information about the Second Monday Author Series, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546.

Cover of book, featuring a black and white picture of rural baseball players from mid-20th century