The Finals Countdown

We’re nearly there!  The final exams for Fall 2019 are on their way, and the Ross Pendergraft Library is here for you with 24-hour service, starting 7:00 AM on Wednesday, Dec. 4th, until 6:00 PM Friday, Dec. 6th.

Gif of hair bad singing finals countdown

Come by in the late, late hours for free coffee and moderately-priced printing.    We also have all the friendly services you’ve come to know and love:

You can also stay up and on top of all the news in the library by following us on Twitter (#ATUFinals)/ Facebook / Instagram.

Don’t forget, we are closed this Thursday, Nov. 28th through Saturday, Nov. 30th for the Thanksgiving holidays.  We will open again on Sunday at 1:00 PM.  The full schedule is below:

full schedule of special hours for Fall 2019

Good Luck on Finals!

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!

End of Semester Wrap-up

A Christmas tree with big eyes and presents underneathThis holiday season, the Ross Pendergraft Library has your next book or DVD check-out all wrapped up.   Come to the first floor to check-out our latest display featuring several mystery “Christmas-themed” library resources waiting for you to check out.

Our first-floor display with books, DVDs, and some wrapped DVDs which remain a mystery

Find these wrapped objects in our display, take them to the Circulation desk for check-out, and feel the thrill of Christmas morning a few weeks early as you get to rip off the paper to reveal your surprise.  Is it Christmas Vacation or Miracle on 34th Street?  Take a chance and embrace the unpredictable!

A fake fireplace created out of books with a little Christmas village on top.

Since we’re feeling generous, the library is also giving away the best present of all—extended hours during the week of finals!  Beginning Reading Day, Dec. 5th, 7:00 A.M., the library will keep its doors open and lights on until Friday, Dec. 7th at 9:00 P.M.  Twenty-four-seven is BACK!   You’re welcome!

John Travolta from Pulp Fiction wondering where to find a computer in the library

Come by in the late, late hours for free coffee and moderately-priced printing.    We also have all the friendly services you’ve come to know and love:

You can also stay up and on top of all the news in the library by following us on Twitter (#ATUFinals)/ Facebook / Instagram.  Good luck on finals!   You got this!

A magical cat granting you special powers to pass your exams

Non-Stop Library

Welcome to Finals!  The week when everyone tries to cram in days of work in a few feverish hours.  Once again, the Library’s got your back with extended hours this week:

Monday: 7:00 A.M. – 1:00 A.M.

Tuesday: 7:00 A.M. –1:00 A.M.

Wednesday: 7:00 A.M. – Friday  9:00 P.M.

We will keep our normal hours this weekend before dropping down to Summer Interim Hours Tuesday, May 9th.  See our full hours for the rest of spring and summer here: http://library.atu.edu/about/hours/

To help save time, here’s a list of top 8 recommended tools for that last minute, mad dash to the semester’s finish line:

  1. Find It – Search for those last minute peer-reviewed articles here.
  2. Book It –Reserve the Tegrity Room or a study room ahead of time. These are filling FAST.
  3. Owl at Purdue—The best in free citation help in MLA, APA, and Chicago. Not sure how to cite a resource? Use this.
  4. Refworks—Dump all your citations into this, let it generate your bibliography.
  5. Finals Schedule—We also have paper copies at all service desks.
  6. Text-A-Librarian—479-802-4876. Let us know when loudness strikes.
  7. Scantrons—Buy them for $0.20 at the Circulation Desk
  8. Cat videos—It’s not procrastination; you’re just taking a quick break.

Good luck—you got this!

Procrastinators Rejoice!

The Ross Pendergraft Library is open 24 hours the rest of this week to help you finally pull off what you’ve been putting off.  Beginning Wednesday, Dec. 7th, the Library will be open until Friday, 9:00 P.M.  In addition to 24 hour service for Wednesday and Thursday, we’re also extending our Friday night hours.

As always our full finals schedule, as well as our reduced winter interim hours, is posted to our Library Hours page: http://library.atu.edu/about/hours/.   Alas, the Music Lab and Interlibrary Loan offices will retain their normal operating hours.

You will still be able to check-out materials, return items, borrow headphones, and ask Reference questions.  However, no fine payments will be accepted after midnight.

Late night study-animals will be treated to coffee, tea, and texting trivia.  Stress-relieving crayons and coloring books are positioned around some of the tables—color in case of emergency.  If you take a picture of the artwork, send it to askalibrarian@atu.edu–we might even put it on our Facebook refrigerator wall.

A colorbook owl saying, "You should be studying!"

You can also follow us on Twitter for more news, announcements, or pictures of the night owls of #clubpendy.

Also, when a second floor study group starts becoming less about study and more about group, summon a shushing librarian to the scene by sending a text with location and details to: 479-802-4876.  Our Text-A-Librarian service can also be used to provide instantaneous, expert answers for research, citations, and the brew strength of the library coffee.

Coffee Pots, coffee cups, and a poor attempt at a meme referencing the one about barber dialogues.

So join us again—our 5th semester—to burn the midnight oil in a place that always has your back and is cheering on your success to the finish.  You’ve made it this far—keep going and good luck on finals!

Dispatches from 4 AM

wp_20141212_04_31_49_proAt 4 AM, the library is nearly silent except for the whirrr of vacuums and the suppressed giggles of tired, delirious students.  Tables are crammed with notes, laptops, and, occasionally, a sleeper.  This is 4 AM during the library’s inaugural 24 hour opening for finals. In a place normally closed from 1:00 AM through 7:00 AM, the lights here have not been turned off since its closing on the previous Saturday.  They will continue to stay on until 6:00 PM on Friday, December 12th.

Stoney Burks, junior in History & Education.

What kind of students are here at 4 AM?  As it turns out, all kinds.  Stoney Burks, a history and education major, was just here trying to find a quiet place to read while his roommate plays video games.

While many reported the usual suspect—procrastination—as the primary reason for the early hours, others, like Bethany Skaggs, a junior double majoring in Economics & Finance and Marketing & Management, replied that she prefers studying at night, especially since her days are so busy with other activities.

Another student replied, “I’m just waiting here until my final at 7:00 AM.  I’m too scared I will sleep through my alarm if I fall asleep now!”

Marques Ennett, junior in Economics & Finance.

For many of the students here at this time, it was the quiet that drew them.  Marques Ennett, a junior majoring in Economics and Finance, was working alone in a back corner, studying for his finals the next day.  “The environment is much quieter at the library,” he replied when asked why he chose to come here.  Like other students, he works during the day when he’s not classes.   So if he needs to study, he must do it during the late hours.

For students without computers, the library also represented the only place open late to access the research, software, and printers they need to finish assignments.  In addition to examinations, projects and papers are also due during finals.  “My computer at home is kind of buggy, but this one is not,” said one student, working on a research paper.

Most of the students not at computer desks were found clumped together at tables and within study rooms to help keep each other awake.  “I would be asleep if I was in my dorm,” said one night owl.  “It helps to be around a group.”

Caitlin Hicks, a freshman majoring in Middle-Level Education sleepily waited across a table for her friend, Kaily Sibrian to finish up an essay.

wp_20141212_03_46_39_pro

Caitlin Hicks & Kaily Sibrian trying to stay awake and on task

When they were asked why they didn’t prefer some place like Denny’s to study, Kaily said, “At a food place, I would be more tempted to buy something.”

“It’s too easy to get distracted,” added Caitlin.

wp_20141203_01_42_05_proOne does not often make it to 4 AM on good company alone, however.  It sometimes takes caffeine or sugar to keep burning the midnight oil.  As a special treat, the campus administration sponsored coffee and snacks during the late hours to help students go that extra mile through the night.  Many listed the coffee as the top perk of the evening, both in terms of happiness and in actual metabolic rates.

To the 46 or so students here at 4 AM–and to all other ATU students–we in the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center salute you for all of your hard work this semester.  If you’ve got a picture or a story to tell us about studying all night in the library, send it to us at askalibrarian@atu.edu or post on our Facebook or Twitter pages.  We’d love to know your opinions about the 24-hour service, and what we can do to make your final exams a little easier to get through in the future.  Best of luck on the rest of the exams, and most importantly, get some sleep!!!