Parkland’s library: A walk among the bookshelves

EvyJo Compton

Staff Writer

The Parkland Library offers many opportunities and services for the students, staff, and faculty of Parkland. There are books, laptops, and phone chargers among other utilities for students to borrow. There is also a collection of textbooks and materials put on reserve by faculty for students to check out.

The library has always offered book check-outs, but now they offer a system where students can check out laptops, phone chargers, calculators, and much more.

To check out these items, you must have your student ID, and you cannot take them out of the library. Some have specific time restrictions for use, while others can be used all day.

The library also has a reserve collection of textbooks and materials for classes. This is a very popular service for students, especially during the early stages of a semester when students are working on getting all the materials needed for class. There are also supplemental materials, DVDs and videos as well behind the main desk.

There are several printing stations for students to take advantage of. It costs ten cents a page to print off things. There is a scanning station as well where students can scan materials or books and either print them or email the subjects to themselves. There is also a 3D printing station for students, staff, and faculty to use which charges the user based on the weight of the item printed.

There are two floors to the library. The first floor includes the scanning station, the 3D printer, the printing stations, and computers for students to do their homework and projects on. This floor also has a variety of study stations for both group work and individual work.

There are librarians or workers stationed at several places around the first floor. For example, if a student needs help with their research project, they can go to the Research Help desk. There is also the main desk where students can ask for the reserve collection, to borrow technology, or to check-out books. Another place for students to ask for help is the Tech Service desk located near the computers.

There is a group study room located on the first floor. Students can reserve this room to work on group projects or presentations.

If it is free, students can walk in and use it, but it is best to reserve the room first. There are several amenities in the group study room for students to take advantage of.

The second floor used to be known as the Quiet Zone, but because of past surveys regarding noise level, it is now known as the Silent Zone. This floor is for individual study.

There is no groupwork and no cellphone use, like talking or alarms, and it is to remain completely silent. If there is a noisemaker, students can contact a librarian by texting a number placed around the second floor.

The library also has a few rules for students to follow. There is no food or open drinks allowed in the library. Drinks are only allowed if they are covered.

The library does not want students ordering pizzas or other deliveries to the first floor to eat as they wish to keep the library a clean environment.

When it comes to fines, the library will work with students on getting materials as well as books turned back in.

The library hires student workers. They hire roughly eight to 10 workers per semester, or as needed. This is a popular job as many students apply. It is best to get applications in early.

During National Library Week, the library puts on several events to celebrate. This includes the unveiling of the READ poster and other small events like Cupcake-A-Book which was held last year. They have also had authors come in and give speeches about books.

The library staff is dedicated to student success. There are several ways for students to get in touch with a librarian. Students can ask librarians questions via text, on the phone, in person, and even via a chat service on the website.

For more information, visit their website at library.parkland.edu.