Tag: library

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Campus Stories In Focus

Willard J. Houghton Library

Library Second Floor - Courtesy of Christian Welker
By Rebecca Dailey ('25)

The Willard J. Houghton Library comprises about 200,000 physical books and an online database with roughly 50,000 journals and 600,000 ebooks. The library is not just limited to research materials, as there is a childrens and young adult library in the basement and a collection of movies and players on the main floor. There are several study rooms and reading rooms throughout the library with an archival room in the basement. 

Susannah Denham (‘26) remarked, “The library space itself is a great place to study or relax with coloring books and puzzles.” 

Houghton’s library contains archives of the Houghton STAR, other periodicals and The Boulder, Houghton’s yearbook. In addition, the Music Library in the Center for the Arts  contains over 11,000 scores, a collection of music reference works, composer works and a collection of musical sound recordings. 

The Director of Libraries and Information Resources, David Stevick stated, “The goal is to create a welcoming space to study . . . to provide research help at the desk and online and sometimes teach workshops or in classes.” 

Academic departments, who assist with the development of research collection, partner with library staff. Photographic equipment that can be used for digital and photography classes. Professors can request materials to be held for their classes, which students can then pursue. Students can go into the library to find assistance or look for these resources on their own both in person and online on the databases. 

Doyin Adenuga, the Electronic Resources Librarian, explained, “When it comes to online resources, part of it is ensuring the access to the journals and maintaining the library website by updating information on the home page.” 

However, if there are articles or books that are not available at Houghton’s library, students can make a request through the interlibrary loan which can request materials from several other library databases.

Anna Catherman (‘26)  stated, “Interlibrary loan has been picking up . . . you can request anything and the librarians will do their best to find it.” 

Currently, the main project is converting the Woolsey Library in Chamberlain into the basement of the main library. These books will be added to the children’s and young adult books already in the Children Literature Room. 

Ciciley Haslem (‘25) explained that “each book now needs to be processed, stickered with the identification and call number, stamped and given a due date slip.” 

This move allows all young adult and children’s books to be in one location but to also keep better track of when the books are checked out. This will help students if they are looking for a particular book. This also helps limit duplication and allows for new books to potentially be brought into the library. 

Anna Catherman (‘26) encouraged everyone to, “Come in, we are there as resources . . . It makes us so happy when someone checks out a book for fun.” ★

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Opinions

A Quiet Place to Stay: 24 Hours a Day

By Caleb Kasper

The life of a college student can often be quite busy. Finding time to finish assignments, work through readings, and studying can be challenging for some. As a self-proclaimed “night owl,” I feel like my peak efficiency and focus doesn’t set in until later into the evening. There’s nothing else that I continually fail at doing than getting busy in the morning and early afternoons.

​My typical day generally consists of a few classes in the morning and afternoon. Mixed in with chapel and grabbing lunch, there tends to be little time to sit down and get to work. Like many others on this campus, I’m also a student-athlete, so each weekday, I block out roughly two hours of my day for practices, as well as various other times on weekends and weekdays for competition. As a member of the cross country and track teams, I eat dinner with my team most nights. Given this, by the time eight o‘clock rolls around, I’ve likely just begun figuring out what needs to be done for the next day. If I shower before homework, we’re talking 8:30. With a more demanding schedule as a second-semester junior, I’ve been engaged in a lot more focused work this year. When I need to grind and focus, the environment I am in plays a big role. Without the right environment, I struggle to focus.

​I’d imagine that a good number of people reading this find a quiet environment with little distraction to be key to focusing. I can’t focus in my room because my bed is always calling my name with open arms. Floor lounges in the resident halls can be hit or miss as well. Chamberlain is okay but usually occupied, and I find the Campus Center to be quite distracting. I realize that others like my sister, recent Houghton graduate Zoey Kasper, prefer a more active study space. Hers consisted of the most comfortable bean bag you’ve ever experienced, disco balls, and music. The bean bag alone would tank any of my plans to be productive. If you share similar preferences to me, though, you may find the library to be the perfect spot. Generally very quiet, not often busy, and an abundance of resources and outlets. Outlets are a must since my laptop battery capacity has significantly deteriorated since my freshman year.

​When I choose to go to the library during the week, I roll up around 8-8:30 p.m. I’ve found the library basement to be a preferred spot. Not to be taboo either, but the library’s basement has some of the best bathrooms on campus. When I’m down there I can always get focused and work more efficiently. However, like most things, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. About 1.5-2 hrs into my work session I am kindly reminded to wrap things up because the library is closing in ten minutes. I pack up my belongings and head out, trying to puzzle when I can cram in everything that I didn’t finish. I’ve also been getting to the point where I just don’t go there that much anymore, because it’s not worth packing up all my stuff and heading over there just to pack it all up again soon after I arrive and either head somewhere else or straight to bed. There also aren’t many convenient times for me to go that are available either.

​The library is open Monday through Thursday until 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 5 p.m., and is closed Sunday. It was during my Sophomore Year that I decided to make my first personal visit to the Library to do some homework. I remember looking up the hours just to see what they were. I was shocked to see that at 10:11, the library had already been closed for 11 minutes. I always thought that college libraries were open 24/7 so that students always had a quiet space to read or work or get away from their roommate who likes cats too much. Quite honestly, I think the library should be open 24/7, or at least open for students to use later, especially on weekends. Obviously, the library can only be staffed during the day, but couldn’t it be open longer for studying?

​This is especially true during finals season. As somewhat of a procrastinator, the time during and surrounding finals week becomes extremely busy. It’s also a time where I am consistently convinced that it’s time to drop out, yet I keep coming back for more. All of the work that I had put off during the semester comes back to confront me and there is a looming sense that there’s more to get done than time in the day. Not having access to the library while working late can be highly inconvenient and frustrating during finals.

I think the student body could greatly benefit from a review of the library hours and possibly extending them. For all the student-athletes, procrastinators, science majors (praying for you all), night-owls, all-nighters, or whatever reasons you’re up late doing homework, you should have the freedom and accessibility to study in a quiet space whenever you need to. Everyone has late nights. ★

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News

Sharpe Announced as Faculty Model Reader

2021 Faculty Model Reader poster, featuring professor Jesse Sharpe. COURTESY OF WILLARD J. HOUGHTON LIBRARY

Houghton College has once again held a Faculty Model Reader contest, voted on by the Houghton students. This was the third year for the contest. This year, Professor of English Jesse Sharpe has been selected as the winner, and The STAR recently sat down with him for an interview: 

Hock: What have been some of the highlights of your Houghton experience thus far?

Sharpe: The in-class conversations. I’ve had some situations at other schools where it was like pulling teeth to get students to have a conversation, but here the conversations have been a lot of fun, with good insights.

Hock: What is your favorite thing about teaching?

Sharpe: Learning, which is why I love the conversations so much.

Hock: Why did you choose the English field?

Sharpe: I love stories, storytelling and language, and this has both, so it’s where I’m happiest.

Hock: What would you say to someone who is thinking about pursuing a degree in English?

Sharpe: Do it! You won’t regret it. There’s not a job out there that doesn’t need you to read well, understand well, and write well.

Hock: What is your favorite book genre (or genres)?

Sharpe: I don’t actually have one. There’s not one I’ve come across that I didn’t like. I really enjoy reading and I really enjoy book recommendations.

Hock: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Sharpe: Christopher Morley, Dashiell Hammet, John Donne, George Herbert, Aemelia Lanter, Mat Johnson, Douglas Dunn, and Kate Atkinson.

Hock: What are some of your all-time favorite books?

Sharpe: The Man Who Made Friend With Himself by Christopher Morley, Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet, The Temple by George Herbert, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark, Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin, Pym by Mat Johnson, and Affections by Rodrigo Hasbun.

Hock: Are you currently reading any books?

Sharpe: There is a book that I am saving for when summer begins: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.

Hock: What would you say is the best thing about books?

Sharpe: I only do physical books, and it’s because I love every single part of them-front cover to back, every part of the inside, as a story and as an object.

Hock: What would you say is the best thing about the library?

Sharpe: I used to be a librarian, so I have a very strong love of libraries. I think it’s that you can have the world’s ideas sit peacefully side by side and you can just go and read and see whatever you want. No violence, no judgement, everything is right there. And I never get tired of it, I love it. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad library (at least I’ve never found one yet). ★

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Stories In Focus

Houghton’s Best Kept Secret: Reference Librarians

Although the Willard J. Houghton Library may be a familiar place for most students, often the reference desk goes unnoticed even though it is adjacent to the computers by the entrance.

While the reference desk is barren, this absence of clutter is in direct contrast to the immense knowledge which each librarian can access. In addition to being reference librarians, David Stevick oversees the library, Glen Avery works with Houghton’s instructional technology such as Moodle, Brad Wilber heads up reference as a whole, and Betty Bunt specializes in cataloguing. Yes, they are quite busy, but each puts student needs first when at the reference desk.

When you attempt to do research on the Internet, “the whole realm of knowledge may confront you,” Stevick said. Therefore, it is necessary to “separate the chaff” of information, finding the best resources one can. Avery said when he is searching for information a student needs, “I become Sherlock Holmes and try to find resources the student can use for that paper.” Indeed, Wilber said one quality he would like to instill in students is persistence in finding resources. “Seek quality,” Avery said, “no matter what you do and in the resources you seek. Never give that up. Never say, ‘This is good enough.’”

Reference Librarian

In order to aid students in finding materials, Wilber said reference librarians accept requests in person, by email, and even by text message. “If there are new ways of reference,” Wilber said, the library “jumps on board.” He also mentioned that librarians will follow up by email with students who initially come into the library for help, establishing a relationship where Wilber said “we get to see the same student through the process” to see how he or she is doing with the project or paper. In addition to searching for information, the reference librarians provide students with skills such as narrowing the focus of one’s paper. Avery said he helps his clients hone in on their topic. Whereas one might say one would like to work on the topic of war, Avery said his job is “to find materials a student is passionate about,” bringing the topic down to a more manageable one on the Japanese internment during World War II, to name one possibility.

In selecting an area to study, Avery said one might find a “void, what’s not been written”; while one may need to modify one’s topic, Avery said he hopes to encourage students to fill that void. However, not all voids can be filled. Wilber mentioned that, at a previous reference position, he received several requests he couldn’t fulfill, much to the disappointment of someone looking for a photograph of Julius Caesar and another trying to locate a sound-recording of dinosaurs.

As part of being a reference librarian, Stevick said one must have an M.A. in Library Science. In his own case, Stevick noted that he was a Humanities major when he attended Houghton in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. This has especially prepared him for his work since he received a broad introduction into many subjects; therefore, “things ring a bell quickly,” he said, allowing him to direct students to appropriate topics and databases. Gesturing to a number of photos taken around the world including Machu Picchu and notable European landmarks, Avery said “travelling extensively and experiencing life in its various aspects” has made him a better librarian.

There are so many “subjects, questions and people to meet,” Wilber said, talking about how he enjoys being “exposed to all of the disciplines the college is teaching.” And yet, the reference librarians love working with students just as much: Avery said that “when a student comes a sits down beside me, that makes my day.” Students do not recognize “how eager we are to be of service,” Wilber said. Many times students will wander over to the desk and say “’I’m sorry to bother you,’” Wilber said. “No! That’s what we want to do and like to do.”