2008 Woodie Awards
Confessions of a Library Rat
Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Editorials
- Page 1 of 1
To Whom It May Concern:
As serious students of Yeshiva University, who make their home in the library, we have created a list of requests that would make our stay in this beloved institution all the more comfortable.
1. Open the library immediately after Shabbat
This means that the moment Shabbat is over, one should be able to enter the library to in order to advance his or her studies. We don’t need the librarians to arrive immediately, and understand that they need time to get to YU following Shabbat. But there is no reason that we can’t place a Burns security at the door to the library of make it available as early as possible.
2. Keep the library open 24 hours
This topic has been exhausted and already written about, thus we will say no more.
3. Fix the wireless
That there is no wireless in the classrooms, while unacceptable, is not our complaint here. We would like a guarantee that the wireless will always be working in the library. Now we understand that with technology, there are always quirks, and accept that. But to have to have trouble connecting to the wireless in the library on a daily basis is wholly unacceptable. While Academic computing can blame this on our laptops, there will come a time when they will be forced to realize that this is their problem, not ours.
4. More outlets
While the fourth floor has outlets at almost every study space, it is the only floor like this. On most other floors, one has to rush to the tables nearest to the walls if we wants to power his laptop while studying. To add more outlets in the library would be a minor task that would make studying all the more productive.
5. More quiet areas
We may be the only university in the country where the library is used as a place for boys and girls to hang out and fraternize. During finals and midterms, it only gets worse, and the library sounds more like a party than a place of studying. If we could create more places like the fourth floor, where quiet is guaranteed, then maybe students will be able to study in peace, without being bothered by those who come to the library to have fun.
6. What happened to the library café?
What if we sell coffee on the ground floor of the library so students can study while eating in an atmosphere that welcomed them to do so? Oh right, that used to exist, but mysteriously disappeared this year. The comfy chairs are nice, but what we need are tables and coffee. Let bring it back.
Just a few suggestions that might make our stay all the more pleasant, and could allow us all the enabling and ennobling that we are guaranteed in this University.
Sincerely,
The Library Rats
As serious students of Yeshiva University, who make their home in the library, we have created a list of requests that would make our stay in this beloved institution all the more comfortable.
1. Open the library immediately after Shabbat
This means that the moment Shabbat is over, one should be able to enter the library to in order to advance his or her studies. We don’t need the librarians to arrive immediately, and understand that they need time to get to YU following Shabbat. But there is no reason that we can’t place a Burns security at the door to the library of make it available as early as possible.
2. Keep the library open 24 hours
This topic has been exhausted and already written about, thus we will say no more.
3. Fix the wireless
That there is no wireless in the classrooms, while unacceptable, is not our complaint here. We would like a guarantee that the wireless will always be working in the library. Now we understand that with technology, there are always quirks, and accept that. But to have to have trouble connecting to the wireless in the library on a daily basis is wholly unacceptable. While Academic computing can blame this on our laptops, there will come a time when they will be forced to realize that this is their problem, not ours.
4. More outlets
While the fourth floor has outlets at almost every study space, it is the only floor like this. On most other floors, one has to rush to the tables nearest to the walls if we wants to power his laptop while studying. To add more outlets in the library would be a minor task that would make studying all the more productive.
5. More quiet areas
We may be the only university in the country where the library is used as a place for boys and girls to hang out and fraternize. During finals and midterms, it only gets worse, and the library sounds more like a party than a place of studying. If we could create more places like the fourth floor, where quiet is guaranteed, then maybe students will be able to study in peace, without being bothered by those who come to the library to have fun.
6. What happened to the library café?
What if we sell coffee on the ground floor of the library so students can study while eating in an atmosphere that welcomed them to do so? Oh right, that used to exist, but mysteriously disappeared this year. The comfy chairs are nice, but what we need are tables and coffee. Let bring it back.
Just a few suggestions that might make our stay all the more pleasant, and could allow us all the enabling and ennobling that we are guaranteed in this University.
Sincerely,
The Library Rats
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