The Library

I realized today that in all this time of blogging I have yet to mention the library. I know I mentioned that I work there for my college work-study position, but I have failed to let you know what all our library offers. Well, there is no time like the present! (The images scattered throughout are the layout of each floor of the library, just so you can get a clearer image.)


First of all, I will start by saying I love our library. A lot of people
dislike it because they say it is too small. I guess one person's con is another person's pro in this instance. I love the library because it isn't huge. Personally, however, I don't think it is small. Especially when I am the worker who closes the library and I have to go through all three floors turning the lights off. FYI a dark library is quite spooky.

Let's do talk about size though. Like I said, it is three floors. It houses "The Stacks" (Three floors of general books), An entire room of periodicals, a reference section, and a room full of Educational Resource books (Juvenile Fiction for Education majors to use when planning lessons). The library also has several study lounges, two computer labs, and is located conveniently beside Jazzman's Cafe (Coffee Shop).

Sometimes, even with all these resources, you still can't find what you are looking for. The library has an answer for that too. Patrons of the Library have access to a huge online database of books, journals, and articles. In addition, we are a part of the Inter-Library Loan service and any book that is not available online or at our library you can request from a near limitless list of libraries nationwide. I, especially, have used Inter-library Loan this semester. I think I have about 10 books from as far away as New Hampshire. All of this is completely free too.

If all that still isn't enough we do have one more option. We have a shuttle that transports Transy students back and forth to the William T Young Library on UK's campus (and UK Students also have the same service to come to ours). While the specifics aren't known to me, I do know that William T Young was a generous supporter of both Transy and UK and wanted this reciprocity policy to exist. It is a great asset to Transy students. The William T Young library is one of the largest in the nation. I know some people like to go there and study just so they are less likely to see someone they know and get distracted!

I almost forgot to mention one very special feature of our library: Special Collections. As we are an old university we have had the fortune of acquiring some very rare and unique texts. All of these valuable (both monetarily and educationally) textbooks are housed on the top floor in the Special Collections room. I have never actually been in there, but I hear it is quite marvelous. I know we have a large collection of medical texts so rare that students at the UK Medical School often come over to research them.

Anyway, enough talk about the library. I am just about to head out for my workstudy there, so it will be on my mind enough as it is! I hope you all have a great week. Now that January is over your parents should have gotten all their tax forms in so as soon as they get their taxes complete get right on to the FAFSA. The sooner, the better-- especially for some quickly dwindling State financed aid!

-Jake Hawkins