Delving into the world of libraries wouldn’t be complete without including those housed at some of the best colleges in the United States. Again, I’m only focusing on those in the South, although there are a number of very impressive institutions throughout the U.S., such as Boston College, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and of course all those Ivy League colleges that are scattered about (mostly on the East Coast).
I have to remind myself (and maybe you, too,) that the point of writing this series is because it pertains to the novel Mayhem and Moonlight. Lillian Murphy is a librarian, and her inspiration, my daughter Nikki, is one as well. Nikki now works as an assistant research librarian at Tennessee State University. I would like to say her college made the grade for this post, but I can’t. I’m sure it’s a fine college, and I know she puts her heart and soul into helping the students who attend it, but there was some stiff competition.
All of the universities I found to be top-notch in the South came from an article I read titled “The Most Amazing College Libraries” by Best Value Schools. According to the author, if you’re looking for the right college (and you might be for yourself, your child, or grandchild), you should always look into its library. “You can always tell a lot about the quality of a college by how it organizes its library.”
Organization is key when it comes to finding information, and the staff is an important component to assimilating that information.
The University of Texas at Austin has a stellar nursing program and an impressive library with almost 10 million books—the seventh largest collection of any college library. But it’s their student services that sets it apart. The department helps students with citing sources, research guides, workshops, writing, public speaking, and much more. What I wouldn’t have given to have that kind of help when I was in college—especially with public speaking!
North Carolina State University is next on my list (and just so you know, these are in no particular order. Their James B. Hunt Library was named the second most amazing in America by College Raptor. That’s very impressive. Business Insider claims it’s one of the 16 “coolest” libraries in America. The University’s website proclaims to be a library of the future with a robotic system that delivers books to students.
I watched the video showing how this delivery system works, and though it’s very impressive (and saves a lot of actual library shelving space), the book isn’t actually delivered to the student. It’s delivered to the front desk where the student can then check it out. But still, pretty cool. They say it uses only one-ninth of the space of a traditional library system allowing the school to save space for other important services.
University of Oklahoma also has an impressive reputation. They have campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa. This school holds a special place in my heart because my dad’s family is from Oklahoma. In fact, he was born in Oklahoma City. My older sister lives in the Tulsa area, as well. So, I was happy to see this on a list of exceptional university libraries.
Aside from the impressive collection of books (5.5 million), this college library has been renovating its facilities. These renovations include redesigning 88,000 square feet of one library to accommodate collaborative research and study spaces. It might not sound very exciting, but the whole point of going to college is to learn, right?
The college claims remodeling has had a tremendous impact—an increase in visits by 1100% per month. Let me break that down for you. If they had 500 visitors a month before the renovations took place, then there were 5,750 visitors after the renovations. That’s crazy!
Last (but not least) is University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with its Wilson Library. According to Business Insider, they have the largest set of documents related to a single state. Aside from this feat, they also boast another 7 million books making it the 17th largest collection in America. They have a few other nifty amenities—a new podcast studio (I could use one of those), navigational tools (whatever that means), and comfortable furniture, including footrests.
I would think every library would try and make it as cozy as possible to attract students and keep them working.
If I merely walk around a college campus, I get the itch to return to school. Wouldn’t it be great to go back to those days with the wisdom and discernment you’ve acquired since? My daughter was walking around Lipscomb University several months ago thinking the same thing. She told her husband, “It would be my dream job to work as a college librarian. I could go to school and get paid at the same time.” The next day, she was asked to come back to Tennessee State University for a second interview (she didn’t think the first one went well at all), and much to her surprise, they offered her the job.
God is so good, isn’t He?
Come back tomorrow for another post as we head toward the end of release week, and don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
You can still get the ebook version of Mayhem and Moonlight for the preorder price of $2.99. Be sure to claim your preorder gift by filling out the form from my publisher’s website. Just have your Amazon order number handy. If you prefer the paperback version, it is now available and already includes the preorder gift.
