The University Library: A Place With Many Benefits

Whether you have been a proud city library cardholder as a child, or have never even been to your university library, you probably know it as the place you go to check out books. And since nowadays everything goes digital, including the books that have turned into e-books, some students might think that they do not actually need to visit the library anymore. Books indeed are changing their form, but so do libraries. Now, they have so much more to offer you!

Rent books for free & gain personal development!

Do you know what is that one daily habit that millionaires and great business leaders from all around the globe share? It is reading! That being said, if you, for instance, are an entrepreneur, you need to read to become a leader and a productive business owner. Reading helps you grow and learn. And the very first reason why libraries exist in the first place is for books! In the library, you can find all kinds of books. Libraries are the biggest resource for books. Books from different genres such as science fiction, fiction, and a lot more are kept in the library for people to borrow. You can use books in the library for many different purposes. You can use textbooks to help you study along with other reference books to help you with your research. And while in the bookstores, books are still pretty expensive even today, you can always get a heaping pile of books from the library and keep them for a while. This way you save money from books while also saving another tree’s life.

A Quiet Place For You To Study

This might sound pretty obvious but that does not change the fact that it is completely true: a library is a really nice place where you can go and study. As a general rule, students exist in different personalities and calibers as well. While some are loud and prefer to spend their free time outside, others are more of a quiet type of students who prefer to find a comfortable place where they can get a quiet environment and concentrate on their work.

We all know about those students who are sharp and work on dynamic projects beyond university assignments. Others need some extra time to work on class projects and exercises. Apart from working from home where their concentration can easily be distracted by a roommate or flatmate, the library is that one place that can provide a solution. A library is a quiet place where one can produce a great thesis or academic paper. It is the place where students can go and find the concentration they need to produce well-thought-out ideas. The whole quiet and comfy environment in the library allows you to make the best of your academic tasks, no matter if you have to study for an upcoming exam or you just want to do your homework for tomorrow. The seats and tables are designed in a way that you can concentrate for long hours and focus on university assignments.

Renting Conference Rooms... For Free!

In case you have an oral exam coming soon or a very important presentation to make, you probably want to practice everything a few times bеfore the big day comes so that you can аchieve an excellent result in the end. However, maybe you and most of your colleagues at the university live in the student dormitories where privаcy is mоst of the time cоnsidered a luxury. Well, in cases like these, it is good that libraries have conference rooms that students can reserve in advance and use for several hours totally free of charge. Isn’t that great? In the cоnference rooms, you most commonly will have also large tables and chairs and you can еven bоrrow things like projectors for presentations.

The library conference rooms are also useful for those students who work best with others. Even though libraries are considered places where silence is a must, the conference rooms provided there are a great option for study groups and louder discussions. There, students can share ideas and study together. In general, conference rooms can be used for practically anything. They are there for your use.

Make Connections & Friendships

Besides being the place where students go to study and prepare for exams, the university library is also considered a social hub. Yes, libraries really are places where you can meet many interesting people! Maybe you expected the bars to be the place where you can meet other students and create friendships. Well, just step through the doors of the university library and see the hundreds of students who have been procrastinating their studies and are cramming for the next day's tests.

The coffee shops available to students in most of the libraries also help in connecting students during the small coffee breaks. If you need an excuse to procrastinate, the library is now your new best friend.

Read Magazines

We know a lot of people do not really subscribe to magazines anymore but those that do pay for magazines will no longer need to spend money on that if they have a library card. Libraries keep a stock of the latest magazines from the biggest publications and you can go in and check them out anytime you want. Most magazine subscriptions have negligible prices but buying individual issues can cost 8 to 10 EUR, and some subscriptions are pretty expensive, so why not benefit from what the libraries have to offer?

Watch A Movie Online Or At The Library

Did you know you can watch movies at the university library free of charge? Many libraries have been offering for a while the option to rent DVD players and DVDs so that students can watch some movies during their free time. Plus, if you love the cinema atmosphere, many libraries run film screenings from time to time where students can gather around to watch and discuss movies, both old and new. It is a great way to find people who have the same interests as you do and share the taste for movies.

Additionally, libraries may offer the possibility to stream movies and TV series on the library’s PC or your own devices – with the help of your library account. To do so, many of the libraries have teamed up with different streaming platforms to provide access to a large database of movies to library cardholders, again free of charge.

Enjoy Free Wi-Fi Access

Do you often feel pressured to buy one more coffee so you can spend an extra hour at your local coffee shop to use their Wi-Fi? We have news for you. Instead of spending money on several coffees a day that you do not need, you can simply go to your university library and use the WI-Fi for as long as you want. It has various spaces to choose from; quiet or loud, a decent Wi-Fi connection, huge tables, comfortable chairs, lots of computers, and happy librarians who are always ready to help you. What else could you need?

Playing Board Games

In the 21st century, libraries are about much more than books! During the past years, libraries around the world have also been offering other interesting activities to students such as library board games. In fact, many libraries hold regular chess clubs and board game nights for students. Beyond their cultural importance, games can be used for a variety of purposes within libraries. Games, particularly table-top games, are inherently social and often cannot be played alone. Games are found so common across cultures they can break down cultural and language boundaries, and allow students from all around the world to socialize together in a way that many other activities do not. This aspect of games makes them perfect to be used to improve social cohesion, and build relationships.

And, of course, we should mention the fact that some libraries can stock certain board games which can be expensive for most of the students who live on a budget to purchase but compared to many library resources are relatively low cost, particularly when considering the number of people who can be using them at the same time. You as a student will not have to pay but just go to the university or the city library even, choose a game and just enjoy your time spent with other people while having fun.

Libraries Are The New Copy Shops: Printing At The Library

Even though many of the university assignments such as academic papers and presentations can be submitted through online platforms, printing materials for review or to hand-in for marking is inevitable. For example, you might need to create a printed copy of your PowerPoint slides for your audience. Moreover, Bachelor’s and Master’s theses need to be presented as hard-copies, too. But since many students do not own a printer themselves, they can do all their printing at the library. The printing costs are usually lower compared to prices in regular coppy shops and that way students can also save some money during the academic year.

Craftwork At The Library? Why Not!

Dо you like the idea of crеаting оrigami, making art books, some interesting handmade candles, or otherwise delightful objects? Thеn the library will be the right place for you! Craft clubs of all sorts, such as knitting, paper gооds, origami, and many others, are a staple of many university libraries. Just like most of the examples of library activities we have mentioned above, these clubs are as much for the solitary crafter as the one who is looking for a friendly crafting klatch.

Libraries are pretty awesome. Тhey are doing their best to remain current when it comes to the needs of its visitors. Just fifteen or twenty years ago, all they needed to have were books but now, they are much more than that! Truly, libraries now can offer something to everyone. Those who want to read, learn, play, meet new friends, and more, go there to do those things. If you have not visitеd yоur univеrsity librаry in а whilе, maybe it would be a good idea to gо аnd sее what kind of stuff you cаn dо there now.