Virtual Finals Fest, Spring 2021

“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Here be dragons

The only thing between you and the end of the semester is finals. Here be dragons– or a metaphor for unexplained territory. The library is here to help you through these uncharted waters with our Virtual Finals Fest, Spring 2021! This semester we have complimentary coffee to make you tense, ASMRs to help you relax, a group study room, fantasy study spaces, and more. Remember that once finals are done, you’ve slayed a dragon…so to speak.

Complimentary Coffee

We have some complimentary coffee for you. Since we can’t serve you real coffee, we have a recipe for the perfect cup of joe for you to make at home. Btw- we have a very important poll- how do you take your coffee; I mean caffeine? Do you prefer a cup of coffee, tea, pop, or an energy drink?

ASMRs

Last Finals Fest we had ASMRs with a fireplace to provide you with some cozy background noise and warmth. Now that it is spring, we wanted something more appropriate for the season. Here is an ASMR that you can use to block out noise and provide quiet. Isn’t This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain)? Enjoy the sounds of rain from the comfort of someplace with a roof.

Virtual Study Rooms

We have a virtual study rooms available for you during the week of finals. We have one study room that is open to all and the rest are dedicated spaces for different departments. Study rooms are open on a first-come, first served basis and will not be monitored. You and your study buddies can access them through these links:

Biology Virtual Study Room
Meeting ID: meet.google.com/wtg-wnss-zvy
Phone Numbers(‪US‬)‪: +1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪748 483 318 2514#‬

Chemistry Virtual Study Room
Meeting ID: meet.google.com/uea-pkts-gzw
Phone Numbers(‪US‬)‪: +1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪952 619 761 4660#‬

Dental Hygiene Virtual Study Room
Meeting ID: meet.google.com/rao-epcb-nfp
Phone Numbers(‪US‬):‪+1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪842 601 927 1144#‬

Math Virtual Study Room
Meeting ID: meet.google.com/ytp-grox-wjd
Phone Numbers(‪US‬)‪: +1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪419 853 779 6861#‬

Nursing Virtual Study Room
Meeting ID: meet.google.com/ayf-hhbr-yra
Phone Numbers(‪US‬)‪: +1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪539 777 046 6887#‬

Virtual Study Room
Meeting ID: meet.google.com/qap-dntj-sis
Phone Numbers(‪US‬): ‪+1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪887 537 381 4716#‬

Tutoring:
Do you need help with your English class, or writing help? Please contact the Writing Center. Need help with math tutoring? Please contact Hala Elashmawi or Maysoon Alissa to make a tutoring appointment.

Games

Help us put together this puzzle. Here is the full picture to help you:

Trinity College Dublin’s Long Room

Or this one. We won’t share the image here. You’ll need to complete it to read an encouraging message from the Student Government Association.

Mind Full, or Mindful

There’s an old saying that you should strive to spend 30 minutes daily in nature, except when you are busy; then it should be an hour. The same is true of mindfulness. When you think you don’t have the time is when you need to practice it the most.

This video is here whenever you need it and you can return again and again. We also have a handout to guide you through the exercise in that will be in the video.

To Help You Procrastinate

Sometimes you need a break to de-stress. We don’t have any puppies this year, but we have some live cams of animals. While we can’t promise each there will be something cute every time (they are live after all), you’ll just have to keep coming back. Enjoy these sea otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Here is a live cam of fish at the Shedd Aquarium or just hours of hypnotic and calming fish. These ducklings at Botany Pond at the University of Chicago are always fuzzy and cute.

Which is your dream library?

We wish we were in the library now too. Since we can’t be together, we might as well imagine that we can study anywhere in the world. Here are some 360° pictures of libraries known for their beauty. Take a look and give a thumbs up or down.

New York Public Library, New York, New York
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is the New York Public Library’s main branch location. You probably know the lions on the outside of the building even if you’ve never been inside. This is the main reading room.

Trinity College Dublin’s Long Room Library, Dublin, Ireland
If this one looks familiar, it is because it is the same library as in the puzzle above. This is the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin. This room dates from the 18^th-Century and contains the oldest books in the collection.

Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Want to read the largest collection of Portuguese texts outside of Portugal? The Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Rio De Janeiro has 350,000 texts and is stunning to boot.  

Tianjin Binhai Library, Tianjin, China
Libraries aren’t just repositories for old things, they also serve as modern meeting spaces. This modern library was just built in 2017 to serve as part of the cultural center in the city of Tianjin. Spoiler though, most of those books on the shelves are only images and the actual books are elsewhere.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandrina, Egypt
The Great Library of Alexandria, Egypt contained one of the most important collections of the ancient world, until it burned. The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina was built close to the original site. You can view it here.

YOU could be a winner:
Thanks for attending Virtual Finals Fest, Spring 2021. The raffle has now ended and the winners notified. Don’t worry though, this page will be here for you to revisit.

Finals.

Photo credit: Solja Virkkunen; shared under the Creative Commons license

Feeling prepared for final exams and assignments can help you feel less nervous during this inherently stressful time. But how to prepare when there’s SO MUCH to do? We have some suggestions:

 

Use a time management method, such as the Pomodoro Technique, to make the most of your time. Make a list of what needs to be done and make yourself a study schedule. Limit distractions by keeping cell phones silent and out of sight during study time.

 

 

Create your study space by finding a quiet area that allows you to focus on the task at hand. The library is a great place to work! It’s quiet, and sometimes it helps to be near other students who are in the same “need-to-study” boat. If you’re studying with a group, you may also check out a study room for 2 hours per day.

 

 

Keep yourself well by eating right, getting enough sleep, and taking periodic mental breaks to do something you enjoy. If you’re looking for leisure reading material for such breaks, we have some great book suggestions.

 

Finals will be over before you know it. You can do this!

Sign Up For Your PSC Library Account: It’s Library Card Sign-up Month

National Library Card Sign-up Month

September is Library Card Sign-up Month – a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all.

The observance was launched in 1987 to meet the challenge of then Secretary of Education William J. Bennett who said: “Let’s have a national campaign…every child should obtain a library card – and use it.”  Since then, thousands of public and school libraries join each fall in a national effort to ensure every child does just that.

How to sign up for your PSC Library Account

Signing up for your PSC Library Account is easy. It is so easy, in fact, that you can do it in two easy steps!

1. Stop by the ENROLLMENT SERVICES (rm 1101) to get your Student ID if you have not done it yet.
2. Stop by the Circulation Desk right when you walk into the Library with your ID and Sign up for an account.

Here is what you get by signing up

You get a bunch of things by having a Library Account, that will not only help you in College, but can make college a fun time.

1. You can any check out Books, Movies and DVDs that the Library owns for up to three weeks at a time!
   • Click here for more information on the Library’s item loan policy.
2. You can use your Library account to order books, movies, and even video games from any of our partner Libraries. To do this go to the SWAN Catalog and register your account. From there you can request holds and items can be sent to the Library.
   • For more information on using the catalog check out The NEW SWAN Catalog.
3. You can access the Library’s eBook collection, called the 3M Cloud Library. From hear you can read books on your phone, tablet and computer.
   • For more information on using the ebook collection check out 5 Steps to Checking Out eBooks.
4. Access to the Library’s Study Rooms for groups of two or more.

Where Can I Find…in the Library?

Welcome or welcome back to the library. A new school year is underway, and the library is here to support you. We have many different resources that we want students, faculty, and staff to be aware of so you can take advantage of them! (Click on the pictures to enlarge them).

A new and exciting addition to everyone is our DVD display rack. Now you can browse our DVD selection right in the library. Look through the covers, bring the one you want up to the circulation desk with your ID, and borrow DVDs for 7 days! New covers and titles are being added often.

Location: Near the front door of the library, opposite the circulation desk.

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Another new addition as of this semester is our e-readers. Now you can check out a book from our 3M collection and then check out an e-reader to take home with you for 3 weeks. This way you don’t have to have a phone or other device that you can read it on, and you can take it with you anywhere!

Location: Check books out in catalog, check out e-reader at circulation desk.

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What staples do we have to offer you in the library? Besides the usual fiction and nonfiction, we have reference books, graphic novels, books on display, a quiet reading room, study rooms, and more!

Among our reference books are dictionaries, encyclopedias, subject-specific overviews, almanacs. These books cannot be checked out, but you can make limited copies for yourself or use them in the library.

Location: The middle of the library on shorter shelves.

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Our graphic novels are very popular in the library, and rightly so I think! I’m a big fan of graphic novels because you can see the characters as the author or illustrator imagined them, and you have to read the pictures just as much as you read the text. They recently moved to being shelved by the fiction but are still pulled out separately.

Location: Back left of the library under the sign that says “Fiction.”

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Every month the librarians put together displays on relevant and/or interesting topics. Our current displays are books on video games and books on back to school. Other displays we have put together include themes like Halloween, Christmas, Going Green, Gardening, the World Cup, Summer Reading, and Poetry Month.

Location: Past the computers, in front of the library classroom.

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We also have a quiet reading room past the circulation desk where there is no talking and you can read or work without distractions. If you have two or more people that want to discuss something or study or work together, there are three study rooms available to reserve for up to 2 hours at a time. This can be done with a student ID up at the circulation desk.

As always, the reference librarians are at the reference desk by the computers ready to help you with your academic needs whenever the library is open. Stop by, interrupt us, and ask away! We’re here for you!

Preparing for Finals

The end of the semester can be an especially challenging time for college students.   It is a time where students are often inundated with finals.  They have to complete their final presentations, pass their final tests, and submit their final papers.  If a student is not adequately prepared, it could lead to anxiety which can negatively impact performance.  However, finals should not be viewed as a discouraging time during your studies. Rather, it should be viewed as a time where you can demonstrate a solid understanding of all of the concepts you were introduced to during the semester. It is also a time where you can celebrate your achievements for the semester, learn from your mistakes and grow academically as a student.  Preparation is the key to handling all of your “end of the semester” responsibilities.  Pace yourself and begin studying for your finals early.

According to the US Department of Education, it is not uncommon for students to develop a level of anxiety prior to taking tests.  However, students should practice a few strategies to help them reduce their anxiety levels and better focus for their final exams:

• Space studying over days or weeks. (Real learning occurs through studying that takes place over a period of time.) Understand the information and relate it to what is already known. Review it more than once. (By doing this, the student should feel prepared at exam time.)
• Don’t “cram” the night before–cramming increases anxiety which interferes with clear thinking. Get a good night’s sleep. Rest, exercise, and eating well are as important to test-taking as they are to other schoolwork.
• Read the directions carefully when the teacher hands out the test. If you don’t understand them, ask the teacher to explain.
• Look quickly at the entire examination to see what types of questions are included (multiple choice, matching, true/ false, essay) and, if possible, the number of points for each. This will help you pace yourself.
• If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip it and go on. Don’t waste time worrying about it. Mark it so you can identify it as unanswered. If you have time at the end of the exam, return to the unanswered question(s).

The PSC Library is a good place to commence your studies.  The library has study rooms available for group or individual study.  There are also a plethora of books available  that will provide students with strategies for research, taking tests or general study skills.

 

 

The Library’s new Group Technology Lounge opened this week!

Is your Study Group looking for somewhere to work on presentations and papers, or place to get ready for the next big test? Well then you may want to try out the new Group Technology Lounge found in the Library!

What can I find there?

• Digital Media Center (complete with 60′ widescreen TV hooked up to internet accessible computer)
• Microsoft Office application package
• Input jack that allows you to plug your laptop into the TV
• White Board

What do I need to use it?

• A group of at least 2 people
• One valid student ID

Continue reading after the jump to find out more about using the Lounge.