Shapiro Library

I’m in the computer lab on the 2nd floor of Shapiro Library right now, Saturday at 4am in the morning. This library has been almost my home: I stay here any time day or night.

This lab was practically full when I came here from the Fish Bowl (The Angell Hall computing site) around 12. But people began to leave around 1, and some of the people who were left started to fall asleep Now, 3 people, including me, are here although the other 2 are in a deep sleep... No matter how many pages I print out, the sound of printer does not wake them up!

While they are sleeping, I will write up this entry about Shapiro Library.

Shapiro Library is not really a stately building compared to Hatcher Graduate Library, which is located next to it, but Shapiro is more like a functional place for me. It's easy to access (in the center of the central campus), and open until 5am during the fall and winter semesters (cf. Library Hours page). The basement, the 1st floor, and the 2nd floor are "Shapiro Undergraduate Library," also called UGL, and the 3rd and the 4th floor are "Shapiro Science Library."

There are many study spaces in Shapiro; for me, the best place to study is the 4th floor since it is fairly quiet and tends to have some empty seats. Other floors are likely to be crowded and noisy, especially the 1st and the 2nd floor... Few days ago, I was in the back of the 1st floor and suffered from a man's snoring Conversely, when I study with my friends, we go to the 2nd floor because we feel freer to talk (in a low voice though).
For group meetings, there are some group study rooms on the 2nd floor, which are probably soundproof. These rooms are on a first-come first-serve basis and I often see people staying in one of the rooms alone. So... (I won't say anything further ).

When you don't bring your laptop and need to work on a computer, the computer lab on the 2nd floor has more than 50 PCs and Macs as well as some scanners and printers. But sometimes, this lab is full or occupied for a meeting. If this is the case, I look for a computer in this order:
3rd floor -> 1st floor -> basement. From my experience, this is the best order considering how many computers there are on each floor, how fast the computers work, and... how far they are from the stairs (this is important! I don't wanna walk!!)

Shapiro library offers a number of lovely services. One of them is what I have mentioned in the last post: free ride home service. From 2am-7am, you can use shared-ride taxi service for free. That's really easy! Just go to the circulation desk at the entrance and you will find a phone and the instructions. Once you call the number on the instructions using the phone provided, a Yellow Cab operator asks you to tell him a phone number (This is not your number! The instruction tells you which number you should tell him.) and the address you are going to.
Then, wait for a yellow car outside (broom-broom~~ )

In the last blog post, I said I used this service; actually, that was the first time for me to use it! I had lived so close by before that I didn't want the driver to bother to drive such a short distance... After using the service, however, I kind of regretted that I had not used it until then!

If you forget to bring your textbook when you need it, go to the circulation desk; they lend many textbooks for a limited period of time (4 hours or so). You can check the availability of the books on Mirlyn (library catalogue).


Finally, let me tell you about Askwith Media Library, which is located on the 2nd floor, to the left of the elevator. You can borrow media such as DVDs there for free! They have a great number of various films; before you go to Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, drop by or use Mirlyn to check if Askwith has what you want!

Link:
- Shapiro Undergraduate Library (UGL)
- Shapiro Science Library
- Shapiro Library floor maps with VISUALs -> Basement-2nd floor / 3rd-4th floor
- Hatcher-Shapiro Library Navigator page (call numbers, study space, etc...)
- Mirlyn (Library catalogue)