Despite completing an English degree from Leeds Trinity University, I don’t think I set foot in the Library until second year.

Appalling, I know. How dare a student of books not set foot in the holy grail of books until second year? It sounds ridiculous and somewhat ignorant but up until that point I felt that I hadn’t needed it. I figured I could manage all by myself to find my own research and outside reading.

That was the end of the idiotic thoughts obscuring my brain.

Upon stumbling across the Library threshold (don’t worry, at the very least, I knew where it was located), for the first time, I instantly realised how stubborn and short-sighted I had been. Despite first year “not counting”, it occurred to me that not only had I not taken full advantage of a resource I was paying to have at my fingertips; but I had already presented a year’s worth of work with basic Google Scholar articles (you know the ones, the articles that every other student in your class has at some point already referenced). Dramatic starts to the side, I am not the only fresher who, unintentionally, neglected to use a valuable and individual academic reserve.

 

 

Not only are there thousands of books, journals and articles but there are also Liaison Librarians whose job it is to help their specific students find good resources and provide help with referencing. Needless to say, once I had tried what the Library had to offer, there was no turning back. I couldn’t keep myself away from the late night openings, unlimited loan renewals, and databases with content stretching back to the 1600s. I’d be damned if anyone was going to out-reference me!

After around 4 days straight in the Library (reaching 7 hour MINIMUM stints), multiple coffee runs, and suffering an existential crisis or two, I had finally utilised the Library in all its benefits. Fear not young and innocent freshers – stints like this are only to be executed by experienced third year students with iron clad, and exceedingly over-caffeinated will power.

The moral of this short story is: your Library needs you and you need your Library.

It’s a balanced relationship, that whilst at university, you should try and maintain. Be strong! Use your Library!

 

NB. This blog was first published on our Wordpress blog site in Oct 2016.