It’s no secret that Rowan currently has no library, and it’s supposed to open back up next semester. While I never went here while we had a library, I am missing the university library as a concept.
I went to Rutgers for a number of months, and I really enjoyed the library. It’s actually one of the only things I miss about Rutgers. I spent a lot of time in the library.
I’ve been at Rowan for a little over a year now, and though I know it’s not true, it feels like the library will never open up again. There are some days when I really miss the library. A quiet place to focus for a couple of hours.
A couple of days ago, my best friend was home from her college and asked to hang out after my Thursday classes, but unfortunately, I had work to do before Easter weekend. I asked her if she wanted to study at our local library. It took some coaxing, but she finally said yes. She remarked that she’s always at the library at school, and now I was telling her to go to the library during Easter Break. I just told her that it must be nice to have a library or an Easter Break – I wouldn’t know.
Not only did it feel great to ‘lock in’ on a Thursday night for two hours with my best friend, but it was nice to study in a library. Though I was with my best friend, who goes to a different college, we actually did study. I visited her last weekend, so we didn’t have much catching up to do. It’s a long-forgotten feeling of not having to have loud people get out of class in the academic building you are in.
While I wore my headphones for quiet, I didn’t need to. It’s a freeing feeling to actually go to a place designed for quiet work and get work done. I felt a level of productivity I don’t get when I’m at Rowan and have to find a place to study other than the defunct Campbell Library.
It was also free. We didn’t have to buy $8 lattes at 5 p.m. or try to find seats together next to each other at a local cafe. Corporate coffee places like Starbucks give off the vibe that they don’t want you there to buy one drink over 2-3 hours, and local places don’t have the hours or space. I also checked out a book I’ve been wanting to read because I finished my work before my friend.
So, is the solution to no library just different libraries? It just might be. My town’s library is about 3 miles from Rowan, but there are even closer libraries to Rowan for students who may not have a car on campus. McCowan Memorial Library is about 1.5 miles away and has a nice park, and is in walkable downtown Pitman. The Glassboro Branch of the Gloucester County Library System is on Rowan Boulevard, and while I can’t personally vouch for that location, I have been to other locations.
You don’t need a library card to study at a library or use its resources. Though I get a lot of use out of my local library and would recommend it if you like movies, books, or CDs. So far this year, I have saved over $670 using my local library in check-outs.
While my library card is free because I’m a resident, it’s about $150 annually if you don’t live in Washington Township. Even if it wasn’t free for me, the card would have already paid for itself a couple of times over, and it’s only April.
There are options to outsource, needing a quiet place to focus that Rowan is not providing, and the local libraries enjoy the patronage. It may be worth it to see what options you have for better studying, especially with the ever-approaching finals season.
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