Library is hottest social spot

By Brittany Benjamin

I'm going to admit it. I like the library.

No, I'm not a geek.

Yes, I actually have a social life.

Possibly it's because the memory of studying in empty classrooms during finals is still strong in my mind.

Possibly it's because studying in another environment besides Nobili Hall is more appealing to me than lying beneath Mission Gardens' blossoming wisteria.

Or possibly it's because the library blew away all my expectations.

While I'm fully aware that the library's main purpose is to assist in student research and education through the newest state-of-the-art technology, I found my mind was more preoccupied with the vast number of ways the library provides social entertainment for students.

Watching University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., cut the ribbon, inaugurating the grand opening of the Harrington Learning Commons, I was one of hundreds of students who flooded the main entrance to the library.

Improvising our own self-guided tour, my friends and I prided ourselves in taking the first elevator ride to the third floor. Immediately we headed for the outdoor terraces that we'd been eying during the library's construction.

As soon as we set foot onto the partially enclosed terrace, we began plotting ways to turn a quiet study space into a fun picnic area. We promised to return later that night to celebrate the library's opening over a fun dinner.

We then continued our exploration of the library, passing noticeably empty desks and workstations on the second floor.

Heading back downstairs, we set our sights on the lower level. After playing with the fun touch-screen computers outside of the collaborative studies rooms, we peeked our heads inside.

At a quick glance, the rooms look similar to the group study spaces in upstairs Benson, although undoubtedly more fancy -- each contain projection screens.

While Ronald Danielson, vice provost for information services and chief information officer, dispelled any rumors allowing students to rent these rooms in order to play video games or watch movies, it is still one of my goals to win an intense Mario Kart tournament among friends before the end of the year.

However, as my eyes wandered across the white walls of the study area, they glued upon the dry-erase pens sitting unused on the table. It took me a second to comprehend that the entire wall was a dry-erase board.

It took a half second for my friends and I to race toward the open box of pens on the table. In a matter of seconds, we were all doodling on the wall, leaving our marks on the brand-new building -- our own little smears of history on the walls of a building that will no doubt be there for decades.

Later, I found out from an information desk worker that the room reservation system was malfunctioning; the computers were locking out students from the reserved space when they momentarily left the room to use the restroom.

Knowing that there are kinks to work out in the newly opened library, I did not care, considering all the fun to be had.

As we concluded our own mini-tour of the facilities, we set a meeting time for dinner.

Later that night we returned, our arms laden with cheeseburgers and fries. As we climbed the three flights of stairs, we made a pit stop at the Sunstream Café, choosing from their selection of chai, fruit and herbal teas, the perfect refreshments to accompany our meals.

For the next hour, we sat on the cushioned lounge chairs outside, chatting about the new academic quarter and our plans for the coming spring season. It was no different than if we were to have dinner inside Benson.

Our only distraction came when students inside stepped out to chat on their cell phones.

Since there were other students on the terrace scanning their course textbooks, we voiced our hopes that the terraces would not become the official cell phone area. The atmosphere was too perfect to be ruined by cell phone chatter.

As we finished our meals and walked through the library's doors one final time, it occurred to me how much time I had spent in the library that day -- not once while I was there did I contemplate opening a textbook.

I then made a mental note to come back to have another mid-evening picnic on the terraces.

More so, it is my hope to eventually be able to reserve a group study space for playing video games or watching a movie with friends.

Maybe I'll even get a little studying done every once in a while.

Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.