Hi. I’m Ed Warga. I’m the digital collections librarian and subject liaison to the life science and physical science programs at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. I thought I might tell you all about my favorite room in the library.
Bell Library has many great spaces. There’s a nice little nook tucked away on the second floor with study space under one of the three banks of windows in the library. I like this space because of the natural light and flexible seating. It’s a great place to study or daydream, but it is not my favorite space in the library.
There’s another great space in the library that also has natural light. The special collections reading room is equipped with tables and public access computers for accessing and using the special collections materials at Bell Library. The bank of windows here overlook the Hector P. Garcia plaza and are shaded with mature palm trees. This room is a great place to work with archival materials, but it still is not my favorite room in the library.
My favorite room in the library is the small room behind the Ask Us Desk on the first floor of the library. The room number is 112-G1, but it is known as the consultation room. It’s not the most compelling space. There’s no direct natural light or art on the walls, but to me it is one of the most important rooms in the library. It’s important to me because of the people I meet there. The consultation room is where I schedule research consultations, one-on-one or in small groups, with students who need help with their research projects.
The other day I spent an hour with a student undertaking an independent study course in forensics who needed information about the formation of the third molar. Last year I met with a small group of graduate students getting ready to start an original research project. The consultation room offers us a quiet space to discuss the focus of their research, review search strategies, and practice using databases and other research tools. The time spent in this room is invaluable for students seeking ways to be more successful in their research.
The consultation room is equipped with a large monitor with multiple HDMI cables. Everyone in the room can attach and share their screen with everyone else in the room. The display port hub allows us to switch from screen to screen with the push of a button. I can demonstrate search strategies in different research databases and then switch over to see what work the students have been doing on their computers. This technology makes it easy to share with the room what’s happening on individual machines.
And there’s one more magical feature of this room. A tiny unicorn is affixed to the glass wall of the room. This doesn’t really help with research, but it’s nice to see a bit of whimsy amongst the all the serious work happening in the library.
If you are a student in need of help with your research project, contact a subject liaison. We’ll schedule a time for a consultation. If you contact me for help with life science or physical science, I’ll schedule a time for us to meet in my favorite room in the library – the consultation room!
