brookens library
Archives and Special Collections- Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service
- Current Use Fund
- Friends of Brookens Library
- Gallery
- Learning Commons: Finding a Third Space
- Library Renovation
- Mary Jane’s Cafe
A Chance to Discover
Today, more than ever, university libraries—Brookens Library among them—serve as a portal into a vast, intricate, fruitful, complicated world of information. Where once librarians guarded and dispersed print materials, today librarians serve as tour guides for students as they negotiate this information world.
Ever-Increasing Access
At Brookens, we provide ever-increasing access to this wonderful world.
Here’s just one example: When we could purchase only print journals and periodicals, the most we could ever provide was around 3,000 different titles. Today, through the library’s licenses for online databases, students have access to over 39,000 journals and periodicals.
No wonder students feel a little overwhelmed, both by what is available and what is required. They have countless questions related to information literacy skills:
- How can they find the best information on how immigration laws affect central Illinois?
- Where should they start when researching inulin, a fiber appearing in many food products?
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Is Scott Burns, the business columnist, worth quoting? - And are Google and Wikipedia the best places to start looking for information for a term paper?
A Complete Learning Experience
Our challenge is to provide a complete learning experience for every student, both online and in person, with easy access to library holdings, prompt assistance from librarians, and effective instruction in information literacy skills.
For students online, we’ve had great success redesigning our website to make it more user friendly.
But for students in person, it’s going to take more than a few keystrokes to create the warm, welcoming environment we envision for Brookens. We are proposing a complete renovation.
We’ve already started with our brand new café in our first floor lounge. We named it Mary Jane’s, after our first librarian. It has coffee—of course—great seating, internet access, sandwiches and snacks, and warm lighting. Wonderful! Come visit soon.
We Want to Do More
As you read over our other plans for renovation, we’re hoping you’ll catch a little of our excitement about the new Brookens that we see in our brilliant future.
With your help, we’ll get there.
Questions?
The Meet Our Gift Officer link at left will introduce you to Joseph Hughes, who works on behalf of Brookens Library. He will be happy to respond to your questions.
You can also use the Send Us Your Question link or contact our office directly.
Have you benefited from the many services Brookens Library offers?
We'd love to hear your story.
- What have you appreciated most about Brookens?
- How would you encourage donors to give?
Please send your comments to our web writer, Marilyn Kok, mkok2@uis.edu. We would love to add your comments to this site.
We look forward to hearing from you.
