Libraries, Books and So Much More

“In Egypt, libraries were called the treasury of remedies for the soul.
In fact, ignorance, the most dangerous of diseases
and the origin of all others, was cured in them”.
Jacques Benigne Bossuet

Academic libraries offer students and faculty access to reliable and up-to-date information needed for learning and research. The variety of resources in libraries includes books, journals, handbooks, manuals, guides, indexes, images, videos, interactive applications, and more in print and digital formats. Access to libraries is not limited to the building where they are housed, they encompass any location where you have internet access to access information resources and services remotely.

In terms of information resources, librarians select and acquire resources pondering the needs of their users and their reliability. They maintain up-to-date subscriptions to serials such as magazines, journals, and bulletins, as well as the latest editions of books. They take into consideration their audience in order to offer them the best options according to their needs. In addition to acquiring resources, the librarians’ job is to make them accessible: they catalog, organize, and provide search tools so that users can find the sources they need.

Another important aspect of libraries is the physical space provided in their buildings. They are comfortable places, with good lighting, tables and cubicles, and all the necessary facilities for individual or group use. This motivates people and facilitates study and research.

Librarians are an essential resource in libraries. They are information professionals who help users find what they need and also guide them to achieve lifelong learning and training in information skills. Writer Neil Gaiman popularized the phrase “Google can give you 100,000 answers. A librarian can give you the right one.” In addition to providing consultation, guidance and direction, librarians are the ones who acquire and catalog resources to make them accessible. They assess the needs of their users to implement the services they need.

The library of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico consists of a three-story building and a collection of nearly 200,000 volumes. The thousands of digital resources can be accessed from any device anywhere with an Internet connection. It also offers interlibrary loan services to obtain resources from other libraries if they are not available in our library. It has large, well-lit spaces that include technology-enabled rooms for meetings, activities, and group study, as well as cubicles for individual study. There are also study areas open 24 hours a day.

The Polytechnic University library, like many others, offers spaces, resources, and services so that students, faculty, and the entire university community have access to reliable sources of information that will allow them to study and research to succeed and achieve their goals.

By: Professor Digna Delgado
Library Director