The Lydia M. Olson Library provides students with a variety of resources to help prepare them for upcoming exams.
Hours for the Olson Library in the LRC on campus do not change during finals week, however the resources they provide for students are very useful, whether you need assistance for a research paper or are just looking for a quiet place to study. The library is open from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.
“Study rooms will be available for students, but it’s a good idea to reserve one in advance because they’re very popular and fill up fast,” said Mary Freier, head of Public Services and associate professor.
Reference librarians will be available for consultation next week starting Sunday, Dec. 9 from 12:30 to 9 p.m., as well as Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Olson Library’s website offers an online catalog if you need to look up textbooks or full-text electronic journals. The Electronic Reference Shelf, www.library.nmu.edu/guides/erefsubject.php, gives access to online reference texts, according to Freier.
“If you need help finding something, locating the right resources or have a question, just ask the Public Services Desk,” Freier said.
Holly Fremling, a senior and English Writing major, highly suggests using the library’s website and speaking with a library consultant as a way to locate sources.
“The Olson Library’s homepage is very useful when I am looking for sources for my research papers,” Fremling said. “I would definitely recommend it to other students who need assistance with their papers.”
Another option for students to study during finals week is the first floor of the LRC in Starbucks if you need some caffeine to help you stay awake while you study throughout the night.
During finals week, Starbucks will be open until 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, until 5 p.m. on Thursday and until 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Writing Center and All Campus Tutoring (ACT) will be closed during finals week. Joy Weitzel of the Writing Center offers some tips for students since assistance will not be available for them next week.
“What I would suggest for a student who has a paper due finals week is to have another person read your paper,” Weitzel said. “They may find little typos that you missed, misspelled words or be able to point out confusing sections that you read over.
“Also, read your paper aloud to yourself, slow and precisely. This way you will notice where potential commas, periods or semi-colons ought to be placed in your paper.”
If you struggle with grammatical issues, you can visit the Writing Center’s website for numerous grammar worksheets at www.nmu.edu/writingcenter.
ACT and the Writing Center will both re-open the second week of the winter 2013 semester.