Happy Birthday to Belk Library and Information Commons

On June 20 the doors opened to Belk Library and Information Commons three years ago this week.
Building use continues to grow. From July of 2007 to March of this year, over 795,000 people used the building. To compare that same span of months to the last year in the old Belk Library, in from July of 2004 to March of 2005 - 347,000 entered the building. Usage has more than doubled in the new Information Commons.
The Library houses over 630,000 books; 82,000 audiovisual materials; and over a million and a half microforms. The Library’s web site provides access to 375 full text and citation databases and the online catalog. Eighty faculty and staff manage the collections and assist people in their research. Librarians provide classroom instruction and one-on-one research assistance, as well as reference chat service. The Library provides areas for individual and collaborative study, electronic classrooms, and a lecture hall.

The atrium/cyber café area, with wireless access and seventeen computer workstations is open 24 hours five days a week, from Sunday at 12:30 PM through Friday at 9:00 PM during fall and spring semesters.

The Library has numerous special collections including the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection; the Stock Car Racing Collection; the University Archives and Records; and several Rare Book Collections all located on the Library’s fourth floor. Selected materials from these collections are digitized and available on the Library’s website. On the ground floor, the Instructional Materials Center contains resources for teacher education and instructional development.

The Belk Library provides wireless access throughout the building and offers 350 computers and 50 laptops for in-house checkout. All computers provide access to a full suite of software for academic projects across the disciplines. The Digital Media Studio within the Library provides assistance and access to digital media creation software and high-end equipment for creating digital products. The Assistive Technology Room provides access to software and equipment to accommodate the research needs of students and faculty with a variety of vision, hearing, learning, and/or mobility impairments.