Most of our local college students have figured out that we don't stock textbooks, but far too many still drop by in a vain attempt to do research. And then they're stunned that I'm not pulling up any books in stock about "fraud in not-for-profit organizations" or "gypsy history in the seventeenth century."
Sorry, yes, it's a big bookstore, but size alone doesn't make us a library. Want bestselling fiction? Sure! History books with broad appeal? Right this way. Five sources for that university level term paper due this week? Not a chance. There's a library at the university and a public library downtown -- good luck, and consider periodicals.
The number of students at the local uni who don't even seem to know how to start a research project just kills me.
I second that: the enormous state university just happens to be in my town, and every few months at midterm, finals, etc, we get flocks of them shuffling in to do that last minute paper. Then they find out that we have no available plugins for their laptops. Or books on their subject. Or scientific journals detailing the effects of hormones on, say, spider monkeys.
What's worse is that there are about ten coffee shops within walking distance of the University libary, which is open longer than we are, and all of downtown has free wireless, etc. These kids drive all the way across town and out into the retail strips... why?
I'm starting to worry that people expect "big box" bookstores to fill the same role in the community that a library is meant to. But no matter the scale of the shop, we're not doing the same thing -- bookstores are for-profit enterprises!
Sorry, yes, it's a big bookstore, but size alone doesn't make us a library. Want bestselling fiction? Sure! History books with broad appeal? Right this way. Five sources for that university level term paper due this week? Not a chance. There's a library at the university and a public library downtown -- good luck, and consider periodicals.
The number of students at the local uni who don't even seem to know how to start a research project just kills me.
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She also has other Harry Potter icons (as well as Narnia and Goonies) at her icon comm veggie_patch. /shameless plug
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What's worse is that there are about ten coffee shops within walking distance of the University libary, which is open longer than we are, and all of downtown has free wireless, etc. These kids drive all the way across town and out into the retail strips... why?
I'm guessing it's the frappucinos.
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