Take a Trip to Easley Library
Bluefield College’s Easley Library is more than just a place to go for information on assignments, researching and typing papers, and printing. Although it certainly can fulfill those needs, the library also offers additional services, including academic- and entertainment-based activities to help you de-stress from the rigor of being a college student.
“The library has a number of services we offer to the Bluefield College community,” said Paula Beasley, senior assistant librarian and co-director of library services. “We have thousands of books for both personal interest and educational needs. Some of the most interesting ones are downstairs divided into science fiction, mystery, Christian fiction, leisure reading, and juvenile fiction. We also offer approximately 70 databases that cover a wide variety of subjects across the disciplines. These databases bring library resources directly to the individual’s computer.”
Accessible through the library is a service called Interlibrary Loan. If the library does not have immediate access to materials needed by students, faculty and staff, they may be able to get them from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan, which Beasley said is an extremely valuable resource if you are working on a long-term project. The library can request books, articles, and occasionally even movies. These materials may need to travel through the mail, Beasley said, so give yourself ample time to order and receive the items before your big assignment is due. The Interlibrary Loan can be used for both academic and personal interests.
“We have a nice collection of DVDs for both entertainment and education, which can be borrowed for three days at a time,” Beasley said. “We have two rooms available for group study. The J.R.R. Tolkien Media Lab is available for larger groups. The C.S. Lewis Collaboration Room is smaller, comfortably seating 4-6 people.”
The Tolkien Media Lab, Beasley said, has a Smart Board with the capability to play DVDs, as well as a Mac computer and a green wall for making video projects. It also has a white board wall, which can be used with dry erase markers, and the tables and chairs in this room are easily movable to create a custom environment.
The C.S. Lewis Collaboration Room features comfortable bench seats. It also contains a Smart Board with the ability to play DVDs and the white board wall to be used with dry erase markers.
“In addition, the library has two digital cameras which can be checked out by students,” Beasley said, “jigsaw puzzles to help students relieve stress, and a board for a game of chess with a friend.”
Beyond the service and resources, each spring semester the library hosts the Nora Lockett Appalachian Writing Contest, open to all students in conjunction with BC’s Appalachian Festival in April. Stories submitted for the writing contest must focus on the highlights of the Appalachian area. Prizes are awarded for first, second and third place, as well as a People’s Choice Award. In the fall, the library hosts a Terrifying Tales Writing Contest, which gives students the opportunity to write something spooky and scary or to try writing a horror story.
Originally located in Lansdell Hall when the college was first opened in 1922, Easley Library has been in existence for close to a century now. When Shott Hall was opened, the library moved into that building. Sharing half of the dining hall, the library remained in Shott Hall until the current library structure was built in 1956. A three-story addition was constructed in 1978, and then the building received major upgrades again in 2007.