In the education sector, books are critical resources to learning and promoting education outcomes. In most colleges in the United States, books are contained in the university libraries and are accessed by students in the college at specified convenient time of the day. The organization of the library and the general operations are very crucial elements that make the library be rated as either effective or not. This paper discusses the library systems in the United States colleges. The libraries under concern in this essay are Texas Christian University Library, Texas Wesleyan University Library, The Fort Worth Public Library, and Tarrant County College library. Most importantly, this research paper shall evaluate the services delivered by these colleges to students, general public, and online users. The college library materials such as books, journals, and other educational materials are of great importance to students and determine how active these colleges are.
The Texas Christian University library open for student use for 24 hours in five days of the week starting from 11 am. It accommodates over 10, 323-resource materials including books, journal, magazines, microfilms and government publication among other resources. The population-capacity ratio in the library is estimated to about 13:1, which is also the student/faculty ratio. The services offered by this library include research assistance, book loan services, internet services, maintaining catalogue services for online, and offline databases. Additionally, it offers interlibrary loan services, where other universities can borrow materials from the library (Lerner et al. 2001). Further than that, it allows students to print and photocopy materials as well as offering library instructions services. Students also have an opportunity to enjoy food and drink services offered at the dining area. The products offered include cocktails and snacks, water, fresh fruits, yoghurt, baked chips and grain bars. Students enjoy an ample reading environment because the library is within the university. In particular, the university covers 272 acres of land, which is ample for maximum student interactivity within and outside the library. The library’s internal and external appearance is glaring and appealing to the eyes (Duke & Andrew, 2012). Notably, Texas Christian University is known for academics because of the amount of academicians it churns out every year.
In the Texas Wesleyan University, the library opens in early hours of the morning at 7:30 am and closes at midnight during the weekdays. In weekends, the library opens at 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock in the morning to midnight on Saturday and Sunday respectively (Stark & Sue, 28). It has a capacity of 3049 students against a population of 5,000 students. In fact, the population/capacity ratio in Texas Wesleyan University is 14:1. The library sits on 50 acres of land and is located in the university to allow students’ quick access. For this reason, students do not have to walk long distances to access the facility. Ultimately, the library has a capacity of 100,000 collections of books, magazines, journals, among other useful material resources for learning. The library has an aesthetic external and internal appearance meant to attract students and promote pride with the University. Besides, the services offered in the library include book loans, interlibrary loans, catalogue services, publishing, photocopying and an online database service. Besides, the library trains students on basic computer packages free of charges (Stark & Sue 2016). Unfortunately, the library does not provide students with drinks and foods; however, they can access those services in the university dining area. The upcoming event of this library includes a launch of public, private partnership program that will enable members of public to access the library at a fee. The capacity of the library is not overstretched and allows students to interact freely within the library; however, they must observe terms of use within the library. The campus is known for academics because it hardly performs well in national games (Duke & Andrew, 2012).
The Fortworth Public Library has 12 branches and serves a population of about 686,850 students and members of public. It opens at 6 am to 10 pm daily; however, the opening hours may vary with the day. Besides, the capacity-population ratio is 16:1 with a wide range collection of books, magazines, journals and other resources materials estimated to be about 2,065,000 in its 12 branches. The branches are spread out within Texas covering an area of about 23,990square feet, and users have to trek to access the services of the library (Stark & Sue 2016). The internal and external space of the library is well lit to allow reading and concentration of students. Users enjoy food and beverages served by the library caterers, some of the drinks and foods include water, fresh fruits, juice, yoghurt, and snacks. The upcoming events for this library include a kid’s festival meant to familiarize and enlighten the kids about the use of library and its importance (Stark & Sue 2016). Further, than that the library offers services such as catalog access, information desk, conference rooms, story time, meeting areas, book loans, internet access and interlibrary services.
Finally, the Tarrant County College Library opens daily at 7 am to 10 pm. It serves a population of 16,956; however, it has a capacity of 3000 students. For this reason, the population-capacity ratio is 26:1; nevertheless, the library provides services including those of books collection, electronic resource access, book loans, library instructional support, and online databases (Lerner et al. 2001). In November, the library shall hold the first human library event featuring a wide range of topics that may entice readers. The library is very attractive in and out, which is so enticing to readers and visitors to the university. Besides, it rests in a 188-acre piece of land, allowing free interactivity of students within the campus and an ample ground for learning. Unlike, many other libraries it does not offer food and drinks to its users. This campus is known for academics especially its challenging science courses (Duke & Andrew, 2012).
Besides the four libraries discussed herein, students may benefit from other libraries in other countries. For instance, students in the United States may benefit from Canadian libraries. While the services rendered may be similar to those offered in the local universities and colleges, other libraries may provide students with a great range of collections and resources. In a country like Canada, business hours for libraries are similar to those of Wesleyan. Notably, it is important to mention that culture especially, institutional culture is very important while using library for education (Stark & Sue 2016).
In conclusion, for the four universities, their main functions are more or less similar. All of them are involved in book loans, offering support library services, and managing online databases, printing, and publishing. Ideally, the locations of the libraries, capacity, and services offered determine the effective of the institutions and builds reputation of the specific college.
Work cited
Stark, Megan, and Sue Samson. "Mansfield Library Information Literacy Curriculum."Oxford: OUP, 2016. Print.
Duke, Lynda M, and Andrew D. Asher. “College Libraries and Student Culture: What We Now Know.” Chicago: American Library Association, 2012. Print.
Lerner, Frederick A, Stuart B. Schimmedl, and Caroline F. Schimmel. “The Story of Libraries: From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age.” New York: Continuum, 2001. Print.
