Finals week.

For students, it’s what the last three months of school lead up to; a catharsis in the form of exams, final papers, presentations, and group projects of the knowledge gained throughout their courses. For faculty, it’s the beginning of long hours hunched over their computers, plugging away at piles of papers & exams needing to be graded.

Eventually for students and faculty alike, winter break will begin and with it will come stress-free days of leisure where there are no papers due, no exams to grade. And so to prepare you for the “arduous” task of shifting to a “winter break” frame of mind, I’ve compiled a few suggestions to take with you, some with academics in mind, and a few to help you spend all those hours of leisure ahead of you.

First, the academic stuff…

1. Do you still have the urge to research, even while on winter break? Then make sure you obtain a MyAthens account. Your MyAthens account will allow you to research Warner Library’s databases and journals until your heart’s content, and all from the comforts and confines of your home, favorite coffee shop, relative’s house, church, etc. If you’re thinking about getting a head start on that thesis due at the end of Spring semester, then make sure to get a MyAthens account. Contact the Reference Desk to create one for you.
2. Forget to return those library books before you left campus? No worries! You can renew your library materials online! Follow these four easy steps to learn how.
3. Explore our web resources. We know how busy the semester is and winter break is a great time to explore library resources that you may not be familiar with. Back in the beginning of October, I wrote about the 4 web-based tools that I can’t live without. You may recall that the bookmarking site Delicious was one of those tools. We use it in the library to collect & organize our web resources collection. Visit it to explore some really neat, freely available information on the web.
4. Stimulate your intelligence! Take advantage of free courseware sites like MIT Open Courseware, Open Yale course, or Academic Earth. These sites offer scholarly course material and lectures from an array of disciplines and feature subject & field experts. Warner Library also offers on DVD & audio CD our Great Courses collection of taped lectures. EU’s own Dr. Phil Carey has contributed to this collection with his taped lecture on Luther. Click here to view a few of our Great Courses on DVD.

…and ways to fill your leisure time this winter break

1. Warner Library has some pretty amazing bestsellers! Checkout two or three to read over winter break. They’re like mind candy… See what we have available by clicking here- Bestseller Titles. (Note: It is a pdf file and can be searched using the “Find” box at the top of the pdf display screen.)
2. Are you a Star Wars fan? Have you seen the “Star Wars Uncut” site? Fans from all over the globe upload their interpretations of 15 sec. scenes from the film that started it all- A New Hope. It’s great fun to watch, and maybe you’ll be inspired to upload your own 15 sec. take.
3. BibliOdyssey is a blog that features eclectic historic science and art images from rare books and prints. I could easily spend an hour or two looking at the collection of images this blogger has compiled, from the outlandish and grotesque to beautiful illuminated texts. Definitely worth a visit.
4. Check out the Internet Archive. It has everything you can imagine. Want to listen to a recording of the old radio show Dragnet? You can! Want to view & read an 1887 copy of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? You can! Want to watch a vintage 1942 Superman cartoon entitled Electric Earthquake? You can! These are just a few of the millions of items the Internet Archive has preserved and made digitally available to the world.

Of course, if you really start to go through withdraw and just absolutely need your Warner Memorial Library, we’ll be here! The library will be open during the week (Mon.-Fri.) 9am to 5pm. We’ll be closed the week between Christmas & New Years (Dec. 24th thru Jan. 2; opening again on Jan. 3rd).