Stories from Park Library Building Partners
The individuals who most likely come to mind when one thinks of CMU Libraries are the librarians providing subject-specific research assistance and the student workers staffing the service desks. While those roles are very important to CMU Libraries’ functions, there are others who consider the library their workplace as well - the faculty, staff, and students working in the nine academic support offices located in the Park Library building. This post highlights the Mathematics Assistance Center, the Certified Testing Center, and the Student Disability Services office.
Although it takes a degree of vulnerability to ask for help, these units exist to support student success. To reduce the stress that can come from approaching these units for assistance, Student Disability Services assists with the process of completing accommodations paperwork, the Testing Center walks one through the process of taking proctored exams both through video and in-person formats, and the Mathematics Assistance Center provides the opportunity for students to get mathematics assistance without a formal appointment. These offices make students of all backgrounds feel seen and, in the case of offices such as the Mathematics Assistance Center, promote career growth.
These offices and the people that run them, through their personal literary interests, also highlight the diversity of CMU Libraries’ collection. To start, let’s look at Certified Testing Center director Kathy Lesica-Gardner’s favorite work, The Let Them Theory by Mel Robins. This work can be found on the second floor in the CMU Libraries' Browsing Book collection, a collection that consists of New York Times best sellers by authors such as John Grisham, Janet Evanovich, and Danielle Steele. Additionally, works by Student Disability Services’ Assistant Director Mallory Wilson’s favorite author Nicholas Sparks and Mathematics Assistance Center Director Reggie Becker’s favorite work titled The Poisonwood Bible can be found on the fourth floor alongside other well-known works of American Literature produced from 1961-2000. These personal favorites highlight that these staff members have literary interests like you and I and highlight the CMU Libraries' dedication to housing a welcoming and inclusive collection of resources, both for research and personal enjoyment purposes.
We hope that this info helps you to familiarize yourself with some of the support units available inside the library, and we hope that you will take advantage of these support units and others in the future.