One place that often plays a vital role in the grades of many students is the university library.

NIU’s Founders Memorial Library offers a variety of services to students, including copy machines, classes about the library and a special study room for students with disabilities.

“Probably most people spend more time than they should trying to find stuff on their own,” said library aide Nick Pagani, a sophomore special education major. “Then they come to us, frustrated, when they can’t find it. Don’t be afraid to come to us first.”

Pagani said that each librarian is specialized in a certain subject.

“So if you’re an education major, there is a section for that and a librarian who specializes in that,” Pagani said.

The library has several desks that students can go to for help. The information desk on the first floor is the first desk that students see when they enter the library. The people there will direct students to the correct area of the library to find information.

If students have reference questions, they’re referred to the general reference desk, next to the computer lab on the first floor.

“The general reference desk is a service point that receives most of the questions in the library,” said Junlin Pan, coordinator for reference desk services and an NIU assistant professor.

Pan said that the desk mostly deals with questions like which computer to use, which database to use or how to do a search on the library Web site.

“Our system was just upgraded,” Pan said. “Every time there is a system change or a Web site change, there are a lot of questions.”

The general reference desk also deals with questions concerning inter-library loans. If the library does not have certain materials, they can be ordered from another library through an inter-library loan. The general reference desk can help students with placing those orders.

The library Web site offers a global catalog called World Cat. Students can find materials from all over the world. The inter-library loan feature always is available in World Cat.

Books ordered through inter-library loans are kept behind the circulation desk.

Next to the circulation desk, the reserve desk holds materials that teachers have put on reserve. Often a teacher will request that an article or portion of a book be copied and put on reserve. Students can then check out the material to read or photocopy it while in the library.

Kyle McNally, a senior electrical engineering major who works at the circulation desk, said reserve materials can be checked out for two hours at a time and must be kept in the library. Also, he said that books can be checked out of the library for four weeks at a time by undergraduates and 16 weeks at a time by grad students.

The library also offers services for students with disabilities. Appointments can be made for disabled students to work with a librarian, and a study room for disabled students is available whenever the library is open. The study room has various machines to aid students with disabilities, such as Braille typewriters and screens to make text larger.

Copy machines all over campus and in the library can be used by purchasing a copy card at the library copy desk.

Victoria Sparkman, a senior interior architecture major who works at the library’s copier services, said that a copy card costs $1, plus whatever amount of money you want to put on it. Once you have a copy card, some copy machines around campus will let you put more money on the card. Copies cost $0.07 when using the card.

The library also offers separate classes about accessing sources on the Internet, the library home page, online catalog and full text search. Students may sign up for them at the information desk.Emily Sullivan photo

Josh Guenther, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, asks Brian Prall, a freshman history major, questions about the reserved books on Tuesday evening.