If you are a new student attending the University of Maine, I’m sure that this has been a jarring transition and difficult adjustment. Like many others, I imagine, you may be having difficulty finding a consistent and comfortable place to study. I attended the University of New Mexico as an undergraduate, and did not visit the library or use any of its facilities until my senior year. I regret not taking advantage of its services sooner. Make sure you’re able to take advantage of resources sooner than I did.
If you haven’t visited Fogler library yet, you should as soon as you can. You should visit it often to study and check out books. If you feel apprehensive of entering this unfamiliar space, then take the time to explore it at your own pace. Walk all three floors, visit the President’s Room, look at the giant oil paintings or sit with a pristine edition of a clothbound book. Although you cannot check out books from the President’s Room, you can sit with them inside the library.
You can also find a spot inside the Oaks Room or the Lynch Room and do your homework while enjoying a cup of coffee from one of the two fully-autonomous Costa Coffee vending machines. The library has an immense amount of resources optimized for you as a student. Though they might not sound necessary immediately, they could save you in the near future. The library also rents out laptops and chargers, and provides the opportunity to rent a room all to yourself or a small group.
I know that this doesn’t sound that important and is a strange opinion to hold, but I have realized that neglecting my library meant I was neglecting community spaces. We need strong community engagement to succeed in an outstanding and meaningful way during our college career. If you don’t have a “spot” that you know is a go-to space for you to work in, you should explore the library and find one for yourself. You can order almost any book to be checked out. In my experience, it’s been very easy to talk to a librarian and order special editions of books, or really any book I had in mind, even those that aren’t on the shelves. One of the best aspects of the UMaine campus is the Fogler Library.
