Well hello to all,
As part of library week I was asked to be a Guest Blogger for the ITB Library and after several attempts at giving a synopsis of books im reading or giving accounts of exhibitions I have attended, I realised that they all sound very mundane. Not exactly what you want to hear from a guest blogger. Then it dawned on me that I have spent over 7 years in ITB and that the college we see today is a far cry from what I remember in my first year. I can actually say that it has grown right in front of my eyes.
I started in here in 2004 studying Business in IT and French, then transferred to Business in IT, lets just say French was not my strong point :-(. My class was pretty small with only 8 graduating in my final year but then again the college was not as busy as it is now. You could walk around campus and you would be lucky to see more than a hand full of people. It was defiantly scary at times.
I can honestly say that I rarely used the library until my 3rd year in college for many reasons. A) I skipped induction day and did not have a clue how to take out a book B) the labs were empty so computers were not a problem C) I thought if I bought the book instead of rent them from the library I would study more, I was wrong ! D) it scared me as I always associated the library with exam time.
Then things changed dramatically, my final year, which ultimately turned out not to be my final year at all as I came back to ITB to do a Masters and now I work here, but from this point on I seen the Library in a whole new light. It was, for almost 2 years, where I lived. I was there when the doors opened at 9am and most days did not leave until 8pm. As most business students know that at this stage online journals become your best friend, and I was best pals with Emerald as well as the staff that worked in the library as I always seemed to need the one article that was inaccessible, or I always seemed to need something printed when the printers would break. Looking back I was probably a nuisance.
I can honestly say that my experiences have changed in ITB as the college has grown and I am quite jealous of the students who are studying here now (its probably why I haven't left yet). I know that we now have problems like noise levels in the library, no free labs, no car spaces and massive queues in the canteen, which in black and white make the college sound dreadful but the atmosphere on campus in the last 2 years far outweighs all of this. There is still a huge sense of comradery with students and staff alike which I have always admired about here but now with the ever growing diverse population there is a new element to ITB. I find it difficult to put into words but I see it every time I walk around the campus. Students are finally using every inch of the campus available to them.
Happy Library Week :-)
Louise Dwyer
Student Union President, ITB
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