John Cabot University is situated in the heart of Trastevere, which is bursting with restaurants, shops, and cafés. However, many students choose to escape the chaos of the city during the school week and take solitude in the JCU library. The library has acted as a second home to me over my past three years of university. For me, it has been a sanctuary to escape noisy roommates, study with a solid Wifi connection, and provide me with the college necessities: computers, printers, copiers, staplers, etc.
Nevertheless, I didn’t reap the full benefits of the library until somewhat recently. I always looked at JCU’s Frohring library as an open and free space to study, but I didn’t realize it offers so much more. The library offers over 32,00 books and multimedia items, online databases available 24/7, and scheduled lessons from the staff on how to research and write academic papers. I have spent far too much time researching the difference between MLA and APA format, looking for credible online resources, and hating myself for never remembering if the punctuation goes inside or outside the quote. The library resources cover all of this! So, in order for future students to not waste time like I did, I here is a list of some of the most helpful tools:
- Books on reserve This is amazing. Most courses have one set of required texts they keep on reserve at the library, which allows students to avoid buying expensive books and lugging them to campus every day.
- Study rooms There are private study rooms in the downstairs area of the Frohring library. It is secluded from the other areas of the library, and perfect for small groups. You can reserve these rooms online through the John Cabot Library page.
- Citation Guide This guide tells you everything you would want to know about citations and (also very important) how to avoid plagiarism.
- Databases Use these! You will never get a good grade if you get your information from websites that also tell you your weekly horoscope! JCU’s available databases help connect students with academic texts. The database is organized into different categories, making it very easy to navigate.
- Appointments Appointments can be scheduled online through the JCU Library page. Either Ms. Eleonora Moccia or Ms. Livia Piotto, library staff members, will help you with anything you need to know about researching and formatting an academic paper or utilizing other library resources.
- Renting Equipment. No more lugging around heavy laptops! Students can rent laptops and headphones in the Aurelian wing of the library, as well as in the lab. Desktop computers are also always available to students.
If the JCU library is slowly becoming your second home (and if it isn't, it should be), take advantage of all it has to offer!
Carly Newgard
Communications major, Humanistic studies minor
Class of 2017
Hometown: San Diego, California