SHREVEPORT – Part birthday party, party carnival – all celebration.
Hundreds of students meandered through a variety of booths and activities at the annual Noel Memorial Library open house.
Opened in 1994, this towering structure is celebrating 30 years of service while the Northwest Louisiana Archives and Celebrations (now located on the library’s third floor) turned 50 this year.
“I’ve always thought about libraries as being the intellectual hub of a campus,” said LSUS Chancellor Robert Smith. “That’s appropriate for Noel Memorial Library because not only is it the nicest building on campus, it’s way more than a traditional library.
“It houses the Archives, which preserves the historic documents and photographs of this community. The Noel Collection, with its 200,000 books, is the largest private collection of antiquarian books. The library serves as a learning commons with spaces like the Student Success Center and advising spaces – it’s a one-stop shop for learning on this campus.”
Digital arts freshman Levi Barnett, who sported a dinosaur with a top hat from the face painting station, said Noel Memorial Library is “the perfect spot” on campus.
“You’ve got places like STACKS coffee shop, and then you can go on the upper floors which are no talking zones,” Barnett said. “Coming to the open house, you get a better understanding of how these expansive areas are used.”
Pizza, birthday cake and cupcakes floated around the library as students participated in the various games.
Students learned about local history in a Shreveport trivia game hosted by the Northwest Louisiana Archives.
Facts like what neighborhood did the fire of 1925 start (Allendale) that wiped out nearly 200 homes.
Or who was the first woman to run for Mayor of Shreveport (Hazel Beard).
“Engaging in this way allows students to learn more about our area and the history of where we are,” said Laura McLemore, director of the Northwest Louisiana Archives. “It’s important to know local history.
“We’ve had four or five students answer two questions correctly and take home one of our books.”
The library has hosted the open house for four years now, and library dean Brian Sherman said attendance has increased with each year.
“We’re always looking to engage students in eccentric ways and to bring them to the library for something non-academic,” Sherman said. “First-year seminar students are one of our target audiences, and we like to start engaging freshmen from the first minute they set foot on campus.
“We want to normalize the use of academic resources since there’s a stigma surrounding these resources.”
Students could practice their research citation by moving big blocks of text into the correct order. Refworks, a new library software that manages citations, was showcased on a large screen.
Students engaged with The Noel Collection by matching a publisher’s logo to the name of that publisher.
Want to learn a new language? Sherman demonstrated Mango languages, a digital language learning platform that contains 70 languages and offers cultural context in its lessons.
Career Services and the Student Success Center operated a ring toss and brain toss to win cool prizes.
Students created their own art on art tablets.
At the circulation desk, students could put a desired technology or device on the birthday wish list or learn how to acquire digital textbooks through the library.
All in all, upperclassman Brionna Long said Noel Memorial Library is more than just a library.
“Beyond the rows of books and coming here to study, this event explores the different things the library has to offer,” Long said. “This helps students use the library more.”
