Zapopan, Jalisco; December 2, 2022.- Libraries are often thought of as boring and tedious places; however, the Panamericana has implemented changes that completely turn this perception on its head. The UP library features comfortable facilities, library programs, a vast collection of resources, study areas, educational materials, and more—all of which make spending time there an enjoyable experience.
Pan-American Library
Panamericana currently offers a wide range of library programs designed to encourage and promote reading on campus. “Free Books” is one such program where you can take a book and borrow it without leaving any form of identification. Additionally, you can leave reading recommendations and books in a drop box located next to the “Free Books” shelf; this section is next to the oral proceedings room.
The library recently underwent a renovation of its facilities, services, and resources. Highlights of this renovation include personalized guidance from an academic librarian, assistance with academic assignments, courses and workshops designed to help students settle in, and ideal spaces for studying and reading.
Adaptable spaces
Among the facilities is the quiet study room, where, as the name suggests, students are only allowed to study or read in silence. Talking is not permitted in this space because its primary purpose is to provide a setting free from distractions that might interrupt study.
Its collection includes more than 75,000 physical items and 330,000 digital items, more than 2,500 audiovisual materials (films and music), more than 1,200 print journals, and 48,000 digital journals. It also offers a wide variety of resources that help the university community access high-quality information on various topics, including economics, finance, science, the humanities, marketing, and more. Some of these resources include: ProQuest One Academic, ScienceDirect, Springer, Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, EBSCO Humanities, eLibro, and vLex, among others.
According to Dr. Manuel Bernal, director of the Library System at the Universidad Panamericana, “It’s easy, from the perspective of a member of Generation X or a Baby Boomer, to label Millennials or Generation Z as self-absorbed and obsessed with screens; and, based on that, to believe they have little interest in reading. The truth is that these generations’ relationship with books has changed, just as much as the books themselves.”
“Nowadays, people don’t just buy, borrow, subscribe to, and give away texts in different ways; we’ve also had to learn, once again, how to read—and in this regard, digital natives have a certain advantage over us. For them, word-of-mouth recommendations—whether for authors or works, directly or through social media and the media in general, from friends or influencers—are once again important; on all kinds of screens, at any time, and in any circumstance, and, most importantly, read in one sitting or in bits and pieces, regardless of whether they’re accompanied by audio, video, or animations, whether it’s BookTok or Twitteratura,” Dr. Bernal also noted.
“Libraries are committed to rethinking not only the spaces we offer, but also the reading environments we provide for new generations, so that content traditionally packaged in the form of books becomes more appealing and enriching,” he concluded.
La Panamericana has made a remarkable effort to ensure that the library is a place where its students can work, study, and enjoy themselves on campus.
