Seattle Pacific University’s Ames Library held a festival on Thursday, Sept. 22 to highlight various services, including tutor hours, disability support services, the research and writing studio, and more.

Upon entering the library’s main floor, students were shown tutor and disability support services, the hours available to use them and how to schedule online. Organizers of the event were present, advising students in the processes.

Access Services Specialist Hannah Hinsch, a central organizer for the event, gave her perspective on Library Fest.

“The whole point of the library festival is to highlight the library as a place and its people – we’re here to help you. You can always ask questions, and it doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking thing or a space that is intimidating. We want more of that comfortability with the library,” Hinsch said.

The library also highlighted resources for students to research and access databases, including the writing studio.

The writing studio is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Additional hours are offered online in the evenings and on weekends through Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Students can sign up for online appointments through the Studio’s information page. The studio aims to help students in the process of writing a paper. Tutors also teach revision strategies, aid in developing ideas, and help refine essays.

Bingo, snacks and crafts adorned tables on the main floor while highlighted archives, including old SPU yearbooks, were available for perusal a floor down. Past issues of The Falcon, online and physical, were available for students to look through.

Senior Lou Bridges, a history major on the museum studies track and library front desk student worker, gave their input on the impact of the archives, which were available for student search.

“Two of the other people who have been working in the archives with me over this past summer and previously have been doing work to scan and digitize all of these catalogs and all of these yearbooks. So now you can go on the library website and on digital comments, which is like the online version of the archive,” Bridges said.
Librarians, an enormous resource in Ames Library, help students and faculty in various areas. They are essential for the campus, according to Hinsch.

“The librarians have a really unique role, they’re faculty liaisons basically. So, they’ll work with faculty members and kind of connect them with resources as well,” Hinsch said.

Venturing back upstairs, students showed their creative side with collage-making materials and old editions of The Falcon, wide as the table. The librarians and other faculty set up craft tables, where art books and magazines were available to cut out and make collages.

Shailey Makahanaloa Valoroso, an SPU freshman majoring in business, accounting and finance, gave her thoughts while crafting.

“I’m having a lot of fun collaging,” she said. “My family teases me for being a grandma.”

Students chatted, crafted and explored the history of SPU while organizers answered questions and directed resources.

“Our main goal for today was for sure that comfortability and familiarity with the library as a place,” Hinsch said.