Thursday, June 30, 2011

In the Library

This morning’s class began with a talk with Doc Z about the expectations for the outline of our paper. She went over the proper format of the bibliography, introduction and much more and as a result, I now have a much better idea of what to include in my paper. The rest of our morning class time was spent listening to a riveting lecture from our professor about the American Revolution.

Today was my first day in the Butler Library stacks, the large collection of books located in the middle of the Butler library. I am a now a big fan of university libraries. Having never previously studied at one, I am thoroughly impressed with the extensive print and online collections in the Columbia catalog and the immense resources the university offers, including librarian consultations.

I spent some of lunch locating my books, browsing through them and putting them on hold. For our afternoon session of class, I preferred to walk over to the Lehman Library where I had the opportunity to briefly discuss my research topic with Doc Z and she gave me some names of important figures and authors pertaining to my subject. Following dinner, I spent a few hours in the Butler Library, reading the books I selected on my subject.

After three days, I am finding American Presidential Powers to be a very stimulating course. It has truly opened my eyes to the intricacies of political science and I am pleased to be learning this at such a wonderful university. I really do appreciate the support the Ivy League Connection has received from the sponsors and administrators that keep this program around.

1 comment:

  1. Beilul,

    As you alluded to in this blog, you’re not in high school any more. It’s not that your high school library is a bad library—it’s just that it’s a high school library in a nearly bankrupted district without the funds to properly stock it. And we can’t even give you the kind of librarian that’s needed.

    What you’ve seen while at Columbia should whet your appetite for what can be accomplished at a decent university. It actually becomes fun to study and do research.

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