28 CommentsBwog likes to hop all sorts of things, from Equestrian club saddles to lingering denizens of Butler café, but especially libraries. Today, Anish Bramhandkar takes you the NoCo Science and Engineering Library. Yes, NoCo’s been open for a while, but we’re still captivated. It’s just so fancy.
You’d think the starkness of the Mudd engineering library and the mustiness of the scattered science libraries would have caused a mass exodus to the new brightly-lit, Ikea-inspired NoCo Library. For one, the Science and Engineering library offers natural light and views (sort of)—two things most student spaces on campus lack. Plus, it’s just damn pleasant to be there.
But the people Bwog found hiding in the library early on Thursday were simply content with their headphones stuffed in their ears, as they huddled over their MacBooks while the sun illuminated the Nexus’ red (ochre?) panels across the street. Perhaps most people just aren’t as excited about libraries as we are…
The main floor of the library, accessible through the campus-level entrance, houses dozens of giant LCD screens in the new Digital Science Center— 30-inch screens for the Windows machines and 27-inch screens for the Mac Pros. Good luck nabbing one though; we’ve been four times to no avail. You’ll have better luck getting one of the eight of machines with attached scanners, but stay on them for too long and an impatient grad student wielding a thick textbook will kick you off. Important tip: Don’t waste your print quota on the four printers in the library; they do single-sided printing only. A commenter informs us that you should select printing properties/print shortcut/eco-friendly in order to get duplex printing
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- Ann Thornton can’t screw around with this library at least.
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- NoCo is a place where humanities students study, apparently.
Up two flights of stairs hides a sea of study carrels and tables, along with bathrooms, water fountains, and a big window overlooking the lower floor on the mezzanine. These carrels are smaller than the ones found in other libraries— just under three feet wide and two feet deep. Luckily, each has two power outlets, an Ethernet port, and a dual-bulb fluorescent light that looks like something you’d purchase at Walmart for your kitchen counter. Reservable presentation practice rooms a table, two whiteboards, and a projector, are available on the next mezzanine up. This building is just bursting with mezzanines! But for now, the rooms are still under construction.
There are books too! The new library houses materials from all the old science libraries (chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and psychology), and the engineering library in Mudd will continue to hold its current collection.
If you’re just looking for a quiet place to study or gather your thoughts on North campus, the NoCo library is for you. It lacks the hypertension and stress of Butler; it’s quiet but not stiflingly still. Your nostrils will welcome the faintly varnishy, newly-constructed scent that’s totally invigorating, but maybe mildly carcinogenic.
Bwog plans on camping out here from now on. The light-stained wood and bright, warm lighting makes us feel homey and safe. Happy studying!
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28 Comments
@a little clueless A note of caution: the open tables in the middle of the second floor have outlets that don’t fit Mac chargers (the ones with the plug that you have to swivel out to use), but other places on that floor do.
@Anonymous Why waste quota at all? Use the code 542541 to clear security and print directly to the printer!
@Mr. December SCIENCE MAJORS/GRAD STUDENTS ONLY
@anon and the engineers should have it! get out random liberal arts kids that have no reason to be on this side of the campus!
@Anonymous way to chase away the few female guests we have in our severely underfunded community
@anon I am a female
@Anonymous It’s a library. It’s for all students. Get over yourself.
@and thus began the CU civil war GS/SEAS vs. CC/Barnard, the battle line is Uris
@Anonymous the engineers can have it… i can’t handle a library without books.
@... what isn’t midly carcinogenic nowadays. no pain no gain
@Anonymous this library looks like it was designed by apple (except for all the PCs… but whatever).
@Anonymous I read the last sentence as “horney and safe,” rather than “homey and safe.” And no matter how much I look at it, it still looks like horney. I don’t know why…
@Anonymous because rn looks very similar to m. there is very little difference. obvi
@... why the hell is butler so poorly lit? i don’t care if it makes it look nicer. columbia is about function, not image… right?
@Anonymous Not all of Butler is poorly lit. There are perfectly functional rooms throughout.
@Anonymous I like low lights. I prefer to study with only one slightly overhead 40watt incandescent. I wish fluorescent lights were banned on campus.
@Oh, the irony. “columbia is about function, not image… right?”
Read that sentence again… and laugh.
@AHamdi5 This seems to be the beginning of the end for this wonderful study oasis for science/engineer grad students.
Captcha: sidens out … indeed
@No, No, No! BWOG, why did you have to reveal the awesomeness of the new library? Now the place will become overcrowded like everywhere else! Oh well, it was good while it lasted…
@Shhhhh, that's the plan This is a trap, all the humanities majors will go to the shiny but less then functional lybary and we can get back our hardcore study spaces, it’s made of win. I mean, I saw people studying CC in a Mudd Classroom, this plan needs to work.
@Anonymous In this case, ignorance was bliss for everybody involved!
@detour how else can you access the building? main entrance was closed off yesterday.
@science nerd from the corner of 120th and bway or from the 2nd floor (bottom level) of pupin
@Anonymous when is the building open?
@Anonymous 9 am to 11 pm usually
@uhm AGAINST THAT IMPORTANT TIP: just go to printing properties and go to print shortcut(?) tab, select “eco-friendly” and you get duplex printing. It’s little inconvenient because you have to set it up each time you print from different application, but the duplex printing speed is ok. (library staff didn’t know about this, but people just figured it out by themselves)
@Claire Updated thanks!
@Hey assholes This is old news, post something new.