Closure of Texas A&M’s Memorial Student Center (MSC) for renovation and expansion is having at least one welcome consequence: Aggies are showing up in record numbers at the university’s libraries and taking even greater advantage of the literary and related opportunities there.

With Texas A&M’s record enrollment of 48,885 this fall, some increase in student visits to the university’s two main libraries — the Sterling Evans Library and the West Campus Library — was expected, as was some additional traffic stemming from the MSC closing, library officials note, but not to the degree being experienced.

The libraries have much to offer. Literally, they recently surpassed the four-million-volume milestone. Physically, they have more than 524,160 square feet of floor space to house those books and provide a variety of services, in addition to areas devoted to research and study — both formally and informally.

The MSC, widely considered the university’s "living room," is scheduled to reopen in early 2012 "bigger and better than ever," officials note, but in the meantime the challenge is to find space for the multitude of student organization meetings and for students and visitors to be able to congregate informally. The libraries are meeting much of the latter need, the officials say.

“It’s been exciting to watch the huge flow of traffic into the Evans Library on a daily basis. We’re happy to fill the gap for students who can no longer visit the MSC," explained Dennis Clark, head of public and research services. "We have a wealth of information, good study space, and a coffee bar nearby," he added.

Clark cited figures indicating daily visits to the library are up by 24 percent.

Statistics also reflect higher usage in other areas. Circulation of books at Evans Library is up 11 percent. The use of self check-out machines, similar to those in grocery stores, is up 30 percent. Figures for other services are up as well. Requests for "Get it for me," the popular interlibrary service formerly known as "deliverEdocs," are up 27 percent.

Media and Reserves, a heavily used service located in the Evans Annex, reports that circulation is up 79 percent for materials and devices such as DVD’s and Kindles. When combined with course reserves, which circulates materials for class use, the figure jumps to 159 percent over the previous year.

Students can even enjoy the "borrowed" Flag Room furnishings from the MSC in the expanded study area at the rear of the Evans Library’s first floor.

The West Campus Library is also experiencing a surge in user traffic. Daily visits are up by 23 percent there, officials note.

"We have become a site for Tutor Zone, a free tutoring service formerly offered at the MSC," explained Leslie Reynolds, director of the West Campus Library. "We’ve opened up our instruction and meeting room on the first floor. The drop-in tutoring is offered three nights a week, and the students seem thrilled with the accommodations," she added.

Reynolds also reported a surge in the use of OAL computers and study spaces. "The demand is very high. We could add 25 more group study rooms and still have difficulty meeting the demand during our busiest periods," she observed.

Contact: Lane Stephenson at 979-845-4662 or l-stephenson@tamu.edu

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