“Libraries are not made; they grow. Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.”
Hypothetically speaking, let’s try to construct the biggest library in the world. But how “big” a library should be, so that it can be accurately described as “big enough”? Well, as long as there are writers penning down their minds for the rest of the world, not a single library can be “big enough”. And by the time you finish reading this line, countless books, all across the world would have been published already.
2012 years on this planet. The advancements that we have seen, especially in the recent times, has made us look beyond the printed sources. Now libraries are more than just bookshelves. World Wide Web has opened a new array of electronic materials for the world to share. Therefore, in order to make our hypothetical library “big enough”, we have to include the electronic sources as well.
The library at Columbia College goes way beyond its physical existence but at the same time, it will always stay in your pocket. In fact, the whole library is accessible through a simple URL:
http://library.columbiacollege.bc.ca/
Scan the QR Code to go to the library website
- REFERENCE DATABASES: Newspapers, online articles and encyclopedia has given a new direction to the way we read and learn today.
- TOOLS AND SOURCES: We over-exaggerate when we declare GOOGLE as the sole search engine with the best solutions. The online library introduces you to various other search engines that might give you better search results than GOOGLE itself. It also connects you to the world’s greatest and most prestigious libraries, galleries and museums. Also, there is various other kinds of information, from biographies to news and statistics.
- LIBRARY CATALOGUE: Looking for a book on the shelf? You will not only find the book’s location in the library but also whether the book is available or not. Not to mention the whole information regarding the book.
- GUIDELINES AND HELP FILES: This section provides students with all the tips and tricks of writing a great research paper. Some of the courses have put up a lot of study material other than just course textbooks in order to help the students. It provides help in research papers and assignments.
Columbia College library is making a great use of these technical advancements in order to connect its students to databases all across the world. Now it might not be “big enough” but it will certainly satisfy all research needs of a student. And the best part is, you carry it around wherever you go.
CC Gazette 