JFK Library Makes User-Friendly Upgrades

JFK Library has undergone a transformation over the summer.

Returning students, faculty, and staff visiting the library can look forward to expanded resources, improved organization, greater access to collections, and more designated quiet study and collaborative spaces.

Many of the changes are in response to feedback from the campus community, including faculty who requested additional databases to support student-faculty research and experiential learning projects.

“We’ve already had positive feedback from patrons over the summer and intersession. We encourage everyone to check out the improvements, both physical and new online resources,” says Ielleen R. Miller, library faculty chair and director of the School of Libraries.

Many of the JFK projects were years in the works, says Miller, adding “they were only made possible with the dedication of all of the library staff and faculty, and our fantastic student workers.”

As fall quarter gets underway, the JFK team would like to highlight specific improvements that library users can expect to see.

Easier Access

• Books are consolidated on the upper level of JFK, increasing access and convenience for browsing. (The Curriculum Center collection remains on JFK’s lower level.)
• Some books that were dated, or hadn’t been borrowed in twenty or more years, were deselected, creating additional space to support current and emerging curriculum needs.
• Shelf signage is improved, enabling browsing by subject.
• Building maps are redesigned making  it easier to discover resources, services, books and materials, group study rooms and silent study areas.

The updated floor maps are posted on the JFK website.

Additional Resources

eTextbook Program

The JFK team worked with EagleStore to enhance textbook options to decrease costs for students. The library identified course-adopted textbooks in stock, and others that could be purchased in unlimited-use ebook versions. While the percentage of textbooks JFK currently provides is only around 17%, the total potential savings for students during winter 2023 though spring 2024 was $454,000. Learn more about the  eTextbook Program and textbook resources online.

Additional Group Study Rooms

Usage patterns showed that students needed more study areas. After surveying underused library spaces, the team created two additional group study rooms on JFK’s upper level, bringing the total to 27 rooms. Planning is underway to augment one of these rooms to serve neurodivergent needs in the very near future. Learn more about JFK study rooms online.

Silent Study Areas

JFK has created silent study areas to ensure that students, faculty and staff can work in quiet conditions. The areas are volume-enforced and free of phone calls, talking or audible media use. In addition, noise-canceling headphones are available for checkout at the lower-level equipment desk in case library users need an extra layer of quiet.

New Database Access

JFK added the following databases based on faculty and student requests:

New York Times via nytimes.com:  Create an account for the New York Times via their website. Go online for directions on activating your personal account. (This version does not include add-ons such as Games, Cooking, etc.)

APA’s Academic Writer: Academic Writer is APA’s complete digital environment for teaching, learning, and writing academic papers in APA citation style. Users must create an account before starting. This resource is courtesy of the Psychology Department and EWU Libraries.

Asian American Experience: Scholarly books and encyclopedias, as well as hundreds of primary source documents and photographs for the histories and cultures of the Native American peoples.

Atla Religion Database (EBSCOhost): Indexes 2,500 journals related to religion and theology.

ComDisDome: Covers communication disorders, focusing on speech-language pathology and audiology.

DSM Library: Includes the full text of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), DSM-5 Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, DSM-5 Clinical Cases, the DSM-5 Handbook on the Cultural Formation Interview and the Spanish Edition of the Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-5.

Newspapers.com: This extensive online database offers access to 4,000+ historical newspapers, published from the early 1700s through the 2000s. This collection contains a diverse blend of well-known regional and local newspapers in the U.S. and other countries.

Project MUSE: JFK has upgraded to the Premium Collection, which provides access to an additional 347 journals.