Contributing Writer | Andres Sanchez
For Florida International University, a school with over 50,000 total students, the establishment and continuance of student resources, both personal and academic, is essential to sustaining strong graduation and retention rates.
Yet, FIU’s most essential vehicles for providing student resources, the Dorothea Green Library and special collections, continue to be underutilized by the student body at large.
Despite the sheer quantity of available resources, many of FIU’s students interact with student resources on a superficial level, often only visiting the library to utilize study spaces or purchase food and drinks.
Effectively utilizing available resources is vital in the pursuit of academic success for FIU’s undergraduate and graduate students alike.
Florida International University’s Green Library provides students with access to more than 1.6 million articles, subscriptions to over 24,000 journals, and more than 300 databases specializing in dozens of fields.
Furthermore, the FIU Green Library grants access to more than just written resources; the library also makes maps, films, periodicals, audio, and historical resources available. Amongst the materials available through the Green Library are specialized research collections focusing on U.S. and European government resources and information.
Through this free and open dissemination of exclusive, peer-reviewed information, FIU provides its students with greater access to reliable academic research, a necessity for many college courses and students.
Not only is access to these materials available to all FIU students and alumni, but it is also largely available to the general public as well. And, for students who may find trouble in gathering credible resources, the Green Library provides private consultations with trained librarians in over 50 disciplines spanning from religious studies to scholarly communication, and many more. Furthermore, subject-specific research guides exist for over 80 topics, all of which have built-in support in the form of librarians and subject specialists.
Academic support services do not end there, however. FIU also utilizes the Green library to host information literacy workshops, provide study spaces, and administer exams for local youth. Academic support systems like these work to cultivate a culture of academia and reinforce students’ academic integrity.
The continuance of these academic support systems is integral to maintaining the functionality of the Green Library and all its special collections. Academic support systems like personal consultations and research guides assist students, particularly new and undergraduate students, in easily accessing credible peer-reviewed sources.
The Dorothea Green Library also provides additional academic spaces in the form of study floors, quiet study rooms, collaborative work rooms, electronics, and technical labs.
In addition to academic spaces, the Green Library also collaborates with the Center for Academic Success (CfAS). CfAS serves students seven days a week, offering group and individual tutoring for 90 individual courses spanning from economics and science to reading and language courses, as well as extra credit workshops available to all students free of charge. Just 5 doors down the hall, the Center for Excellence in Writing offers similar assistance with writing workshops, tutoring, and help with citing sources.
The Green Library also provides local students with access to standardized test services, placement exams, standardized testing, and certification opportunities through the Division of Student Affairs dual enrollment programs. This allows local high school students to get ahead on degree programs and efficiently meet course requirements.
Ultimately, FIU’s Dorothea Green Library is more than its physical properties. The Green Library provides a wide array of academic and personal resources to support students’ academic journeys. However, as a result of a lack of awareness, the Green Library’s academic support resources are being woefully underutilized.
Students and professors alike should work to further integrate the resources made available by the University and encourage the use of academic support to make students’ academic journeys more efficient.
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The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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