James E. Brooks Library is a place of comfort for students eager to engage in intellectual study and learning with one another. With places like the Fishbowl, the learning commons and the wildcat pantry, there are many resourceful spots for wildcats to receive the best study experience.
On Friday Oct. 3, an exclusive tour of Brooks Library was hosted showing students the many areas in the library and their different uses. One area in the library that many students go to is the learning commons. At the learning commons, located on the first floor, students are offered a study space, free tutoring and other academic support.
Students looking for sweet treats or a savory bite to eat can check out Jimmy B’s cafe just a few steps away. Also on the first floor, you can get sweet drinks, snacks and food as you study. Across from that is the Wildcat Pantry. The Wildcat Pantry is available to all students, and completely free. If you are running low on food, snacks, or toiletries, the wildcat pantry has all of that to offer and more.
One student who attended the library tour gave their take away from it. “I took away the hours the archive was open,” Brent Van Landingham, a junior majoring in creative and professional writing with a minor in library sciences, said. Landingham also stated what resources they felt were the most helpful pertaining to studies. “Honestly, the computers. I don’t want to lug one around and it’s nice to have computers that I can check out and use here.”
The second floor of the library has spaces for relaxation and studying, such as the Fishbowl and the Student Commons. There is also an Archives and Special Collections room where official and unofficial artifacts related to Ellensburg’s history can be found.
Audrey Keler, a freshman majoring in mathematics secondary education as well as the STEM program, talked about their key takeaways from the tour. “What I took away was that the archives room was pretty cool. I liked seeing all of the old things, even the Wellington mascot head was kind of cool,” Keler said.
Keler said that the maps were the most helpful resource the library provided to them. “I think that might be nice for history classes, those would be really beneficial.”
The third and fourth floors of the library are considered quiet spaces. Areas like the government publications, journals and magazines and general collections. The fourth floor has even more to offer, the main attraction being the attic, a spot to study in with retro design and a record player.
From cozy study spots to cafes, Brooks Library has it all. The library is open Monday through Sunday, 7:30 a.m. through 12 a.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. through 12 a.m. on Sundays.
