Are you a mystery buff or a sci fi aficionado? Do you like to keep up with the latest bestsellers, both non-fiction and fiction? Do you love biographies? How about romances, self-help, and how-to books?
Or are you simply looking for a good book to read … to get away from it all? Paley Library”s new Leisure Reading Collection has it all!
During National Library Week, April 3 – 9, Paley Library is introducing its new Leisure Reading Collection, located on the main floor of the library.
On opening day, the collection will offer approximately 1,300 titles, from New York Times bestsellers to Harry Potter. Within a few months, some 2,000 titles will be available. Thereafter, about 100 newly-published titles will be added each month.
“This is something that students, faculty, and staff have been asking about for many years,” says Larry Alford, Vice Provost for Libraries, “and I am delighted that we are now able to do it.” He adds, “We want to provide books for pleasure as well as for scholarship, and to be the Temple community’s home library in every sense of the word.”
Alford himself will be browsing the collection. “For myself,” he says, “I’m looking forward to keeping up with the latest mysteries.”
Keeping up will be easy. The collection is easy to locate on Paley’s main floor. The books have simple call numbers and are loosely grouped in fiction, non-fiction, and biography categories. They are also fully searchable in the online catalog.
The Leisure Reading books may be checked out for 4 weeks, with one renewal of 4 weeks.
— Carol Lang
Is there a relationship between per capita computer use and time spent reading actual, bound books?
In what sense can we be said to celebrate reading leisurely, when at the very same time we are re-computerizing Paley’s largest and most wonderful reading commons?
Why not leave Paley’s beautifully sun-lit former-SIC a space reserved strictly for reading and quiet reading-related discussions, as might befit a celebration of reading?
Besides, does not the new tech center satisfy our electronic hunger enough?
an awkward condition became refreshingly accomodating for students in the once Paley Library SIC when a large number of tables and chairs were brought in. it was very nice to have more space to sit and read in the library, to see students sitting together at the tables to do schoolwork. now there has grown an almost ridiculous number of computer stations, rather quickly taking over the reading tables. why would computer stations be chosen over reading space? especially with regard to the newly installed leisure reading collection!
I’m not sure one can make any clear correlations between computer use and reading of bound books. Certainly computers involve a great amount of reading in a more general sense.
Plans are under way to continue work on the former-SIC area, including the addition of comfortable furniture. The library is not recreating the old SIC computer lab. The common area is a work in progress and comments from the University community are always welcome.
I am a 1985 Villanova accounting grad and a current Temple MBA student. Over these many years I have watched the computer develop into an indespensible tool. However, I concur with the majority of the postings above. More space should be allocated to just reading, because it’s a better way to learn.
One can go on to blackboard and review the professor’s slide presentation or google Accounting and read all sorts of information. However, nothing equals a detailed reading of the text book in gaing knowledge.
I am shocked by the amount of people in my MBA classes that don’t read the book. Rather they rely on class notes and slides from blackboard. Hears the reason. A detailed reading of the text book would definetly increase their knowledge, but by concentrating on the professors slides they can still get good grades (the professor’s generally test what they emphasize in their slides). In today’s fast and furious information age is their’s a better approach? All in all I do not believe so, and therefore please provide us with more “just reading” places to sit.
Before closing…I stick by my original thoughts, but for those who are “complaining” about reading space, why not just go upstairs and use of those tables?
amazing … postes
Why not leave Paley’s beautifully sun-lit former-SIC a space reserved strictly for reading and quiet reading-related discussions, as might befit a celebration of reading?
I am a 1985 Villanova accounting grad and a current Temple MBA student. Over these many years I have watched the computer develop into an indespensible tool. However, I concur with the majority of the postings above. More space should be allocated to just reading, because it’s a better way to learn.