EvCC’s library can be found in Parks Student Union, past the bookstore and behind a large door that leads down a narrow staircase. Walking in, there are a multitude of computers, and past that are rows and rows of books. During certain times of the day it may seem empty and eerily silent walking through these rows.

This is not always the case, though.

EvCC’s library provides students with many resources including computers, books to check out for class or recreation and a place to meet with study groups.
Heather Jean Uhl has been a librarian at EvCC for three years, and says the library goes through tides. “At 10 a.m. we’ll get a huge hit… they’ll stay about an hour to an hour and a half,” said Uhl. “At noon you’ll see another massive influx of students.”

Eleyna Cerda, a sophomore at EvCC, said “usually I get here about 8 a.m. or 3 p.m. It’s usually not as busy; you can get a computer quickly and do what you need to do.”
During “high tide, generally all of the computers are full,” said Uhl.

Students aren’t only using the library’s computers, though. The library contains over 60,000 books, and “check out is happening all day, every day,” said Uhl. “I’ll get slammed with students trying to check out books,” at 3:50 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, she adds.

Another great resource the library offers is group study rooms. The building “only (has) 11 of them, they’re booked solid every single day,” said Uhl.
Chad Coragiulo, a sophomore at EvCC, uses the study rooms for group projects because “it’s the first thing that comes to mind, and it’s more convenient to go somewhere on campus… rather than Starbucks or something.” He adds that it’s not difficult to get a study room, but “you just have to put it in early in the morning or the day before.”

To reserve a room, students must do so in person where there is a sign-up sheet at the library’s reference desk. A group must contain 2-6 people, and can reserve a room for a maximum of four hours per week.

Students come to the library to study alone as well, like Meilia Acker, a Running Start student and junior at Cascade High School. “It’s just really quiet, it’s the biggest library at a campus I’ve ever been to,” said Acker.

EvCC’s library may be a good place for students to study, but it also offers resources that don’t require students to stay on campus. “We understand students can’t always get to the library,” said Uhl.

Online databases are available on the library’s website, where students can retrieve information at any time from home. If students don’t own a computer, they can rent one from the library. Newer netbook models are available for $20 per quarter, while older ones are $10 per quarter.

Although the library provides students with heaps of technology, it hasn’t always been that way. David Rash has been working in EvCC’s library for 25 years and said he can remember the first student to tell him, “you should get this new thing, it’s called the internet.” The library didn’t “have internet when I started,” said Rash.

on print collections, although it “used to have a very large collection of LP records… those are long gone, now we have physical CDs,” said Rash.

One thing that became obsolete by the internet was the library’s map collection. The library is becoming “much more virtual all the time,” said Rash.
EvCC’s library has hardly seen any remodeling during the time Rash has worked there, however that wasn’t the case just a few years before.

In 1987, EvCC’s original library was destroyed in a fire that took firefighter Gary Parks’ life. The current library seemed to be built “hastily after the fire,” said Uhl, which could make for the dark and cramped environment.

There are now plans to build a new library, in EvCC’s future Learning Resource Center (LRC). “These plans, I’m very pleased with them,” said Uhl. “The LRC has way more capacity for group study.” The plans were made with the involvement of students, said Uhl.

EvCC’s library is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and even on Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“We just want to help support students,” said Uhl.