The Information Technology Department’s student help desk moved from Mercy Hall to the bottom floor of the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library last spring, a move expected to bring IT support closer to students.

Mark Reboli, head of the IT Student Help Desk, hopes the move will improve overall student experience.

“We are closer to the need,” Reboli said.  “Students utilize the library for their studies and now can be quickly accessed in the same building,”

Now, when students are studying in the library and encounter an issue with their computer, the IT help desk is just a few steps away to assist them.

This move was initiated late in fall 2021. The Alden Room, located where the Help Desk is now, was moved to the Henry Science Center and university officials decided it would be best to put the IT Student Help in that location.

This move has already proven to be beneficial for students. Senior Business Administration major Chris Straub has enjoyed the convenience of the help desk.

“I spend a lot of time studying in the library,” Straub said. “Having IT right there makes it a lot easier if my computer shuts down or can’t connect to Wi-Fi. It’s a lot easier than hauling it to Mercy [Hall] if I had an issue.”

The library is now ready to resume pre-Covid activities. During the pandemic, the McGowan Room, located on the third floor of the library and used as a classroom during Covid, can return to hosting university-sponsored events such as seminars, guest speakers, and other events. Additionally, food can now be served during these events, something not possible in previous years.

The first floor of the library has also been renovated within the past year with five study rooms added to the first floor, making for a total of 13 study rooms.

Each of these study rooms has white boards on the walls. Students can either bring their own markers, or borrow from the front desk, to write and study terms on the walls. The rooms also come with a touch screen TV that can connect to a laptop with an HDMI cord.

While the four study rooms mirror those on the second floor, the fifth study room is unique as it is much larger and created for group studying.

There are two “L” shaped desks in the corners of the room and an oval-shaped table with four chairs in the middle of the room. There is a 70-inch TV on the wall and a smaller monitor screen near the door.

Sophomore Sports Management major Michael Scarpulla loves going to the library.

“The study rooms in the library are awesome,” he said. “It allows me to isolate myself from other people, so I have no distractions from doing my work.”

Students can reserve time in the study room on the library’s website.

New white board tables and soft seat furniture have been added throughout the first floor of the library. The two printers on the first floor of the library were also moved last year to the front of the study space. There is also a banned book display.

Aside from the new changes, the library still offers other places for students to work.

A mixture of tables and desks is available on the second floor. The desks have walls to isolate students, as well as outlets to charge devices. The second floor of the library is also home to a computer lab.

Students can find plenty of desks scattered around the third floor, as well.

While many of these changes occurred last year, this will mark the first full semester of the library’s new look. These new changes will represent new opportunities as the university moves to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.