Gone are the days when a library’s main purpose was to provide books for the public. Today, campus libraries are becoming student hubs that provide places to study, collaborate, hang out, and work on projects. The library at UW Whitewater has embraced this shift, adapting to new student habits and moving beyond the traditional idea of what a library should be.
Walk inside on a weekday and the change is obvious. Nearly every table is filled. Groups of friends study together, project teams gather around laptops, and solo students sit with headphones on, deeply focused. You might even see a couple of people playing giant chess. What you don’t see much of, though, is students browsing the bookshelves or checking out physical books.
This trend mirrors what’s happening on campuses everywhere. Physical books just aren’t used the way they used to be. Librarian Jenna believes COVID played a major role in the decline, pushing students toward online resources that remained popular even after campus reopened. Many students though say it’s simply the convenience of digital resources.
Because of this, the library has shifted too. Jenna explained that it has become more digitally focused, offering a technology program and partnering with the Media Lab downstairs. Students today feel more comfortable scrolling through online information than flipping through pages. To support that, the library provides a huge database of scholarly articles that can be searched by keywords, titles, or subjects.
Even if traditional book borrowing has faded, UW Whitewater’s library continues to stay relevant by evolving with student needs. It remains one of the most important places on campus. Not because of the books, but because of the space, tools, and support it offers. The library has changed, but its purpose hasn’t. It’s still here to help students succeed in whatever way they need.
Photos Below:
The shelf of board games available for checkout at the library
The giant chess board where games are regularly happening during the week.
The shelf of video games from a variety of consoles available for checkout
The sack area with items available for purchase as well as a coffee machine near the library’s entrance.
A shelf of books with not a lot of duplicates due to the lack of need
Empty shelves upstairs that the library no longer need to fill
A pair of students in one of the many computer labs in the library
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