Hayden Library

Hayden library is one of the most visited areas at Arizona State University campus. It is located on Cady Mall, not only ASU students are welcome, but it is open for the general public till midnight. It is open twenty four hours five days a week, Monday through Thursday for ASU students.  There are six other libraries at Arizona State University but Hayden Library is on the Tempe campus. It was built in 1966 and named after Charles Trumbull Hayden which was the founder of Tempe and first president of the board of the Arizona Territorial Normal School. The architecture of the five story building is very unique because the entrance is underground and to get to the other building you must travel underground too.  It was designed by an architectural firm of Weaver and Dover. A couple of years after the building was constructed, the library added two floors underneath Hayden Lawn. Above ground, there is a landmark called the "beacon of knowledge" which glows at night by the interior lights of the library below. The library is not only a beautiful structure or a place to check-out books, it also serves other different purposes such as access for the disable, a café shop for students, studying areas, and historical achieves. 

Cafe Biblioteca

 At the doorway after entering Hayden located to the left, there is a café shop called Biblioteca Café which is a campus hotspot. This international café is very convenient for students for many reasons. There is an outdoor and an indoor sitting area with great internet access students like to go to the café to socialize or be on their laptops. Before having a hard session of studying caffeine may be needed to awake the brain or even in the morning heading to class. This café is a designated meeting area where students can get together or take a break from hard studying. Biblioteca café is not just known for its great service or for its atmosphere, but for their international coffee, tea, pastries and lunch. Some of their signature goods would be their gourmet pizza, Panini sandwiches and hot and cold coffees of course.  The café has reasonable prices for their merchandise compared to chain espresso bars around campus. No item goes over seven dollars and the snacks and coffees are delicious. It has a classy old time dinner feel with the light pink and blue walls.

Concourse Level

The Concourse level of Hayden is a common study zone. This is the entrance of the library where the Check Out, Disability Services and Reference Books, is located. The front desk is where books are returned or checked out.  Information Services on this level provides reference assistance and instruction in the use of library resources. This is convenient for people who really don’t know the library and want extra assistance. The Librarians at the front desk are always happy to help anyone out. In addition, looking around the room, there are many rows of computers for students, some to the right of the entrance and others to the left. To use a computer you must log in with your ASURITE ID and password.  Continuing walking to the right of the floor, there are a couple of stairs that will take you to more sitting areas. There are tables or small lounges for a party of four to have a group session. At hand are a total of six large study rooms in the library. Nearby are four common study zones that are labeled “Group Study Area”; there are rooms for study sessions with comfortable chairs and mobile white boards to help you study. These rooms are usually used for students who have projects or want to study together. Also tutoring sessions are held in these rooms. I personally have my study groups on this level because it is an area where talking and interaction is allowed but I can still concentrate. There are times where the library is full and this level gets pretty noise.

On the left of the entrance there is an office called Access for the Disability Accommodations. The Disability Services’ are available to help individuals with disabilities in accessing library resources and providing information. Members of the community with disabilities are welcome to do library research with the staff’s support. The assistance that this office offers is orientation to the library, Instruction on accessing and searching the library catalog, online Databases, and the Internet, assistance with the library’s equipment and machinery. They mostly help the disable on how to use the library and its resources this is beneficial to the community and attracts more people to the library. Floors one two and three of the library are where most of the books are and are arrange in alphabetical order. To get to these locations there is elevators on the right of the building.

Lower Level

The lower level of the library is known as the basement of the library. To get to the lower area you just need to walk down the stairs that are located at the right of the concourse level entrance. This zone is where you can find journals, microforms and videos. The microforms are located to the left of the room in tall shelves. There are many book shelves across the room that range from hard cover books, to magazines. The book shelves move with a press of a button and can be put back to place too.  Collections can be found on this floor too, such as Southeast Asian and East Asian Collections, and East Asian Reference Collection. There are six individual study rooms which students need a key to enter. These rooms are enclosed rooms where nothing can distract you from your studies.  The location of the individual study rooms are in the back of the lower level. This level is a no talking zone; it has a strict noise regulation not even cell phone noise. Every floor has a sign of a stop light that tells students what their noise level should be.  The green light means it is a common study area where talking and collaborating is allowed. Yellow means it is a quiet zone and red is the silent study where there is no talking or noises. Most students go to the lower level to have no distractions and really have a quiet comfortable space for studies. 

Luhrs Gallery & Reading Room

Ever been interested in historical archives? The library’s Luhrs Gallery & Reading Room, Arizona Historical Foundation is to be found on the fourth floor of the library. It was named in honor of the Luhrs family's contributions to the history of Phoenix and Arizona. The Luhrs Room purpose is for scholars to find material on Arizona historical events such as Chicano Research, Benedict Visual Literacy collection, and University Achieves. The Chicano Studies Collection was established in 1970 in reply to the academic needs of both Chicano students and faculty in higher education. There are indexes, guides, computer databases, information recovery services and personal reference help to their researchers. To view any of these collections you can ask the lady at the front desk and they will go to the back of the room and pull out the collection of your choice. The Department of Archives and Special Collections provides collections of rare books and manuscripts and many special-interest. Special Collections adds to the growing name of the Libraries and the University as top-ranked teaching and research organizations. The Special Collections research component at this time includes more than 2,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 45,000 books, photographs, and video recordings. There are also many documents in glass boxes to display an event around the room. It is open Monday thru Friday from 9:00am- 6:00pm and Saturday you can only go if an appointment was scheduled. 

Conclusion

Arizona State University has several campuses but their larger university ground is the Tempe campus. This area is where the famous Hayden library is located. Hayden library has the most helpful source of information at Arizona State University. It has an ideal location almost set at the center of Tempe campus; it makes it a great meeting destination.  Studying at the library with friends makes the Biblioteca Café well-located too it was a good idea to put a coffee place in the library with a great indoor and outdoor lounge.  This five story building has the perfect location for students and residents to have access. It has a great source of books and historical achieves and great librarians to assist you on finding resources. The different floors all have a different purpose and keep all the students focused on their studies. Arizona State University provided their sun devils a great environment where they can focus on their studies and create a better future for themselves.
For more information, visit an Interactive map of Hayden Library. 

Work Cited

"Charles Trumbull Hayden Library." ASU Tempe campus Tour:. 11 Oct. 2012 <http://www.asu.edu/tour/tempe/lib.html>.

"About Us - Hayden Library." ASU Libraries. 12 Oct. 2012 <http://lib.asu.edu/hayden/aboutus>.

"Special Collections." ASU Libraries:. 11 Oct. 2012 <http://www.asu.edu/lib/speccoll/>.

"ASU Libraries." ASU Libraries. 04 Nov. 2012 <http://lib.asu.edu/hayden>.