By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Moody Library — a place with rows upon rows of seemingly countless books — has become a gathering place for studying students in this modern digital age. As one walks around the building, students faces are often buried in computer screens, littering the seating areas, nooks and crannies.
Though they may be utilizing the library’s online Onesearch feature to find what they need from the library, towering shelves of books sit idly just waiting for someone to come by and pluck out a book. So what purpose do these monographs – these physical copies — serve anymore?
Even 17 years ago when liaison program director of the research and engagement division of Baylor Libraries Ellen Filgo began working for Baylor Libraries, the library had ebooks, she said.
The library’s books are there for those who enjoy spending time in the library simply for “the smell of books,” as well as those who read and utilize them, she said.
“A lot of people still like the serendipity of going down the shelf and finding that thing that’s going to be helpful, right?” Filgo said. “The idea of going through the shelves and like, ‘Oh, this is the book I was looking for, but look what’s next to it.’ That’s also really interesting.”
She said browsing shelves is sometimes the best method for finding the perfect book for an assignment since books similar in subject can be found grouped together on shelves.
Library information specialist John Robinson said browsing can sometimes produce a lucky find, and that would be the danger in ever removing physical books from libraries as a whole.
“It might be something that doesn’t get used in 20 years, but then some researcher is like, you know, ‘Here it is on the shelf, something I didn’t think to look for,’” Robinson said.
Robinson, who has been working for Baylor libraries for over 25 years, said the change from physical to digital has been “dramatic.”
He described the process of finding journal articles as several-stepped, starting with sifting through a paper index, looking up the article by subject, finding the journal and finally locating the article. Now, he said, one can simply go online and find what they need for research or assignments. However, this doesn’t erase the need for physical copies, he said.
According to Baylor Libraries 2024 fulfillment records, which track each time someone checks out a library book, there have been 18,378 books checked out this year.
Students like Houston senior Sophia Tejeda are just one of these library check-outs. She said she has utilized physical items from Baylor Libraries due to her major in history. Such materials have included items on Cleopatra, the legend of King Arthur and the political participation of colonial women, all for reports for her classes.
“It’s nice for research purposes having the actual physical book and being able to mark tabs and notes and stuff for papers,” Tejeda said.
She said in order to check out items from special collections, it’s a lengthy process of emailing the collection, getting approval and then booking a time slot for viewing the item. Tejeda said at the appointment, a librarian must also be watching the entire viewing in order for them to ensure its safety and preservation, which is why students may not check out these items as often.
Above all purposes these physical copies serve, Filgo said libraries are like a symbol that make the learning and collaboration that happens there tangible.
“There’s something about being surrounded by knowledge and the endpoints of research,” Filgo said. “There’s always going to be a place for physical books in the library, but there’s also a place for students to do, collaborate and learn.”
