One of my favorite episodes of the classic Star Trek series takes place on a mysterious deserted planet.
The crew finds an empty library where knowledge is stored in holographic cube thingies (that’s what Spock said — thingies). They figure out how to work the machines and learn about the people who once inhabited the planet. After that, they are attacked by a giant house cat or tiny aliens made out of pipe cleaners — I can’t quite remember …
Ultimately, the library’s mission is to store and transmit knowledge.
Books are the most traditional way this is accomplished, but other societies have used oral knowledge, stories, ceremonies and anything else you can imagine that fulfills this function.
The message is what is important, not necessarily the medium. Wait — I just said medium, which reminds me of the Media Center on the third floor of the library.
In addition to books, your library also contains videotapes, compact discs, e-books, laptops and scanners. Most of these you can check out and take home, but some are restricted to in-library use.
There are televisions and CD players with headphones for these items, so you can view or listen to your item in the library.
If your professor has put a video or sound recording on reserve, this is where it is. E-books are books that have been scanned into the computer, so you can read them from your house or dorm room if you like.
You can use these sources to help with your projects. If you want some more perspective about ancient Egypt, abortion or Civil War history, a videotape from the third-floor Media Center is one option. Videotapes are also great for music majors who need to view operas or ballets you might find it hard to see in East Tennessee. Computer labs full and you need to write a paper? Check out a library-use only laptop with Word — but bring a disk as you can’t print out from these.
I always close with a book recommendation. How about something by Jorge Luis Borges? If Edgar Allan Poe were Argentinian and lived in the 20th century, he would write like Jorge Luis Borges.
Try Ficciones, a collection of English translations of his short stories. The call number is PZ4.B73 Fi and it’s on the third floor.

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