Untapped Potential Hiding On The Fourth Floor of The Library

Up four flights of stairs, filed in metallic sarcophagi, lay the archives of MSU – and a small but staunch portion of its collective knowledge. It’s a hidden gem on campus, and a gold mine of information many students are missing out on.

The fourth floor is the highest and most mysterious section of the library. It is resoundingly quiet and holds some of the most interesting information on campus. Weekly print papers from both local and larger publications are one of the hidden highlights of the floor. Anyone searching to kill time or hone their mind will find the piles of newspapers a welcome addition to their weekly routine.

The depths of this tomb go much deeper than just print out newspapers, however. Government documents and scanned editions of newspapers dating back to the 1900s are only scratching the surface of the vast archive found there. 

That archive could be a useful trove of material for reliable research – if only students would take the time to visit. All that information is there at the top of the stairs, but few take the journey. The higher a person travels, the quieter the floors become. This design decision creates a great academic atmosphere. It also unfortunately makes sure that one of the most rad places in the library is kept hidden from many students’ eyes. 

In an age where reliable information is becoming increasingly harder to obtain amidst paywalls and the oversaturation of sources on the internet, this treasure trove of material is here, accurate and free for viewing..The resources contained in the library are the perfect tool to combat these issues even when students are not utilizing the resource as much as they should.

The quality of information out there for understanding the world has become vastly disproportionate to the quantity. There is so much media and because it is scattered in various places it has become difficult to follow the trends of information. A lot of people choose to subscribe to a specific paper – whether this is a large publisher or a local paper like the Exponent – and this choice improves the quality of information they receive drastically. Local papers do a fantastic job at informing people about relevant topics with meaningful impacts. However, it is hard to give world news a local perspective. People pay for news but many students may think there's no point due to other free alternatives. Paywalls for online information access are often a bottleneck for research at the college level. Reputable sources and publications cost money, but in a student’s case, the university is covering the tab. 

The library is a central system that should both be taught about and respected. It is more than just a building full of printers. It is there to further the education of each student and is prepared with resources to meet this challenge. It’s got the newspapers to keep people up to date and the archives to allow for a deeper look into our current history. It’s all there at the top of the stairs in reach for anyone who chooses to visit.