Reducing Stress with the Library

Feelings of high stress are constant for most college students. This can lead to multiple issues for students when it comes to making grades. The reasons for high stress are obvious: the number of assignments due, exams, projects, working, and finding time for friends and personal time is a lot for anyone to handle. The OSU Library works to help reduce the amount of stress students have to deal with throughout the semester.

The Edmon Low Creative Studios are one of the Library’s most popular academic resources. The space provides students the opportunity to use programs and equipment students may not otherwise have access to for classwork, research, personal learning and more. However, the space can also be used recreationally.  Some of the suites that are commonly used for students to reduce stress include the virtual reality, flight simulation, 3D printing and audio studios. All of these suites allow students to engage in their hobbies and interests in a fun environment. The Creative Studios also provide board games including Bananagrams, Sorry, chess, trivial pursuit and many more for students to use while taking a break from homework.

One of the major services that Creative Studios offers that can reduce stress is Presentation Coaching. Many people suffer from fear of public speaking. In the Recording and Presentation Studio, Presentation Coaching hours are available for students who have a speech coming up or just want to improve their presentation skills. This can keep students from dwelling on upcoming presentations by increasing their confidence in their ability and understanding of their presentation style.

The Creative Studios also provide students access to a large number of items to check out through the Tech to Go service. Want to get out and capture the beauty of nature or take pictures of your friends? Try the Canon Rebel EOS T6. Want to explore the night sky up close? Use one of five telescopes available. Even GoPros are available for capturing action shots. Other notable things Tech to Go provides are 360 cameras for full panoramic shots, multiple models of microphones for voice acting, interviewing, or podcasts and ring lights for photos or vlogging. All of these allow the student to get their head out of the books and engage in some recreational activities.

Services and items provided through the Circulation Desk can also help students relax. Study rooms allow students to ensure they are not being disturbed while working on homework by themselves or on group projects with classmates. Students can also check out white noise machines while in their study rooms to help them improve focus on their studies while helping them relax.

The Library also hosts therapy dogs to help students relax. The OSU Library teams up with Pete’s Pet Posse to host MuttDay Monday, Yappy Hour and Waggin’ Wednesdays. Every Monday from 12 to 1 p.m., Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. and Wednesday from 2 to 3 p.m., the dogs of Pete’s Pet Posse are available to help students relax in the South Lobby. Therapy dogs are known to reduce stress and anxiety for students.

The OSU Library also works to provide a study space for any type of worker. There are the study rooms mentioned earlier for people who like to work without outside distractions. More open options exist on the first, second and third floors along with the lower level. These floors are all group study floors. This means the volume levels can get somewhat loud, which is nice if you are working in a group and do not want to be concerned about your conversations bothering others. Having some noise is also a study environment many people enjoy, which is why there are individual study desks on these floors. The fourth floor is a completely silent study floor. It’s great for students who need absolute quiet to concentrate and get things finished. The fifth is considered a “whisper zone,” where conversations and other noise are allowed at a lower volume. Providing students all of these types of study areas along with dozens of types of seating ensures students will find somewhere they are comfortable in the Library to have a relaxing study session.

All of these resources are ways the Library ensures it is making the most inviting and stress-free study space on campus. What are some ways you use the Library to be productive without being stressed out?

Posted by Jacob Hinchey, Emerging Technology Intern

---

Facilitating Finals

How does the OSU Library keep students engaged and in good spirits during finals week?

The answer is more elaborate than one might think. The OSU Library does many things to help and encourage its visiting students during the most stressful and busiest time of the semester. Here are a few of notable efforts by the library and its faculty.

1) 24-Hour Access

The first promotion the OSU Library used was 24-hour access from the Sunday of pre-finals week to the Friday of finals week. During the year, the building would close at 2 a.m. most nights, so 24/7 access during finals was readily welcomed by students. It meant they wouldn’t have to worry about finding a new spot for their all-night study sessions. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to this promotion, the Library has since expanded its normal operating hours to 24 hours five days a week, but the tradition of 24/7 access during finals continues.

2) Pete’s Pet Posse

The OSU Library has several long-standing appointments with Pete’s Pets. Members of the Posse visit the library each week for designated pet therapy sessions. These times include Muttday Monday from 12-1 p.m., Yappy Hour on Tuesdays from 6-7 p.m. and Waggin’ Wednesday from 2-3 p.m.

Because finals week brings added tension, Pete’s Pet Posse adds one more visit to their usual lineup: Finals Fuzzies. This event occurs Monday through Thursday during the week of finals. The pups visit the OSU Library from 4-5 p.m. and help students briefly step away from their books and computer screens. Students can sit with the pups and chat with their handlers to destress and unwind from the stress of final exams and projects. Pet therapy is proven to help people with stress and anxiety, so this program especially benefits students in times like finals week.

3) Caffeine

One of the more regular promotions is the free coffee the OSU Library offers to its students each day of finals week. Tables with coffee dispensers, creams and sugars are placed in the open areas of the library and available to students who want or, more likely, need a caffeine kick to keep going. This helps students save time and money that would be spent getting coffee elsewhere so that they can dedicate more time to studying for exams and finishing projects without having to leave the building. In addition to the free coffee, Cafe Libro extends its hours of operation to facilitate the larger than average numbers of library visitors during this time. The Cafe provides other beverage options as well as snacks and light meals.  

4) Food, Food, Food

At various points throughout the week, the library provides free food for the students using the facilities. This can include pizza, tacos, hamburgers, donuts and more from local restaurants as well as pre-packaged items like cookies and crackers. This is a way for the library to show appreciation to the students who use the facility and to encourage them to persevere through their most trying moments of the year.

5) Relaxation Station

The Relaxation Station, one of the newer promotions, is a designated spot in the library where students can unwind their minds with fun activities such as coloring and solving puzzles. Coloring has been shown to help people deal with stressful situations by narrowing focus to a simple task and using parts of the brain otherwise turned off during cram study sessions. This gives students an outlet for creativity and leisure as an alternative to the tense period of finals week.

The OSU Library also continues its regular operations, such as study rooms, express printing and laptop checkout, to help students have everything they need in order to be successful at the conclusion of the semester.

As the central academic hub on the Oklahoma State University campus, the OSU Library acts as the steward between students and success. As such, the finals week promotions enacted by it are a programmed effort to benefit hard-working students and reward their pursuit of higher education.

Do you have a great idea for how the library can further help students during finals week? Comment your thoughts below.

Post by Jennifer Barnett, E-Communications intern for OSU Library Communications

It's A Ruff Life

On any given day, you may see dogs around campus in orange vests; well, these cuddly canines happen to be employees of the University. From its beginning in fall 2013, Pete’s Pet Posse has quickly become a staple of Oklahoma State University. The pets and their handlers can be found in their various places of work around campus throughout the year.

As you may know, the Pet Therapy program was created with the intent of bringing joy and puppy breath to the people of OSU. Research shows the presence of therapy animals can be significantly beneficial to humans, which is why the goal of the Pet Therapy program is to positively enhance physical and emotional health on campus as well as contribute to OSU’s America’s Healthiest Campus® initiative.

There are currently 28 dogs in Pete’s Pet Posse, each with their own personality and energy. These four-legged friends are given custom information cards for their handlers to give out to visitors. We could share a photo of our card collection, but you will just have to visit Pete’s Pets to see them for yourself.

We recently had the opportunity to hear from a handler in the pet therapy program.

Joy Fieldsend and her miniature schnauzer, Sophie, work in the OSU Alumni Association. Joy got Sophie as a puppy and knew right away that she had the loving nature and friendly personality of a therapy dog.

Their most touching moment as a pet therapy team was early on in their Posse career. On a typical day at the Student Union, Joy and Sophie encountered a young woman who was visibly stressed. Joy later learned how much it had meant to the girl that Sophie had been there that day. Their session had given her a reason to smile and carry on during a stressful time.

“It made me realize the work we do on a daily basis is so important,” Joy said. “We may not know it at the time but the impact we have on the well-being of the students is huge.”

Many students admit to checking the Pete’s Pets’ social media accounts to see where the dogs will be located on campus each day, especially during the final weeks of each semester. Sessions with therapy animals have been proven to decrease stress, anxiety and depression. The animals can also provide comfort and encourage communication. These benefits are vital to OSU students with final exams and projects looming overhead.

“It is so important that Pete’s Pet Posse is visible around campus during finals week,” Joy said. “You can see the stress just fall off the students while they are petting the dogs.”

There is no doubt that therapy animals are helpful during times of stress. Junior strategic communications major, Lucky Coffey, is an avid supporter of Pete’s Pet Posse. She loves how the therapy dogs work at different places across the university.

“It immediately brightens my day whenever I see any of the dogs around campus,” Lucky said.

Coffey especially enjoys visiting with the dogs at the weekly events in the OSU Library. Pete’s Pets visit every week for Mutt Day Mondays 12-1p.m., Yappy Hour on Tuesdays 6-7p.m. and Waggin’ Wednesdays 2-3p.m. Members of the Posse will also be visiting the OSU library Monday-Thursday of finals week from 4-5p.m. for Finals Fuzzies.

The Pet Therapy program is able to continue doing great work because of the generosity of Merial, Purina and HomeAgain, which provide each of Pete’s Pets with medication, food and a microchip. OSU therapy dogs wear orange working vests with badges that read “Therapy Dog” and “Ask to Pet Me.” They also wear a Pete’s Pet Posse collar and matching leash.

Useful reminder: Therapy dogs are not service dogs. Therapy dogs, like Pete’s Pets, are trained to interact with many people; whereas, service dogs are trained to help one person and should not be distracted from their duties. Regardless, it is wise to always ask before touching an animal wearing a vest.

Tell us about your favorite encounter with a therapy animal in the comment section below.

Post by Jennifer Barnett, E-communications intern for OSU Library Communications