Need a room? Book it instantly.

Tech updates in study rooms.

Reserving a room just got easier! In the Spring, SPU introduced Room Finder to replace the old reservations system – now putting all of SPU’s available spaces across campus on the same page. You can now book small conference, study rooms, and media rooms at the Library instantly.

There are several ways you can reserve a room. Here’s how:

  • Use the QR code posted on the room window to reserve a room instantly or check the room’s availability with your mobile device.
  • From your dorm room or home, use your laptop to reserve a room for your next study group through the link on the library webpage.
  • The library Seminar Room is a mediated room and requires approval, so be sure to submit your request well in advance of the date needed and make sure your request meets the policies of the room.

Keep in mind that midterms and finals are an especially busy time for library study rooms. By planning ahead and anticipating your study requirements, this system will allow you to reserve your room in advance so you can beat the last minute rush for rooms.

We’re here to help with your research and academic needs. If you ever need assistance in reserving a room at the Library, or need to discuss the availability of the seminar room or other spaces in the Library, please contact Jo Krough at 206-281-2413 or email libraryrooms@spu.edu.

Extended Hours and Library Blog Hiatus

The Library Extended Hours ends tomorrow night, June 5, at Midnight. The Library will close at 6 p.m. on the last day of final exams, Thursday, June 6. On Friday, June 7, the Library will be open from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m with a closure during the day for the campus Ivy Cutting ceremony. Saturday and Sunday, June 8 – 9, the Library will be closed.

The Library congratulates all our students for another successful academic year and wishes our graduating seniors well as they move forward into a new stage of life.

The Library blog will be on hiatus during summer break, to resume during autumn quarter, 2013. Enjoy the nice weather, and we hope to see you soon!

Is it time for a study break or a cram session?

Ready for a break from all of the intensive studying? Why not stretch those legs by walking to the SPU Library to take a look at our latest book display, peruse our Popular Fiction book collection, or tour the quarterly finals week 3-D artwork? And in spite of the mayhem that may overtake the rest of the campus during the finals week frenzy, the Library Reading Room offers a quiet place to kick back, relax, and read a magazine, newspaper, or book. Need to stock your bookshelves with summer reading? Our book sale cart, located by the Circulation Desk, has a variety of used books selling for 25 cents each.

Or, if instead of a break you need a cram session, come to the Library prepared for study and research by bringing your Sea Pac Card pre-loaded with Debit Dollars for printing and scanning, your group study room reservation in order, and the call numbers in hand for any library Course Reserve item you may need to check out. Take a look at our study tips for more ideas on how to study effectively at the Library. The Everyday Writer is a wonderful citation resource, call number PE1408 .L86 2009, and our librarians are trained to provide citation guidance as well. Also, don’t forget that the Library is on an extended hours schedule this week and next, so come and stay awhile anytime between 7:30 a.m. to Midnight now through June 5, 2013.

Campus Closure on Monday

On Monday, all campus offices are closed and classes are canceled in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 27, 2013. However, the Library will be open from 3 – 11 p.m.

If Memorial Day has sparked your research interests and you are looking for something to read during the extra day, take a look at some of the related resources that our Library currently owns.

The SPU Library hopes all its patrons enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend.

Gold Stars on the Honor Roll: Remembering Then and Now

One of the larger sized items in the SPU Archives is the Honor Roll, or, more correctly, the Honor Roll of Seattle Pacific College Students in the Armed Service of Our Country.  It is a list of the students who served in various military branches during the Second World War.

Honor Roll

The top portion of the Honor Roll plaque held in the Archives – some of the letters have been lost

Looking for a way to honor their fellow students who had left school to fight for the United States, SPC students held a donation drive during the 1942-43 school year to fund a lasting tribute to those who served. An article in the May 27, 1943 Falcon newspaper states:

“The realization of the small part we [students still on campus] are playing in this great struggle for freedom as compared with the hardships you[students who enlisted] are enduring, has created a feeling about the campus that we must do more for you – honor you to the best of our ability.”

Out of this feeling arose the plan for a permanent plaque in your honor.That plan led to the plaque that is held by the Archives today. Subsequent issues of the Falcon mention adding names to the plaque as more students were called to serve.

Plaque Names

Some of the names of students who served – both men and women are recognized on the plaque

During the summer of 1944, the plaque was placed in the main hall of the Administration Building (Peterson Hall today) to help students remember their fellow students who were serving.

The Falcon, Nov 2, 1945The plaque on the wall in Peterson Hall, photo from the Falcon November 2, 1945.

Unfortunately, not every SPC student who served returned alive. Those who gave their lives had a gold star placed next to their names. Of the 309 names on the plaque, 10 names are accompanied by a gold star.

Names with Star

Some of the names on the plaque, including one gold star

The plaque is no longer in Peterson Hall; it is now housed in the University Archives. But the students’ vision of a permanent honor of those who served is still present on campus. The Chapel on the second floor of Alexander Hall has a memorial to all Seattle Pacific students who gave their lives in military service.

Alexander Chapel Memorial

The memorial in the Alexander Chapel – the bottom lines read: In honor of Seattle Pacific Veterans of Foreign wars/In Memory of Seattle Pacific Alumni who died/in defense of Liberty and Justice for All

– Adrienne Meier, Social Sciences Librarian and University Archivist