State Times Library Corner: Finals Week Stress Busters
For some of you, the best way to relieve stress during exams is simply to have a quiet place to study. Often this is not a dorm room or an apartment, since friends and housemates may be studying (or not) in a style that is considerably louder than your own. The library can provide an alternative to constantly roaring at your roommate, “Be quiet!” The third floor of the library has been designated an absolute quiet floor, which means that you are free to remind people of this and you can come to the Reference Desk on the first floor for back up, should you encounter persistent noise. Beginning December 5, the library is open extended hours, until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and until 1:00 am Sunday through Wednesday, then until midnight on Thursday.
What else can you do to relieve stress during periods when intense concentration is required? Here are some suggestions:
1. Get help: If you’re having a tough time with your research, call the Reference & Information Desk at 436-2722, email your question to libref@oneonta.edu, or come to the library and get face-to-face help.
2. Read a magazine. The library has lots of popular magazines, including really light reading like “People Weekly,” in the Reading Room on the first floor of the library.
3. Eat food. Jazzman’s is oh, so convenient to the library for coffee, cookies, coffee, sandwiches, coffee.
4. Watch a movie. You may not have a lot of cash, but you don’t need any to take movies out of the library. To browse, go to the second floor, head to the Dewey Room straight ahead, then aim for the far corner to your right where DVDs, videocassettes, and books on tape are shelved. You can also search the catalog for a specific movie, or to get a list of the popular movies search for the subject “feature films.”
5. Laugh. Friends are the best for this, but if you want a few minutes of absent-minded chuckles, try some of this web site: Final Exam Humor at webcatt.net/humor/final_exam.html
6. Do goofy stuff online. You probably have your own favorites, but here are some librarian’s favorites in no particular order.
- Virtual Bubble Wrap: Pop virtual bubbles to your heart’s content. www.mouserunner.com/MRGameAdds/virtual-bubblewrap-distv1.1.swf
- Scramble Word Magnets: You know those silly refrigerator magnets that let you spell words? Well, do it online. www.worldvillage.com/kidz/puzzles/scramble.htm
- The Scribbler: Draw a crude drawing and Scribbler will turn it into a masterpiece. More fun than it sounds. www.zefrank.com/scribbler/
- Aardman Animations: Shoot at geeky little animated critters. www.aardman.com/flash.asp
- Hoops and YoYo: There are dozens of animated cards to send to your friends. These two characters are guaranteed to make you laugh. Go to www.hallmark.com, click on the link for e-cards at the top of the page, then look for Hoops and YoYo.
- Ze's Page: Tons of videos and interactive things to do. www.zefrank.com
- Caption-This.com: Challenges you to add your own captions to photos of politicians, celebrities, etc. www.caption-this.com
Just remember, do not do any one of these things to the exclusion of actually writing papers and studying for exams. Good luck.