My favourite place on campus

To kick off a new academic year, I’m going to talk to you about my favourite place on campus. Although small, the University of Leicester Campus has many amenities, resources, and little quirks that will play important roles in your daily student life. If I’m being really honest, my favourite place on campus is the O2 Academy on Wednesday and Friday nights, but on a more serious note I’d say my favourite place is…..[insert drumroll please]…..the David Wilson Library!

The library was opened in 2008 so it’s very modern. Don’t expect an old, traditional, Hogwarts-style library. I personally prefer modern achitecture and furniture so I love it. It’s clean and new and has everything you need, including a café and a shop. I hear the postgraduate section has Le Corbusier chaise longues. Fancy eh? If I decide to do a Masters course at the university, it will be partly to gain access to this part of the library…

Super modern seating

The library has 3 floors, each comprising of computer rooms and study areas, and naturally, a lot of books. There is also a basement with additional study areas and old journals and archives. My favourite spot inside the library has to be Floor 3 Pink Zone. It’s perfect for me as that’s where the Film Studies section is, as well as its extensive DVD section. In the modern world of Netflix and Putlocker that we live in, this section may seem somewhat redundant to most students. Not to me. When you study film it’s essential that you watch every film on the list at least once, and if you’re writing an essay on a specific film, you need to know it like the back of your hand. Also, as a film student, you’ll be studying all sorts of films; films that aren’t easily accessible on the internet becasue they’re either old, foreign, or aimed at niche markets, like art cinema. This is where the DVD section at the library comes in handy. They may not have a copy of every film you may need to study, but they have a large collection that helped me out a lot during my first and second year. Afterall, finding Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953) on Netflix ain’t gonna be easy. It’s old AND foreign.

Another reason I love the library is that it lets you have a change of scenery. Revising in your room all day every day during exam period can get really boring. A trip to the library is a great way to get out of the house and work in a new environment. Also, the smoked salmon bagels from the Library Café are amazing, so I insist that you take a break from working every now and then to enjoy one.

During exam time, the library can get pretty busy. They do accomodate the large number of stressed out students by adding more rows of tables and chairs. It’s inevitable that a campus based library is going to get busy during exam period, so the best thing to do is avoid peak times. I’m a night bird, I like staying up late and find that I can be quite productive during the night. Whenever I need to really focus, I do late night library trips. The David Wilson Library is open 24 hours Monday to Thursday, and this extends to weekends during exam time. You can find exact opening hours on their website here.

I’d love to hear about other students’ favourite spots on campus, so feel free to comment!