Concorde Staff
It's National Library Week!
Did you know that today is National Library Workers Day (NLWD)? It's a day for Library staff, users, administrators and friend groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
NLWD is part of the greater National Library week which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2018.
This year's theme is "Libraries Lead" and here at Concorde, we couldn't agree more. On our campuses, Libraries are referred to as Learning Resource Centers or LRCs, and they are the hub for students to use on a daily basis for things like studying for tests, writing papers or accessing a plethora of journals, books, and magazines.
Resources
Our LRCs offer an abundance of resources for students. One of the first resources students receive is their campus emails, which the LRC Coordinators help walk them through.
"Every student email is a Microsoft Office 365 account that has a free version of Microsoft Office," said Ben Robinson, LRC Coordinator at Concorde's campus in Jacksonville. "Also included is their Onedrive, a cloud computing, web-based virtual office suite in case the students are on a computer somewhere that doesn't have Office. This way, they can still work on their papers and other projects."
Each LRC has computers, printing, books, journals, and various other resources. One great resource is the online library known as the Gale/Cengage Learning portal, which has access to over 1.7 billion pieces of information through 10 different databases.
Robinson added, "Our database portal from Gale is a wonderful addition to the LRC resource offerings. They also provide students with APA citations and many other helpful items for research papers."
Some of the databases inside the portal include Career Transitions, a virtual reference library, Health, and Wellness Resource Center and Alternative Health Module, Science in Context and Nursing and Allied Health Collection.
Learning Resource Center Coordinators
The greatest resource the students have at the LRC's is the Coordinators.
"Truthfully, our Concorde LRCs are pretty much the same [to me]- books, journals, Gale research databases, tables, computers, and printers," says Jean Thornblom LRC Coordinator at Concorde's campus in San Antonio, "It's the LRC Coordinators (librarians) that make a difference from one campus to another. We have different personalities, but we're all dedicated to serving our students, instructors, and staff. When I give LRC orientations to the new starts, I always tell them that they are my number one priority, and I sincerely mean that."
Roberta Crisp, LRC Coordinator at Concorde's campus in Dallas says, "I make myself visible to all of the students and even go around to different rooms in the school to let them know about activities I have planned and invite them to participate. I also act as a test proctor as needed." But most importantly Crisp mentions, "I welcome them as part of our Concorde family. The student always comes first!"
In addition to the aforementioned, it's the LRC Coordinators who create events like Scavenger hunts, database tutorials, or "trying to commemorate something each month like Minority Mental Health Awareness, Women's History Month, Caribbean American Heritage Month; things that are relevant to our student population" says Raynel Kinchen, LRC Coordinator at Concorde's campus in Miramar.
The LRC's Lead
"We're open when students are on campus, so our services are available both day and evening. Benefiting from what the LRC offers relies simply on the student's willingness to take advantage of what's available. Concorde's Learning Resources Centers are just steps away, right here on our campus," said Crisp.
Robinson reiterates, "The students who utilize the LRC make it great! The study time and reviewing materials with classmates before or after school keeps the Learning Resource Center moving forward!"
If you would like to learn more about how Concorde Career College can lead you toward a new health care career, contact us today!
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