EX LIBRIS: News from the Library

The Library would like to wish all new and returning members of the Bilkent community a pleasant and fruitful academic year 2012-13. We would especially like to welcome all new students to Bilkent, and we hope that the over 2,300 undergraduates who participated in one of the Library's 33 GE100 "Introduction to University Life" sessions last week found these presentations to be both enjoyable and useful. We look forward to seeing you all in Main or East Campus libraries in the coming weeks. Please see our blog and Flickr pages for more information about the GE100 sessions.

During the summer, Main Campus Library has undergone some building renovations in both A- and B-Blocks. We hope the renovated salons will provide a more comfortable and productive studying environment for our students and faculty, and we are also grateful for the patience of all our readers with the temporary relocation of many of our books over the past few months. As part of these renovations, we have designed new study tables for the Library, in collaboration with members of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Tepe İnşaat, and the University's Construction and Maintenance unit. The new tables, currently located on the second floor of A-Block as well in the Art Room and the Multimedia circulation room, are intended to make more effective use of individual seating in the Library, especially during the examination periods, when demand for places in the Library can be very high. We will monitor the usage of these new tables during this semester, and welcome any comments and feedback from our readers.

The Library has a number of exciting projects planned for this semester, which will be announced during the next few weeks. The fall program for our Lunchtime Lecture series will kick off on October 3, with a talk by our rector, Prof. Abdullah Atalar. The other speakers will be Prof. Ali Güre (Molecular Biology and Genetics) on November 7, and Ms. Elif Denizci, the new chef-instructor in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, on December 10. Please mark your calendars for these three lectures, and remember to check our Facebook page and website for news of further events and changes at the Library.