{"id":143298,"date":"2026-02-04T12:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T12:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/143298\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T12:41:07","slug":"take-advantage-of-usf-library-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/143298\/","title":{"rendered":"Take advantage of USF Library resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>There\u2019s more than meets the eye for the resources offered both online and in-person at the USF Library. ORACLE PHOTO\/ DYLAN SABOL<\/p>\n

From specialized research collections to tutoring centers, the USF Library<\/a> offers much more to students than just books.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, some of these resources go unnoticed by many students \u2014 lying out of sight in the basement floors and other corners of the Library.<\/p>\n

By leveraging available resources, students can not only access academic support but also specialized tutoring and study materials.<\/p>\n

Related: USF Tampa Library upgrades near final steps<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students can simply use their USF ID to check out books on the first floor of the Library, according to the USF Library website.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Library hosts<\/a> over 3.8 million physical and digital books, ranging from research titles to fiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there is more to the Library than just books.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zibby Wilder, a spokesperson for USF Libraries, said the Library\u2019s purpose has evolved over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cLibraries traditionally have been about books,\u201d Wilder said. \u201cBut that has changed so much with technology, and we have access to so many more things.\u201d<\/p>\n

One example of a different Library resource is The Tutoring Hub<\/a>, located on the second floor, which offers both scheduled and drop-in tutoring for a variety of subjects \u2014 such as chemistry and statistics.<\/p>\n

As a mass communications major, I have to do a significant amount of writing. Therefore, I have found the Library\u2019s tutoring resources, such as the Writing Studio<\/a>, to be incredibly helpful.<\/p>\n

This resource allows students to speak with experienced writers who can discuss and improve their writing projects in person or via Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n

When writing a research paper for an American History class last semester, I was able to book an online meeting and received substantial feedback from a tutor on how to improve it.<\/p>\n

Having access to expert tutors across a variety of fields can help students improve their academic performance without incurring additional costs.<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: USF Library renovations are much needed, but inconvenient<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilder also said one of the largest Library resources is the Special Collections<\/a>, available in person at both the Tampa and St. Pete libraries and online.<\/p>\n

This resource offers a variety of unique collections of artifacts, including the USF Herbarium<\/a>, which is the second-largest collection of plant samples in Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Special Collections] can be like people\u2019s journals, their photographs, people\u2019s personal effects that they have donated,\u201d said Wilder. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a collection of Disney art that\u2019s like original sells from Bambi. We have so many things.\u201d<\/p>\n

To access resources from Special Collections, students can schedule an appointment in advance through the USF Libraries website.<\/a><\/p>\n

Supporting these Library services is not only incredibly useful for students but also benefits the multitude of staff working there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only reason any of us are here is to help students find more resources to support what it is they\u2019re interested in,\u201d said Wilder. \u201cI think people should support Libraries because we can connect people to things that they\u2019re not going to find somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the Library continues to enhance its offerings, with a $407,600<\/a> budget recently allotted for furniture improvements.<\/p>\n

Related: USF Tampa Library receives $407k for furniture upgrades<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to advance people\u2019s research, and if there\u2019s something that we don\u2019t have that we need to have, we want to be able to offer that,\u201d Wilder said. \u201cSo we definitely want people to come here and let us know how we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

With both online and physical resources, all USF students should take advantage of the USF Library.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s more than meets the eye for the resources offered both online and in-person at the USF Library.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-143298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}