As finals near and Dead Week drags on, University of Alabama students are filling the campus libraries that, according to the 2011-2012 Annual Library Report, rank 36th at public universities in the U.S.

Last school year, the University’s eight libraries weathered 1,733,143 visits, averaging out to about 55 library visits per student.

The libraries hold 3,298,935 volumes and 782,352 electronic books, all of which are accessible online through the Scout database, which can be accessed through a student’s myBama account.

This resource is paid for by the University and searches the UA library book collection, online journals, image collections and any other academic source the University has purchased access to.

“Scout is a resource discovery tool,” said Nancy Fawley, head of information services for Gorgas Library.

Fawley said Scout is often used by students writing research papers, and for this purpose, Scout has a built-in citation generator.

Ally Husband, a sophomore majoring in engineering, has used Scout multiple times.

“It has saved my life on numerous research papers and projects I have had to complete,” Husband said.

Another resource the library offers for research papers is Research Rescue, a drop-in research help session Monday through Thursday at the information desk.

Students can come any time on any of those days, and librarians will be available to answer students’ questions about their research papers.

“This is great for students because librarians are always available but not always sitting there, waiting for students to come in,” Fawley said.

Other workshops the libraries currently offer include career prep for students who are graduating, including an online presence workshop that helps students monitor what they are putting online for potential employers to see.

Fawley said because each library has a wide variety of sources, students are using libraries for many different things.

“The libraries are offering a wide variety of space, so it’s a place where you can use computers or a group study room or go to the top floor for a quiet space,” Fawley said.

Donna Adcock, director of public relations for UA Libraries, said enrollment has increased drastically in the last year, and students are generally using the facilities more.

“Each student has their favorite library, and they have their favorite spots as well,” Adcock said. “Four years ago, there were hardly any computers on the first floor of Gorgas. In three short years, we’ve changed to meet the demand.”

The number of computers in each library has increased to meet demand, as well as the number of different software packages available on each computer, which now totals 83.

Rodgers Library has undergone renovations involving moving books and implementing more soft seating, computers and work stations for students to work on class projects.

Husband said she primarily uses Rodgers and Gorgas libraries because of her academic classification.

“I like Rodgers because I am an engineering major and the resources are more useful, but Gorgas is good for hot chocolate and group work,” she said.

Presley Morgan, a junior majoring in accounting, said she frequents Bruno Business Library. “Bruno is convenient location-wise for me because it is close to my classes and also close to where I park,” Morgan said.

Because four of the five main libraries on campus focus on a specific subject, each of these libraries is headed by the corresponding department and have staff available who are knowledgeable on their respective subject.

“Librarians have more specific knowledge, so they are able to give more discipline specific help,” Fawley said. “Lots of times, you’ll have students who are majoring in those disciplines studying at the corresponding library.”

To access the Scout database and to get more information on the various workshops and services the UA Libraries have to offer, visit lib.ua.edu.