1 Washington Park Journal November Issue 2 | Page 7

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Dean’s Advisory Council

Issue 3, November 2013

The Newark Public Library
Rutgers Business School
students do a great deal of
trekking back and forth between
the facilities of the main campus
and 1 Washington Park.
Depending on his or her resolve
to hurry to class on time, the trip
takes the average student
anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.
Multiple trips a day are time and
energy consuming, and are
particularly unpleasant with the
gradually cooling and darkening
days of the upcoming winter
season. While you can’t avoid a
journey from 1 Washington Park
to your History class in Conklin
Hall (or worse--may your
clothing layers protect you--that
Music class located in the highperched, far-out Bradley Hall),
you can cut out a trip to your
main campus study area of
choice by taking advantage of a
resource underutilized by RBS
students; that is, the Newark
Public Library.
With travel time to the
building next door amounting to
a grand total of 30 seconds, RBS
students can briskly and
comfortably take shelter in the
cozy, antique chambers of NPL.
The library offers quiet study
areas, a wide selection of books
and reference materials,
computer access, the chance to
engage with the community’s
book clubs, and more.

Here are some facts about our next door neighbors that you may not
know:
_ All Rutgers students can open library cards at NPL, allowing them to
borrow books at no charge.
_ In 1927, the artist Robert Hales Ives Gammell painted The Fountain of
Knowledge, a mural that is displayed on the library’s second floor. A
careful observer will notice a depiction of John Cotton Dana, the second
director of the library, on the far left corner.
_ NPL offers various educational and fun programs for children, from
homework help to reading challenges. Students have the option to
volunteer as tutors and mentors, and thus expand the scope of their work
experience in a meaningful way.
_ NPL sponsors a number of programs, from exhibits rich in cultural and
historical content to free American Sign Language classes.
_ NPL is connected to various branches in the region, all of which share
resources with one another. If a particular resource is unavailable at NPL,
it may be called in from another branch, and made available in days.
NPL is in a convenient location to RBS students, and the facilities and
resources have much to recommend them. In addition to extending
services to students and the community at large, NPL is the historical and
cultural hallmark of Newark, NJ. As students of this city, we have set up
camp here, training for our careers and simultaneously growing as
individuals within the walls of 1 Washington Park. Surely it is a good
idea to take a look around once in a while, and get to know our wise,
welcoming neighbor next door.
By Xhensila Pisha

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