The reassuring and welcoming nod one receives from the 3 security guards standing post at Georgia State’s University Library is the first thing you see as you walk in. A variety of male and female security guards allows one to feel safe as you walk into the library, given the location’s reputation of robberies and muggings nearby. As you walk in, the crisp and cold breeze immediately blows at you, almost discouraging you from entering. But as you progress, the wind softens and soon you are enveloped in the air’s warm welcome.

As you look down, you see the ground covered in a neutral colored carpet, looking soft enough to do backstands on it. Directly to you right is where the security guards congregate around their desk, keeping up with their daily officer duties. To the right of the security desk are the bathrooms, elevators, and exit doors, equipped with metal detectors. These areas can get especially busy crowded considering all the people going back and forth through these areas. As you make your way towards the huge pair of stairs right in the middle, one can simply not notice the main attractions to the left. For example, Saxby’s, the beloved coffee/sandwhich/ pastry shop, equipped with enough food to last many for days. One can almost always smell the coffee grinds and hear the cacophonous roars of the blenders as one takes a step. Freshmen student, Kala Welcher, states that her favorite floor is on “the first floor because of Saxby’s.” The long, seemingly never moving line at Saxby’s consists of a light skinned girl rapidly typing away on her phone’s keyboard and an elderly man impatiently tapping his foot are just a few of the characters one many spot at Georgia State’s University Library.

Directly in front of Saxby’s is where the real action happens. Desks as far as the eye can see, completely covered in various members connected to Georgia State, one way or the other. Groups of boys and girls clamoring around to cram weeks worth of education before their impending exam. A reception desk directly to the right of the chaos, students desperately wait in line to get aid with whatever they wish. 3 or less faculty members behind the desk eagerly wait to help people in need. Printers are available directly to the left of the staircase, to students willing to pay. A girl with a darker complexion worries she might not be able to complete her assignment because the computers are acting up again. A boy dressed in athletic wear and a GSU ID badge hanging around his neck begins to panic as he can’t seem to get his login correct.

Just to the left of this area are several study rooms, equipped with a whiteboard and a flat screen. Behind the huge staircase in the middle of the floor are the multiple desks with students at every other desk. Where students go to eat their Saxby’s meal, plug and charge their computers/phones, or just simply chat with some acquaintances. In the far right corner of the floor are the shelves of magazines and newspapers dating back to impressively far dates and includes the most recent editions as well. This area is so frequently updated, one can always read up on current events. The first floor, considered the heart of the library, has dozens of students with different background stories all coming together for the same thing: to gain more knowledge about the world. At Georgia’s State’s Library, as you go up, the quieter it gets. So if one really chooses to be surrounded with his thoughts and his thoughts only, just go up a few floors! As one finally makes it’s way towards the exit of the building, you appreciate the resources the Library offers.