Sitting on the corner of Euclid and McPherson in Central West End, Left Bank Books offers an entirely different take on the book browsing experience. Established by a group of WashU graduate students in 1969, Left Bank is a mission-driven bookstore that doubles as a community space, making a point to form genuine connections with its customers.

When I came back to Wash. U. this year, I knew I only had a limited amount of time before I trapped myself in a new narrow path. So I decided to be intentional and informed when building my routine. Specifically, I decided to try studying in each of the 10 libraries on the Danforth Campus to figure out which was genuinely the best study spot.

Varying in size and setting, Washington University is blessed with an assortment of amazing libraries all around campus. The real problem for students becomes how to decide which library to study in.

It’s a shame that the ongoing construction at Olin Library has forced the closing of Whispers Cafe this semester, but don’t worry: You still don’t actually have to leave the library to get sustenance. Here is your complete guide to whipping up a delicious five-course gourmet meal using items available for purchase in the Olin Library vending machines.

It’s Friday afternoon, but instead of bright sunshine heralding a warm end of the week, it’s overcast with a sizeable amount of water cascading down to dampen everyone’s spirits. However, the inside of John M. Olin Library is tad more lively, with a colorfully diverse amount of artwork of newly designed covers for books older than Washington University itself arranged neatly around the first floor on pop-up stands.

Based on the results of its pilot program from last year, Olin Library will now be open 24 hours a day for five days a week instead of four. Student feedback led the library to test out 24/4 hours from 10 a.m. Sunday morning to 2 a.m. Friday morning last year.

When I opened the Gutenberg Bible, the oldest book in both the library and the Western world, I was hit with a sense of reverence; a sense that I was looking at something that changed the world. This is first-hand learning in it’s purest form, and it’s what attracted 50 classes to the Rare Books Collection last year.

With previous experience working at museums and various archives, Jeffrey Trzeciak hopes to bring something new to Washington University’s library system when he assumes the job of head librarian come July.

She doesn’t go around shushing people or wear horn-rimmed glasses, but Shirley Baker has been the face of Washington University’s libraries since 1989. This June, she will be retiring, handing the job off to Jeffrey Trzeciak, the University Librarian of McMaster University in Canada.

Olin Library will soon take steps to prevent laptop burglary by making laptop locks available for checkout. After last year’s spike in laptop thefts from the library, former Student Union Senator senior Eric Schwartz has been working with the library administration to find a solution to this problem.