Binghamton University doesn’t rest because scholarship never sleeps. That is the primary reason that our Libraries’ in-person services extend past normal campus business hours to include early mornings, nights and weekends. Our commitment to digital scholarship includes 24/7 access to highly curated academic resources as evidenced within the Libraries’ online catalog. Today’s students require a dynamic combination of virtual and physical study space. This makes laptops requisite.
Laptops became part of the academic landscape when they replaced traditional notetaking in lecture halls in the late 1990s. Can you imagine that, in 2020, Campus Information Technology Services loaned 248 laptop computers to students who otherwise did not have one? When Dean Curtis Kendrick learned this, he took action and contributed $5,000 from the Binghamton Fund for the Libraries to help furnish the Information Technology Services program with more computers. Equity of access is one of the Libraries’ primary areas of focus. The Libraries are glad to support this long-term laptop and Wi-Fi hotspot lending program knowing the partnership reduces the time it takes for students to receive the help they need. Administrators like our dean know that when they work together with units across campus, they can effectively remove obstacles standing in the way of student success. The Binghamton Fund plays a unique role in the University’s comprehensive giving plan by enabling those with feet on the ground to analyze data and act quickly with a complete response. Donors to the Binghamton Fund for Excellence, Binghamton Fund for Campus Enhancement, Binghamton Fund for Student Life and Binghamton Fund for the University Libraries are making the program’s expansion possible.