The fifth-annual library open house, which started yesterday and will be held again today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., aims to acclimate students to the library and present available resources.

Lana Munip, assistant editor of public relations and marketing for University Libraries, said the event is especially directed to "new students who may be intimidated" by the library.

The open house was held yesterday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. About 4,000 students are expected to attend between the two days, she said, matching the amount who showed up last year.

Anne Behler, reference librarian and co-chairwoman for the event, said she thought the open house got off to a slow start yesterday morning, but was still confident that they would have high attendance.

As students arrive, they each receive a certificate with the various libraries on it, Munip said. Then, as they visit a particular library, the certificate is punched.

"You have to go to six libraries to complete the tour. It's a good idea to go to the library that corresponds to your degree program, or interest," she said. "To complete the tour, you also have to visit two of the six 'service areas.' "

The "service areas" are Preservation, Course Reserve Services, Waring Archive, Access Services, Media Tech and the Dean's Office, she added.

Many students taking the tour were there to receive credit for a class, like those in CAS 100A (Effective Speech), English 15 (Rhetoric and Composition) and various freshman seminars, Behler said.

Loanne Snavely, head of Instructional Programs and the Gateway library, said the library surveys from last year showed about half the students came for a class and the other half came just for their own information.

Other students found the event to be well planned and helpful.

"It was better than I expected because they had prizes and free food," said Jon Tate (freshman-architectural engineering).

He added that it helped him get acquainted to the library, and it was evident they had put a lot of time into planning it.

Throughout the tour, prizes are given away, including the library's official mug, the iPod Nano and a $250 book scholarship to the Student Bookstore, Munip said.

With a sports theme featured throughout the entire tour, the individual libraries planned various activities to teach students about the resources they each offer, said Emily Rimland, reference librarian and co-chairwoman for the event.

The Business library chose golf and set up a small putting green.

In the Life Sciences library, a nature trail was set up with five stations to introduce students to the reference desk as well as their selection of books and journals, said Kathy Fescemyer, a Life Sciences librarian.

The Dean of Libraries office also got involved, setting up maps throughout the room for students to mark their hometowns. They were also raffling off a lunch with the dean.

To complete the sports theme, several club sports teams were invited to demonstrate their skills on the grounds surrounding the library, Behler said. A few teams that planned on attending were the juggling, ballroom dancing and sailing teams, some of which are scheduled to show up between 1 and 5 p.m. today.