The Friday Finish will occur from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday from Feb. 3 until March 3 in Wells Library.
The event will include study spots that students can book ahead of time, research and assignment consultations, peer coaches, writing tutorial services and UITS help desks available throughout the day.
There will also be activities for students to participate in while taking breaks from studying or doing homework. There will be table tennis and yard games throughout the day, breakfast and coffee at 10 a.m., more food at 1 p.m. and special rotating food bars at 3 p.m. including kombucha, mocktails, Girl Scout cookies and more. The schedule will be the same every week with changes to the food bars.
This is the first semester that Wells Library will host the event. The Dean of University Libraries, Diane Dallis-Comentale, said they are marketing the services they already provide but with built-in breaks for students to reward themselves for the work they get done. She said the staff are also hoping to have animals for the students to interact with on some of the Fridays.
“We wanted to organize something that would give students a feeling of going into the weekend with a positive attitude and knowing that they did not leave everything for Sunday night,” Dallis-Comentale said.
During the event, peer coaches will have drop-in appointments for students, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Dennis Groth said. This could be beneficial for students who are trying to develop a plan for what they want to study, considering a minor, picking up a second major or getting ready for a job search or internship.
“The peer coaches are there to answer the same kinds of questions as advising and career service, but from student-to-student and help them work with some of the tools that are available and think about co-curricular experiences they may want to build into their undergraduate experience,” Groth said.
Associate Dean for Research & Learning Anna Johnson said Friday Finish exists so IU Libraries can help students be successful in their academic journey even if they do not know where to start.
“The University has services in Wells Library that already provide a considerable amount of support such as the Learning Commons Research Desk, University Writing Tutorial Services and University Division Peer Coaches but students are not aware of them, or sometimes they are aware but are not sure how to approach using them,” Johnson said.
