Dev Patel

IR P-2/10-GT
9/22/18

Site Visit to UMBC Albin O. Kuhn Library Reflection

For my first site visit on September 22, 2018(When) , I visited the Albin O Kuhn Library at
UMBC (Were). I was juggling around with a few topics and I wanted to go more in-depth in order to find
a viable research topic (Why). I arrived at the site to find a vast, 7-floor, library filled with the works of
countless intellectuals and researchers over the course of over 100 years(What) . I was assisted in finding
and checking out the books by the helpful librarians(Who) . Unfortunately, I was unable to meet or
interact with any professors, but I did get to see the diligent college students working hard, even on a
Saturday.
As I explored the the library, I was surprised by the sheer amount of books it contained. Row
upon rows of works on subjects ranging from astronomy to psychology, and everything in between.
However, I discovered several startling disadvantages about the books at AOK library. There are a large
number of books that relate to a certain specific topic, such as the circadian clock or disease treatment, but
there are almost no books on the correlation or causation between two subject, such as the benefits of
sleep on disease treatment. Thus, although I was able to find a few book on circadian rhythms
specifically, I couldn’t find any that explored the correlation between the circadian clock and other areas,
such as health care. In addition, my area of interest is relatively new and there is a lot of ongoing research,
so it is hard to find many physical resources.
In conclusion, visiting the UMBC library was an educational experience that inspired me to work
harder to find a topic, find more accurate sources, and visit a site than is more specific to my topic, such
as the National Library of Medicine.