Welcome, new students! Penn Libraries essentials

Come on in!

We know it’s all fun and games for the next week or so (Library Social!), but in no time you’ll be lining up for library time. Here’s a quick roundup of key on-the-go resources and useful tools:

First things first: Security.

Unattended theft is one of the most common crimes on campus. For peace of mind, install a security app like Prey on your device. Prey is free, it works on everything, and the folks at Lifehacker have kindly written a setup guide.

Now, to answer your real questions, can you…

• Find books in Van Pelt with your mobile? Sure.
• Find out where to study, what’s open? PennStudySpaces.
• Check the Libraries’ hours? Here.
• Borrow a video camera, a mic, a tripod and more? Yes.
• Download a Blackboard app? Yes.
• Reserve a Library study room? Anywhere in Van Pelt, including the Weigle Information Commons. Just Biomed. Just Education Commons.
• Find the nearest PennBus / Shuttle stop? PennRides mobile.
• Take a nap? Apparently, yes. Tune out with White Noise.
• Back up your work? Please do. Try Dropbox (2 GB free) or Box (5 GB free).
• Print to Libraries printers from your laptop? Yes.
• Find more apps? We have guides (General, Health Sciences, WIC), or just keep reading along with Apps on Tap.
• Be a power user of… everything? Try a (free) workshop at the Weigle Information Commons.

All that work making you hungry? Don’t miss out on Philly’s delicious food truck scene:

Tacodelphia

• Track trucks with ChowSpotter and RoamingHunger.
• Twitter fan? Follow FooBooz’s truck list.
• Pay with your phone? Venmo and LevelUp are the most common options.
• Just want a taco? Tacodelphia to the rescue.

And if you want to do it yourself, build your own app at the PennApps Hackathon, September 14-16.

See you soon, and welcome to Penn!