Chris Ebert knows the importance of getting books ready for students.

Such is the case as the semester winds down. Fresno State students who are in need of books to write final papers must request books online — and there is a high demand to borrow books. That’s where Tigrine Gambaryan steps in.

Gambaryan, along with three other students, have to pull books and load them into the truck that transports them to the under-construction Henry Madden Library.

On average, peak time is one month before finals and midterms, when about 200 to 300 books are pulled, Gambaryan said.

Ebert, a warehouse supervisor, said he likes how his staff coordinates to have the books ready to be shipped.

“We’re doing pretty good most of the time,� Ebert said. “We do pretty well on a turnaround. If you a request a book tonight, it will be at the library at noon the next day, and if you request a book in the morning, it will arrive at 3 p.m.�

Students can request books online and print out receipts to show what they ordered and take the slips to the library. When a book is shipped to the library, it gets scanned and the student is notified via -mail that the book is ready for pick up.

“I make sure that all of the books are put away in order and being sent out as soon as possible,� Ebert said. “I keep this end running. At the beginning of the semester it’s not that bad. In the morning, we’re usually sending out 300 books during finals. About 800 books a day are being requested.�

Ebert said he is looking forward to the opening of the new library because it will give his staff more room to put books away and have easy access for students.
“We need the library,� Ebert said. “We get a lot of new books every day. It’s very beneficial because our collection will grow without having to cut anything out.�