I would hazard a guess that quite a few USC students have bathed in the fluorescent glow of Leavey Library during the early hours of the morning the night before an important midterm or a project deadline.

But it was probably not to pore over forgotten tomes of literature, browse piles of yellow research papers or read a copy of Vogue magazine from the early 1900s — all courtesy of USC’s digital library.

In mid-July, USC added 33 new electronic resources to USC Libraries’ already extensive collection, which is easily accessible through USC Libraries’ E-Resources page. In July 2010, USC announced the purchase of 59 online resources, including subscriptions to several research databases.

Most students are, however, oblivious to the newest online resource additions. They also grossly underutilize the libraries resources — especially the very substantial number of e-resources and database subscriptions USC provides.

Students should take more advantage of the number of digital libraries that the university provides in order to have more success in their academics.

Often, students only frequent the libraries for a quiet place to study, to use a computer or to print. USC appears to be well aware of the evolution toward online resources and has continually updated its subscriptions to educational databases or purchased additional e-resources to encourage student research. Whether students use these resources, however, is another case.

Most students should make themselves aware that USC has 23 libraries, more than half of which are on the University Park Campus. Most USC students are completely inexperienced in using USC’s digital resources, more commonly relying on search engines for academic research, even when there is a wealth of resources at their fingertips through the USC Libraries.

From 2009 to 2010, USC had more than 900,000 e-books, e-journals and USC Libraries Digital Archive items, according to the Libraries. USC Libraries also processed approximately 20,000 electronic reference transactions, about 20 percent of the total reference transactions for the fiscal year.

Digital resource utilization might be underwhelming at the moment, probably because students are unaware of available resources, but USC has continued to expand its collections.

From personal experience, these articles and publications are often more in-depth, credible and thorough than those that can be found through a routine Google search.

The university must now make an attempt to further publicize the numerous online journals and databases so students can take advantage of these beneficial services that the university offers.

In their future career, students will have to research subjects related to their work more often than they might imagine. On the more professional levels, in fact, a basic search-engine query might not return any suitable results. Students should acquaint themselves with the databases USC subscribes to, most of which are common and highly regarded in the professional world.

Students should take full advantage of what USC has to offer and should familiarize themselves with USC Libraries’ online databases as well as their other resources USC Libraries might want to consider publicizing its collections more effectively so more students know about them. Perhaps then the next research paper or project might not require an overnight stay in Leavey.

Rebecca Gao is a sophomore majoring in global health and biological studies.