It’s that time again. Twice a year, Mugar Memorial Library is transformed into BU’s epicenter. From this semester’s first study day, May 4, to the last day of finals—May 12—library staff expect to see about 4,000 visitors a day.

When Bostonia was shooting video over four days last week, we found plenty of students studying, as well as a few procrastinators cadging breaks as they watched videos on their phones and exchanged emails, Snapchats, or Instagram photos with friends.

And then there are the students who move in for the duration. One student reports seeing someone last year who didn’t leave for three days.

The Mugar library staff, which includes some 200 student employees, put out candy and Post-its with words of encouragement. And during the end-of-semester frenzy, the library provides van service from midnight to 6 a.m. for any student living on campus who needs a ride home.

There are other stress-busters, too: visits from Rhett the Terrier and from real (What! Rhett isn’t real?) four-legged creatures, among them Ana, a two-year-old Great Pyrenees therapy dog, the undisputed star attraction while we were filming. The Jamaica Plain resident drew a crowd of adoring fans during her two visits to Mugar last week.

Evening circulation supervisor Ann Marie Shafer (COM’08), who schedules the therapy dog visits, says students “leave reenergized and less stressed” after 15 minutes with Ana or one of the other dogs. Library staff have done informal studies showing that most students feel less stressed after a few minutes of quality time with the dogs.

Bill Politis can be reached at bpolitis@bu.edu.