Our librarian, Nancy Herther, has sent some updated information to us about the libraries. She has shared new resources including new book and video lists. There are also in-class presentations she offers that may be aide students in their writing and research.
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New Books
It's been a busy summer here in the Libraries and here is a listing of new books that will give you a good idea of some of the wonderful new research and good-reads that await you and your students.
New DVDS:
New Videos.Fall 2011.pdf is the last list of new DVDs purchased for our wonderful collections in Walter. Most are available for 3-day loans and all are available for in-class use or can be reserved for class viewing in our SMART Learning Commons area. For more information on these options, call, stop in or visit the web page for our Media Services division: http://www.lib.umn.edu/media/
Scott Spicer and his staff are there to help you with your use of our growing collections - they even can often help create film clips on DVD for your classes as an option to having to show chapters or fast-forward to find just the right section for class viewing or to stimulate class discussions!
Library Support for Fall Classes
Often, faculty will tell me that they just refer students on to me for assistance. This is great - unless you are teaching a class with tens of students! In that case, it is more effective and efficient to arrange for an in-class presentation to, at least, cover the basics.
E-mail Nancy at herther@umn.edu with questions about presentations.
Here are some options:
LIBRARY LECTURE RELATED TO SECONDARY RESEARCH RESOURCES & TOOLS:
As you may know, instruction has been a major effort and priority for me. If you'd want, I could come to your classroom or do a session - hands-on or presentation - related to their specific assignments or needs.
Here are some examples of what I can do in these sessions:
* In-class presentations on how the Libraries can support their secondary research.
* Tours of significant collections/services.
* Demos of specific databases to be used by students in their projects.
* Tips on using the Web for research.
* Hands-on workshops on using databases or the Web.
We have both classroom (up to 50 students) and hands-on lab (limit of 25) facilities available in Wilson Library for instruction. Otherwise, I am available (with some technological assistance) to come to your classroom to speak with students.
CREATION OF SPECIAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES OR GUIDES:
For available guides, check out this site:
American Studies University Libraries Resources
Each page lists many guides related to the discipline or to special topics and classes.
I would also be happy to work with you to create specific guides to meet the research needs for your class. You can, then, link to these from your course pages or syllabi.
OFFER OF PERSONAL ASSISTANCE:
Often students need personal assistance with their research - finding information, refining their topics, etc. If you want, please feel free to include my name and contact information for your students on the class syllabus or web page. If students need help, I'm here to do whatever I can to assist them in their research.
NEW RESOURCES RIGHT ON OUR HOME PAGE!
Another new service of the Libraries is our link to some resources - albeit very general resources - to support classes throughout your department. The "Library Course Support" icon in the lower left quadrant of the Libraries' home page allows students to get a quick, short list of databases and others tools to help them find the best information quickly. This is still very new and I haven't tailored the general information (by department) to specific classes. However, it is still a useful tool. Give it a quick look!
