Our librarian, Nancy Herther, has shared research resources and information on in-class presentations for your spring 2012 courses.
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Doing research over break? Trying to get organized?
Here are ten ideas to help you do your research - or just get a break from your studies - from your University Libraries!
1.) Chat with a Librarian 24/7 even during break! If you have a quick question or need some basic help, just log on!
2.) Have a great article but want to see who else has cited it since it was published? Use a database like Web of Science/Knowledge or Google Scholar. Search for the title of the original article (in quotes in Google). Look for the "Cited by" link to see who has cited it recently. Click "Find it" to get to the full text. Tip: Be sure to connect to Google Scholar's full text from off campus.
3.) Try a new citation tool to collect, organize and create in-text citations in seconds...Zotero and Mendeley have lots of great features.
4.) Register for a Library workshop in January (on RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, Formatting your Thesis/Dissertation and more)
5.) See our suggestions for Productivity Tools and Tools for Alerts and Feeds to help make your time more effective and your research more efficient!
6.) Try Google Books to search through the full text of millions of books [this is very different than a MNCAT search which only searches author, title and maybe table of contents]. If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given permission, you'll be able to see a preview of the book. If you see one you like, click "Get this book in print>Find in a Library" to see if we have it. Or request through Interlibrary Loan (full book or chapter). Also explore HathiTrust, which brings together the immense collections of 60+ partner institutions in digital form.
7.) Do you have or are you going to get an e-reader over the holidays? Explore our e-book collections and download to your device.
8.) Soon you will be able to log-in to Interlibrary Loan with your Internet ID? Get ready for the upcoming change.
9.) Discover how the Libraries can help you with your teaching including Course Reserves, the Library Course Page link in Moodle, an in-class librarian taught session (email me herther@umn.edu), and more.
10.) We have fabulous collections of world-class fiction, nonfiction and magazines that will take you away to new worlds - thousands of DVDs to both stimulate and enjoy! We have exhibits up in the Libraries now as well! This isn't called a "break" for nothing! Use our resources to enrich your life and get away from the stress of research for awhile!
Want to learn more, please send Nancy an email (herther@umn.edu). She can response via email or can set up a time to meet in January to talk about your research or questions in more detail.
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Here are some options for what I can do for you Spring term (or anytime):
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 that lists many guides related to the discipline or to special topics and classes:
American Studies @ http://www.lib.umn.edu/libdata/page.phtml?page_id=2090
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 Nancy Herther's name and contact information for your students on the class syllabus, Moodle 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 THE LIBRARIES 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 "Course Resources" tab on 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.
