ANOTHER ROOM CHANGE

Today’s training session will be held today in ZUHL!!!   Sorry for the confusion.  Really.

Venue change for 10/8 training

Due to a room conflict,  we will be meeting in the BRANSON classroom on 10/8 at 2-3.

Sorry for the confusion!

Training Times set!

I have set up the following training times for the month of October.  They will occur before our statistical periods.   

Thursday 10/7  from  3-4 In Zuhl’s classroom

Friday 10/8  from 2-3 In Zuhl’s classroom

Monday 10/11 from 9-10 in Branson’s classroom

We”ll go over statistics and other topics.  Let me know what you would like more training in.

Some thoughts:

• Finding articles from citations
• Finding articles using One Search and Google Scholar
• Sorting journal articles from scholarly to popular
• How to use Academic Search Premier to it’s fullest.
• And….anything that you would like explained for your own research needs!

Let me know what you would like to discuss and let me or your supervisor know when you can attend.

Training Times

Wow!  Two posts in one day!

We are currently scheduling times for reference training.   For those who have never been through it, we will talk about answering more difficult questions, search techniques and training on the statistical periods.

Monday mornings, Thursdays and Friday afternoons are good for me.  What works for you?

Where are the handouts?

Branson is undergoing a lot of big changes.  It resembles Zuhl library’s first floor with group study space and private computer carrels.  Both libraries seem extra busy right now.

We used to have a spinner of handouts by the classroom.  We still have a spinner in the Branson classroom, but it’s not handy for you to access.

Here’s a url for our guide that contains handouts.

http://nmsu.libguides.com/tutorials

Please take a look at this guide and refresh your memory on things like “How to find an article from a citation” tutorial and “Types of Periodicals” handout.  It’s good for all of us to remember these things.   Feel free to print any of these out for patrons.

Have a great weekend!

UNIV 150 Classes

Welcome Back!

As a FYI,  there will be groups of UNIV 150 students coming in as a part of a scavenger hunt.    They may be asking for proof that they have been in the library.  You can always give them a bookmark since we don’t have that may pamphlets etc. to hand out.

Here’s a cut and paste of the email that I received…

Good Morning.

I am writing to inform you of a class activity that may affect your office.

Over the course of the next two weeks students enrolled in University 150, The Freshman Year Experience, will be visiting various campus offices as part of the Campus Resources Scavenger Hunt activity.  Students are charged to 1) work collaboratively in a group, 2) develop a plan to successfully complete the campus resources scavenger hunt activity, 3) learn about campus resources/departments, and 4) report back what they learned to their classmates.  This activity provides students an excellent opportunity to learn about the resources and functions of your department.

Welcome back everyone!

new Library catalog to debut Monday

Hey all: I know it has been quite a while without a posting and I wanted to note that we will be going live with a new and updated library catalog on Monday. Check it out at: catalog2.nmsu.edu

Among the new features are:

*book cover art from Google and reviews/previews where available

*the ability to limit your search to videos from the main screen (just pull down the limit to menu)

*the ability to visually browse shelves–this is a nice idea, but remember that our catalog includes holdings from all NMSU campus libraries so this may be misleading.

*automatic citation help (cite your source using APA, MLA, etc.

If you have suggestions for improvements or notice any problems, please let your supervisor know.

Thanks!

Cindy Pierard
Reference & Research Services Dept.

Drop in classes

Some of you expressed learning a little more about the library and our resources.   This semester we are holding all kinds of research classes.  Here’s the listing:

Drop-in Sessions

• Virtual Library Tour: Learn to navigate through the Library’s online resources. This virtual tour will cover finding catalogs, databases, research assistance, and more.
  • Tuesday, February 16, 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Wednesday, March 3, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Thursday, March 18, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
• Finding Articles: Peer-reviewed? Scholarly? Popular? Trade? Can’t find it? Learn the basics of choosing appropriate databases and manipulating searches to find exactly the articles you need.
  • Wednesday, March 31, 10:30am – 11:30am, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Wednesday, April 7, 12:30pm – 1:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Thursday, April 15, 2:30 – 3:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
• Citation Styles: Can’t figure out how to cite a table from that journal article you just read? This workshop is just what you need. Bring your problem sources! All styles are welcome (APA, MLA, CSE, Chicago, etc.).
  • Tuesday, April 6, 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Wednesday, April 14, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Wednesday, April 21, 12:30 – 1:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
• EndNote Web: These drop-in sessions are meant for users of EndNote Web at all levels. Bring your citations and your questions. If possible, please set up an account before attending. For instructions on creating an account, go to: http://lib.nmsu.edu/resources/endnote.shtml
  • Friday, January 29, 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Friday, February 12, 10:30pm – 11:30pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Monday, February 22, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Friday, March 12, 10:30am – 11:30am, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Monday, April 12, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, Zuhl Library Classroom
  • Friday, April 30, 10:30am – 11:30am, Zuhl Library Classroom

Graduate Student Series

• Basic Tools: Get acquainted with all of the Library tools you’ll want to use as a graduate student, including: Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, Librarian Subject Specialists, EndNote Web, Google Scholar Customization, Specialized Databases, Global Catalogs, Dissertation Abstracts, and more!
  • Thursday, January 28, Zuhl Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
  • Wednesday, February 10, Branson Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
• Advanced Tools (Sciences): Advanced database searching (including Web of Science and Google Scholar), federated searching, citation searching, setting up alerts, and more.
  • Thursday, February 25, Zuhl Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
• Advanced Tools (Social Sciences): Advanced database searching (including SOCIndex, PSYCHInfo, and Google Scholar), federated searching, evidence-based practice searching, setting up alerts, and more.
  • Wednesday, March 10, Branson Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
• Advanced Tools (Humanities): Advanced database searching (including Historical Abstracts, MLA Bibliography, and Google Scholar), federated searching, criticism and review searching, citation searching, setting up alerts, and more.
  • Thursday, April 1, Zuhl Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
• Researching the Border: People, Policy, and Economy: An interdisciplinary approach to researching issues concerning the people, the politics, and the economics of the border region.
  • Wednesday, April 14, Branson Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
• Thesis/Dissertation Preparation: The end is in sight! Covers the process of submitting your document to the Library, copyright considerations, and more!
  • Thursday, April 22, Zuhl Library Classroom, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

You are encouraged to attend any of these sessions and please tell your friends about them.  Here’s the link http://lib.nmsu.edu/workshops/ if you want to forward it.

Welcome back!

Sorry to have been so long in posting. I hope you are all doing well and the semester is going smoothly for you. 

I have noticed that traffic is slowly picking up in the library.  I always enjoy Spring semester.  It’s busy, but not as crazy as Fall semster.

We have some tours coming  up next week.  We’ve already had our first round this week.

Monday, Jan. 25, 12:30 to 1:20 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 28, 2:30 to 3:20 p.m.

As always, the tours begin in the sitting area of Zuhl.  I’m sure you’ll be getting questions. 

Good luck with your classes!

Reference Training Modules

Hopefully, stats week(s) hasn’t been too painful.  I can’t stress how important it is to get an accurate estimate.  Let me or your supervisor know if you need more supplies. 

I stumbled across these reference training modules yesterday.  These modules are made for public and academic libraries.  So, there may be public library references that don’t pertain to you.

I think these modules may be helpful for those of you who want more training in answering questions.  Here’s the link:

http://www.olc.org/Ore/1intro.htm 

Look it over while you are at the desk, if you get the chance.  Have a great weekend!