2008 Woodie Awards
Reference section answers questions
Meebo offers new online instant messaging.
By Miranda Ebersole
Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/20/07 at 4:40 PM CSTLast update: 9/21/07 at 9:07 AM CST
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One of the primary jobs of a librarian is to be an information navigator, reference Librarian Stephen Dingman said Sept. 14.
The librarians are employed not only to help students find the information they are looking for but also to teach them how to look for the information on their own, he said.
Students can ask questions through telephone, e-mail, instant messaging and walking in.
Questions also can be asked online via e-mail, which can be accessed by clicking the Ask a Librarian link on the main page of the library's Web site.
Another online way to ask a question is through Meebo, a new online instant messaging tool that gives students instant access to librarians.
This feature is on the library Web site and can be found by clicking on the Ask a Librarian link on the main page.
The library offers several different ways to find information, including a list of Web sites, which provide information on different subjects and can be accessed on the library's main page by clicking on the Web Guides link.
The sites are organized under subject headings.
By using the Web guides the library offers and also the databases, which are found under the resources section, students can find much of the information they need without even stepping foot inside Moody Learning Center.
However, if students are not able to find the information they need on their own, the librarians are there to help.
Dingman gave an example of a nursing student who needed help to find articles.
The librarians directed her to the correct database and she was able to locate more than 100 articles.
Most research problems can be solved, he said, simply by using the correct way of searching.
Using more specific keywords when searching will usually yield better results.
Many of the research questions librarians receive have to do with literary criticism and English, he said.
Usually a student needs help finding literary criticism articles on a particular author or work, he said.
For more information, call the reference desk at 733-2477 or to ask a librarian a question go to www.accd.edu/sac/library/EXEC/ASK.HTM.
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