AdLib October 2003

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Ad Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers October 2003 (Part 1 of 2)

by Susan M Gilroy

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers October, 2003 Issue 1.1 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Welcome to Ad-Lib! Our inaugural issue will come to you in two parts. This first mailing describes our purpose in creating an adviser newsletter. It also introduces you to the kinds of services and ideas that inform our work with undergraduates. In a second mailing, due out early next week, we'll offer you some practical ways to build "the library" into your next advising conversation. ********************************************************* IN THIS ISSUE: -- The Library in the First Year Experience Anxieties, Expectations, Realities--and Ad Lib's rationale -- For Your Advisees A Lamont Library handout on active reading and the research process -- Lamont Book Sale Starts October 21 Great books at great prices! ********************************************************* THE LIBRARY IN THE FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE Anxieties, expectations, realities--and Ad Lib's rationale On the Wednesday evening of Freshman Week last month, 581 new Harvard students found their way to Lamont Library's annual Freshman Open House. We hear a lot these days about how thoroughly digital technology is transforming access to knowledge, changing research behaviors, and altering the ways that academic libraries are being used. Yet the fact that nearly one third of the incoming class elected to attend Lamont's two-hour event reminds us of something equally important. The Library--as a space where people, ideas, and resources meet and interact--still has a very vital role to play in the undergraduate experience at Harvard. Like so much else that happens during Opening Days, the Lamont Open House is all about capturing the attention of freshmen before the hard work of being a Harvard student begins. While it draws its share of idealists each year--the freshmen who tell us how much they "love libraries and everything about them," it probably attracts a great many more for practical reasons. "I'm guessing I'll spend all my time here," one first year remarked, "so I thought I'd better take a look around." The Open House is also something of a collective effort at early intervention. Harvard Librarians know that the energy and excitement that students express on a September evening could easily evaporate in the cold light of a late October day. Take away the tour guides and greeters and the cookie trays from the Lobby and even Lamont can seem larger, less manageable, and more alien to the freshman who must now face the prospect of actually using it. "Library anxiety"--that sense of unease or inadequacy that surfaces at the start of an information-seeking process--is a phenomenon much studied in the literature of our profession. Students who have well-developed research repertoires and some familiarity with the library environment experience it intermittently, and usually in fairly mild forms. Freshmen haven't yet acquired these necessary skill sets, however, and until they can "decode" the library system, their anxiety levels are likely to be high. Consider for a moment the challenges that Harvard libraries present to new users: -- Size and complexity. By some counts, 90+ libraries are spread across the University. Ten support the College and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and are located right in (or just beyond) the Yard. The reality of having to get materials from multiple places will be a new (and potentially disconcerting) experience for many freshmen. Although they will have received information on the libraries in their recruiting packets, they have no way as yet of understanding the complicated organization of the College Library. Nor will they easily differentiate one library from another (Houghton from Tozzer, Cabot from Lamont) without some assistance and explanation from you, their professors, or TFs. -- Abundance. The HOLLIS catalog contains information on upwards of 14.5 million items. An additional 5000 or so electronic resources can be accessed from the Harvard Libraries portal page (http:/lib.harvard.edu/e-resources). Freshmen may have had exposure to libraries in high school, but nothing on this scale or size. And while your students have heard that Harvard's collections are among the largest and best in the world, they may be unsure what that means--or means for them--in real world terms. -- Terminology. Research language that we take for granted--"peer reviewed," "primary sources," "periodical index" (for example)--may not yet be part of the new student's lexicon. -- The "language" of classification. Call numbers are sometimes a complete mystery to students, who may seem them more as a secret code than as an organizing principle for information. The public and high school libraries they're familiar with most likely used the Dewey Decimal system; in Lamont, Hilles, and Cabot, many will encounter Library of Congress classification for the first time. At Widener, the Fine Arts Library, and elsewhere, they'll also need to work with other "home-grown" call number schemes, too. -- Familiar habits. They've learned to rely on "quick and dirty" Google searches for their information needs. Thinking outside the computer box (or beyond it) may not come naturally to them. -- Great Unknowns. Because they're unsure what "reference librarians" do, they're reluctant to ask questions at the Desk (or they do so apologetically). Some of them labor under the misconception that as Harvard students they should know the research ropes already. Failing that, they may assume that they have to figure things out on their own. Harvard librarians know that we have an important role to play in helping students become confident learners, critical thinkers, judicious consumers of information, and ultimately, educated citizens. And we recognize that in our effort to make connections with them, freshman advisers are a critical link. That's why Ad Lib exists. The information you'll find in Ad Lib each month will follow the rhythm of the academic term and the arc of the first-year experience. We know that students will need different things of the libraries as freshman year unfolds. We'll give you ideas for talking with students, we'll keep you abreast of what's new, and we'll offer you hints about what the libraries can do to help that first year go well. If Ad Lib really makes a difference for you and your advisees, think about forwarding the List to your adviser-colleagues! ********************************************************* FOR YOUR ADVISEES: The Lamont Library home page (http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont) links to a number of handouts, guides, and research tip sheets. While some of these materials describe specific online databases and methods for searching them, many more aim at teaching students to see research as a process of generating questions, choosing among options, and carefully weighing evidence. Skilled researchers are made, not born, and we believe they develop first as good and deliberate readers. As your advisees seek out new or different learning strategies for academic success this term, perhaps some advice on active reading will prove helpful. You can point them here: "Interrogating Texts: Six Reading Habits to Develop in Your First Year at Harvard" http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont/resources/guides/interrogatingtexts.pdf Additional guides can be found at these addresses: http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont/resources/guides (Lamont) and http://hcl.harvard.edu/hilles/services/research.html (Hilles). ********************************************************* LAMONT LIBRARY BOOK SALE AT PUSEY LIBRARY Tuesday, October 21 through Thursday, October 23, 9:15 AM to 4:45 PM Pusey Library Lobby * Tuesday, October 21: All books $2 each * Wednesday, October 22: $1 per book or $5 per bag * Thursday, October 23: $2 per bag of books Bring your Harvard ID to enter the building own bag (standard brown grocery bag). Checks for $5 or more accepted with Harvard ID. ********************************************************* Ad Lib is a monthly newsletter for Freshman Advisers, brought to you by the Lamont, Hilles, and Cabot undergraduate libraries in the Harvard College Library. We welcome your suggestions, questions, or thoughts! Send them to adlib@fas OR contact us directly. Here's how: Susan Gilroy, Lamont Library sgilroy@fas 6-5403 Chao Chen, Hilles Library chaochen@fas 5-8726 Ellie Clement, Cabot Library clement @fas 6-8442 *********************************************************

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AdLib October 2003