AdLib

adlib@lists.fas.harvard.edu

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of digitized texts, images, and sound recordings. Special collections, among them, those in the Poetry Room in Lamont, the Theatre Collection, and Houghton Library, only add to what they'll find online, on Lamont's shelves, or in the vast stacks of Widener. Concentrators will also discover that the College Library is staffed with people who offer undergraduates research support and the benefit of their considerable subject expertise. Many Harvard librarians have long-standing and close working relationships with academic departments. English is among them. I serve as the contact person--the official "library liaison"--from Widener to students in the Department. Your advisee will likely meet me first in English 10a, as a sophomore; we'll work again, more closely, in junior tutorial and during the thesis writing project in senior year. *** EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES Library Research Contact: Ellie Clement, Head of Reference, Cabot Science Library [496-8442; clement@fas] When Earth and Planetary Sciences concentrators need information, they often turn first to a database called GeoRef. GeoRef is available from the Harvard Libraries E-Resources page (http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources); students can also link directly by using this URL: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.eresource:georefxx. An especially rich and deep database, GeoRef allows you to search the contents of more than 3500 geoscience journals from all over the world. It also cites books, conference papers and reports, master's theses and dissertations in geology and its sub-fields. Concentrators will also find that the ability to search for maps in this database is a real boon to their research. ********************************************************* READINGS FOR ADVISERS: Bell, Steven J. "The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an Appetizing Alternative to Google." The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50. 24 (February 20, 2004): B52. Read it here: http://chronicle.com/temp/email.php?id=7i1mwo75hg2bq7qcn55j8tq7gjn9ukeq This link will remain active for 5 days. If, for some reason, you can't access the article, send an email to Susan Gilroy (sgilroy@fas); we'll get a copy to you directly. ********************************************************* 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 Ellie Clement, Cabot Library clement @fas 6-8442 *********************************************************

3 years, 6 months

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3 years, 6 months

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3 years, 6 months

Do you read Adlib?

by Heather Cole

To Adlib suscribers: Greetings! The term is ending. You are busy. Please direct your answers to the four questions below to <hcole@fas>, using the Forward function in your e-mail application. Your replies will help us make Adlib work better for you. This survey is for administrative purposes only. Your reply will be held confidentially, and you will not be cited by name in our summaries of responses. Hint: Place your cursor at the understrokes, delete them, and enter an "X" for the appropriate response. Happy Summer, All! The Adlib Team ****************************************************************** 1. I read Adlib: __Every time I receive it __Sometimes __Never 2. I have discussed Adlib hints with my Advisee(s): __More than once __Once __Never 3. I have followed (or wished I had the time to follow) Adlib's links to outside resources: __Sometimes __Once __Never 4. I have ideas about how to make Adlib better, and here they are [add your comments}:

20 years

Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers May 2004

by Susan M Gilroy

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers adlib(a)fas.harvard.edu May 2004 Issue 5 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* IN THIS ISSUE: -- Concentration Fest, Part 3 In honor of May 10: 8 more descriptions of how Harvard College Librarians service departments and programs -- Readings for Advisers An article on the necessity of teaching research skills to undergraduates ********************************************************* FEATURED CONCENTRATIONS African and African American Studies, Social Studies, Astronomy, Literature, Classics, Applied Math, Sanskrit and Tibetan Studies, Germanic Languages and Literature *** AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES Library Research Contact: Barbara Burg, Research Services, Widener Library [496-4222; bburg@fas] The dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of African American Studies is very well-served by Harvard's libraries. While students come to African American Studies with a range of disciplinary interests, they will find the necessary breadth and depth of research collections in African American Studies, in addition to economics, fine arts, government, history, language and literature, music, sociology, and women and gender studies. In my role as liaison to the Department of African and African American Studies from Widener Library's Research Services, I offer individual research consultations and course-related instruction to concentrators so they become conversant with research processes necessary to fully explore the range of primary and secondary sources available to them. Advisers can encourage interested students to look at the collection of electronic resources available for African American Studies in both the humanities and social sciences through these links to the Harvard Libraries web site: http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources/subject/arts_and_humanities_african-amer… http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources/subject/social_sciences_african-american… *** SOCIAL STUDIES Library Research Contact: Susan Gilroy, Reference Librarian, Lamont Library [496-5403; sgilroy@fas] Until this spring, Hilles Library was the central service point for the Social Studies Program, and over the years, many faculty and students developed close relationships with (and deep affection for) the Reference staff there. With plans now underway for the conversion of Hilles into the Quad Library in June 2005, Lamont Library has assumed responsibility for library outreach and course-related instruction for Social Studies concentrators. Students can expect the same high level of service from us that Hilles provided, including lots of personal assistance with their papers in the junior tutorials and individualized research help on the senior thesis. We also hope to continue the Hilles tradition of having a "Senior Thesis Registry," by which we can keep in touch with concentrators throughout the thesis process, offer them suggestions, and point them toward relevant new research that has come our way. Although I expect to meet them all, in one course or another, in their junior year, I hope you'll encourage them to get to know me before this year is out, or even as sophomores; they don't need a "research reason" to drop by and introduce themselves, and I'm eager to hear about their interest in the concentration and their academic plans. For a preview of other kinds of library support they'll have available to them, your advisees might want to take a look at the excellent resources that the Hilles Library has produced. They include a guide to finding primary sources (specifically for Social Studies 98), a web-based tutorial on using Sociofile (the essential research resource for concentrators), and a carefully chosen selection of "Web Sites for Scholars." These (and more) can be viewed here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/hilles/services/research.html *** ASTRONOMY Library Research Contact: Ann Robinson, Science Reference Librarian, Cabot Science Library [495-5353, arobins(a)fas.harvard.edu] If you have first years planning to concentrate in astronomy, they'll want to add _The Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics_ to their research repertoires next year. EAA bills itself as the most complete and comprehensive reference sources for astronomy and astrophysics, and Harvard students can use it in print or online. A print copy of this 4 volume is kept in the Cabot Science Library. It's also available online from the E-Resources page of the Harvard Libraries portal (http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources). The online version of EAA is an amazing feat of scholarly research: it brings together more than 2500 articles by 800 specialists on everything from active galaxies to quasars to string theory to zero gravity. Articles deal with their subject matter at a range of levels: each article is structured to become more specialized as the article progresses. That means that the EAA will continue to be useful at any stage of their Harvard career. Plus, the EAA is continually updated and expanded and it has several other nice features besides: helpful bibliographies, a section on "breaking news" in the field, information on current solar and space weather conditions, a special article and special picture "of the week," and a rich list of e-content links. In addition to the offerings online and in the Cabot Library itself, astronomy concentrators should also know about the Wolbach Library, affiliated with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/). Your students should also remember that the science librarians at Harvard will sometimes be their best information resources! We're eager to work with these students so encourage them to make our acquaintance early on next year! *** LITERATURE Library Research Contacts: Laura Farwell Blake, Research Services, Widener Library [496-0108; farwell@fas] Mary Beth Clack, Research Services, Widener Library [496-7465; mclack@fas] Since literature concentrators pursue an individually tailored program, librarians offer consultations focusing on particular areas of study and research, sometimes in concert with other subject specialists. As the Handbook states, "Literary and cultural theory and other forms of representation in more than one culture or language are fundamental to the students' study of literature." We welcome students' inquiries and are happy to guide them to relevant collections and resources across the library spectrum, as well as provide them with individual research consultations and assistance. *** CLASSICS Library Research contact: Michael Hemment, Research Services, Widener Library [496-4548; hemment@fas] The E-Resource gods have been smiling down upon classics concentrators in recent years. Among the valuable research tools now in the Harvard Libraries portal are L'Année Philologique, the Oxford Classical Dictionary, and the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Indeed, being a classics concentrator means not only mastering Greek, Latin, and a wide-range of canonical texts, but also a variety of digital resources, CD-ROMs, and Harvards monumental print collection. Understanding how they all fit together for a research project can be a challenge. Fortunately, a "deus ex machina" does exist! As Widener Library's liaison to the Classics Department and Committee on Medieval Studies, my goal is to help students evaluate the scholarly merit of print and digital resources, clarifying their contents and scope, and maximize their accessibility. To this end, I have created a research portal called Inter Libros (www.interlibros.net). In addition, I provide individual research consultations by appointment for classics concentrators working on course papers and senior theses, develop library research guides, and teach a variety of library research classes. I look forward to collaborating on your research project! *** APPLIED MATH and MATHEMATICS Library Research Contact: Ellie Clement, Head of Reference, Cabot Library [496-8442; clement@fas] Mathematicians rely on a database called MathSciNet to satisfy a wide range of information needs. Harvard undergraduates often search it, too, whether they decide to take the pure or applied math route. If they elect to write an honors thesis, in fact, they'll find MathSciNet indispensable as a way into the published literature on which their own mathematical models and research will be built. It's so important that the Math Department links to MathSciNet directly from its home page! Produced by the American Mathematical Society, MathSciNet contains citations and abstracts to the mathematical literature that has been produced around the world since 1940. It's also very current, and a great resource for timely reviews of books, journal articles, and other original documents that have made significant new contributions to the field. Many of these items are available in full-text. Your advisee can find out more about resources in the field by consulting our guide. It's here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/cabot/Reference_Guides_Basic/MathandStatsBasics.pdf We want to help, so send your advisees our way! *** SANSKRIT AND TIBETAN STUDIES Library Research Contact: Cheryl LaGuardia, Research Services, Widener Library [496-4226; claguard@fas] Widener Library collects Sanskrit and Tibetan publications, and Harvard-Yenching library holds the Tibetan Buddhist canonical texts in print. These can be located through Romanized records in HOLLIS, the online catalog. New publications from India and Tibet are added regularly and are supplemented by a growing collection of older materials on CD-ROM. The Tibetan collection at Harvard-Yenching Library is historically centered on Buddhism, but there are also holdings in history and literature. For more information students may find it useful to take a look at both the Widener and Harvard-Yenching web sites. Widener's collections are described here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/widener/collections/east_south_se_asia.html Holdings of the Harvard-Yenching Library are described at: http://hcl.harvard.edu/harvard-yenching/collections/tibetan.html Please do encourage potential concentrators to get in touch with me if I can supply them with more information! *** GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES Library Research Contact: Elizabeth McKeigue, Research Services, Widener Library [496-4023; mckeigue@fas] For an overview of the resources available to students in this department, tell your advisees about the online guide "Germanic Languages: An Introduction to Library Resources." It's available on the College Library web site at http://hcl.harvard.edu/widener/services/research/german/ger1.html This guide introduces all the major reference resources for the study of German languages and literatures. Some of the highlights include links to the collection of electronic texts for the German masters such as Goethe and Schiller, links to web sites of interest to German scholars, and lists of the best print resources in the collections of the Harvard Libraries. Students who are thinking about concentrating in Germanic languages will be excited by the wealth of print and online resources the Harvard Libraries have to offer. Widener Library is world-renowned for its Germanic collections. The library collects materials in the humanities and the social sciences from Austria, Denmark, Flanders, Germany, Liechtenstein, the Germanic-language area of Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the German-language area of Switzerland, and Hungary. At Widener, Germanic Languages and Literatures concentrators will find that we look forward to assisting them in their use of these collections, so please encourage them to contact me! ********************************************************* READINGS FOR ADVISERS An article on the necessity of teaching research skills to undergraduates Fister, Barbara. "Reintroducing Students to Good Research." Keynote address presented to the faculty of Lake Forest College, November 7, 2001. "The state we are in has been called a frontier, as if we're moving from print to electronic worlds, from the book to the Internet, from a nostalgic, dusty past to a new and shiny future. In fact, we're residents of a rich and diverse border culture, one in which information will come in a variety of formats, one in which our students must be equally at home with paper and digital environments." Read the full article here: http://homepages.gac.edu/~fister/LakeForest.html ********************************************************* 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 Ellie Clement, Cabot Library clement @fas 6-8442 And if you like Ad-Lib, consider sending it on to a friend! *********************************************************

20 years

Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers March 2004

by Susan M Gilroy

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers adlib(a)fas.harvard.edu March 2004 Issue 4 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* IN THIS ISSUE: -- Concentration Fest, Part 2 8 more descriptions of how Harvard College librarians work with academic programs and departments -- Readings for Advisers A Chronicle of Higher Education article on the undergraduate's "fear of reference" ********************************************************* FEATURED CONCENTRATIONS: History, Folklore and Mythology, Anthropology, History and Literature, ESPP, History of Science, Philosophy, History of Art and Architecture, and Economics *** HISTORY Library Research contact: Barbara Burg, Research Services, Widener Library [496-4222; bburg@fas] Central to the work of a historian is access to original documentation of events: personal papers, diaries, letters, organizational records, census data, photographs, and artifacts. In Harvard's libraries and special collections, students have opportunities to sample from a banquet of materials that is unlike any other. One of my roles, as Widener Library's liaison to this Department, is to invite them to partake of this feast. If your advisee is leaning toward a concentration in history, he or she can get a flavor for the kinds of primary source materials Harvard makes available by browsing in a database called OASIS (Online Archival Search Information System). OASIS provides access to the digitized guides that describe, in detail, specific archival and manuscript collections at Harvard. These collections are everywhere: in the Houghton Library, the Harvard Law School Library, the Divinity School Library, Countway Library of Medicine, the University Archives and the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America. OASIS is available directly at this address: http://oasis.harvard.edu and is also linked from the Harvard Libraries Portal page (http://lib.harvard.edu). I spend a good amount of time during the academic year working one-on-one with history concentrators. These individual research consultations help to ensure that students are able to identify and locate the variety of research materials that are essential for their course-based assignments as well as their senior thesis research. As they make their concentration decisions, your advisees are more than welcome to get in touch with me if they'd like to know more about historical research and historical resources available to them at Harvard. *** FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY Library Research Contact: Pam Matz, Reference Services, Widener Library [495-8713; pmatz@fas] The web site of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology -- http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~folkmyth/ -- puts the pleasures of a Folklore concentration succinctly and emphatically: the concentration is a liberal education in itself. The study of Folklore draws on the disciplines of both the Humanities and Social Sciences. Students working in Folklore will rely on electronic and print resources in the field of Literature; they also become conversant with research techniques and methods in important related fields, like Anthropology. As the Widener Librarian assigned to work with this program, I introduce students to key databases and other materials, schedule research consultations with individual students, and work closely with Folklore tutorials. I often participate in library instruction for courses outside the department that have a folklore focus, as well. Last semester, for example, I produced an online guide for an Expository Writing class on "Storytelling." First years interested in the concentration may find it useful. Direct them here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/research/guides/classes/2003fall/expos20Chadbourne.h… I'm always glad to talk with students about their research interests; please tell your advisees to call, email, or come by the Widener Reference Desk with their questions. *** ANTHROPOLOGY Library Research Contact: Greg Finnegan, Head of Reference, Tozzer Library [495-2253; gregory_finnegan(a)harvard.edu] Prospective anthropology concentrators benefit from having Tozzer Library as a resource. Tozzer is the oldest anthropology library in the western hemisphere and has one of the largest collections of the subject in the world. In addition, Tozzer Library produces Anthropological Literature, the major current bibliography of articles in journals and edited books. AL indexes over 500,000 articles going back as far as the 1840's, covering the entire history of anthropology as a discipline. We collect and index the literature of the three sub-fields taught in the "wings" of the Harvard department: biological anthropology, archaeology, and social/cultural anthropology. Because anthropology has such a long history at Harvard, students become involved in long-running research projects. For example, Harvard has been conducting research at the ancient Maya city of Copan, in Honduras, for over 100 years--and all of these research reports are held at Tozzer and indexed in AL. We also hold many sets of freshman seminar papers, not a few by students who went on to distinguished careers in anthropology. Tozzer Librarians are themselves trained anthropologists and working scholars. Two members of our staff serve as Freshman Advisers, so they are familiar with the kinds of questions that your students might want answered as they make decisions about a field of study for next year. Besides describing our resources and services, the Tozzer web site includes links to major associations and institutions in the field; your advisee will find much valuable information here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/tozzer/links.html. *** HISTORY AND LITERATURE Library Research Contact: Joe Bourneuf, Research Services, Widener Library [496-9183; bourneuf@fas] Harvard's Library holds one of the premier academic research collections in the world. This presents something of a challenge, but far more importantly, offers incredibly deep resources for the researcher. The fundamentally interdisciplinary nature of the History and Literature concentration is well served by several of the College libraries, all of which have highly trained reference staffs ready to discuss research strategies and processes. Familiarity with Widener, however, is crucial to successful progress through the program and completion of the senior thesis. The History and Literature homepage links to a guide to selected library and internet resources most useful to students in this concentration. Your advisees can also get to it directly at this address: http://hcl.harvard.edu/widener/services/research/histlit/histlitguide.html. Many of the sophomore tutorial groups meet me during the late fall and winter for an introduction to both print and electronic resources specifically directed to their common area of study. Juniors and seniors are encouraged to take advantage of individual research consultations devoted specifically to research for their major papers and ultimately, their theses. *** ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY Library Research Contact: George Clark, Environment Resources Librarian, Cabot Science Library [496-6158; clark5@fas] First years interested in concentrating in Environmental Science and Public Policy (ESPP) will want to check out these two resources: "Environmental Research Resources at Harvard" (http://hcl.harvard.edu/environment/research ) is a guide I prepared for the web; it identifies major research tools, environmental news sources, and initiatives at Harvard and elsewhere. Environmental Issues and Policy Index is an online database that students will find linked from the Harvard Libraries E-Resources page (http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources). This database is one of several good places to search for journal articles in the field, and students who end up concentrating in ESPP will want to add it to their research repertoire next year. *** HISTORY OF SCIENCE Library Research Contact: Fred Buchsted, Reference Services, Widener Library [495-2411; burchst@fas] In 1913, George Sarton, exile Belgian chemist and Harvard scholar, founded the Isis Bibliography, a publication that to this day continues be the pre-eminent source for scholarship on the history of science, medicine and technology. We keep it, and other reference books in the field, in Widener Library's Loker Reading Room, and concentrators typically have at least one session with me there, so that they can become acquainted with the major print tools they'll be expected to use for papers, research projects, and senior theses. The online equivalent to the Isis Bibliography is a database called the "History of Science, Technology, and Medicine." Students can find it linked from the Harvard Libraries Portal Page (http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources). Information about using it is included in my guide to "Finding Periodicals on the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology" (http://hcl.harvard.edu/widener/services/research/subindexes/perhistsci/perh…). Widener Library contains the bulk of Harvard's history of science collections, and concentrators will find a vast and impressive array of both primary and secondary source material in its stacks. For students who work on topics related to the history of medicine, Countway Library is also an option, and an especially rich resource. First years who are interested in knowing more about the range of materials available to them at Harvard and in the vicinity can have a look at my "Resources for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology at Harvard University and the Boston Area." The guide is available at this address: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~burchst/HSresoHU.html. *** PHILOSOPHY Library Research Contact: Sarah Phillips, Reference, Widener Library [384-9215; sphillip(a)fas.harvard.edu] I welcome individual consultations on any paper topic, and can guide students in Philosophy to using major research resources in their field, including the all-important Philosopher's Index (http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources). In addition to the substantial research collections that Widener and other Harvard libraries make available, the Department hosts the Robbins Library of Philosophy in Emerson Hall, Room 211. This is a space where students can also get access to key texts, reserve readings, and online resources on weekdays from 12 noon to 10 p.m. For part of each week, a librarian is on site in Robbins, too, and can answer questions that come up for students while they are visiting the Department. *** HISTORY OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE Library Research contact: Mary Clare Altenhofen, Head of Research, Fine Arts Library [496-3592; altenhof@fas] The Fine Arts Library is the primary resource for the study of the history of art and related disciplines at Harvard University; it is also one of the academic world's most comprehensive libraries for Western and non-Western art and architecture from antiquity to the present. Concentrators will find a wide variety of materials here: books and journals covering the fine arts, an extensive slide image collection, a historic photography collection, and more. Concentrators also have many databases at their disposal, including the Grove Dictionary of Art Online and several excellent resources for accessing art journals and magazines. These are available from the Harvard Libraries E-Resource page (http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources). Your advisee will find them described and linked, too, from the online guide to Art History Research that the Fine Arts Library has produced: (http://hcl.harvard.edu/finearts/haa_research_guide/index.html). Among their many options, students will find Art Abstracts and Art Index Retrospective good launching pads for research on art historical topics from all time periods and geographic areas. To add depth to their search results, students can turn to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA). For topics on architecture, we recommend that they also use the Avery Architectural Periodicals Index. Concentrators who have interests in topics like landscape design, American architecture, and urban planning will probably spend some of their time roaming in the stacks of the Frances Loeb Library of the Graduate School of Design (http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/library/ ). *** ECONOMICS Library Research Contact: Meghan Dolan, Data Reference Librarian, Littauer Library [495-2106; dolan2@fas] Economics concentrators can be sure of one thing: when conducting research within their field, they will need to rely heavily on journal literature and numeric data. Littauer Library is the best place for concentrators to begin that kind of work. Given the great size of the Economics department, we make an effort to reach students in as many ways as we can. Some make appointments to discuss their projects and get advice on research strategies. Others establish relationships with us via email, and concentrators should never feel shy about sending their questions to us at this address: dataquest(a)data.fas. harvard.edu. For students who prefer to work more independently (or just like to figure things out on their own), we have created a suite of research guides that identify good resources for everything from public opinion polls and census information to intergovernmental and international trade data. Included in this mix is a guide to EconLit, the principal database that concentrators will use to access journal articles published in the field. The guides are available from our homepage: http://hcl.harvard.edu/numericdata/ under the "Conducting Research" link. One of the other ways we try to familiarize students with data resources is through a one-hour "Introduction to Economics Data Resources" workshop, which is taught in conjunction with the Harvard-MIT Data Center several times each academic term. It will offered one more time this Spring, on April 20th, from 3-4 p.m. First-years who want to get a head start on learning how data is collected and stored should consider signing on. More information about the class is available here: http://www.hmdc.harvard.edu/jsp/topic.jsp?id=36&bct=dData%2BServices.s7.t36 should you want to pass the information on to your advisee. ********************************************************* READINGS FOR ADVISERS Fister, Barbara. "Fear of Reference." _The Chronicle of Higher Education_, 48.40 (June 14, 2002): B20. Last year, I asked a number of graduating seniors why they thought some students were reluctant to use our library's reference desk, and what we could do to make the service more appealing. The most creative suggestion I got was to move the reference desk to a more private spot, so that nobody would face the humiliation of being seen asking for help in public. I toyed with the idea of installing a disused confessional: 'Bless me, librarian, for I am lost.' Why do undergraduates find it so embarrassing to ask for help in a library? . . . Read the entire article: http://homepages.gac.edu/~fister/FearofReference.html ********************************************************* 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 Ellie Clement, Cabot Library clement @fas 6-8442 And if you like Ad-Lib, consider sending it on to a friend! *********************************************************

20 years, 1 month

Ad-Lib: A Monthly For Freshman Advisers February 2004

by Susan M Gilroy

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers adlib(a)fas.harvard.edu February 2004 Issue 3 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* IN THIS ISSUE: -- Our Three-Part Concentration Fest Kicks off 7 descriptions of how Harvard College librarians work with academic programs and departments -- Readings for Advisers A _Chronicle of Higher Education_ piece on undergraduate "infobesity" ******************************************************** CONCENTRATION FEST: Part I 7 descriptions of how Harvard College librarians work with academic programs and departments What's happening with first years this spring? Among other things, they're busy sizing up concentrations, testing the fit in one or two of their courses, learning about application procedures, and getting ready to submit their Plans of Study in May. As we know, however, concentration decisions are rarely simple and straightforward affairs. Your advisees may be discovering that their interests have shifted dramatically since September. A first year who was bent on working in Engineering when he arrived at Harvard may have recently revealed, for example, that he's now thinking of becoming a writer instead. Other freshmen may be struggling to distinguish between what seem to be departmental shades of gray. Hist and Lit . . . or just History . . . or maybe Lit? Social Studies or Government? Biology or Biochemical Sciences? How different will the experience be? Opportunities to explore concentrations are everywhere, as listings in the Freshman Yard Bulletin each week attest. Departments hold special office hours to accommodate first years; they publish concentration handbooks or post information on their web sites; the FDO hosts a January "Concentration Fair." What can the Harvard Libraries contribute to the selection process? * We can help first years understand what the work in a particular academic field is like; * We can talk to them about what kinds of information sources scholars and researchers in a discipline routinely use; * We can tell them about the kinds of course-related workshops and sessions we offer; * We can point them to handouts and guides we've produced for students in many courses and departments; * We can talk to them about the types of interactions we have with concentrators as sophomores, juniors, and senior thesis-writers; * We can encourage them to develop good information-seeking habits early in their career; . . . and more. In this and our next two issues, Ad-Lib will introduce you to librarians who work closely with concentrators in many departments and degree-granting programs. This month, we cover Physics, Romance Languages, Chemistry, Government, East Asian studies, English and American Lit, and Earth and Planetary Sciences. We hope you'll pass the information along to advisees who may be considering these concentrations. And as always, if you like Ad-Lib, pass this issue along to a friend! ********************************************************* *** PHYSICS Library Research Contact: Ellie Clement, Head of Reference, Cabot Science Library [496-8442; clement@fas] One of many good ways for undergraduates to explore a concentration is to learn something about the way that researchers in the field communicate with one another and where they look for information. Cabot Science Library has produced a whole series of handouts that can help. You and your advisee can get access to them here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/cabot/Reference_Guides_Basic/index.html. Our "Getting Started in Physics Research" guide highlights the databases that are essential for locating journal literature, current research, and conference proceedings. We also identify some of the specialized research tools that physicists consult for definitions and data. These are tools your advisee will become familiar with using in the concentration next year. *** ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE Library Research contact: Mary Beth Clack, Research Services, Widener Library [496-7465; mclack@fas] As liaison to the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, I collaborate with faculty in preparing presentations for students on library resources and research strategies. We design these sessions around the themes of the course and the specific information needs of the students enrolled in it. Faculty also encourage students to meet with me individually for follow-up consultations on their projects and papers. Your advisees can see some sample of the research guides I've prepared for coursework in Romance Languages and Literature here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/widener/services/research/guides.html#4. Concentrators are always welcome to seek me out in person, too, by stopping by the Widener Reference Desk. *** CHEMISTRY Library Research Contact: Ellie Clement, Head of Reference, Cabot Science Library [496-8442; clement@fas] Especially in the sciences, students can expect to spend some of their research time in departmental libraries. Undergraduates concentrating in the sciences can find out more about these special spaces and collections by consulting this list: http://lib.harvard.edu/libraries/listings_sciencelib.html. If your advisee is considering a concentration in the chemical sciences, encourage him or her to visit the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (http://www.chem.harvard.edu/library/). It combines the "traditional charm of our tranquil reading room" with a "dynamic collection of primary literature, electronic resources, and reference material." The main emphasis of the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Library collection is primary literature published in journals, although books and textbooks can also be found here. Weekdays, from 9-5 p.m., there's even a librarian on site, and concentrators are welcome to bring her their questions about organic and inorganic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical biology. *** GOVERNMENT Library Research Contact: Sue Gilroy, Reference, Lamont Library [496-5403; sgilroy@fas] The College Library assigns most academic departments a single research contact (sometimes called a "library liaison") who works closely with concentrators, graduate students, and faculty. Government has three--partly because of its size, of course, but also because of the Department's range of teaching interests and the complexity of students' research and information needs. The courses that sophomores, juniors, and seniors take often require them to locate journal literature and policy studies, to interpret statistical data, and to make use of publications produced by governments, international agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Frequently, Government concentrators cross disciplinary borders into related areas like history, sociology, philosophy and economics. They learn to work with the research tools of practitioners in these fields, too. Let your advisees know that they don't have to fear getting lost in the vast and varied landscape of politics and government. Librarians are always ready to be their resource guides. Encourage them to drop by Lamont and talk with me this Spring, as they think the concentration over. I'll give them a preview of resources they'll find helpful and have them meet the other members of my team: Meghan Dolan, a Data Reference Librarian in Littauer Library and John Collins, an expert in the Government Documents collection in Lamont, on Level 1. *** EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE Library Research Contact: Cheryl LaGuardia, Research Services, Widener Library [496-4222; claguard@fas] For a sample of the online research tools we make available to students in this department, have your advisees take a look at the East Asian Studies Research Guide I've produced. It's available on the College Library web site (http://hcl.harvard.edu/widener/services/research/eastasian/part_1.html). This guide includes links to East Asian news sources, full-text journal articles, and key databases in the field (including the Bibliography of Asian Studies). It also provides a detailed set of web sites of interest to East Asian researchers, a host of essential print reference sources, and much more. Widener Library contains a rich collection of Western language materials to support East Asian Studies; however, for materials in the vernacular languages--Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, Vietnamese, and Mongolian--the Harvard Yenching Library is the real jewel in the crown. A fuller description of its extraordinary collections is given here: http://hcl.harvard.edu/harvard-yenching/collections/overview.html. At both Widener and Yenching, concentrators will find that we're eager to guide their use of these collections, so please encourage them to contact us! *** ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE Library Research Contact: Laura Farwell Blake, Research Services, Widener Library [496-0108; farwell@fas] English concentrators will find that the libraries are richly supplied with the disciplinary tools of their trade: literary texts, criticism, biographical studies, historical and contextual materials of all kinds.

20 years, 2 months

Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers December 2003

by Susan M Gilroy

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ad-Lib: A Monthly for Freshman Advisers adlib(a)fas.harvard.edu December 2003 Issue 2 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* IN THIS ISSUE: -- Talking Points: Ways to encourage good use of Harvard Librarians at end of term -- Readings for Advisers: An article that puts the undergraduate research process in perspective -- For your Advisees Online Guides for Citing Sources ********************************************************* TALKING POINTS Ways to encourage good use of Harvard Librarians at end of term Holiday greetings, BFA Members! If you're in the midst of your just-before-break conversations with advisees, then you're probably hearing about all that they're coping with as the semester winds down: second midterms in Bio, Math, or Spanish, a last problem set for Ec 10. Research papers due in January seem like a distant prospect to many first year students, who may be more worried just now about the length of the lines at Logan than about the length of their bibliographies. "I was stressed until yesterday, when I had my last test" a freshman told a Lamont Librarian this week. "Now I just have three papers to write, but they're not due for, like, six weeks. I should be fine." At the Reference Desk, we're used to undergraduates who speak to us in code. Experience has taught us that there are usually questions behind they questions they bring to us. We know to probe further anytime a student asks us where the "American history books are," for example, or how to get to JSTOR. So when a freshman, in particular, tells us she's "fine" in these early weeks of December, we're aware that she could mean any one of several things: ** She really does have the situation under control. (Her course instructor, for example, may have arranged a library instruction session earlier in the term and that's helped her understand where to go for information and how to look for it.) ** She may have some concerns about getting the work done, but she's too exhausted to deal with the project just now. (She's promised herself she'll face it as soon as she gets home.) ** She's underestimating the work that lies ahead of her and hasn't yet given her pending projects much thought. ** She's putting on a brave front. Just as some freshmen truly believe that they're an Admissions Office mistake, there labor under the misconception that Harvard students must figure out things on their own. (In fact, many preface questions to Reference Librarians with such apologies as "This is probably a dumb question . . . " or "I'm sorry to bother you, but . . . ." ) Either now or in early January, you'll be talking with your advisees about managing expectations and apportioning time. During those conversations, try to ask them questions about *how* they're getting their research done--not just *what* they're writing on. Do they have a research strategy already in place? Where are they looking for information? Are they satisfied with what they've done? What questions are emerging as they use library resources? How do they think they can get those questions answered? Listen, too, for statements that seem to need "decoding" in some way. Examples: ** "I'm not sure there's enough information on my topic." [What's at the root of the student's anxiety? What does "enough" mean?] ** "I searched Google and I searched HOLLIS and I'm not having any luck." [Is the student searching the right way? Using the right words? Is there a better place he or she could be searching? Where--or from whom--might your advisee find out what those "better places" are?] ** "My roommate already knows how to do this." [This is a version of the common Harvard student misconception that everyone else has "caught on."] The best advice you can give to advisees who seem to be struggling with his research? Encourage them to TALK TO A LIBRARIAN about next steps. The people resources they'll find on the Harvard campus--whether they start in Lamont or Cabot or Hilles or Widener--are as valuable as the collections that these buildings hold. Let your advisees know that Reference Librarians are here to help them in their quest for information of any kind. Every day, we work with students who are looking for fast facts, persuasive evidence for their arguments, primary and secondary source material, even cutting-edge research. We answer questions on everything from using the HOLLIS catalog to citing sources correctly and avoiding plagiarism. We talk students through their anxieties at every stage of their course projects. All they'll need to do is ask. ********************************************************* RECOMMENDED FOR ADVISERS: A reading that puts undergraduate research problems in perspective Leckie, Gloria J. "Desperately Seeking Citations: Uncovering Faculty Assumptions about the Undergraduate Research Process." _Journal of Academic Librarianship_, 22. 3 (April 1996): 201-208. Get to the article here: http://tinyurl.com/yu6b ********************************************************* FOR YOUR ADVISEES: Online Guides for Citing Sources http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont/resources/links/citation.html It's that time of year again: Harvard undergraduates in the thick of research projects, style guides flying off library reference shelves. Even students who have mastered the intricacies of parenthetical references or the rules for books without publication dates can feel stumped by a web page, a government document online, an article from LEXIS-NEXIS, Academic Search Premier, or JSTOR. Just what do the MLA, APA, and Chicago Style manuals recommend for non-print formats? Lamont librarians can help your advisees find out. You can direct them to the address above or have them take this path from the Lamont home page (http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont): Conducting Research ---> Great Links ---> Citing Sources. In addition to the Expos Program's _Writing with Sources_, we've created links to APA and MLA , the _Columbia Guide to Online Style_ and Dartmouth College's excellent compilation of examples and rules for referencing print, electronic, and Web materials. ********************************************************* If you liked this issue of Ad-Lib, share it with a colleague! 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 *********************************************************

20 years, 5 months

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 *********************************************************

20 years, 6 months

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