Reference Desk Hours: Sunday 4:00 – 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 9 p.m. Fridays 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Contacting Reference Librarians: Librarians can be reached in person, by phone, by email, and by online chat. For more information, see the Ask a Librarian link on the library website. The reference desk is just to the left as you enter the library.
Reference librarians guide library users in designing and executing research strategies. Reference service is both an educational consultation and an informational service. We want the user to be able to repeat some of the process we’ve just gone through, the next time he or she has similar information need.
With the goal of information literacy in mind, the Reference/Instruction Librarian identifies comprehensive, high quality reference sources and then promotes their use through an interactive style of inquiry, guidance, and instruction. Library faculty assess the relevance and currency of print and electronic sources and work to locate and fill gaps in the collection in addition to making abundant use of web-accessible materials and other external resources.
Currently, all incoming first year students attend at least one library instruction session during the first semester of their freshmen year. This class works in collaborotion with the First Year Inquiry class in order to introduce students to the library and to the research process.
Currently most Comp II classes bring their students to the library in order to prepare students for their research papers. Above, you will find an example of what is covered in these sessions. Librarians can change the instruction session to meet the needs of each specific class, but we try to cover the same basic concepts.