Library Skills

Students should be self-sufficient in the library. The following basic library skills will be discussed with students who are expected to become proficient with them.

1. Be familiar with a library search process:
1. Initiating a research assignment: comprehension of assignment, relate to prior experience and learning, browse in a library, consider topics, brainstorm, discuss possible topics in class or with others.
2. Selecting a topic: get an overview, make a decision
3. Exploring information sources: identifying keywords, define topic, keep log or source log
4. Making a decision on a topic
5. Collecting information (strategies for searching)
6. Preparing to present: understanding the audience, organizing notes, outlining, quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
2. Understand the Library of Congress Classification System
3. Be familiar with types of literature: primary vs. secondary
4. Learn the library's on-line computer system for searching books (These have replaced Card Catalogues)
5. Be knowledgeable of the library's other data retrieval systems including BRS, InFotrac, Dialog, Wilsonline, Newsbank, Science Citation Index, etc.
6. Be knowledgeable about using the computer to search libraries at other locations such as Grateful Med in Ann Arbor, N.I.H. in Washington D.C., MSU library in East Lansing, etc.
7. Be able to use indices such as: Science Citation Index, Index Medicus, General Science Index, The Zoological Record, Current Physics Index, ACM Guide to Computing Literature, Bibliographic Index to Geology, Biosearch Index, etc.
8. Be able to use abstracts such as: BioAbstracts, Chemical Abstracts, Dissertation Abstracts, Nuclear Science Abstracts, etc.
9. Understand the basic format of journal articles.
10. Be familiar with strategies to search libraries.