Learn How to Use Your Library

New students to Trent come with a wide variety of library experience and skills. Some need very little help in figuring out this new library because it's very much like the one they used at their last institution, while many have never been shown how to use a University library effectively.

Most University libraries offer the same kinds of resources in the same way. What can confuse new arrivals is that the websites are all designed differently and you need to learn how the new site is organized.

University libraries are quite different from High School libraries. For one thing, they're a lot bigger and you can't just find a shelf and browse it anymore. You need to use the systems and search engines to find what you need. Online searching skills are required for success, and because there's so much available, understanding which databases to search for what types of material is very important.

The Trent Library has a variety of options to help you find your way around.

Summer Programs

I know you don't really want to think about the Library over the summer, but it's a great chance to prepare for the coming year. We have two summer programs online for Trent students.

The Library Orientation for New Students course is designed for students who have never been to University before. It concentrates on two main themes:

• how to use TOPCAT (the library catalogue), and
• how to read a scholarly article.

It's a very general program that just touches on the basics. It does NOT prepare students for everything they need to know to locate and use the various library resources, but it's a start. The next step is to take a course-specific Library Skills Program through one or more of your first-year courses.

The Library Orientation for Returning Students gives returning students a chance to learn the skills they missed during the academic year. By the end of the academic year, students often find that they don't know what they need to know to complete their course research, and by then they just don't have the time to learn it. Take a couple of hours over the summer to refresh your memory or figure out the pieces you were missing.

Both of these courses are in myLearningSystem and can be completed from anywhere, 24/7. Some students are automatically enrolled, but anyone with a Trent network account can enroll themselves. Contact us if you need help finding this.

The programs are only available until classes begin in the Fall, and many course instructors will assume you've made use of them.

The Library Skills Tutorials

These tutorials are a must for all Trent students. Without reading these, you will certainly have a difficult time knowing where to look for the resources you need. Take an hour or so to look them over and you'll save many hours of frustration later on. Do this well in advance of your due dates, so that you have the time - don't wait until your assignment is due tomorrow!

There are 3 tutorials in the set, and each one offers a choice of basic webpage that you read yourself, or an interactive slide show that reads the slides to you. Both cover the same information, so it's just a matter of choosing the one that best suits your personal preferences and your computer's capabilities. Some of them are also on YouTube.

Find a link to the Library Skills Tutorials on our Library Homepage under "Quick Links".

The Library Skills Program

If you're taking a first-year course, there's a good chance that you'll be asked to complete this program. It's an online program that requires you to read the tutorials and complete a test. The test uses live databases and gives you practice in using resources that are important to the course you're taking it for.

If you are in a course that uses the Library Skills Program, you'll be told about it by your course professor and there will be grades attached to it. You'll access it through MyLearningSystem on myTrent. It usually takes about 3 hours to complete, but you can take as long as you need (up until the due date).

The Library Website

The Library Website serves 2 main purposes: to connect you to the resources you need for your research, and to teach you how to use those resources.

Under the Help menu there's plenty of assistance. On many of the webpages there are links to pages that explain specific resources, including some videos. A glossary helps to explain terms that might be confusing.

Use the A-Z Index to find help for a particular topic.

Ask for Help

Drop by the Help Desk in the Library. It's at the Circulation Desk, where you sign out books. A staff member can answer simple questions, or call on an expert if it's more in-depth.

ISend an email to libraryhelp@trentu.ca. We respond as quickly as we can - sometimes within the hour or certainly by the next working day. Often, we can just email you the steps you need to take and that's enough to get you going.

There are forms on the website where you can send us a question or comment. Look under the Forms menu.

If you're truly lost, book a one-on-one appointment with a librarian, using the online form. Someone will sit down with you for half an hour and go over your problem.

We're also available during the day by phone: 705-748-1011 ext. 7420.

Small-Group Instruction

In September and October we offer a selection of workshops that students can attend. These are small classes held in our computer classrooms and they cover the same information that's available in the online tutorials, but they're hands-on with an instructor. To see the schedule of classes offered, go to Workshops.

If there are no current workshops scheduled and you have a small group that needs instruction, libraryhelp@trentu.ca to request a class.

Special Services

Some Library services require special expertise and help in those areas should come from the experts.

• Oshawa students should check the Oshawa webpage for information on special services and help available to them.
• Information on the Trent University Archives is available on the Archives website.
• Anyone looking for Maps, Data, or Government information should consult the MaDGIC unit.

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Last Modified: January 20, 2012
Maintained by , Thomas J. Bata Library.