We are living in the Information Age. Today's students have more information available to them than at any other time in history, yet how do they make sense of it all? How do they find the right information, and when they do, how do they evaluate it?
One way to do this is to take advantage of the variety of instruction services offered by the UNM General Library. Throughout the summer, the library branches on campus offer a large number of classes and tours to many groups and individuals.
First of all, anyone coming into the library can get help at one of our reference desks. Our reference staff can answer the most basic directional questions - "Where's the drinking fountain?" - or provide complex research assistance, recommending specific resources and searching strategies for questions like, "How can I find photographs of the construction of the Panama Canal?"
Individuals may call or e-mail our reference desks, as well. Regardless of the format you prefer, always remember that we're here to help, so don't hesitate to ask for any assistance you might need.
We also provide group instruction. Faculty members can schedule a time to have a member of our instruction staff meet with their classes in one of our computer classrooms.
We strive to tailor our instruction to the specific needs of each class. This could mean demonstrating specialized databases, presenting online search strategies appropriate to a particular field of study, or teaching students to evaluate the information they find. Students also can get hands-on searching experience during library group instruction.
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Please try to give us two weeks' notice for group instruction. This helps scheduling and gives the library instructor plenty of time to become familiar with the particular needs of each group. The more we know about class assignments and faculty expectations, the more effective we can be. Summer teaching faculty: it's certainly not too late to schedule a class with us!
While you might think that,with fewer classes offered in the summer, our instruction staff would have a lot of spare time on their hands, nothing could be further from the truth. During the summer we are actively involved with a variety of outreach efforts.
We give library tours to hundreds of incoming freshmen participating in LOBOrientation and the Summer Health Sciences Enrichment Program. We also partner with the UNM College Enrichment Program and UNM Recruitment Services, giving library tours to high school and middle school students.
These tours for young people are very important. We hope that students will go away with a positive image of the library as a cool place to study and meet people, as well as a place to find information and get tutoring help at CAPS (Center for Academic Program Support).
Regardless of the nature of instruction service, whether group or individual, for scholars or middle schoolers, we at the General Library hope to make a difference by teaching our patrons the basic survival skills for the Information Age.
Contact information:
For Reference Questions:
Zimmerman Library:
277-5761; zimref@unm.edu
Centennial Science &Engineering Library:
277-4412; cselref@unm.edu
Fine Arts Library:
277-2355; falref@unm.edu
Parish Memorial Library: 277-8853; pmlref@unm.edu
Schedule a class:
Arts, Architecture, and Music: Carroll Botts 277-6834, cbotts@unm.edu
Business, Management, and Economics: Susan Magee 277-8853, pmlref@unm.edu
Education, Humanities, & Social Sciences: Carroll Botts 277-6834, cbotts@unm.edu
Sciences & Engineering:
Jackie Shane 277-5327, jshane@unm.edu
Online request form: http://www.unm.edu/~edserv/instruction-request-form.html
by Carroll Botts
Daily Lobo Guest Columnist
Carroll Botts is the acting Instruction Services Coordinator of UNM's General Library.
