University Library Research Tips

University libraries offer a bigger selection of books, journals, newspapers, and magazines than the smaller town libraries have available. University libraries also offer services that smaller libraries do not have the resources to provide. These include research assistance, interlibrary loan, and study rooms. Knowing your way around the library and what resources are available will help you to use the library more efficiently.

Knowing the layout of the library will save time. Be sure to know the location of the periodicals, government documents, reference, etc., in the library. Also, knowing the Dewey Decimal System is helpful because that is how the books are shelved.

The first place to start when using a university library is to do an accurate search for what you need. Microfiche has been replaced in most larger libraries with the card catalog being on computers. Be sure to enter all of the relevant keywords for your search topic to get the most accurate results.

University libraries usually have quite a few people on staff, meaning that there will be someone to help you. If you aren't sure how to do an accurate search, they can help you to figure out what you are doing wrong.

Some university libraries allow students of other colleges within the area to check out books from their library. In order to do this, some places require a letter from the library at the school that you attend. In some ways, this service is better than interlibrary loan because you can pick up the book the same day. However, depending on the school, it may only be available to currently enrolled students.

Some university libraries offer a service called interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is where your library finds a printed material for you at another library when the library you are using doesn't carry it. Then, it is shipped to your library for you to take home. Sometimes, interlibrary loan items can be checked out for longer than materials that your library does carry.

University libraries also offer free access to some websites that cost money to access. One type is dictionary websites; however, some of these are free on their own. Also, there are some websites that have journal articles available online and it can be quite costly to get an individual account with them. University libraries usually have accounts with many of these types of websites so they can be used for research, meaning that if you are using computers on their intranet then you can view those websites at no charge. Being able to use these journal article sites is very handy because you can search through them more easily than if they weren't listed on a website. Journal articles are a good reference to use because they are more up-to-date than books and they tend to be written by professionals in the field that they are writing about.

Some university libraries not only have computers available to use for research and look for printed media, but they also have computer labs for personal use. Furthermore, some universities are adding wireless internet so you can bring your own computer to use, giving you access to your own files and the internet.