During the last week in class, we learned a variety of basic introductory skills to help jumpstart our ability to utilize the resources in the library both efficiently and effectively.  We went over how to use the Lion Search, a little bit about the CAT, a focus on how to use databases, as well as the really neat tool “I want it” to get books that we need on hold. Also, we learned how teachers can create reserves online to post materials so that competitive resources can be found on the website rather than making students race to get the books first.

The CAT, though more approachable now, still is a bit intimidating. I think that even though we learned how things are set up, I am more likely to ask a librarian for help. I’m happy that I learned this was an option because it will save time and help me start researching faster. Also, we talked about the LionSearch. I think this is a really neat way to search because it tells you all of the things the library has in relation to this topic. Though this is awesome in order to get a lot of results, sometimes the amount of information is overwhelming, and this is when a more specific search engine is more useful. I think I can use both the LionSearch and the Cat academically when I need to conduct research for a paper or a project. They are both very helpful and will open me up to a lot of information that I can sift through to narrow them down to the best results. I don’t think they are entirely practical for unscholarly use, but if I needed a quick answer to a question I could probably use the LionSearch as a tool to get reliable information.

I think the most useful things that I learned in class were the differences in databases. In order to see how to use them, we went through and searched about the topic “Freshmen Fifteen.” We realized that some came up with thousands of results when we changed the wording to obesity. However, on other search engines, when we used specific wording, there were much fewer articles. For example, if I was to search a topic like women’s suffrage, I could search the database called International Women and Social movements, rather than just a normal interdisciplinary one. I also learned that you can pick and choose which type of resources you would like, such as only articles, or only books., which can definitely help narrow down the quantity of results so that I can get the things I am specifically looking for in a shorter amount of time. This knowledge is extremely helpful for when I need to research quickly and effectively in the future. In the past it would have definitely come in handy while writing research papers in High School, because Google gave me way too many results.

The final topic we highlighted in class was the “I want it” button on the libraries website. I think this is one of the coolest tools that is offered in the library because it lets me search in my dorm room what I need, and then later I can pick it up. Its also awesome because if there is something that I need but Penn State doesn’t have, I can easily get it sent to me, which I know I will definitely use when im researching for my classes.

Throughout the class there were times where I posed a few questions, mostly about the reserves. What is the difference between just posting a few book pages on the reserves, rather than Angel (Why wouldn’t they just post it on Angel)? How will you know if your teacher has a reserve and will they tell you that they have one? Also, I was wondering how do you make an appointment in the library for research assistance?