Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/67451
Going about their research Sessions help students tap into resources Working with CMU faculty members, the Libraries are responding to students' need for locating relevant research related to their fi elds of study. On a faculty member's request, a reference librarian who specializes in a particular academic area will present a library instruction session tailored to the research needs of that faculty member's course. "What we are trying to do is give students information that will be relevant to their course, information services. " says Tim Peters, director of In each session, students are introduced to online links they can use to obtain information specifi c to their subject area and are informed of all the services available for assistance. Psychology faculty member Subhadra Dutta has used the instruction sessions for students enrolled in her Psychology 285 course. "Knowing how to search for articles and books using library resources is an important cornerstone for conducting research," Dutta says. One student taking notice of this is sophomore Rachel Olsen from Warren, Mich. She enrolled in Dutta's class and recently participated in an instruction session. "I think since I am majoring in psychology I will have to do more than one research proposal by the end of my college career, so this session will be helpful when I take other courses for the major and even after I graduate, " she says. Stephanie Mathson, instruction/reference librarian, provides the best picture of the way that these instruction sessions impact the college career and course work of students. "My favorite part of the sessions is when I see students' faces light up because they realize fi nding credible sources of information is not as hard as they initially fear, and the library has a vast wealth of resources for them no matter their academic discipline or research topic, " Mathson says. Faculty may schedule instruction sessions with their subject librarians by calling the Reference Desk at 989-774-3470. • Reference librarian Rui Wang guides students during a research instruction session. 'This is not about a convenience for students, but about assisting students to look for the right sources in the right way and to get good help along the way, ' Wang says. 12