Happy May and Summer!

Students will still have an active WUSTL Key over the summer, and that means they'll still be able to access the 900+ online databases WU Libraries subscribes to.  Maybe over the summer they'll have time to investigate some of the amazing sources they were too busy for during the academic year:

• Browse through some of the many Archives Unbound collections, which include historical documents covering many topics  from the Middle Ages forward--from Witchcraft to World War II to twentieth-century political history. 
• Practice language skills through the many international--and interactive--newspapers featured in Press Reader.
• Summer could also be the time for investigating Ancestry - Library Edition. 
• Relax with some pleasure reading using any of the many eBooks.

If students have a technical problem, assistance is available at the Help Desk.  Get assistance remotely via FAQs, Ask Us! chat service, and phone: 314-935-5410.

April greetings from WUSTL Libraries!

Students and their Personal Librarians

Class librarians have been busy working with students enrolled in the College Writing and Writing Identity courses. All sections have a class librarian available to them throughout the semester. With their course instructor and librarian as guides, students learn how to conduct research and develop habits of inquiry. 

Hopefully students will consider their class librarian and the many Subject Librarians as resources for the rest of their time at WU!  Encourage your students to tap into the knowledge and know-how of these information experts!

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Resource Highlight – Interlibrary Loan and MOBIUS

Yes, WU Libraries has a wide and comprehensive collection of academic journals, but students who take advantage of the Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service have even more journal articles at their fingertips. Interlibrary Loan makes it possible for students to get virtually any article they need quickly and seamlessly.

Encourage your students to ask their class librarian about using this excellent service.

Students can also request books through ILL, but they should check the MOUBIS consortium catalog first. Many MOBIUS libraries are academic libraries in Missouri, so the request process is efficient and prompt.

Event of Note

Spring Write-In in Olin Library - Wednesday, May 1, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Your students undoubtedly have papers and projects due in the not-so-distant future. And they can find help and encouragement at the Spring Write-in!  On Wednesday, May 1, 1:00-5:00 p.m. Writing Center tutors and research librarians will be on hand to answer questions, help with the writing process, and provide research assistance. Refreshments will be served.

Happy March! It's mid-semester, and WU Libraries are there for your students before, after, and --yes--even during Spring Break! 

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Maximizing library.wustl.edu – Three Essential Tips

1. Looking for articles?  Login through WU Libraries’ proxy server before searching to ensure full access to subscription publications. WU Libraries subscribes to thousands of journals.

2. Not sure where to start a project? Start with the Research Guides maintained by our expert subject-area librarians.

3. Need immediate help? Use the Ask us! Chat service. You can always start a chat from the homepage, but the chat box is also embedded in some article and database pages. Even if the chat service is closed for the evening, initiating a chat creates a ticket, and Help Desk staff will respond to you the following morning.

Hello, and happy February!

The slate of Spring 2019 Workshops@the Library have begun. Students may attend any or all of the sessions. There are technology and software topics, such as Web Scraping with Python and R for Mere Mortals.

Or they can learn more about the treasures available in the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections in Exploring Visual Collections.  Video Editing 101 is another option, and students will surely find managing their citations and bibliographies much easier if they attend a workshop on how to use Zotero.

The workshops are offered twice a semester, at 12 p.m. January 28-February 8, and again at 4 p.m. in late February/early March. They are open to the Washington University community, including library staff, undergraduates and graduates, university faculty and staff. 

More sessions are being added each day, so be sure to check back for an updated lineup! 

Already Well Underway--January and Spring Semester 2019 

The two announcements below qualify more as opportunities than tips. Encourage your students to take advantage of these upcoming events!

Essay Competition

The annual Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition is underway. To enter, students write an essay about titles in their personal book collection. The competition is open to full-time Washington University graduate and undergraduate students who love collecting books. Faculty judges read the essays and select both undergraduate and graduate winners. The cash prizes are significant!

Entries are due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 4, 2019. Click to learn more about the history of this competition.

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Travel Grants

Does your student desire to travel the world and broaden their horizons intellectually and culturally? If so, encourage them to apply for The Newman Exploration Travel Fund award.  Undergraduate students are eligible for this fantastic opportunity, which grants up to $10,000 per award, and there are two student scholarships.

Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2019, and must include a budget, written proposal, and an application form. 

Click for more information about the application process and the fund’s back story.

Happy Holidays! We hope your students will get some well-deserved rest and relaxation over Winter Break. Maybe there's time now to get in a little pleasure reading. Remind your students that they may still access the library collection through eBooks. To use eBooks and other subscription resources students will be prompted to enter their WUSTL Key ID. The document posted at the top of this box below provides a bit more information on accessing eBooks from the WU Catalog.

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Anyone studying a language may like to take a look at the many international newspapers in Library Press Reader.  This database contains current newspapers in more than 60 languages.  Many of the articles also include audio.  

For more information on this excellent resource, see this guide.

Belated November greetings!

All WU students have subscription-level online access to the New York Times.  First, they must register with their WUSTL email address at NYTimes.com Academic Passes.  Read more about the NYT Academic Pass program.

Students also have access to many other popular periodicals such as The New Yorker, Harper's, and The Economist.

To take advantage of WU's subscriptions, students should begin their journey from the Library's homepage--beginning with a general web search or proceeding directly to these publications' websites will lead to incomplete access and pay walls.  

The easiest way to find one of the Library's subscriptions, is to search for the journal's title.

Happy reading.

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Do you think your students have a way to keep track of  the many sources they'll use in their upcoming research papers and projects?  

Encourage them to look into using a citation management program to help organize citations and create bibliographies.  The Libraries will be offering workshops on one such tool--Zotero.  Students may sign up and attend these and the other WU Libraries' research and tech workshops taking place this October.

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Personalized research consultations are also available with any of the many Subject Librarians.  Students can access these subject experts 24/7 via their online Research Guides.

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Students can learn more about the whole WU Libraries System through our month-long Passport to Your Libraries event

Below are some key links to get acclimated and maximize all the WU Libraries system has to offer.  To start with, encourage your students to get to know the geography of Olin Library by taking a tour on their mobile phone.  Olin Library's 24/7 access begins soon, so they can learn the layout anytime!

WU Libraries also has a slate of research and tech workshops on offer this fall.  Students can learn about data management, how to conduct a literature review, and how to use citation management tools effectively.