Feel free to attend the following library sessions. Many of the sessions offer hands-on instruction. In addition to Brown School Library sessions, the list includes selected sessions from WashU's Becker Medical Library, WashU's Olin Library, and WashU's Writing Center.
Catalog of Library Materials
Learn how to search the catalog, request WashU items, set up a reading history, and renew checked out items. No registration needed.
By appointment or Recorded session
Course Reserves Tips
Learn how to find and use the Brown School course reserves located in the Library Catalog and Ares.
Please email the Library for a one-on-one or small group appointment: brownlibrary@wustl.edu
Data Rescue: Call for Action at WashU
Help us preserve at-risk federal data and webpages during this impactful hackathon. This event is open to individuals of all technical backgrounds, from beginners to experts. Join us at any time during the event to contribute to securing valuable digital resources.
April 3, noon - 4:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 2 & also Zoom
Registration requested, but is only required for virtual attendees: https://library.washu.edu/events/data-rescue-call-for-action-at-washu-4/
April 17, noon - 4:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 2 & also Zoom
Registration requested, but is only required for virtual attendees: https://library.washu.edu/events/data-rescue-call-for-action-at-washu-5
Don’t Sign Your Rights Away: Author's Rights
Hope to publish an article in the future? Learn how to retain your copyrights so you can freely use your own work for teaching, scholarly, and professional activities. Otherwise, you may have to pay the publisher in order to use your own work. Learn about WashU's open access repository for articles. No registration needed.
By appointment or PowerPoint slides
Drone Day
Hosted by the WashU Geospatial Working Group. Drone flying demonstrations, discussion on how drones are used for both research and operational purposes at WashU, and the opportunity to fly a drone yourself. This outdoor event will take place in Tisch Park. In the case of inclement weather, the rain date will be Wednesday, April 16.
April 11, 10:00 a.m. – noon, Tisch Park, Greenspace near Sumers Welcome Center
Registration is encouraged but not required: https://library.washu.edu/events/drone-day/
Evidence-Based Resources
Learn about the evidence-based resources. Covers evidence-based databases, websites, and filters. These resources should save you some time when doing evidence-based assignments. No registration needed.
By appointment or Tutorial
Finding Similar Phrases for Database Searching
Learn how to find similar phrases in order to expand your database search. Covers the research guide tab, database thesauri, database words, and a thesaurus. No registration needed.
By appointment or Recorded session
GIS Week in November (Geographic Information Systems) (November 2025)
Learn about some geospatial resources at WUSTL.
Green Get-It Button
Learn how to use the green get-it button to retrieve full text items. Learn what to do when the full text doesn't display. No registration needed.
By appointment or Recorded session
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Join us for a special book club discussion with WashU guest host Danielle Creech, Head of Preservation. We will discuss Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs. The story follows the Kalotay family, which has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books for generations... Secrecy is the primary tool they use to keep their collection safe, at least until their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before. Discussion will begin with a presentation on the ethics and dangers of preservation and how we balance care of our valuable collections against the needs of our patrons to access them.
April 30, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., via Zoom
Please register: https://library.washu.edu/events/ink-blood-sister-scribe/
Interlibrary Loan (Mobius and ILLiad)
WashU cannot buy every book and journal that is available. Learn how to use the interlibrary loan system to request items that WashU does not own. No registration needed.
By appointment or Recorded session
Introductory Compute – Getting Started with the RIS Scientific Compute Platform
This webinar is offered by Becker Library and WashU's Research Infrastructure Services (RIS). This session will introduce the queue system and basic queue system commands to submit and execute jobs on the Scientific Compute Platform. Attendees will learn how to use Docker images and queue system commands to submit and process jobs.
March 26, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., via Zoom
Please register: https://becker.wustl.edu/civicrm/?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=879
Library Resources After Graduation
Learn about the library resources that are available to you after you graduate. No registration needed.
By appointment or PowerPoint
April 16, 8:00 - 8:30 p.m., via Zoom
April 18, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m., via Zoom
April 21, 8:00 - 8:30 p.m., via Zoom
April 22, 4:15 - 4:45 p.m., G359 and also Zoom
April 24, 4:15 - 4:45 p.m., G359 and also Zoom
April 28, 8:30 - 9:00 p.m., via Zoom
April 29, 9:30 - 10:00 a.m., via Zoom
April 30, 8:30 - 9:00 p.m., via Zoom
May 2, 10:00 - 10:30 a.m., via Zoom
Love Data Week (week of February 14, 2026)
Machine Learning for Text Analysis Series
In this 4-session series, we will cover the basics of how to use machine learning for text-analysis tasks in Python. Participants will learn how to create word embedding models, basic supervised models such as Random Forest and Logistic Regression, and unsupervised approaches such as k-means clustering. In the later sessions, we will cover how to use pre-trained large language models like BERT and GPT for zero-shot analysis (using the model with no additional training), and how to fine-tune a pre-trained model for your own text-analysis needs. Participants must have confidence in the basics of Python syntax, as well as familiarity with basic text-analysis methods (such as tokenization and word frequency analysis).
This class will be fully in-person, and participants will use their own laptops.
April 7, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3 (Part 1)
April 9, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3 (Part 2)
April 14, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3 (Part 3)
April 16, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3 (Part 4)
Please register: https://library.washu.edu/events/machine-learning-for-text-analysis-series/
Medline via PubMed: A Fantastic, Free Health Database
Learn how to effectively search Medline via PubMed for public health, psychological, and therapeutic information. Covers MeSH searching, applying limits, using the search history, changing the results display, accessing full text, using the evidence-based clinical queries, and more. No registration needed.
By appointment or Recorded session
NIH Biosketch and NCBI SciENcv
Are you preparing a grant application for NIH? (National Institutes of Health) Do you want to learn more about SciENcv? This session will review the instructions for creating a biosketch in the NIH format and include a review of NCBI SciENcv, a tool to generate a biosketch.
April 22, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., via Zoom
Please register: https://becker.wustl.edu/classes/nih-biosketch-and-ncbi-sciencv/
Open Access Month (October 2025)
A series of events highlighting trends in open science, open data and open access. Presented by Bernard Becker Medical Library and Washington University Libraries with sponsorship from the Digital Intelligence & Innovation (DI2) Accelerator.
ORCID: What it is and How to Use it
Do you need an ORCID iD? Or do you have one already but don’t know how to make the best use of it? This session will provide you with information to not only get you started, but also help you populate and use your ORCID record. A maintained ORCID record can ease your administrative burden in multiple areas such as journal submissions, bio-sketches, and grant submissions.
April 15, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. via Zoom
Please register: https://becker.wustl.edu/classes/orcid-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it/
Python Workshops
Recorded sessions are in the Previous Workshops section, Python tab: https://becker.wustl.edu/services/research-computing/
Data Cleaning with Python
Data can be messy. Researchers commonly lament the amount of time spent preparing data before any analysis can take place. Potential steps for preparing or “cleaning” data include changing data types, adjusting values for consistency and validation, splitting or joining values, and removing extraneous records, to name a few. This workshop will cover some common data-cleaning steps using Python and the Pandas library. Basic knowledge of Python syntax is recommended.
March 31, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 2 and also via Zoom
Please register if you need a Zoom link: https://library.wustl.edu/events/data-cleaning-with-python-5
Introduction to Text Analysis in Python
This four-session course will provide participants with an introduction to analyzing textual data using Python. We will begin by learning how to perform simple operations on text and convert text into data. This will cover topics such as working with strings, text preprocessing, NLP tasks (e.g., stemming, tokenizing), as well as representing text as data (e.g., bag-of-words, word embeddings). Subsequently, the course will introduce methods for measuring concepts using textual data and provide an overview of rule-based techniques, supervised learning, and unsupervised learning approaches. Specifically, we will delve into utilizing dictionaries, the application of Naive Bayes, Random Forests and SVMs for text classification. This course is intended for graduate students, faculty and staff from any field at WashU who are interested in learning about quantitative text analysis and would like to become familiar with the main libraries and functions used to work with textual data in Python. Participants are expected to have a basic proficiency in Python (taking the Introduction to Python training series 1 and 2 should be sufficient). This class will be fully in-person, and participants will use their own laptops.
March 18, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
March 19, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
March 25, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
March 26, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
Please register: https://library.wustl.edu/events/introduction-to-text-analysis-in-python-2
R Workshops
Recorded sessions available. Introduction to R sessions: https://wustl.app.box.com/s/xz68on19wnnp8o0jtctz5h8i4pvcaaqn
Recorded sessions available: Advanced Data Visualization and data wrangling in R: https://wustl.app.box.com/s/gsxu4l7qma5yfgqdd60zzayj9kii0v7e
Recap of NIH Requirements
Open house session is an opportunity for attendees to come with questions about ORCID, SciENcv, or the NIH Policy for publications. Staff will be on hand to answer questions and troubleshoot issues with any of the resources used to manage ORCID, SciENcv, or the NIH Policy.
April 24, noon - 1:00 p.m., Farrell Learning and Teaching Center, Room 204, Medical School Campus
Please register: https://becker.wustl.edu/classes/recap-of-nih-requirements/
REDCap Workshops
REDCap is a secure, web-based application for building and managing online databases and surveys, but you do not need web development or computer programming experience to use REDCap. REDCap has built-in quality assurance/quality improvement features and is HRPO compliant. If you have a WashU Key, you can use REDCap for free! Note: some REDCap workshops are recorded. The recordings are available at the following website: Recorded sessions available
#SciComm Seminar: Communicating effectively with policymakers
This talk, led by Professor Ross C. Brownson, WashU Public Health, will discuss essential principles for effective communication with policymakers. The session will highlight core concepts from communication science, the application of a useful communication model, ways of bridging political divides, and elements of an effective policy brief. This event is hosted by The Center for Health and Science Communication at Becker Library.
April 17, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., via Zoom
Please register: https://becker.wustl.edu/civicrm/?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=890
Search Strategies for Database Searching
Learn about the basic search strategies and use them in a database search in order to find relevant articles. Covers Boolean Operators, truncation, phrase searching, field qualification, proximity operators, using the search history, and applying limits. No registration needed.
By appointment or Tutorial
Social Explorer Census & Social Statistics
Learn how to use Social Explorer for census and social statistics. Generate maps. Overview of the 2010 census and the American Community Survey. Produce statistical reports through the Premade, Keyword, and table features (age, race, households, education, income, etc.). No registration needed.
By appointment
Social Welfare Policies & Services Class: Library Resources
Learn about library resources that may help you with your Social Welfare Policies & Services class assignments. Covers Congress.gov, ProQuest Congressional, CQ Researcher, PAIS, and more. No registration needed.
By appointment
Successful Group Writing
Group writing projects provide an opportunity for discourse and true collaboration, but also bring their own challenges and stressors. Join The Writing Center for a workshop focused on shared authorship in group assignments–we’ll cover best practices, strategies for minimizing miscommunication amongst group members, and insights from facilitators who have experience in collaborative authorship situations.
March 26, 11:00 a.m. - noon, The Writing Center’s classroom space, Mallinkcrodt, room 132
Please register: https://writingcenter.wustl.edu/calendar_event/successful-group-writing
Tour the Brown School Library
Take a walking tour of the Brown School Library and learn where the resources are located. No registration needed.
By appointment
Updated NIH Public Access Policy for Publications
Are you preparing manuscripts arising from NIH-funded research? NIH issued an update to their current policy for publications effective as of December 31, 2025. This session will provide an overview of the updated NIH Public Access Policy for publications including the steps involved with compliance.
April 8, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. via Zoom
Please register: https://becker.wustl.edu/classes/the-updated-nih-public-access-policy-for-publications/
Zotero Sessions
Zotero Citation Manager
Learn how to use Zotero to organize citations and create APA bibliographies. No registration needed.
By appointment or Recorded session
Zotero Zoom Through
Collect and organize sources as-you-go, and cite with Zotero. In this brief workshop you’ll learn and practice the essentials for using this powerful citation management program. You will leave the session with the basics and a checklist to take you through additional Zotero features we may not be able to cover in this 30 minute session, including: in-text citations with dynamic bibliographies, space-saving strategies, and advanced setting options. Note: If possible, please download the Zotero desktop client on your own laptop prior to the session, and please create your Zotero online account. If you are attending the session in person, please bring your own laptop.
March 27, 1:00 - 1:30 p.m., Olin Library, Instruction Room 1 and also via Zoom
Please register if you need a Zoom link: https://library.wustl.edu/events/zotero-zoom-through-3
Here is the above list in chronological order:
March 26, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Introductory Compute – Getting Started with the RIS Scientific Compute Platform, via Zoom
March 25, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Introduction to Text Analysis in Python, Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
March 26, 11:00 a.m. - noon, Successful Group Writing, The Writing Center’s classroom space, Mallinkcrodt, room 132
March 26, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Introduction to Text Analysis in Python, Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
March 27, 1:00 - 1:30 p.m., Zotero Zoom Through, Olin Library, Instruction Room 1 and also via Zoom
March 31, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., Data Cleaning with Python, Olin Library, Instruction Room 2 and also via Zoom
April 3, noon - 4:30 p.m., Data Rescue: Call for Action at WashU, Olin Library, Instruction Room 2 & also Zoom
April 7, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Machine Learning for Text Analysis Series (Part 1), Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
April 8, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. Updated NIH Public Access Policy for Publications, via Zoom
April 9, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Machine Learning for Text Analysis Series (Part 2), Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
April 11, 10:00 a.m. – noon, Drone Day, Tisch Park, Greenspace near Sumers Welcome Center
April 14, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Machine Learning for Text Analysis Series (Part 3), Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
April 15, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m., ORCID: What it is and How to Use it, via Zoom
April 16, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Machine Learning for Text Analysis Series (Part 4), Olin Library, Instruction Room 3
April 16, 8:00 - 8:30 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
April 17, noon - 4:30 p.m., Data Rescue: Call for Action at WashU, Olin Library, Instruction Room 2 & also Zoom
April 17, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., #SciComm Seminar: Communicating effectively with policymakers, via Zoom
April 18, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
April 21, 8:00 - 8:30 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
April 22, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., NIH Biosketch and NCBI SciENcv, via Zoom
April 22, 4:15 - 4:45 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, G359 and also Zoom
April 24, noon - 1:00 p.m., Recap of NIH Requirements, Farrell Learning and Teaching Center, room 204, Medical School Campus
April 24, 4:15 - 4:45 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, G359 and also Zoom
April 28, 8:30 - 9:00 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
April 29, 9:30 - 10:00 a.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
April 30, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., Ink Blood Sister Scribe, via Zoom
April 30, 8:30 - 9:00 p.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
May 2, 10:00 - 10:30 a.m., Library Resources After Graduation, via Zoom
