Photo by Stevecadman

I am embarrassed to admit it, but I, a student who writes about college, failed to take my freshman seminar course my freshman year. I am now in my second year at a university and I am finally taking the freshman seminar course (unfortunately it is a requirement to graduate). Today we took a wonderful tour of the library. I would like to share with you what I “learned.”

Librarians are Normal People

Doing a research paper can be a very frustrating and time consuming project. Sometimes finding the information can be very challenging. Maybe you aren’t for sure how the library system works. You look on the catalog software, and it shows that you should be able to access a specific article. But for some reason you can not. So what do you do? Do another search and find a different article that you can use. WRONG!

Finding material should be the least frustrating part of your research paper.

Go and ask the librarians at the reference desk. They are paid to help you, so use them. My professor gave an excellent rule that you should follow when you are in the library. “If it takes you more than 15 minutes to find the material, you took to long. Go and ask for help.” I would even say that 15 minutes is far too long. 10 minutes max.

Academia is Lagging Behind

Although it is unfortunate, the world of academia is falling behind when it comes to using information technologies. Students have a perceived notion that everything can be accessed via the web. As the days go by that notion is becoming truer; however, currently I do not believe the web offers the most efficient method of quality research.

But why? Most students will argue that wikipedia is an excellent source to accumulate general knowledge on a topic. Which I do agree with; however, you shouldn’t spend more than a few minutes gathering general information. Just grab a book and dive into the subject. Even if you do not know much about the topic you will be amazed at how easily you can fill in the blanks.

So next time you are doing some research go straight to a book instead of wikipedia. You will end up having a greater understanding of the topic. And besides, if you just have a book in your hand, it is impossible for Facebook to “mysteriously” appear on your screen. I don’t know how it happens, but one second you are writing a paper in Word and then BAM! Facebook appears before your eyes. It is quite a phenomenon.

Free Stuff!

Before you rent a movie or buy a book, make sure your library doesn’t already have it. Or just begin shopping at the library instead of at the movie gallery. By getting movies from the library you will probably be exposed to a larger variety of movies. You may find movies created in other countries. Watching different culture’s films will not only be enlightening, but also can be just as entertaining as American films.

Integration

Every career out there has its own community, and by being involved in that community you can guarantee a good spot in the community. As an undergrad it can be very difficult to be a part an academic community. Chances are you are not publishing innovative ideas in your field. That is ok. But stay on top of the newest discoveries and ideas of your field. To do this you need to be reading publications such as The Economist, Chronicle of Higher Education, Psychology Today, and the Smithsonian. By reading these publications you will get an idea of what is going on in your field, and you can begin to stick your nose in, get your feet wet, and begin creating your spot in the field. Most, if not all, publications are available through your library system. Use them. They are free.

Libraries are Quiet

Libraries are the best place to study! Why? Because they are quiet and lack distractions. You should always be studying in the library(or somewhere very similar), unless you are doing some Adventure Studying (which I highly recommend).