Where to turn when Google isn’t enough
In the thick of the academic year, the University of Guelph’s McLaughlin Library prides itself on being a hub for research and studies of all kinds.
According to the library’s website, they receive 1.5 million visits every year, and 13,000 alone on a busy day. However, no one can be sure of how many of those visits can be attributed to Starbucks’ pumpkin spiced concoctions. Regardless, from IT services, to study space, to actual hard copy books, the library provides students access to a wealth of resources.
In recent years, the library has worked to provide students with an online portal to over 7 million academic resources via the Tri-University catalogue, shared with the University of Waterloo Library and the Wilfrid Laurier University Library.
McLaughlin Library is also the venue for conferences and guest lectures year-round—dubbing itself the “Academic Town Square.” In addition, their website offers access to resources on chemistry labs, study habits, language help, and everything in between.
The Science Commons on the library’s third floor is home to a drop-in centre for academic help in chemistry, physics, math, statistics, and computing and information science (CIS). Time slots are carved out each week for specific courses.
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Students struggling with organization or finding direction for an assignment can also benefit from an appointment with Writing Services.
“You could come and sit down with a peer helper, or one of our graduate student writing advisors, and it could be very much a conversation,” said Dr. Jodie Salter of the Writing Services team. “They could give you strategies [on] how to map out your ideas, how to cluster ideas, [or] how to create an outline.”
Every morning, students can book a same-day writing appointment with Writing Services to work on anything from a research proposal or thesis, to techniques to improve on writing and organizing ideas.
“We see students from marketing, to landscape architecture, to biochemistry, to sociology,” said Dr. Salter. “Our student staff have training to work in all of those fields.”
If it becomes difficult to find the balance between courses, assignments, and deadlines, appointments can be booked with Learning Services.
“Learning Services is one of the services in the Learning Commons. They can give you strategies for time management and different strategies for managing stress, managing big workloads, and optimizing your time,” said Dr. Salter.
Dr. Salter is also one of the main organizers for Essay Madness, a crash-course in writing academic papers for a variety of fields. Taking place during the evening, Essay Madness offers students a condensed version of all the services offered by the university library: writing , research, and learning. The event is designed as a same-day intensive program to help students get organized for major papers and other writing assignments. The goal is to help students produce effective assignments and hone their skills. Students can access Research Help and Learning Services in addition to Writing Services.
“Students can really ask us anything—and they do! We’ll do our best to help them find resources for their essays, find the answer to a specific question or refer them to a person who can help them as soon as possible,” explained Robin Sakowski, manager of Access Services. “One of the funniest questions we get asked, especially from new students who come to U of G, is ‘where are the books?’ since we don’t have any books except for our Gryph Reads pleasure reading collection on the first floor.”
The Ask Us online component is a collaborative service where several academic libraries across Ontario work together to provide longer hours of availability and a more comprehensive experience.
“We’re really here to help users solve their problems. In the summer we have a lot more international students,” said Sakowski. “It’s nice to have them in the building. They ask different kinds of questions and are eager to learn. I really want to encourage students not to hesitate to ask us [questions]. That’s what we’re here to do.”
At this point in the semester, many students are taking advantage of the library’s beneficial study space.
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“This year, it’s pretty much like a second home,” said Ellen Richard, a fourth-year zoology student. “It’s a good way of separating work and play, I guess. IT has been a saving grace for me a few times, like when my laptop crashed. I used a rental for a whole week.”
For some students, simply finding a quiet space to work helps them to find motivation.
“I like to read what people write in the cubicles, like ‘keep your chin up’ and stuff,” said an anonymous student in environmental science. “Right now I have this spot, and it’s in the perfect position to make eye contact with this picture of Gandhi on the wall. It keeps me going.”
When it comes to weathering the academic storm, finding the right resources can help students achieve more from their university experience.