CourseGuides show the way

photo by Nancy Phillips (NKPhillips)
shared under Creative Commons

Feeling a little lost?

If you've been in a library session with one of your classes this semester, you already know about one of the awesome tools the library offers - CourseGuides.

If you've looked at the library website (and I hope you have!) you already know that there's a lot of information on it. Sometimes, it feel overwhelming - there's so much there that it's hard to tell where to start, or which part of the site has what  you need.

That's where CourseGuides come in.

Using a tool the library subscribes to, we can create different guides for all sorts of specific needs. Sometimes, we create them for common needs or questions, like finding books, finding articles, evaluating or citing your sources, or how to find a scholarly source. Sometimes they help with larger issues, like copyright or ebooks.

We also create guides for both general subject areas (computers and technology, for example) and for specific classes.  As an example, most of the First Year Seminar classes have a guide designed just for them to help with particular projects or needed resources. (Lots of other classes do, too.) We can easily build in links to other guides, so it's a one-click trip if you need help with citing your source, finding an article, or evaluating something you found.

And finally, we include guides about major campus events - both our own On Our Minds program, and events like the Native American Film and Performance University Forum this fall.

Here's a few more useful tips about the course guides:

• We have a lot of guides. If you're looking for a specific topic, we suggest browsing down the left sidebar on the main index page and clicking on your subject area, then looking for the specific class or topic.
  
• Each guide includes a sidebar with information about the librarian who created it, and how to contact them. Feel free to use this if you have a question about that guide or a particular resource.
  
• You can see how recently a guide was updated by looking at the summary information on the index pages. (Most of ours are checked at least every semester.) 

Enjoy exploring the guides!