Salina posts this message:
When I was a freshman they charged me $45.00 for orientation. They showed everything around the campus, where things are located and where to go for help etc. They also showed the library, where to check out books and the reference department… But they actually did not help us learn how to search. I think the library should have workshops for freshmen every semester because there is a lot of stuff going on in library which students do not know about. I didn’t know that I can request books from other libraries. But I got a job and saw books labeled UIC, ITT, etc. I asked one of the staff and she told me about I-share. Two months later, I found out about ILLiad. Now just one month ago I learned that the NEIU Library has newspapers online, and some online books. But I don’t know how I search today’s newspapers online. And what about the articles which my professor put online? How do I get the full text? I always have problems opening articles which are online. And yes! Last summer I found out about REFWORKS but I still do not know how to use it. I read the booklet and the pamphlet but they do not help much. I think watching or seeing someone else doing it in front of you is better than reading the booklet. I still do not know what the MLRC is for. How can I use it? What do I need? Thank you.
Dave Green, Associate University Librarian for Collections and Information Services replies:
Hi Salina. Thanks for all your comments. Having a library orientation for freshman each semester sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk with our instruction librarians about creating such a program.
6 Comments
Hello!
I am a senior and from all the things mentioned above, I only know about I-Share. I also paid $45 when I was a freshman, but I’m a senior now. I think the library should provide orientations for EVERY student regardless of their year in school because we ALL need to find out and know how to use all of these services that WE pay for.
I am a returning student and this service is just as needed for me as it is for you. I have been out of school for years and needed to get my bearings back so far the staff have been very nice and friendly and more than willing to help so for that I am very grateful, however like you I would still like to see some type of program in place that shows how to fully utilize the library.
I agree. I received my BA from NEIU six years ago, and I don’t recall even an orientation like others are describing (I was lucky in that my mom was an alum who showed me around). I really didn’t use the NEIU library much, sticking to my local public library now. I am a graduate student in library science at Dominican, and I am just learning about some of these wonderful resources I never knew of when I was at NEIU.
So PLEASE create an orientation to the library! Cover the LC Classification system and how to find particular call numbers, where specialized resources are, searching the catalogue, searching specialized databases, and interlibrary loan request procedures.
Also, targeted RefWorks workshops would be wonderful. We had both beginning and advanced RefWorks workshops at Dominican and it really helped. I wish RefWorks had been around when I was at NEIU!
I’m in the same situation as you guys. One of my teachers keeps reserving articles onlin through the library, and many of my classmates and I have no idea how to access them. I also agree with what Paulo said about the “students’ year in school.” I would hate the idea of the library rejecting me because I’m not in my first year at NEIU. There should be no discrimination towards any of the student who would benefit from a library orientation. I wonder what the rest of the faculty members have to say about this issue.
when you start Freshman library orientations please also call me. it will help for my reseach projects in the future.
thank you
I’ve experienced the same thing. I’m a freshman I paid $45 for the orientation last fall ,but I wasn’t taken to the library. The people who were leading my group just showed us where the library is at and that’s it. The website is confusing and it’s even more confusing on the article searching. Also I didn’t know anything about the ishare or anything else about the library.