Information Services

Research Support and Instruction

Research Assistance | Personalized Research Sessions | Library Liaison Program
Information Literacy Instruction | Subject & Research Guides

Research Assistance
Reference Librarians are available on a daily basis to provide assistance in the use of the library and its collections. Although they cannot do your research for you, they will be happy to help you get started on a research project and suggest the resources most appropriate for you. They will help you identify and find materials, whether books, journal articles, government publications, or websites; and they will assist you in the use of electronic research databases as well as indexes, bibliographies, and other publications in print.

Your questions are welcome at the Reference Desk on the main floor of Shain Library or at 439-2655. Queries requiring limited attention may be forwarded to libref@conncoll.edu.
Hours of reference service are as follows when classes are in session:
Monday through Thursday, 9:00am-10:00pm
Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm
Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, 1:00pm-5:00pm and 7:00pm-10:00pm

Personalized Research Sessions
Have a research project due, but don't know where to start? Spent an entire evening searching for journal articles on your topic and got nowhere?! The Research Support & Instruction Librarians at Shain Library offer Personalized Research Sessions to help you! Research Librarians will provide you with an uninterrupted session for in-depth research assistance. We'll help you get started on your research, find the best sources of information, formulate a research strategy and much more. Personalized sessions may be scheduled for 30 to 60 minutes and are available to all Connecticut College students, faculty and staff. A detailed description of the service and what you can expect are provided at http://www.conncoll.edu/is/info-resources/subject-guides/persresinfo.html.

How do I make an appointment? Librarians ask that requests be made 24 to 48 hours in advance to provide them adequate time to prepare for you individualized session. Request an appointment online at http://www.conncoll.edu/is/info-resources/subject-guides/persres.html or complete a request form available at the reference desk. Additional queries may be made by phoning the reference desk at extension 2655 or by contacting your departmental library liaison.

What do I do in the meanwhile? I gotta get started! Librarians are available to provide research assistance at the reference desk in Shain Library seven days a week during the academic year to get you started on any research project.

Departmental Liaison Program
Library liaisons are subject area specialists who provide instruction and develop collections that serve the educational and research needs of the College's academic departments. Liaisons offer individual and group instruction in the use of the online catalog and research databases, orientation to information resources, and guidance for research projects within the discipline. A list of departmental liaisons and their contact information is available at http://www.conncoll.edu/is/training/resources/liaisons.html.

Information Literacy Instruction
The academic environment has changed as a result of direct student access to electronic resources and access to Web-based information. The technological and electronic options for accessing information provide the student with an incredible array of Web-based resources and electronic databases in addition to a rapidly expanding collection of print resources. The ability to critically evaluate and utilize the vast quantity of information they encounter becomes increasingly important as they move from the role of student researcher, to career professional and ultimately as contributing citizen. In this new environment of remote access, students are left to manage these resources independent of support from librarians and information professionals. Consequently, the development of sound information literacy skills is essential to a student's ability to successfully navigate these resources, evaluate them and use them ethically.

The Research Support and Instruction staff in conjunction with the Libraries' Departmental Liaisons program are ready to assist faculty by providing instructional support to enhance the teaching of research and critical thinking skills in the classroom. A wide variety of course-related and course-integrated instruction is available in teaching general research and critical thinking skills, along with discipline and course-specific skills. Faculty are encouraged to consult with librarians to develop library assignments that will enhance the student research experience and take full advantage of the extensive resources available to the Connecticut College community. Interested faculty may request library instruction support by contacting their Library Liaison or inquiring with the library's Research Support and Instruction staff at 439-2655. For additional information, please see the Information Literacy at Connecticut College website.

Subject & Research Guides
A series of subject and research guides is available online (http://www.conncoll.edu/is/info-resources/subject-guides/) to assist researchers in identifying resources available in the Connecticut College Libraries and on the Internet. Subject Guides are developed by Library Liaisons with a knowledge of the research literature in their specific discipline. Research guides provide the researcher with tools to assist in the identification and evaluation of research resources, and in the preparation of citations for research papers and projects They are intended to provide a starting point for research in each subject, sufficient for basic research needs. For more extensive research needs, please ask a reference librarian for additional assistance.