For many University of Memphis students the library is a haven for undisturbed study and research sessions. Sometimes, though the resources used for study and research can become difficult to find and use.
To help students become more familiar with services, the library now offers Searchpath. The site is found on the library’s Web Page at http://exlibris.memphis.edu/help/tutorial/.
Searchpath was another way of learning to use the resources the library has to provide. Betsy Park, a professor and head of reference, said it was brought up to help students find specific items for certain classes without any major issues.
“They’re (students) suddenly told by professors about a paper then they get scared,” Park said.
Searchpath includes six modules, which take 15 to 20 minutes to complete and includes a list of key concepts and skills students should learn, a main text and a quiz.
The modules are also called “starting smart,” “choosing a topic,” “using tomCat,” “finding articles,” “using the Web” and “citing sources.”
They include in depth instructions on how to find different sources provided by the library and identifying key words to understanding the organization of the Internet and recognizing different parts of a citation.
Although the tutorials are focused and much more in-depth, the site is still a good first step, said reference librarian and associate professor Perveen Rustomfram.
“It teaches you how to use certain aspects of the library,” Rustomfran said. “It’s very self-explanatory and gives you a good idea.”
Abdul Ba, a senior biochemistry major, said using the library was not an easy task, especially when he was a freshman.
Ba, an international student who came to The University four years ago, said the major barrier for him and other international students was language.
Ba visited the library for a librarian run tutorial. He said the tasks took longer than other students.
“It takes Americans about 30 minutes, but my language barrier made it harder,” Ba said.
“I knew little English, except for what I learned in the English courses I took back in high school.”
As a result of this problem, Ba said, he had trouble using resources, such as books, reference catalogs and journals, which were covered during each session.
“You have to think in French (his main language) then translate it in English,” Ba said. “That’s the problem with international students.”
Ba also said the tutorials, themselves, did not teach much in the first place.
“The info was not bad, but it’s not sufficient,” he said.
Other students too have also found other challenges in using the library’s resources due to certain classes they took and just having never used the library very often.
Ashley Ellis, a sophomore accounting major, is part of the honors program and said she also has had trouble navigating her through the library.
“Sometimes I have difficulty finding what I’m looking for,” Ellis said.
Ba said for international students the site could cut down the amount of time they spend in the language lab.
“I didn’t even know the site existed, but it is a good idea,” he said.
