Reference and research services

Reference and research services

​Hello and welcome.

Log into a computer or use your own device.

Then join me by going here.​

Poll

What are you familiar with/ have done already?

• Searching for materials on MinerQuest (the library catalog).

• Creating a free account with the New York Times through UTEP.

• Finding a database for your major.

• Troubleshooting an issue with accessing an e-resource.

• Got out of bed today.

• Learn about services offered

• Learn how to navigate website​

• Conduct a MinerQuest search

• Create an account with NYT/WSJ

• Find a database for your major​

• Troubleshoot problems with an access issue

Lets get started!

Learning Objectives

​

• Directing patrons to search tools

  • Google

  • Library databases

  • ​Other trustworthy sites

• ​Guiding patrons through searches

  • Basic and advanced

• Evaluating information

​We do quite a bit actually! And we do this at the desk, through chat, via email, and in one on one consultations.

​Librarians, what are they good for?

URL: utep . edu / library

​OR Google it

Check out

• Library Hours​​

• Chat/Ask Us​

• People

• MinerQuest Search

Library Website

Open Ended

Who is the subject specialist for English?

Open Ended

Who is the gifts coordinator?

Known item searching vs. research question

What is the difference and why does that matter?

Open Ended

What is the difference between a known item search and a research question?

Known Item Search Tips

​Search for Library Items using:

• Title (ex. Throne of Glass)

  • Only use keywords, avoid punctuation and words like “the”,”and”

• Author (ex. Clemens)

  • Only use last name, sometimes first name is not included or is abbreviated to an initial

• ISBN

  • Don’t include dashes or hyphens

Let's try this out on MinerQuest now.

MinerQuest Search

• ​Title/Creator

• Publication Date

• Location​

• ​Summary

• Citation tool

• ​Filters

Open Ended

Scenario: A patron comes in looking for the latest book by Sarah J. Maas.

What is the call number of the book you found? And what floor is it on? Is it currently available to check out?

Open Ended

Scenario: A patron comes to the desk looking for an article by Sethanant, they can't remember the name of the article, but they know that it was published in 2021 and it was peer reviewed. They want to cite that article in APA format. Lastly, they also have an appointment with Robert Klapthor in 3 minutes.

Find the article and the APA citation for that article. Next find out what Robert Klapthor's title is and find his phone number. Submit your answers to both here.

Research Question

​Search for materials related to a topic:

• If there is a librarian available, you can refer a patron to them

  • If there is no librarian available you should be able to at least get them started, but also refer to them to a subject specialist

• Break down the patron's question into keywords to start

  • Just like in known item searching, only use keywords, avoid punctuation and words like “the”,”and”

Let's try this out on MinerQuest now.

Open Ended

Scenario: A patron comes to the desk wanting help with their research. There is no librarian present. Their question is "How effective are the various types of medication in treating elementary students with ADHD?"

What keywords would you pull from this question to start a search with the patron?

Lets set up your NYT/WSJ account

​Follow these easy instructions.

Open Ended

Using your NYT account, find the article titled "Student Loan Case Could Redefine Limits of Presidential Power" March 1, 2023. According to this article, Biden may need to reshape his efforts to court which important constituency?

Open Ended

Using your WSJ account, find the article titled "Diesel Drops, Gasoline Climbs as Oil Seesaws" February 28, 2023. According to this article, how much do gas prices rise on average between March and Memorial Day?

Open Ended

What is your major?

If you are undecided, what is a subject that you are interested in?

​To find the database tab, check above the MinerQuest Search

​​Get to the Database tab​

​Pick a subject that matches your major. If you don't find a perfect match, pick the one that most closely relates to it.

​​Select a subject​

Open Ended

What database did you find for your major?

More Access Practice

Issues can happen for a variety of reasons!

Browser choice (Safari!)

​UTEP Single Sign On

History & Cookies

Broken links

Vendor issues

User error

Open Ended

Practice: A library user comes to the desk and asks if you can help them find the highlighted article on their syllabus. Do we have access to this article?

Multiple Choice

We don't have immediate access to it, but they could still get a copy another way! There is no librarian here. What should we do next?

• Check Google Scholar

• There's nothing we can do.

• Ask your supervisor to help them.

• Refer them to Interlibrary Loan

Multiple Choice

There's no copy on Google Scholar! What next?

• Check Google Scholar

• There's nothing we can do.

• Ask your supervisor to help them.

• Refer them to Interlibrary Loan

Going the extra mile!

When people ask for help, it's usually because they have already tried to do it themselves.

Open Ended

Click here: Do we have access to this article through the UTEP Library?

https://utep.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/openurl?institution=01UTEP_INST&vid=01UTEP_INST:01UTEP&volume=56&date=2019&pages=51-59&aulast=Misiak&issn=0924-9338&issue=1&isbn=&spage=51&id=pmid:30500571&id=doi:10.1016%2Fj.eurpsy.2018.11.005&title=European%20Psychiatry:%20the%20Journal%20of%20the%20Association%20of%20European%20Psychiatrists&atitle=A%20systematic%20review%20on%20the%20relationship%20between%20mental%20health,%20radicalization%20and%20mass%20violence.&sid=OVID:medline

​GET PDF: free online copy from Google or elsewhere. It's not from UTEP!

This is from UTEP & the link is broken.

THIS HAPPENS!

We maintain millions of resources, and if a link doesn't work, we won't know unless someone reports it.

Two Access Issues Types

​1. User-end access issue

2. Library-end access issue

First step in troubleshooting access:

Get information from the user!

1. What browser are you using?

   1. Should be Chrome or Firefox! Our databases work best on these two. If not, it's okay; just move on to the next step.

2. Ask them to clear their browser's history & cookies, and shut down (or quit) any instance of the browser entirely!

3. Try to access the resource again. If it doesn't work, then move on to the 2nd step!

Second step in troubleshooting access:

Try to replicate the issue.

1. Ask what database they're in.

   Ask for the name of the resource.

2. Try to access it yourself! If you cannot access it, it is a library-end issue!

3. If you did get access, let them know you can access it and send a copy if needed.

4. Let a librarian or AS supervisor know so that they can further troubleshoot and report the issue.

Questions - Comments - Concerns