Final posting

This blog will no longer be updated. Please see the Trent University Library website for current information about Oshawa library services.

end of summer session

Congratulations on surviving summer session - summer courses are tough as the deadlines are so short and the weather is so nice!

The final regularly scheduled Trent van delivering materials between Oshawa and Peterborough will be on Wednesday, July 28th. Items returned after that date will remain in Oshawa until the next van run, but will be backdated once they are received at Bata library.

This will be my final post as your 'Trent librarian' as you will have new library staff in the Thornton Road campus. I wish you all the best in the new academic year, the new campus and all new future adventures!

New library material delivery schedule

The van service that transports library materials between the Durham/UOIT library on the Oshawa campus and the Bata library on the Trent (Peterborough) campus is now running just two days a week: Monday and Wednesday. Please keep this in mind when planning your time for researching essay topics!

summer library hours

Both Trent's Bata library and the Durham College/UOIT library are open shorter hours for the summer. Please note: both libraries are closed weekends until classes resume in September.

To see a detailed list of Trent's Bata library's hours, click here.

To see a detailed list of the Durham College/UOIT library's hours, click here.

Time moves faster in summer session!

Deadlines seem to loom much quicker during summer session, so be sure to plan ahead!

Hint: there are only so many books in the library collection on any particular topic, so if you need to use books as part of your research, be sure to order them early.

summer schedule for material delivery

If you need to request items from Trent's Bata library in Peterborough (or send things back), you will be pleased to know that the delivery frequency is now five days a week (Mon-Fri afternoons).

To order items from Bata library, simply send an email to oshawarequest@trentu.ca, including your name, student number, item info and call number (if relevant).

If you have any questions or problems, please contact Trish (trish.johns-wilson@dc-uoit.ca) or Jacquie (oshawarequest@trentu.ca) for assistance.

Goodbye and have a great summer!

Well, you survived another exam period! Congratulations!

The next year will be an exciting one as you settle into the new campus on Thornton Road in Oshawa. This is a fantastic opportunity to make your mark on your own campus.

I will not be joining you in the new location. Instead, you will have a new library staff in your very own, 'just Trent' library!

If you are taking summer courses, then I will see you over the summer. If not, then I would like to wish you all the best in your academic and personal life! It has been a pleasure 'being your librarian'!
Cheers,
Trish

Returning library materials

When returning library materials at this time of year, remember that the van service that runs items back and forth between the campuses doesn't run on its regular Mon-Thurs schedule. It may take a bit longer than usual for items to arrive back at the Bata library in Peterborough and be taken off your account.

When materials arrive at Bata library, they will be backdated to the date that you returned them in Oshawa.

End of term reminder

The end of the term is here - you made it!

Remember that the delivery schedule of library materials (including items being sent back to Peterborough) will change when classes are not in session. Once the schedule is finalized, it will be posted here.

Need somewhere to study?

Trent's Bata library and the Durham College/UOIT library are open extended hours leading up to the exam period.

For Bata library hours, click here. The library will be open until 2am from March 29th to April 23rd.

For Durham/UOIT library hours, click here. The library will be open extended hours (until 10pm) on the following Sundays: April 11th, 18th and 25th.

Survey for Library Services at New Campus

Here's your chance to share your thoughts and suggestions about the library space & services at the new campus on Thornton Rd (opening Sept 2010)! Complete the survey found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/oshawalibrarysurvey by April 5th.

What do you love/like/dislike about the existing services & resources? What would you like to see in the new space? Let us know!

Ordering or placing holds on Bata books

Most items from Trent's Bata library in Peterborough can be sent to Oshawa via the van service at your request. To order an item, send an email message to oshawarequest@trentu.ca using your own email (NOTE: do not use Hotmail accounts as the message may not go through properly). Be sure to fill in the subject line and include your name, student number and library card number (found on the back of your student card) in the body of the message. Also include the item information: book title and call number as found in TOPCAT or the complete journal information (article title, author, journal name, volume, date & page numbers, as well as the call number as found in TOPCAT).

DO NOT use the 'Hold' option found in TOPCAT. There are a couple of reasons not to: i) this option is meant to be used if the item is already signed out and you would like to put your name on a waiting list and ii) there is nowhere to indicate that you are an Oshawa student and need the item sent down on the van (it would remain in Peterborough at the library circulation desk).

So, if an item is signed out and you would like to add your name to the waiting list, you can either contact Trish at the Oshawa campus via email or 905-721-2000 x2388 or email oshawarequest@trentu.ca. If sending an email, include your name, student number, library card number and the item information (title and call number). You will receive an email notification when the item is available for pickup .

If the item is available for loan, then order it using the oshawarequest@trentu.ca email as described above.

If you must use Google...try Google Scholar

While I strongly encourage you to use the library's databases and online resources (after all, your tuition helps to pay for them - you might as well get your money's worth, right?), many people still prefer to use Google to find resources for essays and assignments.

As you will quickly discover, a search for almost any topic in Google will bring back 10's if not 100's of thousands of records. Then your work begins: which ones are scholarly, credible resources that are based on quality research and which are primarily opinion pieces (not generally suitable as a resource at the university level).

INSTEAD, try Google Scholar which will only retrieve scholarly, academic resources. You can either go to Google Scholar directly (http://scholar.google.ca) OR go to www.google.ca and click on the 'More' tab, then select 'Scholar' from the list.

Once at the Google Scholar page, select the 'Scholar Preferences' link. On the Preferences page, you will need to select Trent University as your Library Link (type 'Trent' in the search box, hit the 'Find Library' tab and select Trent from the list) and click on the 'Save Preferences' button at the top or bottom of the page.

Now, once you search for your topic, you will see links beside many of the item entries that will either take you directly to the fulltext of the item or to the 'Get it @ Trent' option to access it in one of our online resources.

Google Scholar still isn't a perfect search option for a number of reasons: very large number of results retrieved for most topics, many of which may not be available in our library; search function isn't as refined as in many of the library's databases, etc.

However, if you must use Google, try Google Scholar instead!

Winter weather = delays in delivery of library materials

When ordering items from Bata Library in Peterborough, keep in mind that poor weather & bad roads may mean delays in delivery times. If the roads are in poor condition, the van that brings down our library materials may not run.

Be sure to leave yourself lots of time before due dates to allow for a day or two delay!

Children's literature articles

To find articles in the area of children's literature, start at the library website (www.trentu.ca/library) and select the quick link called 'Resources by Subject Guide'. Select the English Literature subject guide.

Once in the guide, scroll down to the section titled 'English Literature Indexes'. The periodical indexes listed here are all excellent spots to search for articles concerning English literature.

The one 'true' English index is called MLA International Bibliography. The other indexes on the list are all excellent spots to look, but MLA is the only that that is 'just' literature resources. JSTOR is also a good choice, but it covers a variety of subject areas.

When using the MLA International Bibliography, keep in mind that it is a true index - the majority of the items that it indexes are not available in this database in full text. If there isn't a full text link with the article citation, you will need to determine if Trent has access to the journal in another database. To do this, click on the 'Get it @ Trent' link below the citation.

Hint: when entering your search terms, be sure to select any limiters that are appropriate. For example, you can limit your search to only scholarly articles (no magazines, dissertations, book chapters, etc). Also, you can limit your search by period - not when the item was written, but the time period that the content is covering. For example, if you were looking for articles on the hero image in literature pre-1900, you can limit your search to 1800-1899.

Reading Week delivery of library materials

Reminder: there will be no regular delivery of library materials between the Oshawa and Peterborough campuses during Reading Week (Feb. 15-19th ).

If you would like to have library materials sent down, please make your requests to oshawarequest@trentu.ca by Tuesday, Feb. 9th to be safe. NOTE: send your requests through your Trent email account - there have been some problems receiving messages sent via other email accounts.

Items returned after the last regularly scheduled van run of Thursday, Feb. 11th will remain in Oshawa until the van service resumes on the 22nd. The items will remain signed out on your library account until they are returned in Peterborough, but will be backdated to reflect the date you brought them in to the library in Oshawa.

Enjoy Reading Week!

Finding Primary Resources - Part II (Humanities)

'Primary material' can mean different things depending on your discipline. An earlier post covered primary materials in the social sciences; this one will focus on the humanities.

In the history field, primarily material generally refers to material created by an individual who lived through or witnessed a particular event. It could be a book written during the period/event, diaries, letters, photographs, etc. For example, a diary or letter written during the war by a soldier in WWII would be considered primary material. It could be published as an entity itself, or be included in a book on the topic (e.g. letters included in a general book on WWII).

In literature, a primary resource is the book, poem, play or short story. For example, Shakespeare's Hamlet is the primary item, while a book or article talking about the play is considered a secondary resource.

When searching for primary resources in the humanities, add terms like 'diaries', 'personal narratives' or 'correspondence' to your keyword search. For more information, see Trent's help section on primary materials.

Finding Primary Resources - Part I (Social Sciences)

You have to use primary resources for an assignment in sociology, psychology or another social science field - what are they and where do you find them?

What is a primary resource?
'Primary resource' can mean something different depending on whether you are in social sciences/science or humanities (part II will focus on humanities resources). In the social science/science area, primary resources refer to works in which the authors have either created the theory themselves or have done original research themselves (i.e. conducted field work or a study involving surveys or questionnaires, etc).

Where are they?
Primary resources can be found in a variety of spots, depending on the type of resource. Books are found using the library catalogue, TOPCAT. Look for works by major theorists in your field that explain their ideas and theories (written by the theorist him/herself, NOT by someone else talking about the theory). For example, a book by Emile Durkheim talking about his own theories would be a primary resource, but a work written by someone else discussing Durkheim's theories would be a secondary source.

For articles, you would use the subject guides to find suitable article indexes in your area. Search for your topic as usual, but watch for articles that discuss fieldwork, a study, survey or questionnaire that the author(s) of the article actually conducted. If they are only discussing work that other people have conducted, then that would be considered a secondary source instead.

When searching for articles, you could try adding in a keyword like 'study' or 'survey'. Another term you may see, particularly in psychology, is 'empirical'. Some databases, such as PsycInfo, allow you to limit your search to empirical articles.

For more assistance, contact Trish in the library.

Welcome to the Winter term!

Welcome back after the holiday break!

A few reminders for the winter term:
1) an updated student card is necessary to sign out books & reserve items (updated in Sept 2009 is fine)
2) poor weather may cause delays and cancellations of delivery of library materials - give yourself an extra day or two just in case the van doesn't run on schedule due to road conditions
3) ask library staff for assistance with using the Library's resources - gets lonely in the library if no one comes in with questions...