LibraryLinks Spring 2005
Today’s Students Are Tomorrow’s Researchers
By Caryl Ward
How can undergraduates sharpen the research skills that are so critical to their academic and professional careers? Science librarians are working with teaching faculty members in various departments, including Engineering, Nursing, and Chemistry, to ensure that their students know how to access databases, online journals and other resources that the Libraries offer.
Specialized instruction now reaches all Watson School freshmen. Sharon Fellows of the Engineering Design Division reports on the program’s success: “This year, students are learning how to do Reviews of Literature Research in areas of leading edge science and engineering research. This collaboration has extended to The National Science Foundation that has provided material describing real life, state-of-the-art current research. The Science Librarians have been instrumental in developing sections of the curriculum along with the faculty in the Engineering Design Division. The collaboration has been successful; the faculty in the Engineering Design Division feel the project collaboration is a tremendous success.”
Nursing students have always been enthusiastic about the Science Library, visiting in person and utilizing the many online resources available for the health sciences. This semester, Science Reference Librarian and Nursing Bibliographer Erin Rushton offered classes specifically tailored for SON and was delighted to hear from several students who later wanted individual instruction.
Associate Professor Wayne Jones comments on the advantages of working directly with Science Librarians, “The Science Library is an integral part of science education at Binghamton. By team teaching Chem 592 and MTLS 592 with Beth Brown from the Science Library, we actually model the behavior we want from students, where the Library is an integral part of the education and research enterprise.”
Expanding this program is a goal of Alesia McManus, Head of the Science Library, who encourages faculty members to contact her via e-mail to set up customized instruction classes.