McFarlin Memo - LibGuides at University of Tulsa

The next installment in our Digital Discoveries resource overviews is our Personalized Research Assistance form.

Although the online form is the only “digital” element of this resource, it is the crucial first step to accessing one of the most personally tailored assistance services available at McFarlin. Below are some frequently asked questions that will hopefully help you to better understand how one of these sessions can help you.

What is a Personalized Research Assistance session?

These sessions, called PRAs for short, are research information meetings that are designed to meet the unique needs of every TU student or staff member who schedules one. Scheduling a PRA session means that you will receive a one-on-one session with a librarian focused on what you need for your research or understanding of McFarlin’s resources.

Examples of these sessions include but are not limited to:

how to access, sort, and choose from the database list
helping students find the required number of articles for a course project
teaching students how to evaluate sources found online, through journals, or multi-media platforms
assisting students with finding articles for literature reviews
teaching students how to create advanced search queries and track searches
using citation management software and organizing articles
guiding students through ethical use of generative-AI tools

Truly, we want these sessions to reflect your needs and be a respectful use of your time. If you are not sure if a PRA is for you, just ask and we’ll help get you connected with a librarian or other campus resource.

Who can use this service?

This service was designed to help both undergraduates and graduate students but is open to professors as well! The goal is that faculty and students at TU know that the library’s resources are made available with an assumed proficiency. Sometimes you need a little guidance or redirection when you’re frustrated with research and that’s when this service can save your sanity and time.

How long does it take?

To schedule a session, we ask that you give us one to two business days to get back to you, but we are usually quicker than that at slower times of the semester. The sessions themselves can be as short as 15 minutes or as long as 2 hours. Again, the personalized aspect of these sessions is that you leave feeling like you were helped which can look different for everyone in terms of time.

Do I have to come to McFarlin to meet with a librarian?

While you can of course get help in-person at McFarlin, we also offer these meetings online through Teams. Online meetings do not require the students to be on camera, but we do recommend being in a somewhat quiet location and using a laptop or desktop. We often share screens during these meetings, and a phone screen is too small.

If you choose to meet in person, it’s very helpful to bring your laptop, but we typically have an extra computer available if needed. Being able to save the articles we find or make notes on the process is incredibly valuable to your workflow after the PRA is over.

Can you only help students from any major?

YES! We work with students from all disciplines across campus. Part of the PRA form that you fill out asks you to specify the information needs you have, and we use that section to help match you with the best librarian.

Where is this form you keep mentioning?

On the homepage of the library!

Need help finding articles? Schedule a PRA!

Need someone to explain how to find, view, and use the features of an eBook? Schedule a PRA!

Not sure whether or not your sources are scholarly or peer-reviewed? Schedule a PRA!

Doing a group assignment and have multiple members who need help? Schedule a PRA!

Feeling very overwhelmed and unsure of how to navigate the research process? You guessed it – schedule a PRA!

If this feature didn't do enough to convince you, please read this feedback from real, live, actual TU students who have used the service.

“I was able to get all my questions answered and learned how to use multiple databases.” – Julia S., freshman
“I was excited to figure out how much music books and scores they had in the library. And now I know where to look I need better knowledge for my research instead of just going to Google or YouTube.” – Abby S., sophomore
“I have thoroughly benefited from the time spent learning about the resources at McFarlin Library, and I always recommend to other graduate students to make time to do the same. Thank you for your hard work!” – Kenneth B., graduate student
“Fantastic session! I only wish it were longer and that I had done it sooner! IMO, this should be mandatory for all graduate students to meet with the research librarian to go over, in real time, search terms and how to navigate the databases. Otherwise, one *might* spend a solid 13 frustrating hours wading through the tar pits of these databases.” – Meagan P., DNP

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Digital Discoveries - Personalized Research Assistance Form

The next installment in our Digital Discoveries resource overviews is our Personalized Research Assistance form. Although the online form is the only “digital” element of this resource, it is the crucial first step to accessing one of the most personally tailored assistance services available at McFarlin. Below are some frequently asked questions that will hopefully help you to better understand how one of these sessions can help you. What is a Personalized Research Assistance session?These sessions, called PRAs for short, are research information meetings that are designed to meet the unique needs of every TU student or staff member who schedules one. Scheduling a PRA session means that you will receive a one-on-one session with a librarian focused on what you need for your research or understanding of McFarlin’s resources. Examples of these sessions include but are not limited to: how to access, sort, and choose from the database listhelping students find the required number of articles for a course projectteaching students how to evaluate sources found online, through journals, or multi-media platformsassisting students with finding articles for literature reviewsteaching students how to create advanced search queries and track searchesusing citation management software and organizing articlesguiding students through ethical use of generative-AI toolsTruly, we want these sessions to reflect your needs and be a respectful use of your time. If you are not sure if a PRA is for you, just ask and we’ll help get you connected with a librarian or other campus resource.Who can use this service?This service was designed to help both undergraduates and graduate students but is open to professors as well! The goal is that faculty and students at TU know that the library’s resources are made available with an assumed proficiency. Sometimes you need a little guidance or redirection when you’re frustrated with research and that’s when this service can save your sanity and time. How long does it take? To schedule a session, we ask that you give us one to two business days to get back to you, but we are usually quicker than that at slower times of the semester. The sessions themselves can be as short as 15 minutes or as long as 2 hours. Again, the personalized aspect of these sessions is that you leave feeling like you were helped which can look different for everyone in terms of time.Do I have to come to McFarlin to meet with a librarian?While you can of course get help in-person at McFarlin, we also offer these meetings online through Teams. Online meetings do not require the students to be on camera, but we do recommend being in a somewhat quiet location and using a laptop or desktop. We often share screens during these meetings, and a phone screen is too small. If you choose to meet in person, it’s very helpful to bring your laptop, but we typically have an extra computer available if needed. Being able to save the articles we find or make notes on the process is incredibly valuable to your workflow after the PRA is over.Can you only help students from any major?YES! We work with students from all disciplines across campus. Part of the PRA form that you fill out asks you to specify the information needs you have, and we use that section to help match you with the best librarian. Where is this form you keep mentioning?On the homepage of the library!Need help finding articles? Schedule a PRA!Need someone to explain how to find, view, and use the features of an eBook? Schedule a PRA!Not sure whether or not your sources are scholarly or peer-reviewed? Schedule a PRA!Doing a group assignment and have multiple members who need help? Schedule a PRA!Feeling very overwhelmed and unsure of how to navigate the research process? You guessed it – schedule a PRA! If this feature didn't do enough to convince you, please read this feedback from real, live, actual TU students who have used the service.“I was able to get all my questions answered and learned how to use multiple databases.” – Julia S., freshman “I was excited to figure out how much music books and scores they had in the library. And now I know where to look I need better knowledge for my research instead of just going to Google or YouTube.” – Abby S., sophomore“I have thoroughly benefited from the time spent learning about the resources at McFarlin Library, and I always recommend to other graduate students to make time to do the same. Thank you for your hard work!” – Kenneth B., graduate student“Fantastic session! I only wish it were longer and that I had done it sooner! IMO, this should be mandatory for all graduate students to meet with the research librarian to go over, in real time, search terms and how to navigate the databases. Otherwise, one *might* spend a solid 13 frustrating hours wading through the tar pits of these databases.” – Meagan P., DNP ...

Staff Spotlight - Sergio Carreno

Have you ever exchanged a smile with Sergio at the circulation desk or noticed him quietly working in the library? Despite his reserved nature, Sergio is an integral member of McFarlin Library, tirelessly updating our stacks to make them more accessible. Dive into my interview with Sergio to discover the hidden gems of McFarlin and see how his dedication to patrons creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere.Sergio CarrenoHow long have you been at McFarlin and what roles have you had during your tenure?I have been working with McFarlin a little over three years now. I started with my title being Library Associate, but it changed into Weekend Lead. However, the responsibilities remain relatively the same. I open and close the building where it is needed and I supervise evening operations of the library. I help in the circulation department by working the front desk and also providing assistance to patrons when they have questions. I work additional projects as needed in order to improve and maintain the library’s functionality.Why librarianship? What made this job appealing to you?I wanted to work in a library because I grew up surrounded by books. I loved visiting libraries as a child and could spend hours there reading or using their computers. As I got older the idea of working in a library seemed like a neat one, and when I saw an opening in McFarlin I decided to take it.What is your dream career, or your ideal next job?I have always wanted to be a writer. Since I was in middle school, I would write all kinds of stories and poems, and I have dreamed of making a career out of it. Reading and writing have been very important in my life, and despite all the years that have come and gone, I still want to see if I can make them into something that I can turn into a career.What’s your favorite spot in McFarlin Library and why is it your favorite?My favorite spots in McFarlin are the Faculty Study and Third Floor Reading Room. It can be either of these rooms because the main thing I like is looking out of the windows on the west side of the building. We get a beautiful view of the downtown area, and any time I have to work in these rooms I take a moment to stop and just look out and admire the view.Can you tell me about a memorable interaction you have had with a patron? The most memorable interactions I have with patrons are those where you go beyond your normal responsibilities in order to help them. There have been a couple instances where a patron comes to the building when our browsing floor is closed but they really need to print something out. Despite being in the process of closing up the building, I have allowed students access to this floor so they can get done what they need done. The gratefulness they give you makes the interaction worth it. What is your favorite media to consume and what makes it your favorite?The main media I consume nowadays is TikTok, which is not my proudest thing to say as someone who works in a library, but it is what it is. What’s the best (non-human) resource at McFarlin?The best non-human resource at McFarlin would have to be our study spaces. We have many areas that can be used to study, from our quiet reading rooms to our more open browsing level where group work can be done. For those needing a more private space to study, whether individually or in a group, we also offer study rooms to check out which are very popular among our students.Tell me the most bizarre thing you have seen while walking through the book stacks.The most bizarre thing I have seen while walking through the book stacks is a life-size cut out of Samuel L. Jackson. I did not know it was going to be there so it scared me when I walked down the stacks and the lights turned on to reveal him glaring at me. If you could go back in time and talk to one of the designers who modified the building, which phase would you jump to and what would you tell them?I would go back to when they decided to put in the windows to the reading rooms and urge them to make sure no water can come through. You’re trapped in McFarlin for the night: what do you do when no one else is around?I will sleep. There are ghosts in the stacks and I do not want to be awake when they decide to walk around at night.What is an exciting project you are currently working on, or a future endeavor you are anticipating?Books are being shifted to different shelves that are allowing us to tidy them and organize them to make for a more spacious and appealing look to our stacks....

Digital Discoveries - New EBSCO Interface

In this series for the McFarlin Memo, we will be highlighting new digital resources as well as offering fresh usage ideas for those long-standing resources. The goals of this series are that you learn something new, and feel more confident when navigating McFarlin's excellent databases and digital collections. At the beginning of this semester, the EBSCO database suite received an interface refresh which improved accessibility and expanded the capabilities for saving and searching within the databases. For the first “Digital Discovery" in this new series, I will offer guidance on these new features to help you get the most out of your time on any EBSCO database. What is EBSCO?This is a database hosting site that provides access to thousands of journal articles, eBooks, popular periodicals through databases. McFarlin Library currently subscribes to 64 of the EBSCO databases. EBSCO offers advanced features that allow you to search multiple databases with a single set of search terms, making it a great starting place for many students. Within the EBSCO suite, there are databases for multiple content areas. Some of those noteworthy databases are:Academic Search Complete – this is a general, multi-disciplinary academic database that offers coverage for many current topics in scholarly research. If you want to get a handle on database research, Academic Search Complete is an excellent place to begin.Business Source Complete – a great choice for researchers working in marketing, management, finance, and other disciplines of business. Not only does this database offer access to premier business journals, it also includes industry reports, country reports, company profiles, and SWOT analyses.CINAHL – a premier nursing resource that often has surprising interdisciplinary coverage, this database is excellent for beginning nursing/health science students, as well as those who have research that overlaps within areas of mental health and general well-being. MLA International Bibliography – this database is produced by the Modern Language Association and offers electronic coverage of their extensive bibliography. Dating back to the 1920s, this database contains over 2.2 million citations from more than 4,400 journals & series, and 1,000 book publishers that cover literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory & criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.What’s new with EBSCO? In January this database suite got a facelift, which included the relocation of many features. And though the overall functionality of EBSCO has not changed, many of the shortcuts and limiting features have been relocated. Below is a short video that details some of the major changes. TL;DW (too long; didn't watch) Summary:The advanced search is still the default.There are quick filters on the top of each results page that allow you do refine by full text, peer reviewed, date, and source type. The all filters menu opens on the right side of the screen, and offers a fully nested list of refiners that the previous interface offered.Within in a record page for an article the same information is available, but is arranged differently. Notably, the abstract is now further down on the page and the links to download a copy of the text are at the top of the record.There is no longer a search history tab. Users will instead need to select the “recent activity” option on the left side of the screen and copy and paste the link in the URL bar. (Though the MyEBSCO account option is a better saving option.)MyEBSCO is a new account feature that allows users to save specific search results as well as searches with any applied filters. Additionally, if you are logged in at the beginning of your session, the MyEBSCO will track your search history in the “recent activity” section of the dashboard.Most helpful features of the new interface?Truly, the MyEBSCO account feature is one of the best improvements to this database group. Setting up an account can be done with your TU email, and it allows you save searches and articles with ease. If you are gathering research on a specific topic, the account feature will also assist you in setting up alerts for new articles. The overall layout of the article results page is sleek and easy to navigate. The option to read articles in HTML format (though not available for all articles) offers some accessibility features like a table of contents, translation features, and the option to download an audio file of the narrated text. Tips and tricks for using EBSCO databases.When choosing search terms, take advantage of the autofill for term variation. This will expand the number of results you receive, ensuring that you are not missing articles that are still relevant to your concept but use a different iteration of the phrasing you intially chose. When you need a term to appear in the main concepts or ideas of the article’s text, you can change the field to “subject term” to ensure that your results do not just briefly mention the term.Do not limit your results to full text only. As a TU student, faculty, or staff member you have access to ILL. You can use this service to get articles for free, preventing you from missing out on valuable sources. If you want to get the most of your research time, begin your searches with broader, all-encompassing terms and then add in more specific terminology to additional fields as needed. Combining search terms strategically is one of the ways that databases can give you better, more reliable information than platforms like Google Scholar. The multi-term searches in combination with database filters provide a robust search with excellent results.Need more help?Consider scheduling a Personalized Research Assistance session with a librarian. One of the knowledgeable staff at McFarlin can guide you through any of the EBSCO databases, or help you navigate the new interface features with ease. ...

Staff Spotlight - Amanda Ferguson

Amanda FergusonUnless you've worked at McFarlin, you might not realize how essential the phrase "I'll ask Amanda" is to our smooth operations. Amanda Ferguson is one of those invaluable staff members. She primarily works behind the scene to ensure our website functions flawlessly. Without its highly accessible website (among other resources), McFarlin would be just a building with books. In addition to being our webmaster, Amanda also serves as one of our ILL associate librarians and is a wizard at finding resources. Enjoy this interview where Amanda shares her favorite aspects of McFarlin and her itinerary for a perfect day.How long have you been at McFarlin and what roles have you had during your tenure?I did my undergrad here at TU and had a work-study at the library. One of the staff members reached out a while after I’d graduated to let me know somebody'd retired and there was an opening. I’ve worked full-time at McFarlin for thirteen years now. I started in the circulation department and moved over to interlibrary loan. I’m also one of the people that work on the library’s website.Why librarianship? What made this career appealing to you?I enjoy getting to interact with people and help with research. I like hearing about new and interesting topics and helping problem-solve. One of the biggest draws to working here though was the staff. I met some amazing people when working on my bachelor's and I knew that it was a team that I would enjoy working with.What is your non-library training and/or degree, and how does it help you as a librarian?I started as an MIS major but eventually decided to switch to a history major. It has helped me learn how to research different areas of study and showed me how there can be multiple approaches to solving a problem.What’s your favorite spot in McFarlin Library and why is it your favorite?There are a few spots in McFarlin that I enjoy, but my favorite at the moment is by the windows in the tech wing. It’s a cozy space to sit with lots of natural light and a great view.Can you tell me about a memorable interaction you have had with a patron? I’ve had quite a few memorable interactions. It is great when you can find that one book or resource that you can tell has made someone’s day. Some of my favorites are from students that have thanked us after finishing their theses or dissertations, but I also really enjoy the look on a student’s face the first time I tell them how many things they’re allowed to check out.What is your favorite media to consume and what makes it your favorite?I usually have a tv on at home, but most of the time it's for the background noise. I would say that I spend most of my time reading. Mysteries of any genre, thrillers and fantasy are my favorites. I also read a lot of fanfiction. I love reading original works with new worlds and characters, but I also love the opportunity to reach beyond canon and read the what-if scenarios that can come from transformative fiction.What’s the best (non-human) resource at McFarlin?The website. You can find information on all our resources and services there including the best ways to reach out to the staff.Tell me the most bizarre thing you have seen while walking through the book stacks.I’ve found students asleep at the tables in the stacks. This wasn’t in the stacks, but I did have a couple of students give me a jump scare in their Halloween costumes back when the learning studio was still the media room.If you could go back in time and talk to one of the designers who modified the building, which phase would you jump to and what would you tell them?Back in time immemorial (pre-2007), we had what was called the Cyber Café. It was on the main level right where the main staircase is. It was a computer lab with a couple of vending machines, a kitchenette, and tables that you could sit and eat at. The computers and vending machines have since been moved and we have Starbucks upstairs now. (It has way better seating, atmosphere, and coffee) I do miss the little kitchenette though...and the carpet. Book carts and tile are not a good combination with the library’s acoustics.You’re trapped in McFarlin for the night: what do you do when no one else is around?Hang out on the browsing floor with my laptop and all the lights on. This building is creepy when it’s empty.What is an exciting project you are currently working on, or a future endeavor you are anticipating?I like getting to add the new library events to the website as they come up. We’re also doing an update of a lot of our written procedures since we migrated to a new system last summer.What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?I’m a bit of a homebody so my perfect day would be at home with the windows open. I’d be playing the newest update to one of my video games or getting to read the next book in one of my favorite series with no interruptions. If I had to pick something outside of the house, then I’d visit a museum I haven’t been to yet or go to a con with some of my favorite actors. ...