An introduction to Library Services for postgraduate students

KATHERINE MOORE:

Post‐graduate study is most definitely a step up. You will be doing more independent research. But we're here to help you with that.

 

CHRISTINE TUCKER:

The other thing we try to do is help build skills for post‐graduate students. Hopefully, they will have already attained some skills whilst they were undergraduate students. But we do try to develop these further, given the fact that they will need to do a lot of research of their own.

 

HELEN CLOUGH:

You do need to use a variety of different sources. And we provide access to those. We pay subscriptions to these resources. And you wouldn't be able to get access to them any other way. KATHERINE MOORE:

 

We can assist you. Whether it's how to find information in your specific subject area, whether it's how to evaluate that information, or whether it's how to manage it, we're here to help.

 

MATTHEW TAYLOR:

One of the things that the Open University Library does is to look at the resources that are available and narrow them down to the most relevant and most academically valid, is one way of describing it. So just show the students the things that they could use.

 

CHRISTINE TUCKER:

The resources on the library website have been assessed by subject specialists and academics so that we're getting the right information, the right content for people to support their research.

 

KATHERINE MOORE:

So that when you're using it, you know you're accessing information from a credible source.

 

HELEN CLOUGH:

I think it gives the students added confidence if we say to them, these are peer reviewed journals. They have gone through a peer review process.

 

ALISON POWELL:

Peer reviewed means that it's been tested. It's been read and verified by other professionals in your area, by other specialists.

 

HELEN CLOUGH:

On the website, we have a Help and Support section that provides guidance on doing literature searching. We also have skills activities that they can work through to improve their skills in this area. If they get stuck at any point, they can contact us on the Help Desk.

 

CHRISTINE TUCKER:

If they're not finding the information they expect to find, we can help suggest different search terms they could be using, or just different places they could be looking. We can help guide them to the right places, perhaps that they might not have thought about already.

 

HELEN CLOUGH:

I suppose we're saving them time. I mean, it can be overwhelming, the amount of information out there. If they come to the library, if they look at our list of resources on our website, if they speak to us, they're getting a short cut, really, to the trusted resources.

 

KATHERINE MOORE:

You can contact us by the phone. You can contact us by web chat. And you can contact us by email. Normally, within five to 10 minutes, you can solve their problem, for which they are very thankful. So the Library Help Desk in particular provides a very personal, on the spot service.

 

ALISON POWELL:

But we can also direct them to online courses or online tutorials that we've created.

 

WOMAN:

OK, hello, everyone.

 

HELEN CLOUGH:

It's open to anyone with an OU computer user name. We advertise the dates on the home page of the library website. And they just come along at the advertised time. And there'll be a trainer there waiting in the online room to deliver the session. We have a vast collection of online resources. And of course, because they're online, you can access them at any time, anywhere in the world. So all of these things, they make us different to a face to face library. Because we are truly Open Library.

 

Summary screen:

LEARN more, See more, BE more