Orientation

Below you will find my script for the Engineering Orientation that will be held on September 4th in the afternoon.  I am hoping that I can cover all of this in 10 minutes or less.

Hello my name is Tasha Maddison and I am very pleased to be here today to welcome you to the University, especially in this, the centennial year of the College of Engineering. I am here to introduce the library and its services to you.

You may be sitting out there thinking: “I can make it through university without ever stepping foot into the library”. That is absolutely true; you can go through university without ever physically entering a library. However, you will likely be utilizing resources that the library has licensed, that your professors have provided through Blackboard or class web pages. The library offers more than 52000 electronic journals, as well as, eBooks and other digital resources which will allow you to avoid the actual library altogether.

You may be sitting out there thinking: “I didn’t know there was a library on campus”. There are seven libraries on campus, with a branch on the first floor of the Engineering building which is home to a specialized collection of Engineering materials covering all disciplines taught within the college. The Engineering Library is a somewhat unique library on campus in that we encourage discussion and collaboration. We will never shush you. You are welcomed to work in teams or individually in quieter study carrels. You are also welcome to drink your coffee and indulge in your snack at the Engineering Library. All libraries on campus are open to all students to use. If you crave a library that doesn’t smell of pizza than Natural Sciences library might be the place for you. If you crave natural light than the Vet Med or Natural Sciences libraries are idyllic. Perhaps you are looking for your Starbucks fix, well than Murray is the place to be.

You may be sitting there thinking: “I can’t wait to start using the library, see you tomorrow”. I say fantastic - the staff of the Engineering Library and I can’t wait to see you and get to know you better. We have 3 library assistants and 7 student assistants who can help you with borrowing materials, putting money on your printing account and with reserves. A brief note here for you about reserves as they are typically unique to an academic setting. Reserves are items that your professor provides for you to use for a shorter period of time. For example, it could be one of your supplementary textbooks that is available for borrowing for 4 hours at a time. Just enough time to read a chapter and still have time to have a snooze in one of our comfy chairs.

You may be sitting there thinking: “who is this person?” Well I am the liaison librarian for the Engineering library and my job is to help you with your research questions. I realize that when you come to me, you have exhausted Google and other searches methods, but you need an answer and you need it now because you have a pressing deadline. My job is to help you find what you are looking for. It is also my job to help you discover effective search strategies that will make your research easier and more efficient. I know you won’t have time to waste and that you have a lot on your plate - so I am here to help!