Search Tips

Recently, I began this blog with the intent of developing my ideas on teaching in a library instruction setting. I centered my first few blogs on a job presentation. I practiced the presentation several times and received some valuable feedback from several persons. Practicing my presentation helped me feel more confident when it came time to give the real presentation on the day of the job interviews. The good news is that I got the job.

I would like to focus this blog on information literacy issues. Today an experienced reference librarian showed me her strategy for helping an undergraduate. The student wanted to know how to find resources on the origins of skiing. She worked with the subject headings and found that "skis and skiing" was the official subject heading. On the Idaho State University library page a link to "Resources by Subject" will direct the user to databases designed specifically for certain areas of research. I learned that a search for skiing-related issues would be among the Sports databases; however, the Sports databases are categorized under the Education heading as "Sports Science and Education."

There are articles in EbscoHost Complete and Premier that discuss the origins of skiing. In the reference section there are many encyclopedias related to sports. The following call numbers to sports encyclopedias might be useful: GV567 .M46 1978, GV11.M4 1963, and GV567 .B48 2005. A search in the catalog for "sports AND encyclopedia" gave me these results. The student who was helped today really felt he had learned something new.