Library Aides Page    

Thank you for becoming part of the library staff!

        Please print out the pages that are linked here. (Remember: other students pay 5¢ per page for copies but while you are a library aide copies are free.)  The sheets you are printing include our expectations of you as our library aide. Please take your time reading all pages and then sign your name at the bottom and return to Ms. Britton.

As time permits, you are to return to this page to complete the following exercises.

LESSON ONE:                          
Go to Dewey Browse to learn about the general categories of the Dewey Decimal System.
Now practice your new knowledge by taking this online quiz called Library Skills Game.
Lastly print out this page, answer the questions using Athena, our database for looking up materials in our library, and turn in to Ms. Britton.

                    

LESSON TWO:
For this lesson I would like you to use EBSCOhost, a database of magazine articles. We currently do not subscribe to EBSCOhost (it is quite expensive) but I would still like you to learn how to use it. You can use the Santa Cruz Public LIbrary's link to EBSCOhost if you have your S. C. Public Library card and you know your personal identification number (PIN). Let me know if you do not have your card and you may use my card and number. Print our this page and do the exercises on EBSCOhost.

LESSON THREE:
We really do live in the “Information Age” (the amount of information produced is doubling roughly every 3 years!). That means that there is usually plenty of information to choose from on any given topic. You should evaluate any source of information that you may use for its usefulness, even published books. Print out Evaluation and Citing Books and do the exercises.

LESSON FOUR:
Lesson four is similar to lesson three, but here you will evaluate and cite a magazine article. Print out this Evaluating and Citing Magazines and do the exercises.

LESSON FIVE:
Using the techniques of advanced searching when using the internet will increase your chance of getting to the quality information you are looking for. Lesson five entails mostly reading with a couple exercises. Print out this Internet Searching Tools. For more information about advanced search see Searching Techniques New Mexico State University or Google's Advanced Search Made Easy .

LESSON SIX:
After learning how to do an advanced search it is also necessary to evaluate the web sites that you find. Print out this Using and Evaluating Web Resources to practice some evaluation methods. For more information on evaluating web page see Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask from UC Berkeley or Evaluation Criteria from New Mexico State University Library.

LESSON SEVEN:
For lesson seven you will use our collection of Reference books (the low shelves to the right as you enter the library). Print out this page, read the first page and answer the questions on the second page.

LESSON EIGHT:
In lesson eight you will learn the differences between primary and secondary sources. Please print out this page, read the definitions and answer the questions. For further information check Distinguish Between Primary and Secondary Sources from University of California at Santa Cruz or Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources from University Libraries, University of Maryland.

LESSON NINE:
Because resources are expensive our school library isn't always going to have everything you need to complete an assignment. We are lucky to live in an area with excellent libraries such as the Santa Cruz Public Library, Cabrillo College Library, and UCSC Library. With a free library card you are welcome to use and check-out materials from the Santa Cruz Public Library. Both Cabrillo and UCSC will allow you to use any materials while at the libraries and at both you can become a Friend of the Library for a fee which will make it possible to check out materials from Cabrillo Library and UCSC Library. Print out Lesson Nine and practice using all three of these other libraries' catalogs.

                  

LESSON TEN:
Lesson ten is almost like doing the research for a research paper but not doing the actual writing of the paper. Print out Works Cited Review/Final Project and answer the questions listed. This lesson may take a little longer to complete, you may want to do it in two class sessions.

It is my hope that after finishing these lesson you feel more confident and more prepared to do research now and in the future.

Other Links:
Library Skills Game
"Do We" Really Know Dewey?"
Dewey Decimal System

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Page last updated 2/08 by Madeline Britton, Librarian