Differences between Your High School & WKU Libraries

The libraries at WKU are different from your high school library. When you come from a small school, seeing the Helm-Cravens library with two buildings and many floors can be overwhelming. But the differences are not really that important in the end. So here is a short list of what to expect in a college library.

1. Students should get to know the Reference Librarians! Reference Librarians can play a key role in helping you succeed in college by (1) saving time, (2) making things easier, and (3) helping you get better grades. We can guide the student through every step of the research process, help you learn how to use key resources, and provide time-saving tips. We can also help you via pone, text messaging, email, or personal appointments, as well as face-to-face.
2. Librarians at WKU are here to help you! We have a librarian who works with every department on campus, and is an expert in the subject. You can make an appointment with your Personal Librarian any time you have a paper or presentation, and we will show you what you need to get started, saving you time and helping you get better grades. You don't even have to be a major!
3. College libraries are big! While high school libraries may have thousands of books, college libraries have hundreds of thousands of books and several floors. In addition to the main library, WKU also has two branchs on the main campus (the Educational Resources Center and the Kentucky Library & Museum), as well as libraries on our regional campuses in Glasgow and Owensboro.
4. Most high schools use the Dewey Decinal System, but most college libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System. Some parts of the library may shelve the books in other ways; for example, government documents are shelved by their Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) numbers. You don't need to learn the Library of Congress system by heart, but you DO need to know what a call number is and how to use the library catalog (TOPCAT) and a map of the library to find a specific book or journal.
5. College students need to become comfortable using online library catalogs to find information. High school library catalogs are similar to TOPCAT. You should know what subject headings and keywords are and how to best use them when searching a library catalog, database, or Web search engine (e.g., Google).
6. It's essential that college students not to rely solely on Google for research. There are huge difference between internet websites and the online databases and journal articles to which the library subscribes. Many professors will NOT allow students use free websites, especially Wikipedia.  They want you to use scholarly journal articles and books.
7. Colleges have many, many research databases, online journals, and E-books. Although high schools often have a core group of databases (such as those provided by the Kentucky Virtual Library), WKU subscribes to over two hundred subject databases, available both on campus and off-campus. Database searching is different from searching in Google. Selecting the right database is often hard, but the librarians are here to help you. We can also help you learn to define a topic, to narrow your search, to select appropriate key workds and phrases, and to construct a Boolean search (AND-OR searching). If you have questions, just ask at the Reference Desk or talk to your Personal Librarian.
8. Research is a process, not an event. You should get in the practice of starting your papers as soon as you get the assignment. Plan your research projects and give yourselves enough time to do a good job. Ten minutes of library time between classes is not enough time to gather sources for a paper. The Learning Center can offer advice on time management strategy, and your Personal Librarian can help you get started.
9. College students need to know about the different kinds of periodicals, journals, and magazines. General newspapers and magazines should not be used for college assignments. Professors want you to find scholarly journal articles, which are also known as "Peer-Reviewed articles." To find scholarly articles, you need to understand the difference between newspapers, popular magazines, opinion magazines, trade magazines, and scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.
10. Students need to know the difference between primary and secondary sources, both in general and for specific fields of study. In general, primary resources were reated by people who actually saw or participated in an event, or recorded their reactions immediately afterward. Secondary resources were created by someone not present when the event took place or removed by time from the event. However, in certain fields this can mean different things. For example, primary sources in sociology or psychology may include research studies.
11. College students must know how to evaluate resources and to use the best resources possible. This is more than knowing the difference between .gov and .com. DO NOT simply select the first articles you find. You will need to scan the abstracts (summaries) of each article to find the ones that are most relevant for your topic.
12. Students absolutely must know enough about plagiarism to avoid committing it.  This includes understanding the nuances of summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, etc., and realizing that ALL require citations. WKU has very stiff penalties (pp14-16) for all forms of academic dishonesty.
13. College students need to learn how to create citations for books, periodical articles, and database resources.  You should learn the basics of the different citation styles : MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago Manual of Style, etc. Citation builders can help, but you need to understand the basic elements of a citation to use them. You also need to be able to look at a citation from your professor or your textbooks and understand how to identify what the citation refers to (book, magazine article, journal article, etc.).
14. The WKU Libraries have mor than just books. We have materials on reserve from your professors for specific classes, such as readings and study guides. We have wireless internet in the library, and you can check out a laptop for two hours. You can borrow music, audio books, and movies on DVD. We also have a wide variety of museum exhibits, programs, lectures, concerts, etc.
15. Library computers aren't filtered. High schools filter access to the Internet. With freedom comes responsibility. You can access the entire Internet through library computers, but we expect you to behave like adults. WKU has a computer use policy that states consequences for inappropriate computer use.
16. The library has both quiet areas and areas where you can study with groups or socialize. The 7th, 8th, and 9th floors of Cravens are for quiet study only. We also allow you to eat snacks and drink coffee in the library. Please respect others and use appropriate behavior for each area. Turn off your cellphone while studying in quiet areas, don't hold long conversations in the library, and throw away your trash when you leave.

Some Things You Can Do

• Learn the layout of the Helm-Cravens Library, the Educational Resources Center, and the Kentucky Library & Museum.
• Ask us when you have a question.
• Make an appointment with your Personal Librarian when you have a speech, paper, or assignment.
• Check out our Research Guides.
• Learn to recognize different types of sources by distinguishing magazines & journals, understanding primary and secondary sources, etc.
• Know that using databases isn't the same as using the internet.
• Understand how to cite your work properly using MLA, APA, and other citation styles.

These tips were adapted with permission by Bryan Carson ( web.reference@wku.edu ) from a page created by Sharlee Jeser-Skaggs at Richland College. The Richland page was based on postings to the Information Literacy Instruction Discussion Listerv sponsored by the Instruction Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries as edited and revised in September 2008.