Currently viewing the category:
"Tips & Tricks"
Please enjoy the second installment of Ask Ms. Shelved, the irregularly scheduled advice column from HHSL!
Dear Ms. Shelved,
Classes are back in session, and exams are in full swing. I *thought* I couldn’t be happier to be back in the Hirsh Health Sciences Library, seeing my friends, checking out phone chargers, and studying. But Ms. Shelved, the Library is not the fairy-tale peaceful place I left back in December. Harmony has been shattered. Peace has been broken. Calm has been swept away in a torrent of dastardly despoilment and brutal banditry.
My laptop has been STOLEN.
Filched, lifted, pinched, purloined, snatched! The thief apparently crept in, like a raccoon to a birdfeeder, when I left my laptop in a study room to grab some lunch, go to Macy’s, and hit up a lecture. It was sitting right there, with my water bottle and my books! How could someone think it was available to take?
Ms. Shelved, please publish my letter as a service to other students! There is a thief in Sackler!
Sincerely,
Snatched in Sackler
Raccoon & the Bird Feeder by Selbe. is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Dear Snatched,
I do publish your letter as a public service, but not to warn our fair friends of foul fences afoot! I implore you, nay, ALL students using the Library to remember that #thefthappens. While we all want to think the best of our fellow students, and to place absolute trust in our systems, it is possible for people to wind up where they do not belong, and even for our classmates to run afoul of the law.
Remember, you are responsible for your property. Library staff cannot monitor your belongings, and will not watch them for you while you run an errand or go to class. Don’t even think of asking to leave your stuff behind the Desk, it’s rude to expect these active agents of academia to forsake their sworn duties in order to mind your bookbag.
University Policy offers Tips for Personal Property Security, and remember to contact them on the appropriate campus to report crime or suspicious activity. Hopefully others will learn from your example, Snatched. In the meantime, you can check out a laptop from the Library to assist with your studying. Remember to return it to an actual human person and don’t leave it on the desk or in the bookdrop!
Ever yours,
Ms. Shelved
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photo-1661731/
We hope you all had a restful and rewarding winter break! Whether you’ve been back to the grind for a few weeks or are just starting your semester today, it’s the perfect time to refresh your memory about our librarian liaison program.
The Hirsh Library Liaison Program provides a “point person” for each of the academic programs and clinical departments on the Tufts’ health sciences campus.
What can a librarian liaison do for you? For starters, your librarian liaison can help you:
- identify resources for your particular topic, especially resources beyond article databases
- create effective and efficient search strategies for databases like PubMed and Web of Science
- discern what tool is right for you to help manage your citations (i.e., EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley) and providing instructions to get you started
- track down statistical data for research projects and help you manage your own data
Visit our Liaison Program page to find out who the librarian liaison is for your program and get in touch with them!
Please enjoy the inaugural edition of Ask Ms. Shelved, the new, irregularly scheduled advice column from HHSL!
Dear Ms. Shelved:
I am in my final weeks of classes for the semester, and I find myself studying (and eating, and sleeping) in the Hirsh Health Sciences Library. I am the first person in the building in the morning and the last person out. I haven’t seen my cat, Hortense, in days, possibly weeks. My friends think I moved away. I saw my own picture on a milk carton the other day.
But today I discovered that the caretakers of my cozy den, my warm second home, my snug grotto of learning have cast me out! I approached the Library Service Desk to check out a phone charger, and was told that I had overdue items and I could not check anything out for a FULL WEEK. Ms. Shelved, I am bewildered, bamboozled, and BLOCKED.
Whatever shall I do?
Sincerely,
Stunned in Sackler
Dear Stunned,
Well, it seems you’ve been visited by THE BLOCK. He’s like a lot of other holiday specters…like the Uncouth Uncle at Thanksgiving dinner, he’s never a welcome visitor. Like the Schmaltz Stain left on your sweater after frying latkes, he’s persistent. And like the Tantrumy Toddler at Christmas, he follows you around, fraying your nerves and trying your patience.
Since you are blocked for a week, it appears you’ve invoked this unwelcome guest once already since July, and now you’re on your second strike. But don’t despair! Here are some helpful tips to Banish the Block:
- Electronics, accessories, reserve materials, skulls, models, etc. circulate for 4 hours. Set a timer on your phone when you check out.
- If there’s a chance you’ll get stuck in a meeting or appointment, TELL the person who checks out the item, and ASK if you can have a (reasonable) extension.
- If a genuine crisis arises (like a building evacuation or a trip to the Emergency Department), CALL the desk at 617-636-6705 and let us know, we will try to work something out.
- Remember that you can renew some items (like laptops) as long as no one is waiting to use it, but you have to bring it back to the desk first.
- Many of the books on reserve are also available online! You probably don’t need to smuggle that textbook out overnight.
I suggest paying closer attention to your loans, because if you are blocked again before June 30, you will lose your borrowing privileges for 30 days!
Stunned, if you have any questions about the Blocking Policy, please see it in full here: https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/about-us/policies/overdue-items.
Remember, try to get some sleep, take a shower, drink some water, and bring your stuff back on time!
Ever yours,
Ms. Shelved
Look, we know it’s a BEAR of a time right now…exams, assignments, travel, holidays…
Image taken from page 54 of ‘The Frozen Crew of the Ice-bound Ship; or, the Terrors of the arctic regions. A romance of the wild and wonderful. With illustrations’ is made available by the British Library and has no known copyright restrictions.
…luckily, we’re here to help! However, remember that when you’re busy, we’re busy. Don’t get shut out in the cold, PLAN AHEAD!
Leave plenty of time to snag the books and other resources you need to study for exams (and don’t forget to bring them back on time and avoid The Block!).
If you’d like to work with a librarian, you are always welcome to stop by the Service Desk on Sackler 4, but to avoid lines and waiting, why don’t you schedule an appointment with your liaison librarian? Just find the librarian dedicated to your school or program and book an appointment by clicking on a librarian’s name and then clicking the “Schedule Appointment” button.
Need an appointment in a hurry? Fill out the Schedule a Consultation form and we’ll be in touch ASAP. Appointments are available Monday -Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, as schedules permit.
The Hirsh Fall Open Workshop series may be over – but – that doesn’t mention you can’t request a workshop on demand! We’re re-posting the following regarding our Workshops on Demand option – check it out!
—
Workshops On Demand Bring Learning to YOU!
Look, we’ve all been there. You really WANT to attend that HHSL Open Workshop, but we were up SO LATE on Sunday studying/watching the Oscars/binging Netflix, and 9:00 am Tuesday feels so early. So you decide to attend the Wednesday 4:00 pm session of the workshop. But hey, did you notice that it is staying light outside until almost 6:00 and also the world is not currently a Frozen Hellscape and you should really go outside for vitamin D?
Have you squandered your last chance to learn EndNote? Thrown away your shot to master Web of Science? Wasted all opportunities to hone your PubMed skills? Are you doomed?
“On Fire” Gunshow #648 by KC Green. This is a meme all over the internet now, give its creator some love here.
No! Your friends at Hirsh Health Sciences Library would never abandon you! We know how busy you are, and we can’t schedule Open Workshops at times that fit everybody’s schedule. To better meet your needs, we bring you Workshops on Demand– gather a few friends, find some times that work for a group session, and tell the Library what you want to learn about. We will provide the content, and expert librarian instructor, and we’ll even book the room. Choose from the list of topics, or suggest your own- we’re listening! Just fill out the form and we will be in touch to set up your custom workshop. These sessions are a great way to maximize learning and interaction with an instructor and your classroom peers, and ideal for those embarking on group projects. Workshops on Demand can be scheduled M-F between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm, depending on the availability of librarians, and we can conduct them via WebEx as well for those off-campus.
(of course, if you would like a one-on-one instruction session with a librarian, we can set that up too. Just contact us here)
In case you haven’t heard, we have a new addition to our Open Workshops! In addition to workshops, Hirsh Library and the Tufts Data Lab Assistants are offering topic-specific drop-in sessions and office hours so that you can ask questions and get one-on-one help. You don’t need to have attended a workshop or registered in advance in to attend drop-in sessions and office hours – just come and drop-in! We look forward to meeting with you!
Drop-In Session/Office Hours:
10/1 Tableau (2-3pm Sackler 510)
10/3 Visualizing Data with R (4-6pm Sackler 514)
10/11 EndNote (4-6pm Sackler 4)
10/11 GIS (1:30 – 2:30pm Sackler 514)
10/19 Approaching the Lit Review (8:30-10am Sackler 4)
10/17 R Help ( 11am-12pm Sackler 510 )
Scared of stats? Spooked by lit reviews? Frightened by citation management?
October doesn’t have to be a scary month with October Learning Opportunities@Hirsh! The Hirsh Library and Tufts DataLab have a frightfully awesome line-up of learning opportunities for October filled with tips & treats!
In addition to workshops, we will also be holding additional drop-in sessions and office hours so that you can ask questions and get one-on-one help . To see full descriptions and to register for workshops (nb: you don’t need to attend a workshop or register in advance in to attend drop-in sessions and office hours), please visit: https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/services/open-workshops
October
Workshops:
10/1 Building Interactive Visualizations with Tableau (1-2 pm Sackler 510)
10/2 Visualizing Data with R (9-11am Sackler 514)
10/9 EndNote (9-10am Sackler 510)
10/11 Intro to GIS using ArcMap (12 – 1:30pm Sackler 514)
10/16 Approaching the Lit Review (9-10am Sackler 510)
10/17 Statistics in R: Intermediate Level (10-11am Sackler 510 )
10/23 PubMed (9-10am Sackler 510)
10/24 Story Maps: Not Your Average Presentation (11am-12pm Sackler 510 )
10/31 An Intro to LabArchives Digital Notebook (11am-12pm Sackler 510)
Drop-In Session/Office Hours:
10/1 Tableau (2-3pm Sackler 510)
10/3 Visualizing Data with R (4-6pm Sackler 514)
10/11 EndNote (4-6pm Sackler 4)
10/11 GIS (1:30 – 2:30pm Sackler 514)
10/19 Approaching the Lit Review (8:30-10am Sackler 4)
10/17 R Help ( 11am-12pm Sackler 510 )
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/photo-1661731/
Did you know that there’s a librarian at Hirsh just for you?
The Hirsh Library Liaison Program provides a “point person” for each of the academic programs and clinical departments on the Tufts’ health sciences campus.
What can a librarian liaison do for you? For starters, your librarian liaison can help you:
- identify resources for your particular topic, especially resources beyond article databases
- create effective and efficient search strategies for databases like PubMed and Web of Science
- discern what tool is right for you to help manage your citations (i.e., EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley) and providing instructions to get you started
- track down statistical data for research projects and help you manage your own data
Visit our Liaison Program page to find out who the librarian liaison is for your program and get in touch with them!
Image source: https://pixabay.com/photo-1891732/
The summer is flying by, but don’t worry! We’re here to help ease you into the academic year by offering expanded Writing Consultants hours in August.
We will continue with appointments on Thursdays and will add Sunday hours mid-month. The timing will vary from Thursday to Thursday, so be sure to make note of the hours for each individual date when you go to register.
So without further ado, here is the August schedule:
Thursdays:
August 2: 11am – 2pm
August 9: 10am – 1pm
August 16: 10:30am-1:30pm
August 23: 1:45 – 4:45
August 30: 11am – 2pm
Sundays:
August 19: 3pm – 6pm
August 26: 3pm – 6pm
Writing Consultants is available to all Health Sciences students on the Tufts Boston Campus. To register or learn more about the ways a writing consultant can help, please visit our Health Sciences Writing Consultants LibGuide.
Hey dental students! Are you studying for the Boards (part 1 or part 2)? Did you know we have study aids for you both online and in person?
If you’re going home or away or just don’t feel like leaving your home in the heat, you can still use Board Vitals – an online study aid and question bank that gives you personalized feedback. It works no matter your location! Learn how to sign up for an account and get started studying.
If you’re staying in town and want to study in the library, be sure to check out our physical study aids including Mosby’s, Dentin, and Dental Decks. See the full list or just head to our Service Desk on the 4th floor of Sackler and ask for what you need.
Good luck on your boards!
Follow Us!
Have a question? Ask Us!
