Healey Library Hacks: Unlocking Hidden Treasures – Research Guides Edition 

Table of Contents: 

Introduction

Research Guides

Summary

Introduction

Welcome to “Healey Library Hacks: Unlocking Hidden Treasures – Research Guides Edition “! If you’ve ever wondered whether or not Healey Library offers curated subject-matter content and wondered where those are stored, you’ve come to the right place. Healey Library offers what are known as “Research Guides”, created by the Reference, Outreach, and Instruction (ROI) librarians. They are a collection of recommended resources and information designed to assist students, faculty, and staff in navigating and conducting research on specific subjects or topics. These guides can also be created and tailored to specific courses based on faculty requests.  The research guides can also be searched by types: Course Guide, General Purpose, Subject Guide, and Help Guide. In this blog post, we’ll look at some sample research guides recommended by our library staff, using the potential needs of School for the Environment as examples.

Research Guides

Environmental Sciences  

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The Environmental Sciences LibGuide is a comprehensive overview of articles, books, databases, and other resources available through Healey Library and open access related to Environmental Sciences. 


Sustainability 

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The Sustainability LibGuide is a collection of sustainability-related faculty publications, campus and community resources, and national/international resources. 


Raw Data   

The Raw Data LibGuide is a curated list of recommended databases that provide raw data sets, organized into user-friendly sections based on data type for easy browsing. 


Open Access  

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The Open Access LibGuide is a valuable resource for students, faculty, and staff, providing free and unrestricted access to a wide range of scholarly materials. 




Language Table and Library Glossary 

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Located in the “Guide to Credo Information Literacy Models” LibGuide on the left-hand side under “Library Vocabulary”:

The Language Table includes a multilingual glossary of research terms in seven different languages. 

The Library Glossary offers a comprehensive collection of research terms and definitions to aid researchers in understanding key concepts and terminology essential for their studies. 

Summary

Healey Library offers a comprehensive collection of research guides for students, faculty, and staff. Using the School for the Environment as an example of a broad research focus, this blog highlighted several useful guides to fit those needs:

  • Raw Data LibGuide is especially recommended to students in Geographical Information Systems (ENVSCI 281) or Statistics for the Environment (ENVSCI 261) courses or for those in need of statistical data.

  • Open Access LibGuide offers unrestricted access to a wide range of scholarly materials and is especially recommended to faculty looking to enhance course material accessibility while maintaining credible sources.

While these guides used examples from the School for the Environment, Healey Library offers over 200 research guides covering a wide range of topics. Exploring these resources can enhance teaching, deepen studies, and advance research. We hope this guide has provided valuable insights and inspired you to make the most of Healey Library’s resources. Happy exploring!