Speech and Hearing SHS 6143

• How to request articles that aren't readily available via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). OSU has access, or can get access to, nearly all published literature (and some video too!). For both print and electronic literature, you first find it in the OSU Library catalog (a version of the WorldCat.org), and then look for the 'Request' button. For print material, you may be directed to OhioLink or the Big Ten Academic Alliance systems. For electronic material, you can request it via the Illiad system (also known as Article Express). Almost 90% of articles get delivered within 48 hours, so please don't ever pay for an article!! 
• That the library offers some textbooks that are commonly needed for classes. Yes! You can search for textbooks under the ‘Books and more’ tab on the library homepage, and if you don’t find it, you can request that we try and purchase it with this form.
• How to search using the website. Searching using the library homepage can be difficult because it serves an enormous number of users, from a huge variety of disciplines. It's often easier to start at a subject guide and use the resources that your subject librarian has highlighted. However, if you know what articles or books you are looking for, the library homepage can be leveraged to find exact information. Searching can be a complex, iterative process, so understanding your tools and matching them to your goals is key. 
• Wish I had to know sooner that I could upload the article as a pdf on my computer. Yes! And you can use a citation manager (I prefer Zotero) to organize those pdfs and create bibliography lists.
• I wish someone had given me advice on how to efficiently search for information and use the OSU library online. Efficiency is the keyword in this sentence! See the 'tips and tricks' page for hints, and when in doubt, reach out to the many resources (chat, subject librarian, etc.) that can help you get unstuck!
• That you can use library/information searching websites without a subscription when logging in with a university account. Yes! Many databases will push for you to have a separate account so they can more closely track your activity, but there is no need if you are logged in with your library account (or are on-campus). Having a separate account for each database can be a pain! I recommend exporting information from the databases into a citation manager, as it will automatically de-duplicate and allow you to better organize your articles. 

The majority of students talk about the resources that were available through the library as the number one thing they wish that someone had told them about sooner. This ranged from the sheer amount of resources (about 10 million items) to the variety of types of items (books, eBooks, articles, educational media resources, streaming media, artwork, the list goes on...), the information available from the library is easily overwhelming!  That's where subject guides and strategy come in - efficient navigation of these resources is key! So don't panic - we have people that can help!