How To Maximise Your Use Of The Library

 Assignments are starting to encroach on our lives once again. It’s the reality of every student that several assignments are going to come all at once and take up all of your time. We go to the library, and we are ready to begin researching for our assignment question– but we don’t know where to start. I’m here to give you the tips and tricks you need to succeed at using the library as a great research tool and to maximise your use of it for your assignments. 

The Library Website 

This is the first place I always turn to. Here you will find all of the services that the library provides for you. I am going to go through my favourites for working on my assignments, but please explore all the services they have available. 

LibrarySearch 

LibrarySearch is the Maynooth University Library’s search engine, where you can search for whatever article or book you’re looking for your chosen subject. What if you’re looking for sources and you do not have any yet, or don’t know the names of any book or article for your assignment? LibrarySearch will also bring up resources that fall into a select genre or theme.  

LibrarySearch is located on the Library page, which you can find in the menu on the right side of the Maynooth University homepage, and consists of a search bar.  

A recommendation I got from a lecturer in my first year was to copy and paste your chosen question into the search engine. By doing this, the search engine will bring up all the related sources to that certain topic. If you type in the relevant words in your question, i.e. the keywords, the library search tool will also bring up relevant articles for you. 

One of the most useful tools within LibrarySearch are the filters. After you have put your search item into the box, and clicked search, on the left is the option to ‘Refine your Search.’ Here, you can filter your resources to the ones you need. Especially in first year, some assignments can ask for a certain number of a certain type of source – this is to teach you how to reference and the filters here will help you find what you are looking for. All you have to do is click the relevant sources. Below this you can filter through content type, so you can look at just journal articles, depending on your needs or assignment requirements. 

There are other features within the LibrarySearch tool that you can find if you click the three lines button. You can also save your search and find it in the bookmark button on the right-hand side of the webpage. 

Referencing Tools 

You can click on each source, where you will find a bookmark function, link function, a citation function (which is the quotation symbol) and most importantly, the three dots, which allows you to export to Refworks and other sites.  

Refworks saves your sources in a handy pocket so you can find them later. However, I have always found it easier while doing assignments to write out the source in its relevant reference style (not using a generator) so that I can learn the reference style, and then I tick it off once I have gone through it for relevant information.  

Databases 

Databases are vital when it comes to researching your assignments. To find them, go back to the main library webpage. Scroll down until you see on the left a column with the heading: Quicklinks. Here you will also find Exam Papers which are handy to look over and use when you are studying for your exams in January and in May. Click the first option: ‘A-Z of Databases’ and this will bring you to a list of databases that contain sources for a myriad of subjects.  

During my undergraduate, JSTOR (Arts and Sciences link) was my go-to database for articles. It is also very good for history too. There are also databases dedicated to historical documents, science, and law, such as Justis.  

Gale is also a great database for articles, but JSTOR has always been the most reliable for me. Also, take note of where your lecturer is getting his/her/their prescribed readings from. Are they getting them from a specific database? If they are, use that same database for your own research on assignments relating to that reading or subject, as this will aid you in finding relevant sources. 

All of these databases allow you to download their articles if you are signed in through your Maynooth University account. This is important because, should you have no internet connection on campus or if Eduroam in the college shuts down, you will still be able to access your article and complete your research work for your assignment. Having the article downloaded also allows you to go back and check a certain quote or page number without having to go through the database again for the relevant article. 

Subject Guides 

If I had known about these subject guides sooner in my first year, it would have saved me a lot of panic. Subject Guides is located in ‘Guides and Tutorials’ which you can find on the right under the search bar on the main library website. After clicking it, it will bring you to a page displaying options for different guides. The Subject Guides are further down the page, and all you have to do is click your subject. All the subjects you can study have a guide.  

After you click a subject, you are brought to another dedicated webpage where you can click through the menu to read about the library sources and referencing you will need to complete your assignments. In the Mathematics and Statistics page, you can submit a query, find your referencing guide on the bottom left, and click through different types of sources. The other subject guides follow this pattern. Also, subject guides will show you if you are to use footnotes or endnotes along with a bibliography. 

If you are stuck, do not be afraid to ask your lecturer either in class or via email. Somebody else probably needs the information too, and will not speak up. Otherwise, the subject guides will provide you with the answers you need to maximise your research and perfect the presentation of your assignments. 

Other Guides and Supports 

On that main Guides and Tutorials page, you’ll find other resources to help you in your college work. Library Services brings you to three guides: ‘For Staff,’ ‘Using the Library,’ and ‘Supporting Online Teaching and Learning.’ The ‘Using the Library’ guide is the most useful for students. 

The ‘Learning Resources’ function brings you to more subject guides, and guidance on academic writing, successful searching and the Teaching and Research Development Team. The Teaching and Research Development Team can help you find a source or aid you in developing your research projects or assignments.  

The other options in this page concern LIST. LIST are the library tutorials that help students learn how to use the library to the fullest and how to effectively research. If you go into LIST Online, you will see guides, tutorials and dedicated pages to help you use LibrarySearch, evaluate sources and learn how to use self-service in the library.  

Research Support is more dedicated to research students to help them reach their full potential. It has many different guides, and I highly recommend it for postgraduate students looking for somewhere to get help during their research. 

Library Chat 

Library Chat is a useful way of asking for help. It is located on the library website on the left, and the library staff monitor it closely, so you won’t have to wait long for your question to be answered.  

It is anonymous and it is very useful if you are researching or doing most of your coursework at home. Here, you can ask any question pertaining to your research or difficulty, and the library staff will answer you with advice and tips to get you going again. 

Self-Service Borrowing 

Located on the ground, first and second floors, self-service borrowing allows you to borrow from the library swiftly. You can borrow books using your student card. However, you must check the library website for borrowing guidelines, i.e., how many you can borrow at a time, and the different loan lengths available. You will find this information on the library homepage under ‘Using the Library’ should you need it.  

Returning books is just as easy, but can be done only at the self-service desks on the ground floor, where there is a book bin to return them. If you are only coming into college for a lecture, or an exam, you can return your library books at a facility outside the library.  

Laptops and Kindles 

Renting a laptop is a very good idea, especially if you are a commuter and don’t own or can’t afford one for studying. They last three hours before they must be returned, but you can borrow a different one once you return the one you were using. If you forget, you’ll be charged a fee by the library. 

Laptops are the most important tool for doing your assignment research, so you have no excuses to go to the library and not have one to use (unless all of them have been borrowed). There is also a new laptop loan machine in the Arts Building across from John Hume which was installed this year if the library runs out. 

I thought I’d also mention that you can also borrow kindles to read e-books or articles. I believe you have to go to the librarians at their desks past the turnstiles to ask for them. 

The Librarians 

The librarians on the ground floor really should be your first port of call if you are in the library and an issue arises. They can help you navigate the library book system and solve any of your library needs. They will also put through your borrowing and returns if you don’t wish to use a self-service desk.  

Temporary Student Cards  

Should you forget your student card, the administrative desk will provide you with a temporary student card so that you can use the library, but it doesn’t allow you to borrow or return on it, as those features are linked to your Maynooth University account. The temporary cards cost a fee, so only use this if you are genuinely stuck. Otherwise, use the library website and find somewhere else on campus to study, or maybe take a trip to a cosy café to research your assignment. 

The Library here at Maynooth University is vital for your assignments and research. I hope I have shown the best ways to maximise its use and to help you use it in such a way that you will find great resources to help you succeed in your studies.