Whether you have just begun your time at NDSU, or you've been a member of our community for years, the library is here to support you in your teaching and research. This guide offers a variety of resources and how-to guides that cover many of the common questions our NDSU librarians receive from GTAs and other instructional staff.
At NDSU, there is a librarian specifically assigned to each academic department. This librarian is your liaison librarian. They are your point person for library needs.
If you are an English graduate student, your subject librarian is Lydia Larson, the Student Success & Instruction Librarian. If you are a GTA from another department, you can peruse our subject librarian list to identify your department's librarian. Each department is listed alongside the librarian who liaises with that department.
One of our core services as librarians is classroom instruction. Librarians have been visiting ENGL 120 courses for years to provide basic instruction in information literacy and searching.
To request instruction, please use our instruction request form.
Please note that instructional demands on our librarians are very high, particularly during fall semester--please reach out early in the semester (or before) to schedule a class visit.
Another core service our librarians is supporting faculty research. As an R1 institution, our librarians are research-minded and committed to supporting the intellectual output of our amazing researchers.
For tailored and high-level support, reach out to your subject librarian. If you are an English student, your subject librarian is Lydia Larson, the Student Success & Instruction Librarian. Faculty often reach out to librarians when they need assistance tracking down detailed information (e.g., literature covering niche topics, data related to a specific question), suggestions for a database searching strategy, and guidance in the realm of academic publishing. You are encouraged to email your subject librarian, or request reference support with this form.
Our Scholarly Communications & Institutional Repository Librarian is particularly suited to assist with publishing and copyright questions. Our Data and Digital Technologies Librarian is particularly suited to assist with the location and analysis of data. Your subject librarian may also possess discipline-specific knowledge in these areas.
As a faculty member, you are welcome to make material suggestions to your subject librarian. Under some circumstances, subject librarians may be able to purchase physical books or e-books to support your research.
Below are links related to common needs among our faculty.
We have many more library guides to cover a wide range of topics. You can peruse the full collection of guides here.
Searching with Boolean Operators
Our library catalog and databases typically require the use of Boolean searching, also referred to as searching using Boolean operators. Boolean searching involves developing keywords and short phrases that are then combined with the user's choice of Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT.
For a discussion of the development and combination of keywords with Boolean operators, you can view the "Using and Combining Search Terms" video in the "In-Depth Videos" section of the Academic Search Ultimate guide. Though this guide is focused on Academic Search Ultimate, the same basic principles of Boolean search apply to many databases and our library catalog.
Chat Reference Support
During business hours, our librarians staff an instant chat feature to provide easy support for our NDSU community's library questions. This chat feature is the gray box labeled "Ask Us" in the bottom right corner of the library website. You can type in a chat question, and we will be there to respond to you. This is not a bot--it's real-life human librarians! During off hours, this gray box turns into a small golden oval that says "Help." You can leave us a message here and we will get back to you via email.
Your subject librarian is also your students' subject librarian! In the case of English courses, this librarian is Student Success & Instruction Librarian, Lydia Larson. Please encourage your students to reach out to their subject librarian if they need assistant with research support for your course. Librarians very commonly assist students with database searching and locating appropriate sources. They can also assist with source evaluation and citation.
Listing the subject librarian for your department on your course syllabus is a great practice that both introduces your students to librarian support, and directs them to another person who can field some of their questions. Like faculty, students are welcome to schedule a one-on-one research consultation with a librarian! We encourage them to email us or request reference support using this form.
Please encourage your students to visit the ENGL 120 Library Support & Resources guide. This guide was specially developed to collect resources and how-to guides for their work in your course.
Our Main Library has a variety of spaces that may support your needs as an English GTA:
You can book rooms through our booking page, accessible here. Other rooms include the Digital Fabrication Lab (DFL) and Data Visualization Lab (DVL).
Also located in the library, but operating as separate, autonomous units, are the following:
