Ask a Librarian Feature

It has finally happened, you absolutely positively need to use the library. Your professor said something about a book written before 1600, you need to know the demographics of Burundi, you have gotten to NC-Live, but don’t know the NC-Live@Home password or perhaps which database you need. So, what do you do? Give up? Forget it, and go to Google and hope for the best? No! Just ask a Librarian.

Believe it or not, the librarians here at the Ethel K. Smith Library are not professional “shushers” and have actually studied to assist with such questions, and often have a hand developing the tools (such as the Online Catalog or the database in NC-Live) you now must use. Librarians got into this business because they really like to help students find information. Indeed, librarians like finding out stuff, period. Its not just a job; its what librarians live for. So please, Ask a Librarian!

So, how, pray tell, does one find a librarian? Well–as one might guess–not everyone who works at a library is a librarian. The librarians on staff at the Ethel K. include, Ms. Marilyn Brown, Ms. Debbie Hargett, Mr. Richard Pipes, Mr. Jimm Wetherbee, and Ms. Greta Wood. You can find one of these individuals at the Reference Desk Sunday through Friday. Because so much library work can be done outside of the library, you can even ask for help without coming to the Reference Desk at all. For instance, you can all the Reference Desk at 704- 233-8097. Yes, the librarians will take your call. They will offer their expert advise, provide you with tips and may encourage you to come over to the library to provide hands-on assistance. Besides the telephone, you can also e- mail questions to refquestions@wingate.edu, use an online form at http://library.wingate.edu/reference/refform.html, or message the Librarian on Duty on Moodle.

The option to message a librarian is brand-new. There are two ways to do this. If you are already on Moodle, click on the envelope icon next to the Ask a Librarian user and enter your message. The message will go to the librarian at the Reference Desk, who will reply. If you are not on Moodle, you can use the click on the Instant Messaging via Moodle link. This link will log you onto Moodle and bring up the messaging window (tip, make user your browser allows popups from mygate.wingate.edu). The Library really does have more wonderful stuff than you (or even the Librarians) can really know until you ask one of them to guide you through its riches. So please, Ask a Librarian!!