The Meriam Library is dedicated to assisting students and faculty as we move to an online teaching environment. There are several actions that we have taken to ensure reference and research assistance, as well as Information Literacy instruction can continue to be provided. We are keeping our Continuity of Library Research & Services Guide up to date as well as providing information on the Meriam Library Website.
Reference and Research Assistance
Online real-time reference and research via chat:
- Librarians from the Meriam Library are logged into our virtual chat service Monday through Thursday from 10-5, and Friday 10-2. (starting Monday, March 23, 2020)
- Outside of these hours, our 24/7 chat reference service is staffed by librarians in cooperation with 100s of universities to provide reference and research help all day, every day.
Scheduled Zoom appointments
Subject librarians are able to meet with students one-on-one via Zoom. Students can schedule appointment two ways:
- Through scheduling an online appointment with a librarian.
- By emailing their subject librarian
Information Literacy Instruction:
Librarians are able to provide synchronous Information Literacy Instruction and we are working videos to assist students in the research process. To request an instruction session, please complete the instruction form and we will contact you.
Library Resources
A majority of library resources are available online. Our main search database, OneSearch, provides access to millions of articles. Students have full access to all of our ebooks and electronic journals. Our subject specific databases assist students by focusing on a specific discipline or subject area. Please direct your students to these resources for their research:
- OneSearch: https://libguides.csuchico.edu/OneSearch
Search for articles, books, reserved course material, and more; all in one! Provides access to the majority of the library’s resources from a single entry point. OneSearch including the library's physical items and most of the library’s electronic content.
- Databases A-Z: https://libguides.csuchico.edu/az.php
Search by subject or go to a specific database. Each one provides unique content.
A whole database of ebooks on a variety of topics. Search by subject or keyword to find relevant chapters and books for your research.
- Encyclopedias and Dictionaries: https://library.csuchico.edu/encyclopedias-dictionaries
Search for background information in multiple encyclopedias and dictionaries at one time. Both Gale and Oxford searches provide students with entries from well-established reference sources.
- Newspapers: https://library.csuchico.edu/newspapers
Newspapers provide a way for students to understand what is currently happening and what has happened from reputable sources. Current newspapers include The New York Times, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and Sacramento Bee.
- Dissertations and Theses: Humanities and Social Sciences: https://libguides.csuchico.edu/ProquestTheses
Online scholarly research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, covering more than 1 million dissertations and theses.
Subject, course, and general guides have been created and are available for your students to utilize. Some popular guides are:
- Empirical Research https://libguides.csuchico.edu/empirical
- DataSets and Statistics https://libguides.csuchico.edu/datasets_statistics
- OneCard partnership with Butte County Library https://libguides.csuchico.edu/OneCard
- What is a Scholarly Article and How Do I Find One? https://libguides.csuchico.edu/scholarly
As we work through the next few months, please reach out to us to see if there are other ways that we can partner with you and your students. We would like to ensure that we are doing what we can to help students with their research and develop their Information Literacy skills.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your subject librarian or jrshepherd@csuchico.edu.