While Librarians and Library Workers recommend research resources and provide access for students daily, we wanted to get inside the heads of your fellow Reedies and see how they use the library and collection. In honor of a brand new semester, read further to discover our Reference Desk Assistant’s favorite resources available at Reed Library!
*Reference Desk Assistants are Reedies that work the Reference Desk during nights and weekends!
Libkey has been a useful resource during my time at Reed. Libkey is an extension that can be accessed through the library website that allows you to access articles directly in PDF format from any journal page as well as allows you to see how you can access an article if not accessible in PDF format. This has made it so that, especially in my major for biology, easy access to articles and can compile and sort easily when you are reading multiple articles at once. You would find this resource useful if you are a current student, not just a major in biology but if you end up reading any articles for any class Libkey would be useful. –Kenta Tsukamoto, ℅ 26’
I think that one of the coolest things that we have here at Reed is the Reed Digital Collections. It’s great to go visit Special Collections or the Visual Resources Center in person, but there’s a lot of resources you can access anytime just through rdc.reed.edu. There are a lot of Reed theses that are fully digitized and available there, and they can be just as useful for research and inspiration as any other article or paper, and it feels wonderful to build off of other Reedies’ work like that. You can also see some really gorgeous art theses in the Studio Art Theses Show collection. The ‘Art & Architecture’ section can also be really useful for class projects and citations. I also love to explore the Reed College Archives section. You can find some really fascinating bits of Reed history in there: I like reading through the “Gallimaufry,” a Reed event calendar from the 60s and 70s. You can also find old architectural plans or maps of Reed, a poster for the First Renn Fayre (“provide appropriate costumes and thingies to sell”), archives of the Quest going back to the 1910s, and an entire collection dedicated to the canyon. – Willow Pickett, ℅ 26’
The most useful library resource I’ve utilized as a Reed student is checking out equipment from the VRC. Before coming to Reed, I was interested in photography but couldn’t afford a fancy camera; being able to borrow one from the VRC made it possible for me to get into photography, which I really enjoy. In addition to photography, if you’re looking for videography or audio recording equipment, you’re in luck! The VRC cameras work great for taking high-quality videos, and they also have tripods, shotgun mics, and lapel mics. They even have visual art supplies, such as drawing light pads and various 3D figure drawing models. Beyond equipment, everyone who works there is very friendly, and they’re flexible with due dates if you want to check out something over the weekend, which is incredibly helpful. So if you want to take photos or videos of an event, need a microphone for a class project, or are looking for figure drawing supplies, go check out the VRC; they’re awesome! –Ray Perry, ℅ 27’
The most useful resource I have used as a student at Reed, and as a reference desk assistant, are the research guides provided by the librarians. There are multiple subjects that contain links to where you can find articles related to the subject. The research guides take into consideration classes that students might need research for specifically and they are easy to find, since they are under the subject the class falls under. They also have guides that are not a specific subject, but are more technical. For example, they have one that is for copyright and open access as well as for different databases that are not necessarily online that might help a student further their research. When I had to research something for a class, I normally went to the guides and played around with different databases the librarians suggested. In my Junior Seminar class, I relied heavily on these guides and the databases provided to find articles related to my project. As a student who is not used to researching, searching the internet for sources can be both overwhelming and unreliable. These guides make sure that a student doesn’t feel like there’s too much to choose from while also providing databases that usually only have peer reviewed articles, or at least the choice to filter it so that those are the only results. I hope more students use them for research!- Veronica Sanudo Diaz, ℅ 26’
One of my favorite resources is the vast amount of equipment students can access at the PARC. First, you can borrow equipment that would otherwise be a serious investment. From portable MIDI keyboards to audio recorders, the PARC is such a great resource for anyone looking to dive into audio production at home. There’s a recording studio that students can book for use that provides the perfect space for not only recording sound but also mixing and mastering sound. Other computers at the PARC are hooked up to large MIDI keyboards and all have headphones right at the desk, so it’s super convenient to work on anything audio related, or even to just watch a DVD! The student workers at the PARC are super friendly. Special shoutout to Joe Janiga, our performing arts instructional technologist. I was a complete beginner who had no idea how to use any of the equipment in the PARC recording studio, and through my class, Intro to Electronic Music, we booked individual meetings with Joe where he went over each piece of equipment in the room and how to use them. That gave me a lot of confidence in approaching more ‘professional’ looking audio engineering! Anyone eyeing audio engineering or music production should start at the PARC.–Anonymous
If you have any questions or want to chat more with our Reference Desk Assistants about their favorite library resources, please contact us at library@reed.edu or visit the Reference Desk. The desk is located right through the double doors past the circulation desk with the “Ask Us!” neon sign in the window.
Stay tuned for more Reference Assistant Library Recommendations later in the semester!