Lorena McDowell, Director of the Fraser Public Library in Fraser, MI, shared with me an interaction that she had with a student recently where the use of MeL eResources was an essential part of assisting her patron.
An eighth grade student from a local school was assigned a “Passion Project” by her English teacher. A “passion project”, for those that aren’t familiar, is the concept of students intentionally spending time researching their passions and sharing their insights. This type of assignment helps to develop research skills, helps the student practice non-fiction writing, and includes the student creating a bibliography. The project may also include some type of multimedia component as well. What a great idea!
The student decided that she wanted to find out more about theater in the Western world. The student worked with Lorena to find books on her subject, which she was able to do, but it was just basic information. The student needed more detail. MeL eResources to the rescue! Lorena asked the student if she had tried any of the library’s databases, and the answer was no. Lorena suggested Academic Search Complete. She explained that the database might have more detailed information and that the resources were authoritative. To Lorena’s delight, the student had learned about authoritative sources at her school library (where coincidently her school district still has school media specialists that started the student on her research path). She walked the student through getting online, and they put in the term “theater”, which was too broad and provided way too many articles/resources. They narrowed it down to “history of theater”, did some more refining, and found some great resources! One stop shopping!
The student was able to complete her assignment and came back to the Fraser Public Library to let Lorena know that she received an A+ (100%) on her project. The teacher said that she had the best project by far and she had an extensive bibliography because she was able to get access to so many resources through the Academic Search Complete database.
“Being a Librarian is one of the best jobs you can have when you are able to help a patron by connecting them with the right resources,” said Lorena. We should all have such a passion for learning and helping our patrons!
Brought to you by Tammy Turgeon, Director, Suburban Library Cooperative and Sterling Heights Public Library, this week's Guest Author of the MeL Minute.
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