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Two students chatting in communal area of the Waurn Ponds library

27 October 2023

Follow these five tips to familiarise yourself with the library for Trimester 3 2023

No matter what or where you study, the library will be a key part of your success at Deakin. While our libraries are some of the busiest buildings on campus, we also offer a huge range of helpful advice, information and personalised support online.

If you’re in your first trimester at Deakin, or if you’ve been here for a while but still aren’t sure what we offer, here are five tips to get you started on making the most of your library.

1. Live chat with expert library staff

Library Chat is a favourite of Deakin students and staff all over the world. By clicking on the chat icon on the library website, you can get in touch with a library staff member instantly. Get help finding your recommended reading, ask for guidance on resources or discuss any number of library-related enquiries – right from your desktop or smartphone.

The yellow Library chat pop up

2. Browse recommended resources for your subject area

A great place to get started with research is your recommended Library Resource Guides, which you can find right underneath the Library Search bar. These guides offer tips, links and helpful resources, all compiled by Scholarly Services Librarians that specialise in your area of study. 

You can also check out the Study and research guides, which will help you improve your digital literacy, understand your copyright obligations, learn about peer review and much more.

3. Meet your librarian

Your Scholarly Services Librarian will be an important partner in your study at Deakin. They specialise in certain faculties and schools, which gives them key insight into the resources and support you need. Librarians will often present a session in your unit early on in the trimester, so make sure you look out for that class and don’t miss it!

You can find and contact your librarian anytime.

4. Develop your study skills

The library’s Skills for study webpage is brimming with useful resources, video tutorials, search planners, guides on a huge range of topics and much more. It’s the perfect place to explore as a new student.

5. Find what you need with Library Search

One of the best tools on our website is right at the top of the library homepage. Library Search is powerful, easy to use and designed to help you find what you’re looking for. There are a few tips to make it work best for you!

Search by title: Type the title in the search bar and click the magnifying glass to find a specific book (tip: add the author’s surname if the title is a common word or phrase).

The library home page search bar

Search by topic: Type a word or phrase (using double quotes “” to keep more than one word together) and click the magnifying glass to search a huge range of books, journals, videos, databases and other resources in our collection.

The library home page search bar with 'Indigenous thinking' in double quotation marks.

Search for your reading list: Figuring out which resources from your reading list are in the library could not be simpler! Just click the ‘Unit Readings’ button under the search bar and type in the name of your unit or your unit code.

The links at the bottom of the library home page including the 'Access unit readings' link

For other library search tips, check out this blog.

Looking for more information?

If you want to learn more about how to make the most of your access to Deakin Library resources and facilities, check out our online Orientation session on Wednesday 1 November from 23pm. 

You can also take an on-demand guided tour of your campus library from 10am-2pm each day during OWeek.

Keep an eye on our What’s On webpage to find upcoming training sessions, workshops and events. Happy studying!

Originally published on Article, the Deakin Library blog.



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