Hidden Resource Gems at CMU: Library Edition
By Marissa Pekular
Have you ever discovered a helpful resource well into your college career that you wish you would have known about sooner? Like finding out that the library has a technology lending service where students can sign out chargers of any kind for the day. Or the fact that the student body has access to an abundance of journal and news subscriptions through their university email.
This series aims to close these knowledge gaps and provide Dietrich College students with a helpful guide to some of the hidden gems available at the university. By the way, you should definitely bookmark this story so you can find it later (wink).
This article outlines key resources within the University Libraries that can greatly assist every student throughout their academic career.
Liaison Librarians
Whether it’s for a small project or for a senior thesis, Carnegie Mellon students often participate in research. The University Libraries offers librarian liaisons as a resource to all students and even faculty and staff who need help finding sources, managing citations, conceptualizing their projects or navigating different research methods. Reach out to the librarian for your discipline to make an appointment for an expert consultation.
Library Workshop Series
Throughout the year, the University Libraries host various workshops to help students navigate and learn about subjects such as data management, coding, organizing citations, research training and much more. These workshops range from introductory to advanced and are designed to help students address a variety of interests or projects.
Research Data Services
Explore research data services
The University Libraries also offer research data services, a team of specialists in data support. The service offers support, training and consultations for students navigating data-oriented aspects of research. For example, Data and Code Support provides students with an opportunity to consult with library experts in data management, text and data mining, data visualization and humanities analytics.
University Archives
The University Libraries is also home to the university archives, which stores over 100 years of CMU history, including everything from old club posters to robotics projects. Students can explore the knowledge and life of past graduates while informing their own research interests.
Culture, Community and Special Collections
The University Libraries maintain special collections that contain various pieces of rare, historic material that are rotated through displays on campus throughout the year. The collection explores the history of science, cryptology and computing, early Shakespeare editions and graphic arts and fine printing.
University Libraries is hosting “Inventing Shakespeare: Text, Technology and the Four Folios” in the Hunt Library Gallery through May 16, 2024. In addition, special collections is showcasing rare copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio through March 10, 2024, at The Frick Pittsburgh. This October and November, University Libraries will host “Violins of Hope,” an exhibit showcasing violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust in the Posner Center. The exhibit aims to connect the arts, religious institutions, education professionals and the greater community under the notion of “building bridges that last.”