Students who feel lost or unsure of how to use the Karrmann Library for research are being offered opportunities to become more efficient in using the library’s resources.

The Karrmann Library staff is offering five DROP IN orientation sessions throughout October. The 52-minute sessions are available to the first 200 students. The sessions are directed toward first year or new students but are available to anyone on campus.

“Our resources change on a frequent basis as database vendors reconfigure their products, so a familiar product or database may look and function on a completely different plan,” said John-Leonard Berg, coordinator of public services for Karrmann Library.

Berg is preparing and teaching the DROP IN sessions. He says that the sessions were first offered in the spring of 2008.

Due to a smaller library staff, the DROP IN sessions allow the staff to meet student research needs.

“Information offered focuses on basic library skills. Different skills like searching the catalog, requesting books via Universal Borrowing, selecting and searching in article databases and placing an ILLiad [interlibrary loan] request,” Berg said.

Berg said that by having different days for the sessions, the number of students attending varies. Some students attend a couple of times, while others only needed to refresh their library research skills.

Melanie Nelson, sophomore criminal justice major, attended a session during her first year, and went back again to brush up on her skills.

“Knowing where and how to use the variety of sources offered are very crucial when writing research papers, especially the night before they are due,” Nelson said.

The sessions are held in the Lundeen Lecture Hall of Doudna Hall. The last two sessions this month are Friday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.-noon and 1-2 p.m.