In my last post, I wrote that I was learning with each session at my internship just how valuable library services, and research guides in particular, are to students like myself. Now, as Duquesne prepares to take the leap into fully online classes, I realize that just two weeks ago I could never have imagined the extent to which these tools might be necessary.
Preventative decisions from Duquesne leadership have secured the transition of all Duquesne classes to full online capability in the interest of slowing further spread of COVID-19. Although the Gumberg Library will remain open with limited hours, students who will be working from home will no longer have the option of relying on print materials at Gumberg Library. Students can browse research guides that Gumberg’s librarians have cultivated and categorized by topic here.
Other important online research tools include ebooks and other electronic materials available through the online catalog, ILLiad, databases, online journals, and much more.
Gumberg Library research guides feature popular areas of study and aim to connect students directly to the resources they need to conduct good research. The guides are designed to be used by the novice researcher and are very streamlined to enhance accessibility. I anticipate that during this time of uncertainty and newness within the university sphere, these guides will prove crucially useful to Duquesne’s students in a capacity that they haven’t been before. My internship supervisor, Mr. Ted Bergfelt, who has created guides for specific courses in the past, will also be creating research guides to support the Duquesne Rome campus courses that will be transitioned to online courses following the Rome campus students’ return to America.
Meanwhile, I’ll be continuing remote work on a new research guide, which will feature a myriad of women philosophers. The nature of my work is online, which should translate well into a remote internship. I’ll also remain in contact with Dr. Wright and Mr. Bergfelt as we navigate this new reality.
Building Bridges 