Module: Study Skills Academic Year: 2021/2022

Level: 2nd year LMD students Dr: Badjadi Nour El Imane

Lecture N 03: Using the Library

1. Why Is The Library Important?

Given that for many students the purchase of all of the books needed for the course is an unobtainable luxury, to be able to
use a library and its associated systems is an essential objective to have in mind. Traditionally the university library has
been the first port of call for searching out academic literature. If you were able to attend a university open day, it’s almost
certain that you were shown the university library and were able to gaze at floors of books that students could read at
nearby desks. However, this is now only a small part of the services that libraries provide. For a number of reasons this is
changing, most notable amongst them being the rise in the availability of academic resources, in particular, academic
journals, through the medium of the internet. Libraries are still, and are likely to remain, the focus of much searching,
reading, studying, photocopying and, of course, lending. Many of the books you will need to consult will only be
available in the library. Many university libraries refer to themselves as part of the university’s learning information
services because they see themselves as enabling access to information of any sort. That information still includes books,
but also includes journals, videos/DVDs and, very importantly, access to electronic resources1.

The Importance of Academic Libraries

Academic libraries are those libraries attached to institutions of higher learning of the status of a tertiary institution. In
other words, academic libraries are found in post-secondary institutions such as Universities. Academic they are primarily
established to provide literature support to the programs offered by their institution, to aid lecturers, students and
researchers in teaching, learning, research and recreation purposes. For instance, if a tertiary institution is offering Degree,
Diploma and Certificate courses, its library is expected to provide educational, research and information materials in the
relevant subjects to suit each level of the institution’s academic programs.
Libraries also provide facilities to access subscription databases and the Internet. Academic libraries differ from each
other in many respects but they all have the same basic function, which is to aid the institution in carrying out its
objectives in the areas of teaching, research and community development. The library contributes to the realization of
these objectives and supports the total program by acquiring and making available the books, materials, services that are
needed.

2. The Role of the library staff

Library staff stack the shelves and staff the checkout, scanning items for you. Certainly, those are two of their jobs, but
library staff are actually highly skilled, with the typical librarian having a first degree and a relevant masters degree. Just
like the academic staff, librarians enjoy helping students learn; in their case by helping students to access information.
That can mean helping students to find relevant books, order inter-library loans or use subject-specific databases.

3. Catalogs and indexes

Library catalogues are databases designed to help users efficiently locate a specific item among an expansive library
stock. The days of well-thumbed card indexes have gone and all but the smallest of libraries now have some form of
online catalogue. Often named OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue, see figure 1), the catalogue, or rather the range of
catalogues associated with each library will be accessible via dedicated computers actually in the library building.
Access to the library catalogue requires that you have basic skills in computer use. You will need to be able to make a
search of the system at the very least. If you are familiar with techniques for searching an electronic resource, the internet
for example, or any sort of database, you will understand such terms as ‘key word’. If you have no experience of
searching in this manner you may well need to use the guidance given onscreen, which will give you all that you need to
get started.

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Freeman, R., & Stone, A. (2006). Study skills for psychology: succeeding in your degree. SAGE.
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 Figure 1: OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue)
In essence what you will do is ask the catalogue a series of simple questions. For example, ‘Find all of the books in the
catalogue written by A. J. P. Taylor’. This would be an example of an ‘Author’ search. Similarly it is possible to carry out
a ‘Title’ search. If you do not know the full or correct title it is possible to search for titles which include certain words, or
to carry out simple ‘key word’ searches. If you know that there is a book covering the topic of functional programming
languages but the full title escapes you then a title key word search for titles including the words ‘functional’,
‘programming’ and ‘languages’ may well be all that you need to track it down. You may need to do a little detective
work, or even lateral thinking. You may think that you remember the title fairly accurately, but sometimes this is not the
case and you should try variations on the theme.
An index is the serial number assigned to a particular book in the library catalog, as illustrated in Figure 2. For example,
the book entitled ‘A Workbook for Basic English Composition’ is indexed as 420/794.

Figure 2. A list of resources indexed in a library catalog

Probably the best way to learn how to use the system efficiently is to practise with it. If you have a particular need, the
way to meet it, in terms of finding the resource in the library that you need, is to set aside a little time to experiment with
the catalogue facilities and, sometimes by trial and error, come to a better understanding of how it all works. If this is
combined with input from library staff, or perhaps fellow students, there is no reason why you should not become well
versed in the use of the catalogue and able to track down whatever you are looking for2.

2
Pritchard, A. (2008). Studying and learning at university: vital skills for success in your degree. Sage.
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4. How to Use Library Resources
There are different types of library resources and these mainly include: books and journals.
- BOOKS
A book can be described as a collection of printed sheets bound together between covers. Books can come in different
shapes and sizes. Books stimulate interest and satisfy the basic needs for information. In spite of the advent of Information
technology books have remained indispensable in learning process. Books are therefore essential to learning; however,
you must know how to make use of them in order to aid your learning. It important to know the different parts of a book
and the type of information you can obtain from them, in order to use them effectively.
Parts of a Book
The Cover –The cover of a book is the outer part of a book. Cover means to put something over or upon, as to protect
conceal or enclose. Hence the cover of a book holds the leaves of the book together to protect the book as well as making
it easy to handle. The cover usually carries the title and the author of a book.
Spine- is the back part of the book and it faces outward when you shelf the book right. The spine is the binding edge of a
book, and it carries the book title, author’s name, publisher’ name and sometimes the logo of the publisher.
Half-Title Page – This page introduce the book, it may carries only the title of the book or at time both the title and the
author’s name.
Title Page- This page usually containing the title of the book the name(s) of the author and publisher. The Title page
gives you full information about the book. It tells you the who, when, and where of a book i.e. the name of the publisher,
the place of publication and the year of the publication. It also shows us whether the book is published under series
agreement or not Copyright Page - This is usually at the back of the title page. Here the copyright date is found. This page
gives you information about the ownership, impress andreprints.
Dedication Page - it is the place where the author dedicates the book to someone.
Table of Contents -This is where a list of the book contents, arranged by chapter, section, subsection, Etc. can be found.
This tells you about the topics in the book. The table of contents in a book will help you to find the names of the chapters
of the book and the page number where each chapter begins. Each chapter of the book will have a name and usually has a
chapter number.
Forward/Preface - An introduction by someone other than the author and it is usually a famous person.
Glossary -A list of difficult words used in the text with their meanings usually arranged in alphabetical order and printed
at the back of the book.
Bibliography- A list of books, articles used or referred by the author at the end of the book.
Index- is a very useful part of a book; it tells you where to find the topics in an informational book. It a list of names and
subjects arranged in alphabetical order at the end of the book. The index tells you the names of the topics in the book and
lists the pages where that topic is discussed. Knowing how to use the index can save you lots of time and can be very
helpful.
Types of Books:
Dictionaries - Dictionaries are books that list all the words in a language or subject and give their meanings.
The words are organized in alphabetical order. It also gives information such as spellings, pronunciations, usage and
origin of such words. Examples of language dictionaries are Oxford English Dictionary and Advanced Learner
Dictionary,
Encyclopedias- these are books containing comprehensive knowledge on various branches of disciplines.
There are two major types of encyclopedia; general and subject encyclopedia, they can come in single volume or in
multiple volumes. Example of these is encyclopedia of Psycholinguistics.
Handbooks- This serve as a guide to users in any subject, they give quick and brief information on a particular subject
area. Examples of handbooks are Handbook of Applied Linguistics and The Study Skills Handbook.
Biographies- These contain information about important people in the society. It gives information about their birth,
education and achievements. It can be restricted to geographical location or group.
Manuals: These are books that give instruction on particular areas. They answer questions on how can I do this?
Examples are: Practical Faster Reading: A course in reading and vocabulary and Test your English Idioms.
- JOURNALS
Journals are essential resources for conducting academic research. They are published periodically, ranging in frequency
from monthly to quarterly or even only twice in a year. The key differences between magazines and journals are that
journals are written for and by experts in their chosen field and that they focus on a particular research interest while
magazines are sources of information on nearly any topic, they are written with the average reader in mind and do not

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include the depth of coverage that an academic researcher would need. Journals are published in every academic
discipline and are used as a means for scholars and researchers to share their research and discoveries with others who are
also experts in their discipline. Journals contains the most current and vital information on various disciples. They usually
contain results of researches which may never be found in other form of publications. Parts of a Journal Article:

– A very information of what the article is about.

- Major terms used in the article

(optional)

– The major findings of the study and recommendation.

– bibliographical information: records of scholarly works used in the study.
5. Library Use Study Skills
Study skills are a formalized learning process or a procedure of study. They are abilities or approaches applied to learning.
These are developed in order to improve a learner’s capacity to learn. Study skills are therefore efficient ways of using your
time and mind and with good study skills you will not only learn more thoroughly but you will be less dependent on your
teacher. Above all you need to plan your time.
Literature abounds on study skills but one effective method that can be used by students to keep them on track is the called
PQRST method. PQRST is an acronym for Preview, Question, Read, Summary, and Test.
Preview: This is the art of reading, in which you allow your eyes to travel rapidly over the pages of a book. It allows the student
to look at the topic to be learned by glancing over the major headings or the points in the syllabus.
Question: As you read along you try to ask questions in your mind and also formulate some tentative approaches that you will
use to answer the questions.
Read: Reading is the art of reconstructing from the printed page, the writer’s ideas, feeling, mood and sensory impression. At
this point you should be able to bring out meaningful points from your reading and you should be able to choose the
information that best relates to the questions. Also, when you read, be sure to read everything, including tables, graphs and
illustrations. Often time’s tables, graphs and illustrations can convey an idea more powerfully than written text .It may be
important for you here to take down note for the following reasons:

However, make sure you note and write down the bibliographical details of the book. Also your note should be brief and at the
same time be full enough to still make sense in six months. Summary: A summary is abrief recollection of your reading. Here
you summarize the topic, and bring your own ways of summarizing information into the process and these include written
notes, memorizing, and diagrams.
Test: This mean you have to test yourself whether you comprehend and understand your reading. You try and answer the
questions created in your mind as fully as possible,
The study skills presented here depend on one thing, and that is your willingness to WANT to improve and do well in school. If
you really don't want to make the effort and sacrifice, no amount of suggestions, ideas, or outlines can help much. You are
responsible for your action, and effective study skills can help you be a better student. To that end, one last word of advice --
work hard and smart
6. Referencing
Making reference to any publication is very important in academic setting, either writing assignment or an article, it is
proper to make reference to any publication cited in the body of the text. So, make sure to take referencing notes for each
source you use. The most recognized format is the APA format. Example:
Adeyika, F. A. (2012) Librarianship in perspective: an handbook on the use of library. Abeokuta, Longman.
1. Author’s name with initials
2. Year of Publication
3. Title of the book
4. Place of Publication
5. Publisher’s name
6. Page(s) where such text is found 3

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Use of library: http://unaab.edu.ng/funaab-ocw/opencourseware/
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