Our self-guided tutorials cover a variety of useful research skills. These tutorials are available in a variety of formats. Some are videos and some are web pages (interactive and static). Many have been produced by other libraries.

You’ll find great topics such as:

Research Basics                    

●     Choosing a Good Topic

●     Citing Sources

●     Understanding Call Numbers

 Understanding Sources                     

●     Evaluating Sources for Credibility

●     Anatomy of a Scholarly Article

●     What Are Primary Sources?

 Finding Resources                 

●     Where to Search

●     Searching for Articles

●     Searching for Databases

●     Using the Everything Search

●     Find Primary Sources

And browse the full list here: https://library.umbc.edu/tutorials/index.php

This semester we have NINE students enrolled in the zero credit 096 Practicum course through the Shriver Center, with their service site being Retriever Essentials!!

Yesterday was a busy day! No amount of rain deterred the cheer the students had while collecting donations throughout campus.

A big thank you to all of our supporters! Your donations keep us running. Right now we are still in need of the following items:

• pasta sauce

• brown rice

• canned beans

• canned meat
• canvas bags (need to be big enough to fit a packed brown paper bag inside)

• toothpaste and mouthwash

• deodorant

• chapstick

The Clothesline Project display on  Wednesday, October 3, 2018 from 10 AM- 4 pm in Commons Main Street.  

The Clothesline Project is a program that started back in 1990 and has been established “to address the issue of violence against women. It is a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt.” Here at UMBC we do this project twice a year – in October for Relationship Violence Awareness Month and in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Survivors of sexual violence are welcome to decorate a shirt with their feelings and message. Then the shirts are anonymously hanged on a clothesline display, shoulder to shoulder in Commons Main Street “to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against [anyone].”

For the past three years that I have been part of UMBC community I have seen this project and its strong impact on the community. This is a great chance for anyone who has experienced violence to share their stories in a safe setting, and also practice self-care. Making these shirts is an act of therapy in its own way. Last semester for the first time, I made my own shirt. I shared my story with many people without putting my name out there. I was able to take a story out of my chest and feel so much lighter immediately.

As a student staff member at the Women’s Center and a Resident Assistant, I had the privilege of being involved with this project more closely. Last semester with the help of the Women’s Center and some of my Resident Assistant co-workers, we were able to hold another t-shirt-making event in the residential area. This event has happened before in the residential halls, but seeing the work in person was such a powerful experience. Seeing people coming in, making shirts, and sharing their stories shows how they trust us, which challenges us to provide the best support we can as Resident Assistants and Women’s Center community members.

I personally believe having this project on campus is a great opportunity for our UMBC community members to express their feelings about their experiences with sexual and gender-based violence.

Shirts and supplies will be available throughout the month of October for any survivors who wish to create a shirt that tells their own story. Shirt-making for the Clothesline Project is also available year-round in the Women’s Center.