National Library of Australia - Gateways

ISSN ISSN 1443-0568 | no. 66 | December 2003


Electronic Resource Tutorial Sessions Update

Julie Ward (right), Electronic Resources, offers assistance in a tutorial session
Julie Ward (right), Electronic Resources, offers assistance
in a tutorial session

The National Library of Australia provides electronic resource, more commonly called e-resource, tutorial sessions to educate library users on how to search online indexes and databases. The sessions are provided free of charge and feature a different electronic index or database each month. The e-resource tutorial sessions, which began in August 2001, are presented by staff of the Electronic Resources team in Information Services, Jacki Keys and Julie Ward.

The purpose of the e-resource tutorials is to increase access to the growing number of indexes and databases that the National Library has acquired. These electronic indexes and databases are either subscription products or products freely available on the Internet. The electronic indexes and databases cover a wide variety of subject areas such as the arts, biography, business, computers, genealogy, health, literature, music, religion, science, and statistics. A complete list of indexes and databases provided by the National Library is available at <www.nla.gov.au/pathways/jnls/newsite/>.

Originally the tutorials were held in the Library’s Main Reading Room but this was not an ideal teaching environment so they are now held in a small well-equipped training room. Six computers are provided for hands-on training which can be controlled from the instructor’s computer, a handy feature for demonstration and training purposes. Many participants have commented that they like the smaller class sizes and more personalised teaching environment.

One electronic index or database is usually featured per session but occasionally two or more resources are examined depending on the topic covered. For example, a number of indexes and databases were featured for the ‘Genealogy on the Internet’ sessions held recently. The Electronic Resources Team select popular or newly acquired indexes and databases to feature in the sessions. Indexes and databases that contain Australian material or have full-text information are also chosen. Most of the databases featured since the program began have been subscription products. Some of the indexes and databases covered during 2003 were the Literature Resource Center, Australian Occupational Health and Safety File, ABIX, CLIB 2001, Sage Online, Biological and Agricultural Index and Australia Dancing. The electronic resource selected for the current month is advertised on the e-Resource Training web page at <www.nla.gov.au/pathways/feature.html>.

The tutorials are aimed at educating library users to become familiar with the search interface and functionality of individual online indexes and databases. The Electronic Resources Librarian, Julie Ward, prepares the tutorial exercises using examples that highlight particular features of the database. The exercises from past tutorial sessions are published on the library’s website at <www.nla.gov.au/pathways/trainguides.html>.

During the training sessions participants are given a number of handouts which comprise a cover sheet explaining how to access the database from the National Library’s homepage, the tutorial exercises, database notes and the National Library’s ‘Code for Use of Electronic Resources’. The electronic resource vendors or publishers have been very supportive in providing promotional material, manuals and extra user logins for the training sessions.

The sessions are usually one hour in duration and time is allowed for participants to perform their own searches. Participants are also encouraged to ask questions in a friendly non-threatening environment. When there are a large number of library users interested in a particular index or database extra tutorial sessions are scheduled. In this case the Electronic Resources Team enlist the help of other staff members in Information Services to present the sessions. At the end of the tutorial session participants are asked to complete a feedback form as a means of ascertaining whether we are meeting their needs and to find out how we can improve future sessions. So far feedback from the tutorial sessions has been very positive. Interest in the tutorial sessions has come from a wide cross-section of the community such as consultants, students, teachers, veterinarians, editors, archivists, academics, economists, writers, accountants, engineers, historians, retirees, and other librarians. It has been found that many participants return for subsequent sessions.

As we approach the end of the year the Electronic Resources team look forward to presenting more e-resource tutorial sessions in 2004 and further increasing awareness of, and access to, the electronic resources provided by the National Library of Australia.
—Julie Ward, Electronic Resources

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Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: mbrooks@nla.gov.au