Research Frontiers Series

A new monthly series on a variety of hot topics. All sessions will be held in Rm. 531, Scott Library (proceed to the fifth floor, turn left).

NOTE: Please email to confirm attendance.

Using Blogs for Research

Presenters: Mark Robertson & Kalina Grewal
When: Monday October 30, 2:00-3:30pm

Blogs are ubiquitous these days. There are food blogs, travel blogs, news blogs, tech blogs. But what use are they in the academic setting? And if they are of use, how do you get the most out of them? This session will discuss tools and strategies for identifying and using blog content effectively in your academic work.

Wikipedia & Scholarly Research

Presenter: Lisa Sloniowski
When: Tuesday November 28, 11:00-12:30pm

This session will explore advantages and disadvantages inherent in using the increasingly popular Wikipedia for research. We will discuss what Wikipedia is, how entries are created, and the debate surrounding accuracy, currency and scope of information found within it. Participants will also be exposed to other online reference tools offered by York Libraries which may assist them in their research.

Early British Parliamentary Papers

Presenter: Amanda Wakaruk
When: Wednesday January 31, 10:00-11:30am

Our library collections include British primary resources dating back to the early 1700s. This workshop will explore documentation that tracks the evolution of one of the most important and influential Imperial powers of recent history. You might be surprised by who we will meet along the way -- contributions by Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, John Stuart Mill and insights into the influence and lives of Mark Twain, William Morris, Joseph Conrad, Oscar Wilde (and others!) can be found in the records of the British government.

Google Unleashed

Presenter: Adam Taves
When: Monday February 26, 1:00-2:30pm

Did you know that there are many specialized tools and advanced features built into Google that can make your searching more effective? This session will explore the advanced features of Google Search as well as some specialized tools such as Book Search and Google Maps. We will also discuss the merits and limitations of Google Scholar, in addition to looking at easy ways to link into York Libraries' online holdings from items found in Google Scholar.

Unique Music Collections for Future Research

Presenter: Rob van der Bliek
When: Thursday March 29, 2:30-4:00pm

University library music collections have for the most part been developed to provide curricular support, which often has meant a collection based primarily on standard repertoire classical music and to some extent jazz. With the advent of online subscriptions like Naxos and Classical Music Library, however, collections will be used more for their unique material, much of which will not be available online. This session will highlight selected unique areas of the sound recordings collection at York, discussing why they were developed and how they may be useful for future researchers.