Peer Reference Assistants Training Guide

Has a full-time employee of Penfield Library given you a tour of the building yet?  If not, ask your supervisor if someone can show you around!

As you walk through the building, think about:

• How are materials on the shelves organized?  Are you looking at a collection of things in a particular format?  Are you looking at books that have something in common beyond the fact that they're books?
   
• What technology do you see?  What kind of projects / tasks can you imagine someone using that technology to complete?  How would you learn to use that technology, if you don't already know?
   
• What kind of meeting / study spaces do you see?  Do you come across any spaces that have a very specific purpose?  Do you have to do anything in order to get access to a particular space (reserve it, check out its key, etc.)?
   
• Do you see anything confusing or intimidating?  Ask about it!  You won't be the only one who has questions.

The Site Index for the library website will be a helpful resource for many questions you receive at the Research Help Desk. It contains links to policies, services, and forms. If you don't know where to find something, start there: https://ww1.oswego.edu/library/site-index 

You can also access it through the Library website homepage, at the bottom of the Quick Links section:

To use the site index, either browse the list or simply type in a keyword in the search box for what you're looking for and hit enter (or click on the magnifying glass next to the box). Voila! A list of options will appear for you to choose from. It also doesn't hurt if you're at least a little familiar with the scope and variety of webpages on the library site, so take a few minutes to scroll through the complete list on that main site index page.

Please get comfortable using the Site Index. It will serve you well and make your job easier. Really!

There are paper maps of Penfield Library at the Research Help Desk.  

For a reminder of what you can find on the various floors of the library, take a look at our Resources By Floor webpage.

There are many rooms available in Penfield Library for both individual and group study. Conference rooms, group study rooms, and day- and semester-long individual study carrels are all available for student, faculty, and staff use. There are also spaces for multimedia creation.

See the "Important Policies" box below for links where you can learn about which spaces are reservable (and how that works).