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BC Libraries Core Skills Videos

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Getting Started

These library tutorial videos provide a basic set of skills to get you started on research in BC Libraries.

These videos are a great place to start learning the skills, concepts, and strategies that will help you work with sources in your research projects. As you get deeper into your projects and advance in your field of study, librarians are always ready to take you a step further with one on one teaching or a class arranged by your instructor. Faculty members, feel free to embed these videos in your course websites. If you need assistance, please email us.

Introduction to BC Libraries (1:51)

A quick overview of services, spaces, and resources available to you. Find more details in Introduction to BC Libraries:Getting Started.

Introduction to the BC Libraries Website (6:06)

Learn the three access points to library services & resources that will help you both speed up & deepen the research process: 1. library search, 2. get help, and 3. research guides.

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Finding Books and Other Items in the Catalog (3:20)

The library catalog is the place to begin if you are looking for books, journal articles, cds, dvds, and other research materials. This video focuses on how to find books in the library system. For more detail, see Catalog Help.

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Finding Articles with Databases (5:19)

Find out how databases can make your academic research more productive and efficient. Learn about choosing a database, limiting your results in useful ways, and locating articles.

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Advanced Search Techniques (3:37)

The “advanced search” option in most search tools gives you multiple ways of controlling what results you’ll get before you even hit the “search” button. This video will focus on ways of narrowing or expanding your search results in the library catalog. These techniques also work in most databases.

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Primary and Secondary Source Materials (5:24)

This video will focus on the distinction between primary and secondary sources. It will also give you a glimpse of the variety of primary source material available here on campus.

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No Results/Not Found: Getting Materials not at BC Libraries (6:19)

BC Libraries has over 3 million items, but we don't have everything. Find out what to do when your search results don't get you the materials you need.

Focusing Your Research (3:36)

Learn how to develop and focus your research project by exploring course readings, library resources, and the Internet.

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Citation 1: Why Cite (5:12)

Learn multiple purposes of citing sources, and why citation is so important to scholars. The next part is Citation 2: How to Cite.

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Citation 2: How to Cite (6:07)

Learn the basic information needed in any citation, and the main purposes and forms that most citations take. The first part is Citation 1: Why Cite.

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Citation Management (4:47)

This video will explain why it’s a good idea to use a citation management tool, and introduce you to the basic functions of Zotero. For links to style guides and more, see our Citation Guide.

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Evaluating Internet Resources (4:08)

This video will help you determine how credible a website or page is by asking questions about its authorship, purpose, and timeliness.

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Many of these videos were created by BC Libraries with the generous help of an Academic Technology Innovation Grant from the Academic Technology Advisory Board, and screenwriting and production work by Brian Zimmerman of the First-year Writing Program. The "Introduction to BC Libraries Video" was directed, acted, and edited primarily by BC students, and Je-Kori Salmon.