O-Week 2011 was all about superheroes. So we thought in true superhero style, our librarians would bust some of the myths that evil villains have spread about us.
Myth 1: libraries are places that only have books
WRONG – yes we still do have books but also have access to thousands of online journals, eBooks, hundreds of bookmarked websites in Online Reference, subject support pages customised to support your area of study, as well as Google Scholar set to search our databases
Myth 2: libraries are yesterday’s heroes
WRONG – libraries embrace technology. We use Twitter and this blog to keep you informed, chat to provide you with real time help, eBooks that can be downloaded to mobile devices, laptops for loan on campus, wireless internet connection, Delicious to bookmark websites, and databases that can be searched on mobile devices.
Myth 3: libraries are places of quiet
WRONG – libraries are vibrant spaces housed in newly renovated learning commons with areas for group study, playing games, reading newspapers, grabbing a bite to eat or getting that much needed caffeine fix from our coffee shops.
Myth 4: librarians are only there to read books and lend them out
WRONG – librarians are your original Google search engines. Lending books is now done by self check machines freeing staff time to provide you with relevant and up to date resources to support your study. You can also print and photocopy while in the library, and get one on one help and support from your librarians regardless of your location.
Myth 5: all librarians are old women who wear their hair in a bun and glasses
WRONG – many famous people both in fiction and non-fiction have been librarians. Benjamin Franklin, Giacomo Casanova, Batgirl, Mao Tse-tung, Golda Meir and J. Edgar Hoover are just a few names that spring to mind.
If you would like to take a quick tour of the presentation we used to support the above mythbusting and also meet our very own superhero, Captain Libraryman, click on the play button below. Once the video has loaded you will simply need to click on the forward arrow to progress through each slide.
And after you have enjoyed our presentation, maybe you would like to join our Scavenger Hunt to go into the draw to win an iTunes voucher. The hunt starts on the Library Homepage.