If you intend on becoming a research assistant for a professor – and you should – then you will have to know how to navigate the library resources with alacrity.

While you visited the library last year and introduced yourself to certain personnel, you may not have had the time to take full advantage of the resources, aside from using the library as a space to study for exams and for completing any research papers you may have had.

Sophomore year is an appropriate time to gain more familiarity with the library’s resources. Now that how have selected a major, have a conversation with the librarian who oversees research in your field. Ask for tips on how to find materials such as books, journals and other periodicals more effectively.

Most libraries have periodic workshops on topics such as internet research, archival research, how to use citations and sources, the best use of online databases, how to find particular sets of data, etc. Sign up for and attend as many of these workshops as your schedule will permit. These skills when become indispensable when: (1) working for a professor, (2) completing your own research papers, (3) performing research for your senior thesis and (4) succeeding in graduate school.