Services

For Penn State Students, Faculty, and staff

Goals v    Programs Served  v     Basic Research Help  v  Office Hours in Olmsted  v    Research Appointments  

Instruction/Workshops v Book Purchases  v Master's Thesis Committees  

Research Guides     v  Other     v Back to Home

• Goals: As Penn State Harrisburg's Behavioral Sciences and Education Librarian, I help BSED students and faculty find information for their coursework and research. As an active member of our learning community, I encourage efficient research practices, intellectual curiosity, lifelong learning, and academic integrity among all students.

• Programs served: I am the library liaison to all Penn State Harrisburg's degree and certificate programs offered by the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education. This includes Adult Education, Applied Behavior Analysis, Applied Behavioral Science, Applied Clinical Psychology, Applied Psychological Research, Community Psychology and Social Change, Elementary and Early Childhood Education, the ESL Program Specialist Certificate, Health Education, the Health Psychology Certificate, Nursing, Psychology, the Reading Specialist Certificate, Secondary Education, Sociology, Teaching and Curriculum, and Training and Development.

• Basic research help: Call (717-948-6073) or visit the Library's Reference Desk if you need answers to factual questions. Reference Librarians can also help you get started in using Penn State's journal databases, and troubleshoot simple problems with Microsoft software, ANGEL, and other electronic resources. I personally staff the Reference Desk on Mondays and Thursdays (daytime) and Tuesday nights.

• Office hours in Olmsted: Like other BSED faculty, I have an office in the Olmsted building. My office is W-331U, in the Health Education "wing." Please understand that this is not my "primary" office—I'm only there a few hours per week. In Fall 2007, my office hours will be on Mondays from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you can't come to Olmsted on Monday afternoon, you can almost always find me in the Penn State Harrisburg Library, or you can make an appointment.

• Research appointments: Need a thorough introduction to databases and other information sources for your topic? E-mail me to schedule an appointment. Typical appointments are 30-90 minutes long. I can also make "housecalls" to offices on Harrisburg's campus.

• Instruction/workshops: I can visit your classroom, office, or meeting to show your group the Library's resources. Also, I can host up to 40 people for hands-on practice in the Library's computer classroom. I can teach:
  • Basics of using the library catalog and databases
  • Children's literature and authors
  • Finding demographic information and community resources in your service area
  • Finding psychological testing instruments
  • Keeping up-to-date in your profession
  • Scholarly vs. trade vs. popular journals
  • Customized workshops on other BSED-related research topics

• Book purchases: While balancing the needs of all BSED's programs, I try to fulfill as many book recommendations as my budget allows. Let me know of any titles, authors, subjects, or perspectives that aren't represented in Harrisburg's collection.

• Master's thesis committee: I can serve as the "third person" on Penn State Master's (but not Doctoral) committees. Please read my guidelines for Master thesis committee service. Also, get prior approval from your committee "advisor" or "chair."

• Research guides (for faculty only): With advance notice, I can prepare research guides, bibliographies, library exercises, and other  "pathfinders" to help your students become familiar with certain information sources, or practice specific research skills. I can produce a printed handout, a Word document for ANGEL, or a web site. For an example, see my guide to finding psychological and educational testing instruments.

• Don't see your needs here? Contact me and we can discuss how I can help you.

Copyright 2007, Bernadette A. Lear. Please contact me for permission to use this page.