Summer vacation is over (yes, it went really fast!) and a new school year lies ahead. Now that the weather is getting cooler and the leaves are starting to hint at color changes, we can look forward to an exciting and rewarding semester at McGill. I remember my first few days as a University student… I had a lot of trouble finding my way to the different buildings, everything was new, and there was so much to learn! Right from the start, my favorite place was the library. I quickly learned that the secret to academic success was to learn how to use the library and all the resources that it offered, and to befriend the librarians! (Some of the information that was withheld by my professors was happily shared by the library staff). So I would like to share this little piece of advice: if you spend around one hour learning about your library at the beginning of the semester, it will save you hours of your time later on. When your Professors will later start talking about the requirements for your papers – only peer review articles, citations in Chicago style, using primary sources, etc. – you will be very happy that you already know what they’re talking about!

So to get you started, we are offering tours at all the library branches, as well as Library Quick Start 101 workshops. These take place in different days and at different times, so you should have no problem finding a session that fits your busy schedule. There is also no charge for these sessions, and you don’t need to register. Just drop in whenever it’s convenient for you! In these tours and workshops you will learn essential university survival skills such as: how to reserve a study room, how to send your documents from home to be printed at McGill, how to look for your courses’ reserve reading list, who is the liaison librarian for your area of study, and much more!

Check out this link for more information: http://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/workshops

Have a wonderful and productive session!