FOCUS ON: TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Walking amid the beautiful Spanish architecture of the vast Texas Tech University campus, students may just get a glimpse of her. But she is unmistakable, with her bright red T-shirt sporting the word "Lost?" and her cart also covered in red, as she roves the campus, seeking out those who might need help. She is Roving Reference, one of three alternating librarians from Texas Tech University Libraries who, laptop in tow, takes the Library to the students — wherever they are across campus.

Whether helping a student look up their class schedule or locate an electronic resource, Roving Reference is another way we are making a personal connection with students. The Libraries also feature 16 "personal librarians" to assist students and faculty from every major in navigating the numerous resources available to help them successfully achieve their academic goals.

Electronic resources are a hallmark of the services offered at the Libraries. With 300 databases, 27,000 e-journals, 19,000 e-books and more than 1 million digital images, students and faculty are just a click away from available tools needed to accelerate discovery and successfully write, research and publish.

One way our faculty helps students learn about conducting effective research is through our Library 1100 course. Personal librarians teach the steps of navigating our electronic resources in order to make the grade. For example, when demonstrating Web of Knowledge, students learn about scholarly literature and how to save time with EndNote Web, saved searches, alerts and more.

Another unique electronic resource is free access to Lynda.com, an online video tutorial library, which offers patrons more than 40,000 training videos covering everything from motion graphics to Excel.

We offer more than just books! On top of e-research tools and digital images, the Library is on the technological forefront with the nation's only 3D Animation Lab at a public university. Housed in our Digital Media Studio (DMS), patrons can learn 3D animation and apply it to all disciplines. Our DMS also provides checkout of equipment including high-definition digital cameras, projectors and iPods, as well as DVD titles.

Another innovative resource developed to serve the data management needs of the research.community is ThinkTech, an online publishing service. Scholars use ThinkTech to distribute and archive their works with no limitation on content or format, as well as access materials that traditional publications may not offer such as video, charts and graphs. This helps researchers meet the government-mandated need to have a data management plan in place for grant proposals.

A recent addition to the Libraries' digital offerings is a mobile version of its Web site, library.ttu.edu/m. Now, from their smart phones, patrons may research databases, chat with a librarian and find useful phone numbers while on the go.

Texas Tech University Libraries, which include the University Library, Architecture Library and Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, are the center of academic, social and intellectual discovery on campus. It's all about fast and easy access, and personal connections that help ensure the success of our students, faculty and researchers.