With all of these different ways of contacting us, you're probably wondering: which one is the best? Which one will get you the answer you need quickly?
Good question.
The answer: it depends. On you. On your question. On us.
The bottom line is that we always want to provide you the best service we can-- but that not all communication media is created equal, and sometimes trying to give a good answer via text just won't cut it. But sometimes it will!
Email askref@smsu.edu when
We can answer questions best over email when you have one or two simple, well-defined questions. Here are examples of questions we answer easily over email:
-"I am an off-campus student. Can I have interlibrary loans delivered to my house?"
-"I am just starting to research signs of autism in young children. Where can I find journal articles about this?"
-"How can I renew my books online?"
-"My professor said he put some books on reserve at the library. Where exactly do I go to get those books?"
Schedule a research consultation when
We can answer your questions best with a research consultation when you are looking at a large project requiring multiple sources and/or you have other complex questions about the library's sources and services.
Here are examples of questions that are best answered via a research consultation:
-"I am researching the Cuban Revolution and I need to use both primary and secondary sources. Where do I start?"
-"I am trying to decide between researching early video gaming and researching present video gaming for my term paper. Which one might be easier?"