Newswise — Bring mystery, adventure, and fun to the search for information: this describes how the Williams College Libraries introduce students to library resources and services.
"I think what is most important is that we try to do things in the library that are a little different than what you might think of as stereotypical," says Lori DuBois, reference and instruction librarian. "We try to break that stereotype whenever we can."
This year she found a real-life mystery to engage the new students. The orientation program featured a mystery tour based on the 1940 theft of Williams College's rare book library's Shakespeare First Folio.
On Feb. 8, 1940, a man introducing himself as Sinclair E. Gillingham, professor of English from Middlebury College, came to the Chapin Library of Rare Books and asked to see its collection of Shakespeare folios. After a few minutes, he walked off, jacket draped over his arm and Shakespeare's First Folio, printed in 1623, concealed under his arm.
During this year's orientation, approximately 500 students set about gathering clues to the mystery, using the college's online catalog (called FRANCIS after a former president); The New York Times article database; and the electronic reserves system. Students also chatted online and in person with reference librarians, and they watched a Williams College professor give them a clue in a Quick Time video. They also visited the "scene of the crime" -- the Chapin Library -- to look at records and artifacts of the theft in the College Archives.
As a way to represent the community of students, each participating group of students received a puzzle piece.
Librarian DuBois said, "Each group gets a part of the puzzle, and at the end of the two days the puzzle's pretty much completed."
This year the library did a survey of students to get a sense of how well they liked the activity as a way to learn about the libraries' resources.
"They were pretty positive. There are some students who would rather have me just to walk backwards and say, 'This is where this is. This is our on-line catalog.' But I think that students learn better by actually doing things," DuBois said. "If they get a taste of what's here in the library and find out that we're fun people, they'll come back and talk to us at some point when they actually do have a research paper to do."
DuBois hasn't settled yet on a theme for the next mystery tour.
"It's one of those things that I think about a lot. 'Okay, what would be interesting? How can I tie it to college history?' " The mystery might focus on an object even more precious and fundamental to Williams history than the prized Shakespeare First Folio.
"There had been possible suggestions to do something about what happened to founder of the college Ephraim Williams' head," she said. "But I'm not quite sure."
Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching. The achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in research. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college is located in Williamstown, Mass. To visit the college on the Internet: http://www.williams.edu
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