From Consults to Classrooms: The Library's Spring Research Highlights

This past Spring semester, I learned so much about the diverse, thoughtful, and complex research happening at Teachers College through the library’s various modes of reference and research support. Over the course of the semester, I have noticed students gaining confidence in their research skills and intellectual intuition as they wrap up their projects, or begin new ones. In this report, I’ll provide a recap of the resources and support the library has provided in reference services. 

Drawing of a Tree, 1963. Pearl Greenberg Papers. Teachers College Digital Collections. 

Research Guides

One of Gottesman Libraries’ most valuable research resources are our research guides. Students frequently tell me how useful they find these guides and how they wish they knew about them sooner! There is a research guide for every program at TC as well as a number of specialized guides. Check them out here. 

This past semester, we revamped our Children’s Literature research guide to include information on banned and challenged books, as well as resources for discovering all types of children’s literature and building a classroom library. 

Research Consultations

From January through May, I had the pleasure of working with 90 students, faculty, and alumni across a diverse range of departments. It's always fascinating to see the breadth of topics our community is exploring, and this semester truly highlighted the critical thinking happening at our institution.

Just like last year, systematic reviews continued to be a popular area of support. Many of you were diving deep into existing literature, and we provided guidance on everything from initial search strategies and Boolean operators to using tools like Covidence for screening. It's so rewarding to help streamline this often-complex but incredibly valuable research methodology.

Beyond systematic reviews, our consultations covered a wide array of research needs:

• Literature Reviews & Research Strategies: Whether you were just starting to explore a topic or refining your search queries, we helped you identify relevant journal articles, navigate databases, and develop effective research strategies.
• Citation Management: Zotero continued to be a frequently requested topic, with many of you seeking assistance with organizing citations and generating bibliographies.
• Specialized Topics: From "Empathetic AI" and "new media literacy" to the "history of accommodations in social studies education" and "Black disability politics," the uniqueness of your research questions keeps us on our toes and constantly learning!
• Dissertation & Thesis Support: We continued to offer dedicated support for those undertaking major research projects, providing guidance on everything from initial topic exploration to refining search methods for comprehensive literature searches.
• Beyond Students: It was also wonderful to collaborate with faculty and alumni, assisting with manuscript preparation, understanding library resources for specific educational materials, and brainstorming avenues for scholarly publication.

Beyond One-on-One: Information Sessions

This semester, we were also excited to host six tailored information sessions for various departments and groups, providing targeted support and resources.These included sessions on Neuroscience Thesis and Professional Development, Human Resource Management, Research for the Economics of Education, Research and Writing Seminar in International and Comparative Education, and Open Access. In total, these sessions reached over 100 people. I always enjoy providing these targeted sessions. Selfishly, they allow me to do my own deep dive into a particular topic, consider the appropriate research skills and strategies to benefit the students. 

We also had the opportunity to host a group of wonderful high school students from Cyphers for Justice, a program housed within the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban and Minority Education (GIUME) at Columbia University, Teachers College, and the CUNY College Now Program at Queens College, which apprentices NYC high school youth and educators as critical researchers through the use of hip hop, spoken word, digital literacy, and critical social research methods. Together, we explored the expectations of graduate school and academia, the industry of scholarly publishing, and how to use the library and the internet for scholarly research. 

Workshops: Enhancing Your Research Toolkit

In addition to individual consultations and tailored information sessions, the library also offered a robust program of workshops (24 total) designed to enhance your research skills and navigate academic resources. These workshops covered a wide range of essential topics, from foundational library research skills like Charting Your Path and Searching Strategies, to advanced methods for Managing Your Citations with Zotero and conducting various types of Literature Reviews, including Article Screening for Literature Reviews. 

We also delved into specialized areas such as Building a K-12 Classroom Library, Finding Funding Tools & Sources, and Understanding Primary Sources. For instructors, there were sessions on Course Resource Lists, while broader topics like citation mining, bibliometrics, and generative AI were addressed in the workshop: Level Up Your Lit Review, co-taught with Columbia’ s Computational Research Instruction Librarian, Dan Woulfin. 

Please let us know if there is ever a topic you wish us to cover. We always seek to meet the information needs of the community. 

As we move into the summer, remember that the library is always here to support your ongoing learning and research needs. Whether you're planning your next big project or just have a quick question, don't hesitate to reach out.

Have a great summer!

Ava Kaplan

Research and Instruction Librarian