Library Research

The goals of library research and information literacy are woven throughout your reading, writing and oral communication assignments for this class. In addition, you will conduct independent research on a communal society that aspires to utopian principles such as egalitarianism, communalism or freedom. For this project, you will choose a specific community to research, uncovering more about how the intentions of this community fall within or outside the definition of a “social utopia.” You will pose a research question and write an annotated bibliography of six different sources that address the research question as you frame it. This assignment will be 15% of your final grade.

An important aspect of this First Year Seminar is the work you will do to enhance information literacy/library research skills. These skills will be developed through two “library labs” with our liaison librarian, Lynda Kachurek, who will work with us to accomplish these goals.

There are three phases you’ll complete this term as part of your introduction to library research and information literacy strategies:

• The Getting Started @ Boatwright Tutorial that can be accessed at: richmond.edu/services/students/fys/ Be sure to complete this by September 6^th.
•  Your first Library Lab on Thursday, August 27th with Lynda. This lab introduces you to the basic research tools you will need for any library research at UR.
• Your second Library Lab with Lynda on Tuesday, November 3rd. This session will focus on locating sources for your research project.