Library Website: Research and Instruction Services

If you would like to invite a Librarian to speak with your class about research and Library resources, we strongly recommend integrating these visits with your course curriculum. Students will appreciate and retain the information in these sessions more readily if the content is linked to course work. 

Please contact Ashley Peterson (apeterson@smfa.edu, 617-369-3653) to schedule a session. 

Assignment-based Research Sessions

• Librarians can meet with your students at the beginning of a research-based assignment. We will discuss topic formation, the research process, and effective use of Library resources, followed by time in the Library for students to begin their research with one-on-one librarian assistance. 
• The presentation portion of these sessions can be held in your classroom or in the Library, with the individual research portion taking place in the Library. 
• Please allow a minimum of 90 minutes for these sessions. 

Library Exploration Sessions

• Similar to assignment-based research sessions, but with a broader focus on exploration and serendipitous discovery. Will help students gain a familiarity with resources in the SMFA Library, and beyond, that support their personal research interests. 
• Recommended for studio classes and any courses that encourage ongoing exploration of themes relevant to a student's artistic practice.
• Exploration Sessions take place inside the Library.
• Please allow a minimum of 90 minutes for these sessions. 

Electronic Resource Tutorials

• These quick, 20-30 minute sessions are intended to introduce students to individual products in our electronic resource collections.
• Popular tutorial subjects for single products are Artstor, JSTOR, and Art Source, and we can provide tutorials for anything on our Database List.
• We can give a slightly longer overview of resources by type, such as Introductory Information (Oxford Art, the Oxford English Dictionary), Scholarly Article Databases (JSTOR, Art Stor), and Image Databases (Artstor, Camio). 
• Tutorials can take place in your classroom, as long as a computer and projection capabilities are available. 
• We can provide supplementary documentation for these tutorials upon request. 

We maintain a growing collection of Research Guides intended to highlight resources relevant to specific subjects or courses.

We can work with you to create a Guide for your class, or for a subject you think would be of use to your students. Contact Ashley Peterson (apeterson@smfa.edu, 617-369-3653) to get started!

The SMFA Library has a number of Special Collections that enrich and expand our circulating and electronic collections. As these collections are non-circulating and most are not publicly accessible, we recommend scheduling an introductory session in the Library for your students. 

These sessions will feature an overview of the materials by the Library staff and some hands-on exploration time for you and your students. Please let us know if there are specific items, or types of items, you want included in these presentations-- otherwise, we're happy to select and share our favorites.

Contact Darin Murphy (dmurphy@smfa.edu, 617-369-3651) about exploring our:

• Artists' and Rare Book Collections
• Zine Collection

SMFA Librarians are happy to meet individually with you or your students, for anything from a quick Artstor tutorial to an in-depth conversation about lifelong research goals. If you know a student who could benefit from one-on-one research assistance, please don't hesitate to refer them to us! 

• Ashley Peterson (apeterson@smfa.edu, 617-369-3653)
• Darin Murphy (dmurphy@smfa.edu, 617-369-3651)