How to Get Research Help Through Furman University Libraries LibGuides

Updated

Furman University's LibGuides site (libguides.furman.edu) puts research help in one place: a Research Help section with guides on citing sources, copyright, and evaluating sources, plus a Find Your Librarian tool for subject-specific questions and an entry point to RefWorks for citation management. You can reach all of it from the Libraries Home Page without logging in to browse — the site's own navigation lists these links directly under "Research Help" and "Find Resources." Use this page when you need to know where to click, what each guide covers, and how to get from a general question to a person or tool that answers it.

What the Research Help section covers

The home page navigation groups research support under a Research Help heading with these entries:

  • Citing Sources — guidance on formatting citations and references
  • Copyright — information on copyright as it applies to research and course materials
  • Evaluating Sources — how to judge whether a source is credible and appropriate
  • Find More Recent Sources — strategies for locating newer material when your current sources are dated
  • Find Your Librarian — contact routing to the librarian for your subject or course
  • Getting Started — an orientation entry point for beginning a research project
  • RefWorks — the citation management tool the libraries point to
  • Share Your Research — options for making your own work available

Each of these is a separate guide page. The practical sequence for most students is: start with Getting Started if you're new to a project, use Evaluating Sources and Find More Recent Sources while gathering material, then Citing Sources and RefWorks when you write and format.

Finding the right librarian

Find Your Librarian is the fastest route from "I have a question" to "I have a person." Librarians at Furman are assigned by subject or course, so this link is how you identify who handles your discipline rather than emailing a general address.

Use it when:

  • Your question is specific to a subject area, database, or assignment
  • You need help shaping a topic or search strategy
  • You want to know which databases matter for your field

For general or directional questions, the home page also lists Ask in the main menu, alongside Hours, Account, Search, and Donate. The site footer gives the libraries' phone number (864.294.2190) and mailing address (3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613) if you prefer to call.

Research tools and related guides

Beyond the Research Help block, the home page navigation points to resources you'll use alongside it:

Need Where to go
Books, articles, and more Find Resources → Books, Articles, and More
Subject databases Find Resources → Databases
Course-specific materials Find Resources → Course Reserves
Full text of an article Find Resources → Get Article Full Text
Guides by course, subject, or topic Guides by Course, Subject, Topic
Citation management Research Help → RefWorks
Your own publications Research Help → Share Your Research

Guides by Course, Subject, Topic is worth checking before you contact anyone — a course- or subject-specific guide may already answer your question, and it will tell you which librarian owns that area.

Step-by-step: from question to answer

  1. Open the Libraries Home Page at libguides.furman.edu/library/home. The page is titled "Libraries Home Page: Home."
  2. Check whether a guide already exists. Use Guides by Course, Subject, Topic if your question is tied to a class or discipline, or scan the Research Help list if it's about citing, copyright, or source quality.
  3. Open the matching guide. For citation formatting, go to Citing Sources; for judging a source, Evaluating Sources; for stale sources, Find More Recent Sources.
  4. If the guide doesn't resolve it, find your librarian. Follow Find Your Librarian to identify the contact for your subject, then reach out with your specific question.
  5. For citation management, use RefWorks. The link sits in the Research Help group; set up your account there if you haven't already.
  6. Verify access before you rely on a resource. Some links — for example Databases, Course Reserves, and article full text — may require a Furman account. The home page shows Account and Login options, so expect authentication for licensed content rather than assuming open access.

Expected result: you either land on a guide that answers the question directly, or you have the name and contact route for the librarian who owns your subject area.

Common snags

  • Treating the home page as the whole site. The home page is a hub; the actual guidance lives one level down in the Research Help and Find Resources guides.
  • Skipping the subject guide. Contacting a librarian before checking the course or subject guide can slow you down — the guide often covers the same ground.
  • Assuming everything is open. The site lists Account and Login options and a Donate link, and it references Request Purchases under Borrow & Request. Licensed databases and full-text access typically sit behind a Furman login; browsing guide text does not.
  • Using an outdated bookmark. The site notes a "New BS5 Site" and the home page carries a "Last Updated" date, so if a link looks wrong, return to libguides.furman.edu/library/home and navigate from there.

Quick reference

  • Home page: https://libguides.furman.edu/library/home
  • Research help topics: Citing Sources, Copyright, Evaluating Sources, Find More Recent Sources, Getting Started
  • Find a person: Find Your Librarian
  • Citation tool: RefWorks
  • Phone: 864.294.2190
  • Address: 3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613