Incarcerated Student Library Support / Prison Education Program Support

The following information [template, customized] is provided to students, either upon request, or if they've sent me a request that is too broad/otherwise challenging for me to work with.

When you have a research assignment, you will need to brainstorm a topic (a thesis*) and some keywords/phrases you would like us to search for you. The topic will need to be appropriately narrow for an academic paper. For example, you could fill multiple volumes with the topic “childhood trauma” -- you’d need to narrow down your focus and let me know what element of that topic interests you (e.g., loss of a sibling before adolescence). If you need help narrowing down any of your provided categories, I’m happy to provide ideas for you to consider. Question words like WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW are good starting points for narrowing it down to a more manageable level. 

*The thesis is an argument you are trying to make, a stance you are taking, a point you’re trying to prove. It’s your unique contribution to the scholarly conversation that’s happening about your topic, beyond just regurgitating facts.

Once you’ve provided me with a thesis/argument and keywords, I will run your search terms through relevant databases and with appropriate limits, then mail you a list of citations and abstracts. From this list, you will select the full-text articles that you want for your assignments. I’ll then print the articles and mail them to you. This means some turn-around time, but in the end, you should see a high level of personally relevant materials. 

Your request for research MUST include: 

• Course number (e.g. ENG 102), 
• Faculty/professor teaching your section, and 
• Term of your enrollment. 

I will also need:

•  Keywords: Please provide two to three main subjects, as well as a couple of specific terms for each subject you would like me to search. The abovementioned question words can help you come up with terms as well as a narrower topic; I’ll use your suggestions as a starting point and come up with more 
• Date: Specify if you have a date-range (without this, my default is 2015-2025).
• Source: If you do not specify “peer-reviewed,” or indicate that you would like popular sources (news articles, magazines), my default search parameter will be “academic journals.”
• Unless you are fluent at the technical academic level in another language, I strongly recommend you do not request non-English articles.

I typically try to send ~30+ citations for you to choose from. Here’s an examples of how to frame your literature needs: "I need research articles published in the past 10 years on subject x and subject y. My tentative thesis is how and why X impacts Y under Z particular circumstances. The research needs to be Peer Reviewed."

Other tips: 

• Be specific about any mailing restrictions at your facility: number of pages, whether colored ink is permitted/forbidden, etc. 
• Do not send postage paid envelopes. Your tuition covers printing & mailing expenses. 
• Make sure your full mailing address is included on letters/requests -- envelopes can become separated from letters. 
• Please write as legibly as possible or type. 
• Please know that we cannot lend books.
• We do not do legal research regarding your case. 
• Nielsen Library gladly provides research for your academic needs; we are unable to provide career advice or job prospect information; we cannot provide information on textbooks. Please direct those queries to the Extended Studies Office.

We can recommend books (this must be specifically stated in your request, as we normally do not include them in a literature search), but you’ll need to check with your facility about obtaining them; we do not send our books unless your facility has a library that participates in InterLibrary Loan services.

Thank you for using the library!