Subscriptions for Students at the AUP Library
For many students, term papers, theses, and projects alike can either make or break one's grade. The American University of Paris library is one of the best resources offered to students looking to crush finals and pull through with grades that will make any parent happy to spend the ever-increasing college tuition.
Did you know the library offers over 629 thousand resources, and that doesn't even include the free New York Times subscription offered to all? The best part is that with technology transforming the way libraries operate, most of these resources are available on the library website 24/7.
Screenshot from the library's website. Image Credit: Ali Benzara
“Libraries are less and less storage. The trend is to go more online so we have decided to leave less than 30 paper-based publications. We now have more than 30 thousand publications online,” said AUP Librarian Jorge Sosa.
Coming from highly regarded scholarly databases such as JSTOR and EBSCO, search engines like these offer tens upon thousands of academic and peer-reviewed journals, periodicals, e-books and more. Not only are these resources credible, but it’s super easy to find as well.
The advanced search feature on the library webpage offers a quick way to pinpoint the information you need to form an “A-quality” paper or project in no time.
Sosa offers some useful tips when using the advanced search feature:
1. Do not use the search bar on the home screen. This just sorts through all the resources and brings you an overload of information.
2. Click on any of the links under the “Find Resources” column and then use the Advanced search feature.
3. Use the “Library Catalog” to search for resource materials available in the library only.
4. When using the advanced search, be as specific as possible and use truncations to search a subject more broadly across other fields. For example, searching economics vs. econ.
5. Know where you're getting your information from. Check resources and cite your sources. There is a built-in citation generator on the library website.
These tips are a great way to save time when searching for that last bit of information that will make your final project “top notch.”
Sometimes, after sorting through all the information, it is still impossible to find what you’re looking. Naturally, the backup plan can be Google, but sometimes what looks like a promising source needs to be purchased to access it in its entirety. That’s where the document delivery request feature comes into play.
The document delivery request feature is accessible through the request items tab at the top of the homepage. There you can request articles, books, or just a few chapters from them, and more, all for free. You can even suggest materials the library should purchase or subscribe to such as journals, films, e-books, etc.
“Anything that directly helps students or helps faculty create a class is what we focus on for our subscriptions. If there is not a huge need for the material, document delivery is the best way to go, and it’s cheaper for us,” Sosa said. “Its something that’s covered by your tuition so it’s the interest of every single student to use it, plus it allows you to have better quality paper.”
The newest featured page on the library website is called AUP thesis. Here students can read published theses papers by AUP graduate students. This is extremely helpful for grad students who are looking to gain inspiration or guidance through previous students accomplishments.
With so many ways to access scholar-worthy data on one website, there is no doubt that library.aup.edu is the best way to access and cite the best sources out there for your final papers coming up.
Here is a list of some of the most popular databases used by AUP students: JSTOR, EBSCO, Sage Journals, Statista, and Lexis-Nexis.
