Asked for Simple Quotable Advice

Last week I was helping Rebecca in an information literacy session for Communication 100W students. It was a wonderfully fun experience because the students all had their topics and were actually interested in getting help from us. It challenged me as I had to think of new ways to help them with some of their more obscure topics. Rebecca also demonstrated to them the importance of using print resources too. She brought in about 5 books that had to do with various students' topics. As she handed them out to those students, they were quite excited, like they had won a precious prize. This was an excellent way to motivate, encourage, and involve the students. I have to remember this technique for the future.

As the students were packing up to go at the end of the class, a student asked me for some quotable advice [I suddenly remembered that the class' instructor had told me she was requiring them to quote the library instructors in something they said that was useful]. I stumbled. What would be good quick general advice off the top of my head? I usually give specific advice for a specific situation. I start with, "be persistent." But that didn't seem to be enough in my mind, so I added, "and don't be afraid to ask for help." As I was walking home, I continued to think about quick quotable advice. Thus, here is the first draft [I expect this to change as I do more instruction]:

1. Think of synonyms.
2. Be persistent.
3. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

I sort of felt like it goes from some specific advice to more general advice. Many students think of one word for their topic and then they seem to stop there; however, frequently a database will use different terminology or just multiple terms. Being able to think of many words that mean (essentially) the same thing will help to find more (in quantity) related articles. This goes hand in hand with being persistent. It easy to stop a search of a few failed attempts but this is an opportunity to be creative and try something different in the search process or statement. Finally, I have noticed that students appear reluctant to approach a librarian for help but that's just silly. We're here to help and we want to. If thinking of synonyms has worn you out and your persistence has died off, come see a librarian for help. There are many different ways: reference desk, phone reference, email reference, and instant message/chat reference. Be aware that it is better to ask for help earlier than later. We are much better able to assist you if you contact earlier than the night before it is due. [Whoops, looks like I switched over from third person "the student" to second person "you."]

Anyway, that's just some early advice from a librarian in training.