Reference & Research Assistance

Reference Assistance

•  Basic reference assistance is available whenever library staff are on duty.
•  Student assistants are available at the service desk at all times and can help patrons with questions about using the library catalog, finding reserve materials, requesting materials from the Smith College Libraries Storage Facility, requesting inter-library loans, and connecting to databases and Internet resources.
• Use Ask a Reference Librarian, an online reference service for brief, factual questions. Available to students, faculty, and staff at Smith College.
• The Josten Performing Arts Library Research & Collections page provides links to major research library catalogs, indexing and abstracting services for the performing arts, and other research resources.

Research Appointments

Contact Marlene Wong, the Josten Performing Arts Librarian, at (413) 585-2931 for research assistance with a thesis, term paper or class assignment, or any other performing arts research project. Her regular schedule is Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but arrangements can be made to meet at other times.

Library Instruction

• Marlene Wong, the Josten Performing Arts Librarian, provides classroom instruction in research methodology and resources and general orientations to the Josten library. Please contact her at (413) 585-2931 at least one week before a presentation is needed.
• Research guides for current Music, Theatre, and Dance courses and other research topics are listed on the Library Research Guides.

Requesting Josten Materials

Summer: Smith users can use the request item function in the Five College Library Catalog to request circulating books and scores, and items from SC Storage/Josten.

• During the summer months (from Memorial Day to Labor Day) items requested in the catalog will be sent to Neilson for Smith users.
• They may also be borrowed in person during open or appointment hours.
• Requesting CDs: For Smith users, CDs may be requested by emailing josinfo@smith.edu. They will be sent to Neilson for pick-up by borrowers unable to visit during Josten open hours.

Regular Semester: Josten Library materials are not available for off-campus delivery through the Five College Delivery System. Items housed in the Smith College Libraries Storage Facility are available for on-campus delivery to Neilson Library using the Five College Library Catalog "Request Item" function. For more information, see Requesting Items from Storage.

Contact the Josten library service desk at (413) 585-2930, josinfo@smith.edu, for information about borrowing Josten Library materials.