Workshops

CSHL Library teaches workshops on a variety of subjects, and provides hands-on one-on-one and group training sessions, as well as on-demand services. The Library also maintains several LibGuides, which include information on a variety of topics and links to sources of online help & training provided by NLM, Web of Science, Scopus, and others.

Workshops are taught on the first Thursday of most months from 10:30 to 11:30 am in the Szybalski Room of the CSHL Library unless otherwise noted below.

Workshop Schedule

• Basic Coding: January 22nd
• Pipelines for Efficient Data Management: February 5th
• International Love Data Week Virtual Workshop: February 12th
• How to Think Like a Coder: March 5th
• Getting Started with LaTeX & Overleaf: April 2nd
• AI Tools for Researchers: May 7th
• Introduction to Machine Learning: June 4th
• Make a Chatbot!: August 6th
• GitHub for Beginners: September 3rd
• Organizing Your Research Library with Zotero: October 1st
• Authorship & Copyright Law: November 5th
• Time Management & Planning: December 3rd

Workshop Descriptions

Basic coding: This workshop is for those who have no programming experience, but would like to start programming for their research. Basic coding concepts such as class type, data handling, and function creation will be discussed.

Pipelines for Efficient Data Management: In response to the NIH Data Management and Sharing policy, good data management habits are essential for grant submission and progress. Pipelines for Efficient Data Management explores how to streamline data processing, organization, and analysis using automated workflows. Participants will learn practical techniques for building and managing pipelines that reduce manual effort, improve reproducibility, and handle large datasets with ease. The workshop combines conceptual overviews with hands-on examples to equip attendees with skills they can immediately apply to their own data projects.

International Love Data Week (Feb. 9th through 13th): This year’s theme is “Where’s the data?” This workshop will identify where your data is and places it can go to not only be secure but useful to others. We will go over how and where to save your data and good data preservation techniques. Love data week will also include a library tour and a meet and greet with staff. Come see where historical data is stored!

How to Think Like a Coder: How to Think Like a Coder introduces strategies for breaking down complex problems, designing logical solutions, and approaching challenges with a coder’s mindset. Through interactive exercises and real-world examples, participants will practice analytical thinking, pattern recognition, and step-by-step problem solving. The workshop focuses on building confidence and adaptability, skills that apply to programming and beyond. We will show concrete examples on how to solve case code.

Getting Started with LaTeX & Overleaf: LaTeX and Overleaf are very popular among researchers particularly in quantitative biology. This session will provide a hands-on overview of the many features and functionality of LaTeX typesetting program. We will use the most commonly used LaTeX editor Overleaf to learn how to write, edit, and format documents. Open to all members of the CSHL community who are using this tool or who are curious about getting started with these programs.

AI Tools for Researchers: With so many AI tools available, which ones can help with your daily tasks? Which tools are worth your time? This workshop will demonstrate different tools for different purposes. Tools will include literature search, literature summarization, and data analysis. This workshop is open to all employees.

Introduction to Machine Learning: This workshop will introduce basic machine learning concepts and hands-on examples on how to run machine learning algorithms in Python. Some Python knowledge would be helpful, but not necessary.

Make a Chatbot!: Learn how to make a basic chatbot that can help you to perform simple tasks, such as extract information from pdfs, summarize your written work, or answer questions from a corpus. By the end, attendees will have a working chatbot and the know-how to customize it for their own projects. Some python programming knowledge is necessary.

GitHub for Beginners: GitHub is a versioning software that helps keep track of your code, so that if you make a mistake and the code does not work anymore, you can go back to a version that does. This workshop is for those who have never used GitHub before but would like to understand how to use it for their own research. We will explain how to download the client, create a repository, and go back to a previous version of the code.

Organizing Your Research Library with Zotero: Maintaining a reference library of current literature is essential for conducting innovative research. This session will provide an overview of the basic and advanced features and functionality of the reference management tool Zotero. Open to all members of the CSHL community who are using this tool or for those who are curious about switching over.

Authorship & Copyright Law: This workshop will help you navigate the complex landscape of publication authorship, detailing important topics such as copyright law, open and public access policies, and author order. It is integral to how students and faculty can use, distribute, and reuse materials in their own academic work. We support faculty and students in understanding copyright and how it relates to their work to carry out research, publish academic work, and communicate the products of research.

Time Management & Planning: Offered again based on high community interest, this workshop will explore diverse strategies, such as time-blocking and menu-planning, and tools, such as digital, hybrid, and paper-based planning systems, to help you create a tailored system to manage your life to get ready for the new year.

On-Demand Python Course:

Our on-demand Python course is designed for learners who want flexibility without compromising on depth. Whether you’re completely new to coding or looking to sharpen your skills, this course walks you through Python step by step, with practical examples and hands-on exercises.

CSHL Library teaches workshops on a variety of subjects, and provides hands-on one-on-one and group training sessions, as well as on-demand services. The Library also maintains several LibGuides, which include information on a variety of topics and links to sources of online help & training provided by NLM, Web of Science, Scopus, and others.

The previous workshops were taught on the first Thursday of every month from 10:30 to 11:30 am in the Szybalski Room of the CSHL Library unless otherwise noted below.

Previous Workshop Schedule (2024)

Love Data Workshop: February 14th
Data Management: March 7th
Data Visualization: April 4th
Data Sharing: May 2nd
Advanced Use of PubMed: June 6th
Writing Strategies: July 11th; TIME CHANGE: 2:00 pm
GitHub and Version Control: August 1st
Time Management and Planning: September 5th
Reference Management & Tools for Citing Sources: October 3rd
Basic Coding: November 7th
Scientific Publications: Open Access & Author Copyright: December 5th TIME CHANGE: 11:00 am

Workshop Descriptions

Data Management: For this workshop, we will introduce concrete examples of how to better manage and organize your data. You will gain practical insights and hands-on experience to optimize your data workflow and elevate your proficiency in data management.

Data Visualization: This workshop will explore how to clearly and concisely present your data with particular consideration to use of colors, formatting, layout, and other stylistic choices in figure and table design. From designing your figures in R or Python to using a data-specific application or software, we will discuss resources, such as the Data Visualization Catalogue and Andy Kirk’s Handbook for Data Driven Design, to help you to create engaging figures for your research.

Data Sharing: The White House has announced that by 2025 any government funded research must maximize the sharing of its data. Attendees will learn how to identify which repositories work best for their type of data, how to comply with data standards of the repository, and how to best organize the data for easy sharing.

Advanced Use of PubMed: The PubMed interface has recently changed, giving users more options on how to search for research publications. The workshop will concentrate on how to use the advanced search, MeSH terms, and other features to extract the necessary information needed for your research project.

Writing Strategies: An interactive workshop to help you plan and complete a major writing project like a publication or dissertation chapters. We will discuss different techniques, such as outlining and mind-mapping, for planning your writing project and strategies for making the most of limited writing time and motivation.

GitHub and Version Control: GitHub is a versioning software that helps keep track of your code, so that if you make a mistake and the code does not work anymore, you can go back to a version that does. This workshop is for those who have never used GitHub before but would like to understand how to use it for their own research. We will explain how to download the client, create a repository, and go back to a previous version of the code.

Time Management and Planning: This workshop will explore diverse strategies, such as time-blocking and menu-planning, and tools, such as digital, hybrid, and paper-based planning systems, to help you create a tailored system to manage your life.

Reference Management & Tools for Citing Sources: This session provides an overview of citation styles and reference management tools like Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley. Join us for a focused, interactive discussion aimed at enhancing your ability to organize your research literature and credit sources in your scholarly work. 

Basic coding: This workshop is for those who have no programming experience, but would like to start programming for their research. Basic coding concepts such as class type, data handling, and function creation will be discussed.

Scientific Publications: Open Access & Author Copyright: This workshop is designed to provide faculty and students valuable insights into navigating the open access publishing landscape,  understanding your rights as an author, and negotiating your APC with a publisher. Join us to explore key topics, including:

• Strategies for publishing in open-access journals.
• Understanding copyright and retaining author rights.
• Practical tips to maximize the impact of your research.

Simplifying Article Retrieval with the Web Tool Kopernio (LibGuide)

Kopernio is a browser extension that makes finding PDFs of articles faster and easier. Although it is relatively new, it is already widely used and rapidly growing in popularity due to its simplicity and helpfulness. We can teach you how to install and use it.

NIH Public Access Compliance (LibGuide)

Our Informationists are available to teach you how comply with NIH’s Public Access Policies. Learn when and why you should deposit your manuscripts into PubMed Central, and how to use the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

How to Use DMPTools (LibGuide)

We are available to explain how to simplify writing a data management plan by utilizing CSHL’s customized DMPTools interface.

Contact libraryhelp@cshl.edu to schedule a session

Editing for non-native English Speakers

Our Informationists are on hand to help non-native English speakers edit their manuscripts, grants, and professional correspondence into fluent English. Contact libraryhelp@cshl.edu for more information or to schedule service.

Consultation Services for Aspects of Research Data Management

Informationists are available for all of your Research Data Management needs. Contact libraryhelp@cshl.edu to schedule.

Linux and Bash Shell

Learn the basis of interacting with the Linux command line and how to put together a series of commands.

Basics of 3D Printing

Just enough to enable you to download models and print them on the library’s 3D printer.

Photos, metadata and Digital Asset Management Systems (DAMS)

How to organize and maintain a collection of images.

Professional Desktop Publishing

Put together books and brochures using Affinity Publisher.

Scientific Databases and Reference Management Software: Advanced Techniques

Geared towards early Graduate Students
The informationists at the Library can help you get the most out of digital scientific support software. Whether it is teaching you the advanced search tricks or generating alerts in Scientific databases such as PubMed and Scopus, or reference management and specialty bibliography generation with software such as Endnote, Mendeley, Papers, Zotero, etc., the Library can help. Also, EndNote and Papers are robustly locally installed at CSHL, and may be purchased at a discount.

Data Management Plans

• Writing Data Management Plans
  With the ever-increasing grant-funding mandates for writing data management plans and data sharing policies, we (science informationists) at the Library aim to demonstrate how to write a data management plan, and the importance of constructing a well-thought-out plan.
• Best Data Management Practices
  Ever been asked by your PI to find a data file and it takes you longer than 5 minutes to find it? This introductory session will give you tips and tricks on the best practices for data organization (file naming, versioning, storage, etc.) so you won’t be left frantically searching for something.
• Presenting and Distributing Active Data
  Want to meet publisher and grant-funded mandates for depositing data? Want to get more recognition by getting your data cited? Join us as we discuss how to get the most out of data repositories.

Improving Visibility As A Researcher

Geared towards Post-docs and Graduate Students
A good publication record is extremely important for your advancement as a researcher, however in today’s world it is not the only record you may need to cultivate. Your social media presence can have an immense impact on your ability to network with colleagues, find junior faculty positions, and even get tenure. The informationists on the Library’s staff can help you explore strategies to carefully curate your social media presence, and build the kind of visibility that can enrich your scientific career. And learn about how our Institutional Repository can be an integral part of your presence.

Communicating Science

Geared towards early Graduate Students
Looking to spice up your presentations with some historical heft? The informationists and archivists on the Library staff can work with you to identify original materials in our vast archives to help add flavor and gravitas to your talks. From original photographs and historical data to handwritten correspondence between scientific luminaries, we can bring the help weight of history to your presentations.

Check the Library website to learn the schedule, or contact libraryhelp@cshl.edu

Introduction to Python

Start down the path of developing programs that enables your computer to work for you.

An Adobe Illustrator Alternative

Dump the yearly Adobe subscription and replace it with a powerful illustration tool (Affinity Designer).

Digitizing your Photographs

Learn how the archives digitizes and preserves photographic images.