well I am self taught and if you are looking to learn maya i have found the tutorials are great on this site ..they teach you the basics ....also maya help files help alot ...one other source i found really helpful so far is for maya is digital tutors --basics 2nd edition ...that is really good for learning basics while making a model and then follow up with tutorials on this site ..teaches you alot ...of course if you learn by books there are alias books out there ...but i personally like video's so i can see and listen both ...

I am a beginner also ....still working on second project