Objective
In this lesson, we'll learn some basic strategies to help you find sources in
both a traditional and an online library.
Introduction
If you're a student between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three, you probably
don't see many of the changes that libraries have experienced in the past thirty
years because the changes were slowly occurring while you were in school. But
older students returning to college probably remember their library experience
as including the Dewey Decimal System, a Card Catalogue, the Reader's Guide
to Periodical Literature, and lots of books. Today, many students don't
visit their local or school libraries, even though these modern libraries are
more helpful than ever before. Often, students use a local college library online
to search for resources and to request books and articles. But, whether you
use the physical campus library, a community library, or the library online,
you still need to become acquainted with where it is, what's in it, and how
to use it well.
An important part of your college education is learning how to find the information
you need to understand the subjects you are learning and to find support for
your writing. On any campus, the first place to begin looking for information
is the college or university library. Even if you're attending college through
a "virtual campus," you still have access to the resources of the
school's library, and at some point in your academic career you're going to
need to use those resources, regardless of how you access them!
Each library is unique in its own way. So, when you visit a library for the
first time, you should always pick up a map or take a tour. When you're familiar
with the library's layout and its rules and regulations regarding borrowing
resources, you'll feel more comfortable running in quickly for a book or staying
longer for extended research. Many first-year English classes, as well as other
courses, require a library visit. Visits where a librarian conducts a tour and
demonstrates the library's tools can be very helpful for future course work.
Even with all their individual differences, however, all libraries have certain
common elements. Let's look at some of those common elements, particularly the
ones you'll need to use when you're doing your own research.
General Sections of a Library
All libraries are different in how they are arranged, but there are several
different areas that you'll find in almost any library. To get help finding
those areas:
- Pick up a map the first time you visit-it can save you a lot of wandering
around when you're trying to find something!
- Ask a librarian or media specialist. These are highly trained professionals
who know everything there is to know about their libraries.
The Circulation Desk
The circulation desk is where you check out books and other materials, where
you find items the teacher has put on reserve, and where you go for answers
to general questions about the library and its services. If you're new to
a library, you can stop here and find out what you need to do to establish
borrowing privileges. Often, you'll need your school ID card; sometimes
you'll need your email address, social security number, or driver's license.
The Reference Area
The reference area contains general reference tools of many different kinds.
Go here if you want to:
- Use an unabridged dictionary or a specialized dictionary,
- Find an atlas or an almanac,
- Look for biographical information about someone,
- Find general information about a company, or
- Talk to a Reference Librarian.
Most of the sources in the reference area can't be checked out of the library,
but it's a great place to find that little bit of factual information you
need for a report or term paper.
The Library Catalogue
The library catalogue is the heart of most libraries-it's the catalogue of
most of the library's holdings plus the holdings of local libraries or libraries
in a consortium. A consortium of libraries often includes all of the branch
campuses of a university and/or local colleges who have agreed that their
library resources can be borrowed among all of the consortium's students.
The library catalogue may be a physical catalogue, as in the tables that
hold paper-based card catalogues. It may also be a set of computers, often
located throughout the library, with the various databases contained on the
library network. The catalogue (sometimes nicknamed the "Cat") is
where you'll find a listing of books, journals, other periodicals, microfiche,
records, CDs, and videos. This large selection of media sources beyond books
is why some libraries are called "media centers."
While you won't find individual journal articles listed in the general catalogue,
you may find a listing of the different journals and periodicals to which
the library subscribes. All of the holdings will be catalogued using either
the Library of Congress classification system or the Dewey Decimal System.
Periodical Indexes or Databases
While some libraries may still use hard copy periodical indexes, like the
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, the vast majority of libraries
now uses computer databases to access their periodical indexes. A periodical
is the generic name for anything that is published periodically (daily, weekly,
monthly, and so on). Periodicals include such things as newspapers and scholarly
journals. A periodical index is a listing-by subject-of the articles from
a variety of journals, newspapers, and magazines. The electronic indexes tend
to be easier to use than the Reader's Guide because you can search more titles
much more quickly by computer than by the textual index.
Which periodical indexes or databases are available to you depends on your
library's subscriptions. It's best to check with a reference librarian to
make sure you're using the best index or database for the kind of information
you seek. If you're using the library from a remote source, such as your home
computer or the school's computer lab, you'll need to know how to access the
index or database remotely. The reference librarian or the circulation desk
should be able to help you. Also, your library database usually has a "Help"
pull-down menu at the top of the screen. Reading this section will help you
to find what you need. Finally, if you get really stuck and if the library
is open, you may be able to telephone a librarian who can walk you through
the computer's system while you talk on the phone.
The Stacks
Sometimes periodical articles are available online and you can print them.
However, much of the most useful source material is located in the "stacks."
The stacks contain the library's most precious resources: tens of thousands
of books and periodicals that you can check out for your research.
Once you've found some potential sources, you'll need to locate and retrieve
them by using the "call number" from the catalogue. If you're looking
for a periodical or a journal, those may be in a different location from the
books. The most recent journals are likely to be located together in one place
and the older, bound journals will be in another location. (The library binds
journals into a book, usually by year.) Ask for help if you have trouble finding
something.
Deep in the bowels of the library stacks are ancient books, hundreds of years
old; special scholars are allowed to review these texts for their research.
Often, there are desks called "study carrels" in the stacks, so
you can sit and skim through your selections before checking them out from
the library. Also, usually you are not expected to re-shelve the books that
you take and then discard. Trained library employees re-shelve the books so
that they're always where they need to be for the next researcher.
Searching for Information
To make it a little easier to see how some of these resources might help
you as a student, come along with me as I search the library for some information.
The teacher in my Introduction to Education class has assigned each study
group a topic, and we have to teach that topic to the class. My group's topic
is "Multiple Intelligences." The class textbook has one paragraph
about the topic, so our group knows it needs much more information. We're
all supposed to do some general research before we get together to split up
the study task. Come along as I head off to the library!
Where do I start? The easiest place to start looks like the library
catalogue. At least that looks familiar. I know it lists all the books in
the library by subject, author, and title, so I think I'll begin my search
with the catalogue. The catalogue at your library probably won't be exactly
like mine, but it will have some similarities. If you don't know how to use
your library's catalogue, just ask someone for help with the system. For example,
all catalogues allow you to search by subject, author, and title, while computer-based
catalogues allow you to search by keywords, as well.
Hint: Record the information for the sources you find, whether from
a card catalogue or in a computer database. For a book, record the author,
title, place of publication, publisher, and date. For a periodical, record
the author, article title, journal title, date of publication by month and
year, volume number, and pages. This basic information is exactly what you'll
need later if you're need to use the MLA or APA styles of source documentation.
(For more information about documentation, please go to Chapter
3, Lesson 14: MLA and APA Documentation.)
Finding sources using a computer-based catalogue:
Types of searches. Most computer-based catalogues will let you look for
information in a number of different ways. Here are three of the most common
types of searches.
- Author or Title Search. If you know the author or the title of
a book that you want, you can start your search that way. I'm pretty sure
that "multiple intelligences" isn't the title of a book, so a
title search won't work for me. However, that short paragraph in my textbook
mentioned a name: Howard Gardner. Maybe he's written something on the subject
that will help our group. I'll try an "author search" for Gardner,
H. That certainly helped-my library has 25 books by Howard Gardner, and
two of them are titled Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
I must be on the right track!
o Hint: A computer database often allows your either to print the item
information or otherwise to "save" the search results. You'll
need this information when you search the stacks for your texts. Remember
that each library's system is a little bit different, so learning which
way to record your information will save you time in the long run.
- Keyword search. Most students probably use the keyword search,
especially when they're not completely sure what they're looking for in
a search. If you don't know the exact title of a book, but you know a word
that is in the title or in the description of the book, then use the keyword
search. What happens when I type "multiple intelligences" into
a keyword search? Oh my-there's much more about this topic than what Gardner
himself wrote! My keyword search turned up a host of different books about
the topic (twenty-six different entries). I look for the most recently published
texts and decide to jot down the titles and call numbers for them. Now,
when I get into the stacks and find the books, I can make some decisions
about how useful they might be.
- Subject search. The subject search is a bit narrower than the keyword
search because a keyword search is looking for the "key" word
that you've chosen in all of the books listed in the catalogue. For a subject
search, however, the computer looks only at the subject heading of the catalogue
entries. It also uses standardized terminology (generally the Library of
Congress Subject Headings). If you don't find what you need in a subject
search, then try the same terms in a keyword search. In my subject search
for information about multiple intelligences, I found twelve entries. If
my keyword search had turned up hundreds of entries instead of only twenty-six,
I might have tried a subject search to limit my findings.
If you are looking for older material that still is listed in the card
catalogue, you'll need to conduct your search manually and alphabetically
by subject, title, or author. Jot down the call number(s) of the book(s)
you want to look at while you have the entry in front of you-otherwise you'll
find yourself repeating the search when you're ready to go to the stacks
for the book. Paper usually is available at the card catalogue table for
you to record the information.
Okay, now I've gone to the stacks and have some potentially useful books,
but I know I'm not finished yet. I still need to see if there's anything
in a current journal that I might want to use. My next step is to find the
electronic indexes available in the library. I'll probably need to ask someone
for help the first time since I want to make sure I'm searching in the right
places to find the information I need. There are a lot of choices for databases,
and I don't want to limit myself to one database when others might have
more information for me!
Finding journal articles
How you locate journal articles can vary widely from library to library,
depending on the databases or indexes that particular library uses. An index
or a database is a citation index of numerous periodicals. Frequently the
indexes or databases are geared to a particular discipline, like biology,
sociology, psychology, or English. But, most libraries also have general
indexes and databases. Some databases contain only the citation information
for an article, some contain abstracts, and some provide the full text of
the article. The reference librarian will be your best source of information
on using the databases or indexes available at your school.
Why should I look for journal articles as well as books? Journal articles
generally have more current information than what is available in books
because journals go to press more frequently. Is that important? In most
instances, it is important to have current data, which is why I decided
to choose the most current books available for my group's research project.
In my search for information about multiple intelligences, I'd definitely
want to use a database to search for current periodical information because
Gardner is still alive and working in the field. Using the most up-to-date
information that I can find will help my group to prepare a stronger, more
relevant project.
Exercise
Here are some questions to test your library skills. (You'll find our answers
listed below, at the end of the exercise.)
1. Where do you go to see if the library has a copy of Dante's The Divine
Comedy?
a. The stacks.
b. The Library Catalogue.
c. The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.
2. Where can you find out if the library is open on Saturday nights?
a. The Circulation Desk.
b. The library cafeteria.
c. The phone book.
3. Where can you find out what were the most and least populated states in the
last census?
a. The Library Catalogue.
b. The computer database for periodical literature.
c. The Reference Area.
4. Where would you find this month's issue of Time?
a. With the current periodicals.
b. In the stacks.
c. Your college bookstore.
5. What information do you need to locate a book in the stacks?
a. The author's name.
b. The title.
c. The call number.
Our answers: 1. B: The Library Catalogue; 2. A: the circulation desk; 3. C:
the reference area; 4. A: with the current periodicals; 5. C: the call number.
Summary
In this lesson, you have learned who can help you in your library,
where to find the information that you'll most commonly need, and how to find
books and periodicals. Since each library is different in layout, you have learned
that the library employees are your best source of help when you need assistance
finding sources.
For more information about researching a topic, also read Chapter 3, Process,
Lessons 9 - 13 in this handbook ("Evaluating Sources,"
"Research for Academic and Non-Academic Audiences,"
"Using the Library Wisely," and "Conducting
Field Research").
For information on how to use these sources well, read Chapter 3, Process,
Lesson 9 in this handbook ("Evaluating Sources").
For information on how to document these sources, read Chapter 3, Process,
Lesson 14 in this handbook ("MLA and APA Documentation").
  
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