History 11 Political & Social History of the United States Library Information Competency Prepared by Ibtesam Dessouky Mr. Son Nguyen Fall 2011

Library Basics  Logging in to computers – instructions on workstations in the library lab.  Books – most check out for 2 weeks. You need student ID to check out materials.  Reference books – cannot be checked out.  Reserve books – most are for building use for only two hours unless the instructor allows the material to be checked out.  Periodicals – most print magazines & journals can be checked out for two days. Electronic databases and indexes contain many full-text articles. LAHC Library

Today we will cover the following issues  Developing a search strategy  Selecting information sources  Choosing the right format to retrieve the information  Accessing the Online Book Catalog & the Electronic Databases  Evaluating Information Sources  Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources LAHC Library

Developing a Search Strategy  State your topic in the form of a question  For Example: –How have immigrants impacted American history and society in the 19 th century?  Determine keywords in your question, vocabulary, unique spellings, synonyms Immigrants American 19 th century

Developing a Search Strategy (cont’d) –Using Boolean Operators to connect terms  AND – Narrows a search. A record must have all the terms in citation –Example: “women AND education”  OR – Broadens a search. Either term may appear in the citation –Example: “homemaker OR housewife”  NOT – Narrows a search by excluding articles containing the second search term –Example:”women engineering NOT computer engineering” LAHC Library

Selecting Information Sources Distinguishing between Primary and Secondary Sources  Primary Sources –Material written or produced in the actual time being investigated. This implies that the researcher cannot go further back to any existing sources for this source. –Examples: Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts, memoirs, autobiographies, government records, records of organizations Published materials (books and journal/newspaper articles) written at the time about a particular event Documentary: photographs, audio recordings, movies or videos Public opinion polls, field notes, scientific experiments, artifacts Reprinted primary sources Maps, oral histories postcards, court records, paintings, sculptures, consumer surveys, patents, schematic drawings, technical reports, personal accounts, jewelry, private papers, deeds, wills, proceedings, census data (Primary vs. Secondary Sources)

LAHC Library Selecting Information Sources Distinguishing between Primary and Secondary Sources(cont’d)  Secondary Sources –Records generated by an event but written by non-participants in the event. Based on or derived from primary sources, but they have been interpreted or analyzed. –Examples Encyclopedias, chronologies, fact books Biographies, monographs, dissertations General histories Most journal articles (except those written at the time) Most published books (except those published at the time, reprints of primary sources, or autobiographies) (Primary vs. Secondary Sources)

Choosing the Right Format to Retrieve the Information It is important to understand the difference between a "magazine" and a "scholarly journal". It can sometimes be difficult to make the distinction but here are several clues to help you with that process: Journals Magazines  ScholarlyPopular (News)  BibliographiesNo bibliographies  AbstractsAdvertisements  Intended for a specific Intended for a general audienceaudience  RefereedNon - refereed articles  Very plain, no photosColorful and flashy  Target audienceGeneral audience  Long articlesShort articles LAHC Library

Choosing the Right Format to Retrieve the Information (cont’d)  Online Catalog (  Electronic Databases – Academic OneFile, Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL)  Selected Reference Works (please see handout 2)  Internet – and LAHC Library

Accessing the Online Book Catalog & the Electronic Databases 1. From Campus Connect to the LAHC Library Homepage The Online Book Catalog and Electronic Databases are available to students, faculty and staff from campus computers without a password 2. From Home Connect to the LAHC Library Homepage You need a password LAHC Library

Evaluating Information Sources 1. Are they up-to-date? Check date of publication 2. Is the author credible? Check the author’s credentials 3. Is the content objective? 4. Is it useful? 5. Is it well written? LAHC Library

Quoting & Paraphrasing Sources  Citation Links  RES5e_ch10_s html RES5e_ch10_s html  cumentation.html cumentation.html  Copyright Link  LAHC Library

Primary Reference Sources  The Annals of America. Volume Discovering a New World. Ref. E173.A v.1.  The Annals of America. Volume Resistance and Revolution. Ref. E173.A v.2.  Stearns, Peter N. Documents in World History: The Modern Centuries: From 1500 to the Present. D5 D v.2. LAHC Library

Other Resources  Harbor College Library Home Page  

Other Resources (cont’d)  Ethnic Chronology Series  The American Immigration Collection LAHC Library

Bibliography  Primary vs. Secondary Sources. Oct Grossmont College Library. 10 Oct  ion/flyers&handouts/primary_vs_secondary.pdf ion/flyers&handouts/primary_vs_secondary.pdf  Quiz Quiz 