W EEK 6 H OW TO F IND B OOKS !!

Q UICK R EVIEW A few of you wanted some clarification on the difference between scholarly and popular articles. I have two different articles to show. Hopefully the differences will be apparent. Remember, when in doubt, check the source. The database will tell you what type of publication it is. Questions?

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C ALL N UMBERS There are TWO types of classifications that libraries use to organize materials on the shelf. Call numbers are like an address for resources. It identifies where on the shelf a particular item is located. Most public libraries and some colleges use the DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM. Most universities and colleges, Harrison College included, use the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSICATION SYSTEM.

S O W HAT ’ S THE D IFFERENCE ? Both classifications organize materials by SUBJECT area. So all books on butterflies would be grouped together. The main difference is that DEWEY uses numbers and LIBRARY OF CONGRESS uses letters at the beginning of the call number. Example: FRE ----Dewey Example: HD 4918.E Library of Congress

Remember, DEWEY and the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS both categorize by subject. There are charts in your book on page 77 and 78 that break down the different subject areas. For example, in LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, works that start with B would be about religion. But in DEWEY, works about religion would start with 200. Don’t worry about memorizing the categories! Most libraries post them near the stacks.

I N -C LASS A CTIVITY : C ALL N UMBERS Let’s divide up into five groups and see if we can put some call numbers in order. Each group will work with Dewey and the Library of Congress so that you can see the differences.

S EARCHING THE LRC C ATALOG Now that you can identify call numbers, we can search the LRC’s catalog to find materials You can use the catalog search box to search for resources by title, author’s name, ISBN, and subject headings. When you search in Polaris, you will be searching EVERY single LRC that Harrison College has! So if you see a book you like, you will need to check which campus it is available at!

T HE L IBRARY ’ S S TACKS So to find a book in the library, you first need to know the call number. You would start by going to the library’s catalog and searching for the book you want. But what’s a catalog? Think of a library’s catalog like you would a catalog you get in the mail in which you order shoes, clothes, or other items. In order to get the item, you would need the item number and maybe some other characteristics like size, color, or length. Let’s take a look!

Once you locate the item’s record, write down the call number so that you can go to that particular shelf and find the book. Remember to check to see which campus it is available at! Don’t forget that books are arranged by subject, so look at the books around it to see if there is something else you can use as well. If you are having trouble finding the book, just stop by the reference desk and ask for help. There is always someone willing to assist you.

H ERE IS WHAT AN ITEM RECORD LOOKS LIKE IN THE CATALOG.

L IBRARY C ATALOG S EARCHING H INTS Remember, if you can’t find a resource at the LRC, you can do an interlibrary loan. When searching by the author, put the LAST name first. (King, Stephen) When searching by titles, to drop the articles in front (A, The, In) Example, I want to find the book “The Dead Zone.” I would put in the search box “Dead Zone.” To ensure that you find books only at the Lafayette campus, you can limit your search to only look for books available at this LRC.

U SING K EY W ORDS When you do not know the author or title of a resource, you can search the catalog using keywords. This is just like searching in a database. Think up as many keywords (synonyms) as you can. You can also use the Boolean Operators to connect your keywords.

B OOLEAN O PERATORS REFRESHER Boolean Operators include the words “AND”, “OR” and “NOT” These terms can be used in combination with keywords to BROADEN or NARROW the search results. NOT: OR: AND: These fancy diagrams are called “Venn Diagrams”. You can more about them and Boolean Operators on pages of your textbook.

O NE W EBSITE TO K NOW ! A great place for you to search for books for your topic is Worldcat.org Here you can search for materials in what is essentially the world’s catalog. All the information you will need for your citation can be found here (usually) as well. I caution you when using Google books to search for resources. You will not get full access to information including sometimes the verso page which is where information about the book is found. Google will want you to pay for the book first!

ISBN VERSUS C ALL N UMBER There has been some confusion in the past over a book’s ISBN and the call number. A book’s ISBN is a special number (found on the barcode of the book) that identifies that book to the WORLD. It’s like a book’s social security number. Books do not share ISBNs. They are unique numbers. Call numbers are given to a book at the library based on the subject matter. Call numbers can be recycled if we get rid of one book and replace it with another.

A book’s ISBN A book’s call number.

I N - CLASS ACTIVITY : S EARCHING THE CATALOG : For this activity we will search the library’s catalog, Polaris for resources. The purpose of this exercise is to see if you can find books in the catalog, locate the call number and other important information. But we will do this in the LRC. You will find a resource on the catalog and then actually locate the book on the shelf. We will work in groups.

F OR NEXT WEEK ’ S CLASS Take the Chapter 3 quiz on the quiz site. Please do this BEFORE Friday at 5p! Read Chapter 4 and be prepared to take the quiz next week. Complete Research Assignment #5, which has you finding three books on your topic, one has to be a reference book. Remember Credo Reference? This would be a great database to use to search for reference books. Have a great weekend!

O NE MINUTE WRITE UP Please answer the following questions. 1. Do you feel confident in your abilities to search databases and library catalogs? 2. What did you think of the in-class activity? 3. Do you have any suggestions or concerns you would like to share with me?