Using the Library CSS101 Martin J. Crabtree MCCC Library September 2007

Agenda Why is finding & using information important The People & material at the MCCC Libraries So what do I look for – Picking a topic Finding books in a college library & using the catalog Break time! Electronic Searching Databases of information from the MCCC Library Looking for web information Evaluating the information you find – Is it any good?

Why is finding and using information important? The ability to find and use information is something that you’ll need both in college and as part you the rest or your life! You will need these skills to do thing in college like researching & writing a term paper You will also need it for things like: –Finding a job –Deciding which car to own Anytime where you need to “find something out”

What is information literacy? Information literacy is the ability to: Realize that you need information to find something out/answer a question Know where to go to get the information you need Ask the right questions to get the information you need Put all the information you found together to answer your question

For example, say you want to go on a date. What kind of information might you need?

Going on a date 1.Who do you want to go with? –That’s your choice 2.What do you want to do? –Movie? –Dinner out? –Amusement park? –Concert?

Say you pick a concert, now you need some information Are there any good concert coming up? When is the concert? How much are tickets? How do I get there if I’m driving to the concert? How much does it cost to park my car? Can I take a bus or train to the concert?

So what does this have to do with college? In college, just like going on a date, you must be able to find out what you need to know.

This isn’t just being able to use a computer and the internet You will need to have some computer skills –To use computer programs –Access the internet –Print, , save files, etc. But it is equally important to have the ability to find information you need and know what to do with the “stuff” you found.

The MCCC Libraries can help The library has a lot of useful information for both your college work and personal needs. The library staff can help you find what you need and help you to improve your information finding skills.

The MCCC Libraries There are three (3) libraries at MCCC –James Kerney Campus (on the 3 rd floor) –West Windsor Campus (in the Library Building) –Dempster Fire Training Center

The reference desk is first thing you see you when you enter the library The people who are at this desk are there to help you find what you need. Ask them for the information you need. They will help you find the best materials for you.

The people at the circulation desk can help too You check out book here. You get videos & newspapers here. You can get materials (books, journal articles, etc.) that your professor has set aside here (can’t leave the library) The people here can help answer your questions too.

So what all is in the library?

What’s in the library Beside helpful library staff there are: A quiet place to study Books Magazines & Journals Open computer lab Videos CDs Copiers Expect to use many types of library materials to do a good job for your college assignments

Reference books There are many types of books Some are called reference books They contain factual information, non fiction Cover many subject areas You’ll likely not read an entire reference book, but will use the info form a few pages.

Reference books include Encyclopedias – intro to a topic Almanacs – find facts here Atlases – maps of all types Dictionaries – look up words Many more –Biographical sources – info about people –Quotations – what people have said about a topic –Statistics – Number facts

Selecting a research topic Figuring out what you want to find out about

Selecting a topic Make sure you understand your assignment completely. Look at general resources like an encyclopedia to find out more about the broad topic, looking for things that may interest you. Think of a topic that both will fulfill your assignment and be interesting to you personally. Use the library catalog to find books on your topic. Use library databases and indexes to find periodical (magazine, journal, newspaper) articles.

Finding Books Books are put on the shelves grouped by subject. You may be familiar with the Dewey Decimal System which is used by many school and public libraries. MCCC like most colleges uses a different system called the Library of Congress (LC) system. The LC system used both letters and number

Library of Congress System Organizes knowledge into 21 broad categories. The 21 categories (labeled A to Z, but missing I, O, W, X and Y) are further subdivided by adding one or two additional letters and a set of numbers. The first letter of a Library of Congress (LC) call number indicates the general subject area. The second letter indicates the specific subject section within the general category.

Library of Congress vs. the Dewey Decimal Systems Dewey Decimal System Ancient Olympic Games: PER Fiction books are all in the same place: F DIC Biography books are also in the same place: B EDI Library of Congress Ancient Olympic Games: GV23.S Fiction books are part of the system: PZ3.D55 T3 Biographies are mixed into the collection: TK140.E3 J75

The bottom line Library of Congress (LC) starts with letters (and has some number too) Dewey starts with numbers

Periodicals Periodicals include: –scholarly journals –newspapers –Magazines Periodicals represent the bulk of published scholarly information. They contain more up-to-date information than books The library has a number of periodicals available in print, on microfilm, and especially via electronic databases. The library staff can help determine if a specific periodical is available from the library.

Let’s pause for a quiz… don’t worry, it’s not hard!

Now for a 10 minute break…

Using the library CSS101 - Part 2 Martin J. Crabtree MCCC Library

Using the Library Part 2 - Agenda What is Information Literacy Using the the Mercer Library’s catalog Searching electronic resources Databases and Web information Your turn to use the databases & the web

What is information literacy? Information literacy is the ability to: Realize that you need information to find something out/answer a question Know where to go to get the information you need Ask the right questions to get the information you need Put all the information you found together to answer your question

Using The MCCC Card Catalog to find books and more The catalog is available online. Used to find books, videos and other material both in the MCCC collection and the Mercer County Public (MCL) libraries. You can have materials from MCL brought to the college. Deliveries arrive Tuesday and Friday afternoons. (DVD’s not available from MCL) You will need to have your student ID card to borrow books or use the library’s computer lab

The link to the catalog is on the library’s web pages.library’s web pages.

Let’s look at the Mercer Library’s Catalog…

Searching Electronic Databases And The Web Too

Starting An Electronic Search Keywords Keywords are used when searching electronic databases and web search engines First step - Generate a list of words (keywords) often nouns that describes or is commonly used when discussing your topic. For example: –Ozone –Layer –Depletion –Atmosphere –Hole

Starting An Electronic Search Boolean Searching/Logic Boolean searching - Connecting keywords with the terms –and –not –or For example –eagles NOT football –(car or automobile) and exhaust More Terms = Fewer “Hits”

Searching More Than Just Keywords Phrases & Truncations To search for a phrase, use quotation marks –“weapons of mass destruction” Truncations allow for searching related words all at once –The * is usually used. For example: “child*” would include: child, children, childhood, childproof, etc.

Let’s take a quick look at how Boolean searching can help

Electronic Databases at the Mercer Library

Electronic Databases at MCCC In General Over 60 databases available Many contain periodical articles Some are useful for searching specific subjects like business, art, or criminal justice. Others are also useful tools like the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Oxford Dictionary

Electronic Databases In General Accessible at any computer on the MCCC/JKC campus network Most are available off campus, though you do need to use a password. Can print/ /download articles

Accessing Databases Remotely You can access most of the databases from any computer with internet access. Use your student ID number (no dashes) and your last name (include punctuation) to log into the databases. i.e. If you are already using a library issued password and ID number, it is no longer valid

Remote Login Screen Use your issued User ID & password (faculty & staff only) Use your student ID number & last name

Let’s take a look a the databases…

Using the World Wide Web

Using the internet/world wide web Before using the web for most college research, try using databases first: –You will have fewer hits to go through –You’ll likely find some good information quickly –The information is always high quality The internet & web are not the same thing

Some things to consider when searching the web Everything is NOT on the web and may never be No search engine covers the entire web The “invisible web” is huge! Though there has yet to be consensus, estimates put the size of the invisible web between 2 and 500 times bigger than the “visible” (or surface) web.

Searching the World Wide Web Search Strategy Searching the Web is much like database searching: –Put together a list of keywords describing the information you desire –Use Boolean logic (and, not, or) to better define your search, use double quotes for phrases, etc. When searching the web, also: –Consider which search engines/sites may best suit your search needs. Different search engines yield different results. –Use the search engine’s “advanced search” to select limiting parameters (language, date, domain, etc.)

Let’s pause for a bit for some TV

Evaluating Web Sites Is this stuff any good?

Evaluating Web Sites Quality varies greatly from site to site YOU are the sole evaluator of the quality of information a site provides

Five Web Info Evaluation Criteria 1.Accuracy - is it reliable? 2.Authority - is author qualified on subject? 3.Objectivity - is the information biased? 4.Currency - is the information “new” enough? 5.Coverage - does the info completely cover the topic?

The Bottom Line… Buyer Beware The web contains a vast amount of information… but not everything Anyone can put information on the web, hence the quality of web information varies greatly YOU will often be the only person to decide if the quality of the info you find on the web is good

Let’s look at some websites Go to: